Abstract
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the most economically successful urban areas in the United Arab Emirates. These emirates’ economic and social progress directly depends on the development of the oil industry.
In spite of the controversial aspects which are associated with the issues of economic and environmental sustainability, the planning and housing in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the important developed sectors which are promoted by the governments to satisfy the citizens’ needs with the help of the developed housing programmes and projects.
Although the housing policies and programmes developed and implemented in Abu Dhabi and Dubai differ in some conditions and aspects, the basic principles and norms on which the policies and programmes are based are similar and work to protect the citizens’ rights.
The projects worked out in Abu Dhabi and Dubai respond to the idea of social and environmental sustainability, and the housing programmes are developed to address the citizens’ needs and resolve the housing problems.
Introduction
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) consist of seven federal emirates, and the paper focuses on the discussion of the development of such emirates as Abu Dhabi and Dubai which economic and social progress is associated with the effective government policies implemented within the economic and social spheres. Several decades ago, the territories of Abu Dhabi and Dubai were deserts, and today they are prosperous urban regions.
The main purpose of this report is to examine the functioning of governmental housing policies and programmes, the main trends in the real estate markets of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and the property rights followed in the emirates which can influence the development of the housing policies; it is necessary to analyze the data on the housing programmes’ implementation and to compare the information on the functioning of the policies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The reason for writing the report is the necessity to examine the factors that shape the growth of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in relation to the accepted planning and housing policies. The results of this report can be used to work out the recommendations that can improve the economic and environmental sustainability of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The report is developed to address several significant assumptions. It is possible to assume that the rapid demographic and economic growth of Dubai and Abu Dhabi is based on the development of the oil industry in the country (Sayigh 2013, p. 131).
However, it is also important to pay attention to the fact that there are different visions of the rapid economic development of the UAE in relation to the impact on the environment (Norton 2005). The study is conducted to examine the economic and environmental sustainability of the hosing policies, projects, and programmes used in Dubai and Abu Dhabi (Hawkins 2004; Kazimee 2012, p. 179).
These assumptions are helpful for evaluating the development of these two emirates in relation to the efficiency of many housing programs implemented in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
This report contains a literature review in which the history of housing policies in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is discussed, the discussion of the urban development in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the discussion of property rights and housing policies in the emirates, the discussion of the government housing policies and programmes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi with the focus on their similarities and differences, and the results and discussion sections which provide the comparison and overview of the report findings.
Reference List
Hawkins, R 2004, The Practical Guide to Waste Management Law: With a List of Abbreviations and Acronyms, Useful Websites and Relevant Legislation, Thomas Telford, London.
Kazimee, B 2012, Heritage and Sustainability in the Islamic Built Environment, WIT Press, Ashurst.
Norton, B 2005, Sustainability: A Philosophy of Adaptive Ecosystem Management, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Sayigh, A 2013, Sustainability, Energy and Architecture: Case Studies in Realizing Green Buildings, Academic Press, New York.