Master in Urban Planning and Policy Design- Thesis

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CIRCULATION OF URBAN MODELS Planning practices and Policies in the Metropolis of Dubai

Thesis by Mariette Llewellyn Vanessa Robin Supervisor Stefano Di Vita Co-supervisor Davide Ponzini

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Cover image by Sneha Santhosh Kumar Cover image by Sneha Santhosh Kumar

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Politecnico di Milano School of Architecture, Urban Planning and Construction Engineering Master of Science in Urban Planning and Policy design

Circulation of Urban Models Planning practices and Policies in the Metropolis of Dubai

Authors: Mariette Llewellyn Vanessa Robin 940399 (MSc. Urban Planning and Policy Design) Sneha Santhosh Kumar 939196 (MSc. Architecture and Urban Design)

Supervisor: Professor Stefano Di Vita Co Supervisor: Professor Davide Ponzini

AY. 2021-2022

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This thesis is a collaboration between two Authors, Mariette Llewellyn Vanessa Robin and Sneha Santhosh Kumar. The contribution of each author has been indicated in the table of contents and credited in the book.

This book is designed by Mariette Llewellyn Vanessa Robin

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Acknowledgement The investigation and analysis of this thesis would not have been possible without the inputs and guidance of our professors Davide Ponzini and Stefano Di Vita. Their organisation and expertise made the process smooth and achievable in spite of the challenges faced in working remotely. Thanks to professor Davide for all the reference material, contacts and letters of permission provided on time as and when required.

My imense gratitude lies towards my co-author Sneha Santhosh Kumar whose knowledge and experience from living in Dubai for over 14 years allowed us to develop our case rich in facts based on experience. Her contribution throughout and especially in the Urban design section has given this research an all-round enrichment.

Other mentions of gratitude go out to the Municipality of Dubai for providing us the material we required, friends and acquaintances for taking part in our survey enthusiastically, Arjun Mani (MSc Aeronautical engineering) for taking on site pictures of one of our cases, Marcello Panzone for proofreading the Italian abstract, my family for their continued support, prayers and well wishes throughout this journey which has helped me finish this thesis to the best of my abilities and on time.

Thanks to God for all thy blessings.

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Abstract Cities with successful urban development in the process of becoming global cities have become a model for upcoming cities. The global circulation of planning models and policies can be identified and substantiated in terms other than mere, “Globalization” which our case study, the metropolis of Dubai is famous for.

The fast-track urban transformation of the city has rather gathered exalt in its growing years and criticism in what followed. What catches a planner’s eye at first glance at the city would be its high fragmentation and the dysconnectivity with multiple nuclei. One of these is Downtown Dubai which by itself is a greenfield development but it took the sacrificing of its surrounding neighbourhoods, Al Satwa and Al Wasl to make way for the circulation of planning practices and models from cities considered successful.

Webster defines “circulation” as passage or transmission from person to person or place to place which in our case is the transmission of urban models from place to place i.e., in and from Dubai, our primary case. Through this circulation, It has undergone instant urbanism with a spillover effect on the gulf and world cities.

This thesis will contribute to investigating broadly the patterns of circulation drawing from case studies of various scales and largely from the East Asian cities of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The findings from them will be applied to compare with the urban models, policies and planning practices circulated in and from Dubai.

Keywords: Circulation, Planning practices, Urban models, Urban change, Urban Replication, Urban policies, Land acquisition, Asian cities

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11 Abstract (Italian) Le città con uno sviluppo urbano di successo in procinto di diventare “città globali” sono diventate un modello per le città del futuro. La circolazione globale di modelli e politiche di pianificazione può essere identificata e motivata in termini diversi dalla mera globalizzazione, per cui il nostro caso studio, ossia la metropoli di Dubai, è famosa.

La rapida trasformazione urbana della città ha raccolto una certa esaltazione nei suoi anni di crescita e, al contrario, critiche in quelli che sono seguiti. A un primo sguardo della città, ciò che cattura l’attenzione di un pianificatore urbano è la sua elevata frammentazione e la divisione in più nuclei. Uno di questi è Downtown Dubai, che è frutto di uno sviluppo greenfield, ma per cui è servito il sacrificio dei quartieri circostanti, Al-satwa e Al-wasl, in modo da far posto alla circolazione di pratiche e modelli di pianificazione da città considerate di successo.

Webster definisce “circolazione” il passaggio o la trasmissione da persona a persona o da luogo a luogo, che nel nostro caso si sostanzia nella trasmissione di modelli urbani da un luogo all’altro, ovvero da e verso Dubai, il nostro caso principale. Attraverso questa circolazione, la città ha subito un’urbanizzazione istantanea con ricadute sul golfo e sulle città del mondo .

Questa tesi contribuirà a indagare ampiamente i modelli di circolazione attingendo da casi di studio di diversa scala e in gran parte da due città dell’Asia orientale: Singapore e Kuala Lumpur. I risultati ottenuti verranno applicati per confrontare i modelli urbani, le politiche e le pratiche di pianificazione circolate da e verso Dubai.

Parole chiave: Circolazione, Pratiche di pianificazione, Modelli urbani, Cambiamento urbano, Replicazione urbana, Politiche urbane, Acquisizione fondiaria, Città asiatiche

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Contents Acknowledgement Abstract 1. Introduction

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1.1 T he rapid transition of the GCC countries and 1.2 O utlines and issues of global urban models

cities 18

BACKGROUND

2. Methodology

23 29

2.1 R esearch aim : S tudy circulation of urban models 2.2 R esearch structure and questions 2.3 M ethod of research and analysis : S election of case

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studies and comparative analysis

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3. Understanding the context: Dubai

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3.1 C ity

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governance :

U rban

development authorities

3.2 U rban change : B ackground on D ubai ’ s urbanism 3.3 T he selection of the study area : F astest growing neighbourhood

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43 48

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4. Analysis of case study: Downtown Dubai 4.1 L ocation and dimension of site 4.2 C irculating drivers of spatial transformation 4.3 F ocus on uses and users : T he report of the site

52 52 54 visit

RESEARCH

5. Comparative case study: Downtown Singapore 5.1 L ocation and dimension of the site 5.2 C irculating drivers of spatial transformation 5.3 F ocus on uses and users : T he example of S untec C ity

59 66 68 70 76

6. Comparative Case study: Downtown Kuala Lumpur 80 6.1 L ocation and dimension of site 82 6.2 C irculating drivers of spatial transformation 84 6.3 F ocus on uses and users : T he example of C entral M arket

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7. Emerging Urban models in Dubai

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7.1 C ity W alk 7.2 B oxpark

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8. Urban Design and User analysis 8.1 T he 8.2 T he

literature review

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international case studies : and pedestrian spaces

8.3 T he

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focus on D ubai : pedestrian spaces

T he

T he

circulation of public

quality analysis of public and

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ANALYSIS

8.4 T he

outcomes of the comparative analysis : and user perspective

8.5 T he local reconnection A simulation in D ubai

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P ublic

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L and acquisition policies in D ubai L and acquisition policies in S ingapore L and acquisition policies in K uala L umpur T he outcomes of the comparative analysis : T he

192 192 199 202 types of

circulating urban policies

9.5 T he

citizen perspective : policies

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of international urban models :

9. Urban Planning and Policy analysis 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4

survey

P roposals

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for circulating urban

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INTERPRETATION

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10. Conclusion 10.1 T ypes of circulating urban models 10.2 Q uestioning D ubaisation : T wo - way demands for a citizen - oriented approach

224 224 circulation and

Annex References

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242 248 252

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BACKGROUND 17

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CHAPTER 01 1. Introduction 1.1 The rapid transition of the GCC countries and cities GCC is the acronym for Gulf Cooperation Council. Also referred to as the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (AGCC). The GCC was founded on 26 May 1981. Over the past two decades, globalisation played a direct role in the rapid expansion experienced by GCC cities. Globalisation involves trade and finance which grew with the discovery of oil in these newly developing cities. Small settlements evolved into a metropolis with large transit networks and skyscrapers. For almost one decade, more than 80% of the population consists of town dwellers.

Compared with other developing countries, this rate of urbanization is one of the highest in the world. (Furlan, Faggion 2017) The Persian Gulf countries are highly dynamic and have witnessed unprecedented hyper-growth across different dimensions from economical activities, human capital to governance and major

Background | Introduction

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infrastructure. A few dominant cities have become the economic and social powerhouse being both the innovators and disruptors of traditional models for living and culture. They possess wealthier populations which tend to attract the best talent, hence creating

Location Map of GCC countries (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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Evolution of GCC cities in the past decade (Source: Google images)

Background | Introduction

21 more wealth. The social wellbeing and economic wealth of these dominant cities are indicated by the globalness of these cities.

Availability of vast tracts of land with limited economic value combined with connections to global transport and utility networks, has helped fuel unsustainable urban development in formerly inhospitable environments. Global paradigm car-centric design separated land use, speculative development and homogenized design have become the key features of sprawling arid cities.

Central air-conditioning has also played a major role in making the formerly inhospitably hot regions around the world livable.

Each city has carved out a unique path for its growth. As Dubai is the region’s financial and transportation hub making it the GCC’s leading global city, Doha is the capital and main centre of Qatar, a highly urbanized nation. It has been among the world’s fastestgrowing cities in the past few decades. Land reclamation off the coast has added 400 hectares of land. Doha is a leader in business activity and cultural exchange, driven by a strong movement toward a new city model and investments in cultural projects. Abu Dhabi, the host city of many international news agencies, ranks high on information exchange. Riyadh, with sizable investments in international education in recent years, ranks high in human capital development compared with other GCC cities. Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Doha are the GCC’s strongest international political centres. They play a prominent role in maintaining regional political stability and serve as a voice for the Middle East in world politics.

These cities could not support current population levels without innovations such as desalination technology, access to global food supply chains, climate-controlled buildings, personal cars, and complex engineering projects. (Global cities of the future: A GCC perspective, Willen, Romkey, 2012) Cities of the Arab world have reintroduced architecture by providing a blank slate with “no context” for architects and designers to use their imagination to experiment with architectural marvels. The absence of urban constraints with the presence of abundant financial backing fueled fast-track developments. Young architects such as John Harris and Jill Harris had established their architectural presence across the growing gulf cities in the late 20th century. Their well-known works include the first draft town plan for

Sneha Santhosh Kumar

22 Dubai and designed hospitals in Kuwait and Tehran. Cities like Doha and Dubai are fashioning the remake of cities, ports and skylines of other Gulf cities.

Gulf cities are not isolated examples but are stand-alone cities based on technology, recreation, innovation and education. In addition to the indigenous local populace, the cities are composed of large groups of expatriate Arabs and East Asians, smaller groups of Europeans and North Americans. They represent a major workforce community of skilled professionals and semi-skilled or unskilled labourers from over sixty countries. The heterogeneity of Gulf cities comes from the needs of the governments and affluent community that requires a pool of construction labourers, professionals, and service workers. Workers are cheap and so is their transit which has been made possible by affordable contemporary travel.

Physical configurations of the Gulf constitute massive landfills, building islands and magnificent skyscrapers. Palm islands, Masdar and Saadiyat are pushing examples of these developments. Gulf is underway of building cities in the size of Washington D.C. from scratch rather than other capital cities that took several hundred years of evolution. The most distinguishable aspect of the Gulf population is the presence of migrants, making it a multi-cultural world.

Glorious buildings and impressive ventures led by massive financial backup are to convey a national purpose and the appearance of attainment on the world economic stage.

Background | Introduction

23 1.2 Outlines and issues of global urban models GCC Cities – The Arabian Peninsula often referred to as the GCC, an abbreviation for the Gulf Cooperation Council, was formed in 1981 as a loose political and economic alliance between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), (Fraser, Golzari, 2012). Numerous kinds of literature can be found on the formation of this council, its shared historical geography, cultural and religious mores, governance structures, rapid urbanization, large migrant worker population and vast revenues generated from oil and gas. Mohammed Al Fahim, 1995, in his book “From rags to riches” accounts for the major transformation of the Persian land that he has witnessed while growing up in the ruler’s palace.

A more responsive treatment of architectural and urban development in the Persian Gulf, also focusing on the recordbreaking towers, shopping malls, man-made islands, airports, and seaports can, however, be found in books edited by Ibrahim Jaidah or Yasser Elsheshtawy, or by some western expatriates in the Gulf region, such edited book by George Katodrytis on Dubai’s architecture, or in various essays by his colleague at the American University of Sharjah, (Katodrytis and Mitchell, 2008) Dubai’s Urbanism and master plans - Low urbanization period - An important contribution to Dubai’s urbanization planning is by John Harris, who designed Dubai’s first masterplan in 1960 focusing on compact development, new road systems for the city, identifying city centre area and several different land-uses of the new urbanization expansion. The next ambitious Master plan by John Harris in 1971 focused on a period of suburban growth while the discovery of oil reserves was strengthening the financial status of the city.

Dubai Municipality formation - Urban globalization period, since early 1990, the political authorities of Dubai under the framework of Dubai Municipality were responsible for the spatial planning and strategies to guide the urban development of Dubai. It focused on the expansion of areas by providing more lands to meet the future demands for residential, industrial, and commercial uses, expanding the transport network and infrastructure facilities to the suburban areas.

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Some of the books that helped us develop our thesis research

Background | Introduction

25 According to its proponents, Dubai’s Urban Masterplan 2020 focused on a flexible, sustainable, competitive approach to land use and transport, protecting key economic assets; being flexible and responsive to environmental challenges, and co-socioeconomic transformations.

Dubai’s Urban Masterplan 2040 – Under Dubai Municipality’s administration the 2040 Urban Master Plan maps out a comprehensive plan for sustainable urban development in Dubai.

It focuses on enhancing people’s happiness and quality of life and reinforcing Dubai as a global destination for citizens, residents, and visitors over the next 20 years.

Dubai’s neighbourhoods: As mentioned by Khaled Alawadi in his research papers, Dubai’s government policies, cultural norms and market forces have created neighbourhoods characterized by ethnic and socio-economic enclaves and segregation. While the native’s housing needs are accommodated by government subsidies, the expatriates’ housing needs are managed by the private sector. Native-born citizens have their subsidized neighbourhoods segregated from migrant groups.

Urban redevelopment in Dubai’s oldest neighbourhoods: A study by Alawadi (2014) demonstrates a paradigm shift in Dubai’s approach to planning: while the vast majority of pre-2008 development was on the optimization of vacant lands and the reclamation of Gulf water, Al-Satwa, a central Dubai neighbourhood, is Dubai’s first attempt to raze traditional and publicly occupied urban neighbourhoods. Al Satwa lies contiguous to the new downtown area.

The urban structure of Al-Satwa is composed of three fabrics: a retail and residential corridor, areas to the east, areas to the west of this corridor. A huge tract of this land was razed off in 2008 to redevelop into a modern urban parcel that blends with the fabric of Dubai’s downtown/makes way for privatized monumental towers and artificial water bodies. As Alawadi claims, this had a fundamental change in the beliefs and thoughts that frame a community sense among its occupants.

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According to Elsheshtawy (2011), Al Satwa evokes a poignant sense of realness and humanity. Undoubtedly, Al-Satwa is a humble and vibrant district that holds many stories, communal memories, and significant cultural inheritance. Khaled Alawadi (2014) observed and documented the transformation as well as the condition of AlSatwa over nine years through in-depth fieldwork.

Literature on Dubai Downtown, City Walk and Boxpark is scarce as these are very recent developments. Our research analysis on the topic has employed some journalistic work done by several new agencies reporting about the progressions and various phases in its development. Regarding the planning and architecture, documents

by Architect and scholars like Yasser Elsheshtawy, Khaled Alawadi have published several documents analyzing these areas before development. Most of the data were obtained by our analysis, site visit and comparisons with the downtowns of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

Public spaces and walkability: Buildings, open spaces, streets and paths are significant urban elements in an urban district.

The legibility and connectivity of these elements support the livability and accessibility of the user groups. In addition to simply accommodating pedestrian movement, sidewalks and streets are recognized as the most prominent public spaces found in a city. The rapid economic growth made citizens all around the world more dependent on private cars resulting in difficulties and an unsafe environment for walking.

In Arabian traditional cities, three main pillars form the basis of urban life, namely, religion (mosque), trade (bazaar) and family (house). The beliefs in Islam and the theories that evolved out of urban planning helped public space play an important role in creating walkable neighbourhoods. The public spaces were pleasurable to inhabit and practical enough to use for day-to-day life. Therefore, public spaces greatly contributed to an increased level of walkability and promoted a sense of identity in these cities.

The number of public spaces in a neighbourhood, the level of their accessibility and the quality of public space were the main factors

Background | Introduction

27 in encouraging people to walk from their homes to the urban areas or neighbourhood centres. In the past, public spaces were mainly used for market purposes and social, religious or political events.

These spaces were also known as the main place for communicating and interacting with other urban dwellers and trading and were regarded as the heart of the community. Today, these functions somehow have been replaced by privatized public realms designed and developed by certain agencies who do not often consider the neighbourhood’s unique contextual features.

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Background | Methodology

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CHAPTER 02 2. Methodology 2.1 Research aim: Study circulation of urban models This thesis aims to study the movement and circulation of urban models, public policies through case studies, specifically in Dubai.

The circulation of models is not a recent phenomenon, developing countries have been known to adopt successful policies, strategies, and urban models to pave their path towards development. Until very recently, Dubai’s model of urbanism was considered a shining example of urban planning. Its stairway to quick urbanization was admired and replicated globally. It was important to understand how Dubai reached where it is today.

Through our research, we unfold Dubai’s path to becoming this global model, the processes that lead to the city’s rapid urban development. Dubai, in its early years, circulated successful urban models of cities considered developed at that time. This city was transformed into one of the most developed and modern

Mariette Llewellyn Vanessa Robin

30 metropolises in the world. The downtown specifically a greenfield development drafted the city centre and tourism destination from nothing. Through this research, we will create a synthesis of comparative analysis with case studies and site studies specific to downtown and its surroundings to understand this movement of policy import to export that Dubai has undergone and verified its success.

By a detailed analysis of Dubai Downtown, and two other emerging examples in the area, City Walk and Boxpark Dubai, an understanding of the evolution of public spaces and the concept of walkability in Dubai’s new urban core will be obtained. As the developments took place around the same decade while the awareness of degrading/depleting social life in Arab cities was becoming popular, it becomes important to study their planning strategies and concepts.

To build a comparative analysis, we selected prominent cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, as they have a similar urban growth pattern. These cities have similar city downtowns and urban fabrics. This study enables us to establish that despite its varying nature in terms of scale, area, materials, these developments serve the purpose of providing social spaces in the city along with promoting commercial activities, thus inducing the idea of walkability in hot-arid climate areas. Through this research, we will try to understand the positive impact of the developments, whether it is an appropriate adaption of the disappearing middle eastern community space designs. With the increasing detached lifestyle in modern Arab cities, it has become the need of the hour to improve social life and inculcate a sense of belongingness among its citizens by reconnecting them to nature and community life.

One of the aims of this research is to understand the social gravity of each public space and suggest guidelines to improve it while detecting the adequate public space concept that can be circulated to generate a physical as well as a social connection among the three major developments in Dubai’s core. This research ensures that the public spaces along with their pedestrian and different modes of vehicular circulations are accessible, clear, prominent and intuitive to navigate.

Background | Methodology

31 2.2 Research structure and questions To reach the proposed research aim, the thesis: 1. Identifies cities under the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) which Dubai is one among and studies their development patterns with literature references from books and research papers.

2. Describes the political and governmental historical background of Dubai to understand who oversees the urban development and when there were changes to the governing hierarchy. Furthermore, it describes the different phases of urban development and expansion the city underwent in the past two decades and the timeline.

3. Discusses in detail the area of Downtown Dubai Pre-Dubaization in Al Wasl where Downtown Dubai, our selected site for analysis emerged. Further, this section studies the features through on site visits, photographs and cartography.

4. Comparatively analyses two case studies, the downtowns of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur which share similar development patterns to build a base for the following chapters which will explain the circulation of urban models.

5. Other emerging examples of urban models (Boxpark and City Walk) being circulated globally is studied through on site analysis to make our case of circulating models stronger.

6. The urban design section analyses urban interventions at a human scale level to understand the design elements that are beneficial for similar developments in downtown Dubai and its surroundings. Also studies the adaptation of urban spaces to improve user experience with a comparison with our case studies. The comparison will include design guideline proposals that could improve the current state.

7. The urban planning and policy analysis section will explain the methods, laws, and policies of land acquisition in our three case studies as a base to understand the different outcomes of similar urban models because of different methods and governance

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32 to acquire land. Furthermore, specific urban policies that were successful in our case studies are compared in detail to similar models in Dubai to prove this process of importation. These examples will reflect our views on whether they could be considered successful in Dubai with new policy proposals and changes in existing ones which could improve the current state.

8. Analyses the concept of circulation of urban models and policies in Dubai and eventually explains the transition it underwent from being a canvas for importation to being a source of inspiration for exportation. This is a brief explanation of how Dubai became a global model with reference to examples and detailed comparisons highlighting the features of the said urban models. the process of urban transformation and the outcome of the circulation of models in the context of Dubai.

9. Concludes with an analogical explanation to our findings while answering the research questions that follows.

Research Questions

• How did the metropolis of Dubai become a global model for the circulation of urban models?

• How are the circulated urban models of public spaces perceived in Dubai? Have they been implemented successfully?

• Have the urban models and policies been circulated in various contexts without adaptation?

• What are the types of circulation of urban models seen in Dubai?

Background | Methodology

33 2.3 Method of research and analysis: Selection of case studies and comparative analysis The starting point implies the collection of data necessary to build our case. This process was particularly challenging because while there was a lot of data on Dubai exporting urban models’ postdevelopment, the open data and research available on Dubai importing urban models during its development was scarce even though true and evident. To build our case we collected information on Dubai as well as our selected cities, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur from which there could be possible importation.

We selected, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur as we observed they had similar growth patterns and through further analysis realized that all three cities have downtowns with similar urban fabric and features. From here we narrowed down our study area to downtowns and their surroundings studying in detail all the urban features, natural and manmade in and around the downtown areas.

We also selected Boxpark and City Walk other emerging examples of urban models which have been in circulation in many major cities for some years now. Yet again another challenge we faced was with the quality of open data available. Considering the chosen scale of analysis (downtowns and surroundings), it was poor and forced us to build our case from scratch.

Post data collection our thesis splits into urban design analysis and urban planning analysis where we both work individually using our expertise gained over our courses. In urban planning, we select and compare in detail urban models and policies that have been circulated and verify their success. Further, this part concludes by suggesting modifications to existing policies in Dubai where the urban models may not have been a success. In urban design, we reduce our scale to user experience to study interventions made at the human scale. Again, interventions of this scale that are circulated are compared to verify their success. The study concludes with suggestions and possible guidelines for interventions that may not have been a success.

Once again, our work combines to conclude the research

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34 homogenously having had a rich synthesis in the process of building our case on the importation of urban models in Dubai.

Sources of data We had two major sources of information. The first is from observations and experiential inputs of one of us, Sneha who has lived in Dubai for over fifteen years and has also been able to visit our selected study areas after the commencement of our research for a live site study. In the live study, we have been able to collect videos, photographs, microclimate data, etc. of our selected areas of study.

Our second and most important source of background information to understand the context, its history and relevance are from scholarly papers and books. Post data collection our thesis splits into Urban design analysis and Urban planning analysis where we both work individually using our expertise gained over our courses.

To gain a public perspective, we also talked to locals and asked users of these public spaces about their experiences and opinions on these developments. We further briefed them about the concept of circulating urban models before questioning them to verify their agreement or disagreement with our research thesis. The same questions were used for the next method of data collection.

Another method we used to collect similar information off-site was by circulating a google form questionnaire with similar questions around residents and visitors of all three cities with at least 30 subjects for each. Their reactions along with demographics such as gender, age, occupation were noted. It was found that an overwhelming percentage of the subjects had thoughts running parallel to ours. More information on this method of data collection is available in chapter 8.4 The outcomes of the comparative analysis: Public survey and user perspective.

Background | Methodology

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Three cases of study (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

Background | Methodology

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RESEARCH 39

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CHAPTER 03 3. Understanding the context: Dubai 3.1 City governance: Urban development authorities In the United Arab Emirates, the governing hierarchy is of two levels, the federal level and the individual emirate level. The former level consists of the rulers of the emirates within UAE, that is Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah which are ruled by six noble families and called the Federal Supreme Council. These families came together to form the UAE in 1971 with Ras Al Khaimah being the last one to join them in 1972. The council holds elections and takes care of the formation of government policies, laws and treaties. They also elect the President and Vice President every term of five years. Even though an election like this exists, the presidency is unofficially hereditary to the Al Nahyan clan and vice presidency to the Al Maktoum clan from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Sheikh Mohammed who is the current ruler of Dubai assumed leadership after the passing of his brother in 2006. Today he is responsible for bringing Dubai into the global market successfully and is looked up to by his people and around the world. (See image)

Research | Understanding the context: Dubai

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Under this dual governance system, each emirate enjoys control and autonomy over its urban development without interference from the federal council. Dubai, located on the southern end of the Persian

The map shows the Emir and the rulers of the UAE (Source: mybayut)

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42 Gulf is the capital city of the emirate. With a recent threat of exhaustion to the oil industry, the Sheikh of Dubai has attempted to diversify policies and strategies for local development emphasizing real estate, tourism and trading. In Dubai, employment is seen as an effective way to distribute resources achieve stabilization amongst its citizens and the public sectors are the primary employers in UAE. Participation of private enterprises through the transfer of public assets to private sectors because of pressure from globalization would become a threat to this social stabilization. The Emirate government of Dubai now adopts a selective approach of integrating private players in urban development and ensures that the social services and employment of its citizens are not affected.

Planning and Development Authorities Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the ruler and the ultimate authority for all the development and planning-related decisions. The city is run by the Sheikh along with a group of elites almost like a company with Sheikh being the CEO (Brook, 2013).

All government officials are appointed by the ruling family to contribute to all major planning interventions (Sampler & Eigner, 2003). In the late 90s, the two key real estate companies Emaar and Nakheel were founded by him to kickstart the tourism and real estate industry through megaprojects. The Dubai municipality along with authorities of free zones form the regulatory network with the municipality as the head. Free zones are economic areas that have a unique regulatory framework. The authorities of the larger free zones can become powerful actors in managing the development of the city. Even if the municipality appears to be in charge, it is powerless compared to what the sheikh can do. Therefore, many developers almost avoid involving them and their complex procedures and directly approach the sheikh. The public bodies’ lack of power directly affects the urban development regulatory framework. It is often seen in Dubai governance that rules and regulations are replaced by leadership and privilege. In rare exceptional cases, regulations are made and introduced to gain the public’s trust and confidence.

Research | Understanding the context: Dubai

43 3.2 Urban change: Background on Dubai’s urbanism Gulf cities such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha have experienced excessive development pressure over the last 3 decades. Among these, Dubai was a small, self-sufficient, integrated fishing village that reflected the surrounding traditional society but in the 1990’s it set out to become a global city and pioneered the race towards massive developments. It has undergone instant urbanism with a spillover effect on the gulf and world cities.

John Harris from Halcrow was a British firm hired by Sheikh Rashid to manifest Dubai’s first master plan in 1959. The firm envisioned Dubai to blossom around the historic centre along the Dubai creek with a strategic road network, city centre and public spaces all of which were imagined to become reality with the limited financial resources at the time.

The city has undergone four phases of development and expansion: 1900-1955: A period of slow growth and limited physical expansion due to constrained economic growth and a marginal increase in the population. By 1955, the urban area was about 3.2 sq. km.

The population was majorly concentrated in three residential quarters 1. Deira, consists of 1600 houses and 350 souq shops, with Arabs, Persians and Baluchis making up most of the inhabitants.

2. Al Shindagha, a former residence of the ruling family, with about 250 residences comprising of Arab residents only.

3. Dubai, with 200 houses and 50 souq shops, is mostly inhabited by Persian and Indian merchants.

Dubai’s first master plan was commissioned in 1959 by Architect John Harris under the leadership of Sheikh Rashid.

1956-1970: A phase of compact growth focusing on road systems, zoning of land into different uses and the creation of a new town centre. In 1957, a formal institutional structure was set up to guide and administer the urban developments, called the Dubai Municipality.

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1971-1980: A period of planned sub-urban growth. A new ambitious master plan was conceived in 1971. This phase also witnessed major transport developments including the provisions for ring roads around the city and radial street networks to the suburbs, the construction of the Shindagha tunnel to connect Bur Dubai and Deira, the developments of two major bridges named Maktoum and Garhoud, thus linking the two major districts on either side on the creek. Deira, situated on the east side of the creek, developed rapidly into a major banking and administrative centre, along with establishing the busiest airport in the country. On the other side of the creek, an international import and container harbour was developed along the dry docks and major industrial areas. This area witnessed various landmarks emerge such as the world trade centre. Another development of major significance was the development of Dubai’s main artery along the Sheikh Zayed corridor towards Jebel Ali. This emerged at the new commercial and financial centre of the city.

1980-Present: This period witnessed rapid urbanization, in terms of scale and diversity of projects. The city covers an area of 4114 sq. km now. The 1960 master plan laid the foundations for the urban transportation and services networks, but it failed to foresee the demands of explosive growth in the city that followed in the 1990s. This compelled the government to devise the Dubai Urban Area Strategic Plan 1993-2012, to guide the economic and physical development of the city, also by encouraging private investments, expanding tourism opportunities and undertaking mega development projects. Dubai’s development pattern is unique, its speed and scale are even more so, which also makes it a polycentric city. The direct result of this decentralised urban approach is comprised of evocative sounding districts – Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, Dubai Marina, Festival city, Palm Jumeirah and several others (D Safarik, 2018). The older districts such as Bur Dubai, Deira and Satwa function as the suburbs. Meanwhile, megaprojects to facilitate commerce, services and leisure are being developed that function as a city itself. A few examples are:

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From left to right Top to bottom Internet city Media city Festival city Dubai Marina International city DIFC (Dubai International Finance Centre) Business bay Downtown Dubai (Source: Google images)

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48 3.3 The selection of the study area: Fastest growing neighbourhood Located on the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula and the southwest of the Persian Gulf, Dubai is the second-largest emirate in the United Arab Emirates. Its strategic position allows it to connect to all local Gulf States, as well as to East Africa and South Asia (Dubai city official guide). Spanning over an area of 35 square kilometres, it is expected to double its area on completion of all its pending projects.

For more than a century, the area around Dubai’s natural inlet called Dubai Creek served as the city centre because of the city’s dependence on fishing, and trading. The 15.2 km creek divides the city into two regions, Deira in the north and Bur Dubai in the south. The developments surrounding the creeks are the city’s oldest ones dating back 1960s. With the change in the industry, the city centre changed as well to downtown Dubai which is a greenfield development adjacent to Sheikh Zayed road. Notable among these are the Emirates Towers, which were built in the late 1990s and early 2000s and which house a hotel and government offices (Dubai city official guide). Close to Sheikh Zayed Road is the Dubai International Financial Centre, housed in a futuristic arch-shaped building, and the Burj Khalifa, To the west of the skyscrapers, lie several affluent suburbs, most of which house substantial villas.

Location map of Area of study (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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49 3.4 The historical transformation of Downtown and Al Wasl

Histrorical transformation (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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CHAPTER 04

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CHAPTER 04 4. Analysis of case study: Downtown Dubai 4.1 Location and dimension of site Dubai is well-known for its artificial marvels. One two such recent additions to its glamour are the Burj Khalifa Lake and the Dubai creek canal.

Between the tallest tower Burj Khalifa and the largest shopping mall, the man-made Burj Khalifa lake is located at the centre of Downtown Dubai, accurately positioned in front of the Dubai Mall.

It is equipped with one of the largest water fountains in the world today which is visible from over 32.2 kilometers away and has become one of the main tourist attractions of the city.

The fountain is hosted by a 30-acre man-made lake also called the Burj Khalifa lake right at the centre of downtown Dubai.

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4.2.1 Waterbody and Canals Dubai Canal is an artificial water canal, approximately 3 kilometrelong, 80m wide and 6m deep project starting from Business Bay emptying into the Persian Gulf Jumeirah (El Amrousi, 2018).

It creates new public places and facilities for private marinas for boats and a trade centre at the entrance of the canal. This artificial canal aims to integrate buildings with nature, centre with the periphery, a local character with global forces and to create public spaces to bring people of different ethnicities, incomes, ages and abilities together. A 12 kilometre long and 6-15 meters wide promenade was added by the business bay allowing extra space for leisure activities like skating and walking. This waterway has been redirected from the old Dubai creek for creating a waterfront area inside the city’s centre. The canal has several bridges running across at various points and about 12 marine transit stations. Two bridges are built between Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Wasl roads.

According to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the canal will offer new means of public transportation for one million Dubai residents and will become part of the mass transit network of Dubai (El Amrousi, 2018).

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Map of Blue infrastructure in Downtown Dubai (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

55 4.2.2 Towers and skyscrapers It almost became necessary to brand an upcoming city in the 21st century. The skyscrapers are what each city is known for, be it Burj Khalifa in Dubai, Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur, or the Gherkin in London U.K. Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower building in the world, stands tall, elegant, proud and glistening in the middle of the desert with a sandstorm just on the horizon. Dubai sees its audacious building as a metaphor for its role in the vanguard of globalisation, as a technocracy capable of yoking Islam and modernity. Burj Khalifa is visible from as far as 96.6 kilometers away. It houses businesses and residential apartments as well as the exclusive Armani Hotel.

Min. height of skyscrapers: 200m Max. height of skyscrapers: 830 m

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56 Just like how the Eiffel tower evokes the idea of Paris and the Statue of Liberty speaks for New York, Burj Khalifa has become the symbol of Dubai. Along with being the visual image for the city, this icon has induced a ripple effect in the real estate market in its vicinity. This branding was necessary to market the city on a global platform and to attract international investments. Dubai Downtown and Business Bay feature numerous skyscrapers which accommodate residential, commercial activities and business clusters. These towers are set in landscaped gardens with a network of roads, pathways and canals.

However, it lacks a good network of public transport considering the huge area of land it covers. It is envisaged to become this region’s business capital but also a freehold city within a city.

4.2.3 Shopping malls Dubai Mall is an exceptionally vast retail, leisure and entertainment space right in the heart of downtown Dubai. It’s the world’s largest and most visited shopping mall, with a total internal floor area of 5.9 million square feet. The Dubai Mall is revolutionizing the modern shopping experience in the UAE. With an impressive array of leisure pursuits, The Dubai Mall is the ultimate, cutting-edge shopping experience. A range of adventure sports vies for attention alongside the romance of ice skating (Official website of Dubai shopping mall).

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57 4.2.4 Parks, Gardens, and sanctuaries In Dubai, however little attempt has been made to keep the green spaces public. The spaces open to the public have been oriented towards commercial activities. Even so, the land around what used to be considered the outskirts of Dubai was transformed from a home for illegal immigrants in the 1960s-70s to a lush green Safa park today. This is yet again a charged space and not available to all public. A park-like setting has been created at the foothill of Burj Khalifa. A terrace that steps down to a small oasis of fountains has been created to boost the microclimate of the area. There are a series of refreshing outdoor living rooms for the enjoyment of hotel guests, office workers and condominium owners. A grand terrace features a series of fountains that creates a subtle separation between the public promenade and the hotel entrance. This is adorned with a series of bands of lush indigenous desert plants in varying shades of green.

Top to bottom Aerial view of Burj Park (Source: Planetware) Map of green Infrastructure in Downtown Dubai (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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58 4.2.5 Hotels With the towering icon of Dubai housing the best hotel facilities including the exclusive Armani Hotel, it is surrounded by numerous luxury hotels. The Dubai mall is integrated with an inbuilt hotel called the Address hotel. Adjacent to the iconic Burj Khalifa, the built-in 2008 Dubai Mall is the largest shopping mall in the world by total land area. It’s a complete retail and entertainment destination with a variety of indoor attractions like the Dubai aquarium, underwater zoo, an olympic size ice rink, cinemas, numerous luxury shopping and dining experience. It covers about 502,000 sqm of retail floor area. The Dubai fountain right outside the structure is a major landmark for Dubai’s downtown. Dubai Mall is the best example of Retailtainment and strategic location in the success of retail establishments. To increase shopping tourism and attract consumers, the hotel industry has recognized the significance of the integration of malls and hotels. The Address Dubai mall is one of the prominent examples attracting tourists who base their vacation on shopping and luxury accommodation. Shopping in Dubai mall is more than retail therapy, it is considered as having an unusual sightseeing, cultural, and amusing experience full of surprises (Zaidan, 2015).

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Map of Hotels in Downtown Dubai (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

59 4.3 Focus on uses and users: The repor t of the site visit Dubai downtown being home to the tallest tower in the world is assumed to be easily accessed from every nook and corner of Dubai, but a first-time visitor can’t reach the area without falling victim to the confusing maze of highways and bridges around the destination. It is preferable to traverse through the downtown ring road by private vehicles than using slow mobility options. The easiest way is to get off at the Dubai mall metro station and walk for about a kilometre using the skywalk (see image 13).

The entrance to the downtown is flanked by tall, glass skyscrapers on either side of the street gradually decreasing to low-rise vernacularly imitated buildings. Right in the middle of the street is the track for non-functional Dubai trolley and their stations (see image below and the trolley stations in image 20, 21 and 22). The roads are designed with huge pedestrian boulevards of typical Arabic palm trees on either side (see image 17). The pedestrian pathways are furnished with abundant urban street furniture and kiosks that could change their theme seasonally.

The pathway is usually crowded with residents, employees of the restaurants and boutiques and tourists. Walking along the right side of the street will lead the visitors to a large public square that opens to the view of Burj Khalifa with the extravagant fountain at its foot. This is a completely pedestrianized zone where one could see people skating, riding their bicycles and guardians strolling with baby prams.

Site visit finds Non functional Dubai trolley (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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Top to bottom left to right Site study map of Downtown Dubai (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar) Image key of site visit 1. Burj Khalifa 2. The Dubai mall 3. Dubai Opera house (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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Meanwhile Burj park is packed with residents and tourists on small picnics while enjoying the view of the fountain with the Burj Khalifa and Dubai mall in the background.

A preferred access to the development is the Burj plaza (see image 7) from where there is a magnificent view of Burj Khalifa. From this area onward, the streets are limited to only pedestrians and bicycle users indicated through differed paving material. Further on from here, the Burj park can be accessed which is a large landscaped urban lush green space that behaves as a lung to the downtown campus (see image 10). It offers a panoramic view to all the important structures nearby like the Dubai mall (see image 2), Dubai Opera (see image 3), Souk al Bahar (see image 4 and 8) and the Burj residences (see image 9).

Top to bottom left to right Image key of site visit 4. Souq Al Bahar 5. Address hotel 6. Entrance to downtown 7. Burj Plaza (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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Top to bottom left to right Image key of site visit 8. Walkway to Souq Al Bahar 9. Burj residence plaza 10. Burj park 10. Burj Park 11. Dubai Opera Square 12. Burj Khalifa fountain 13. Metro pedestrian bridge to Dubai mall 14. Street leading to the campus 14. Street leading to the campus (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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Top to bottom left to right Image key of site visit 15. Electric bike parking 16. Bicycle parking Burj residence plaza 17. Pedestrian and bicycle paths 18. Pedestrian and bicycle paths 19. Dubai trolley 20. Dubai trolley station 1 21. Dubai trolley station 2 22. Dubai trolley station 3 (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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CHAPTER 05

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CHAPTER 05 5. Comparative case study: Downtown Singapore Singapore or the republic of Singapore is a sovereign, tropical island city-state in Southeast Asia off the tip of the Malaysian peninsula. Expanding over 700 square kilometres, it consists of a diamond-shaped island with more than 50 natural inlets and inhabited by multiple international communities, it shapes policies in education, housing and politics while focusing on multi-racialism.

It gained self-governance in 1959 from Great Britain and became an independent country in 1965 after being expelled from the Malaysian federation due to ideological differences.

Also known as a city in a garden because the metropolis is situated in the south of the island that is about 50 per cent greenery.

Despite insufficient natural resources and being a hinterland, the city-state rapidly developed and is ranked ninth on the UN human development index and has the second-highest GDP per capita in the world (International monetary fund imf.org).

It is currently a thriving metropolis offering world-class infrastructure,

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a fully integrated transport network, a dynamic business environment, vibrant living spaces and a rich culture largely influenced by the four major communities in Singapore with each offering a different perspective of life in Singapore in terms of culture, religion, food, language, and history (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore).

Location map of Singapore Downtown (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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5.1 Location and dimension of the site The Downtown Core is the foremost commercial area in Singapore excluding the reclaimed lands. There are many skyscrapers within the boundaries of Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar and Marina Bay CBD with a height restriction of 280m. It’s one amongst the eleven planning areas located within the main urbanised Central Area, forming its dense urban core and remains the financial Heart of Singapore. The Downtown Core also houses the headquarters and offices of varied corporations and the Singapore Exchange. The realm is additionally home to several governmental institutions, notably the seat of Parliament and the Supreme Court of Singapore. The name “Downtown Core” remains relatively lesser used and instead the term central business district (CBD) is often employed in conversation. However, the area referred to as the CBD comprises a smaller area within the Downtown Core itself, seizing the southwestern and western portions of the planning area. It’s fabricated from eight subzones, Anson, Cecil, Clifford Pier, Maxwell, Phillip, Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar and Marina Centre. The core of the CBD has since then extended well beyond its boundaries and the term is even often now and then used to refer to the Central Area as a whole.

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5.2.1 Waterbody and Canals Singapore also has a similar amalgamation of nature with the city as Dubai with the 3.2-kilometre-long waterway from the mouth of Kim Seng bridge emptying into Marina Bay. The city of Singapore grew around the port of the river. Initially, the Singapore River was the very lifeblood of the trade, colonies, commercial activities, and the heart of entrepot trade. It is located within the island’s central region. Since the 1960s when Singapore set out to become a Garden City, it has continually planned and worked to ensure greenery, urban biodiversity, and waterways are part of its development. Today, Singapore is upgrading itself to become a City of Gardens and Water, and the Active, Beautiful, Clean (ABC) Waters and Park Connector programmes are prime examples of state-developed blue-green infrastructure. Such projects have generated economic, environmental, and social benefits while creating a more liveable and resilient Singapore.

One of the defining pilots is the Marina Barrage: This project serves important functions as a reservoir for clean water, as a recreation area and as flood protection for the city. The Marina Barrage is a 10,000-hectare water retention facility, making it Singapore’s largest freshwater buffer, and has been beautifully integrated into the context. The Marina Barrage visitor centre houses an exhibition that offers visitors information about the water projects (Urban Green Blue grids).

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Map of Blue infrastructure in Downtown Singapore (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

71 5.2.2 Towers and skyscrapers Singapore doesn’t prevent the construction of tall buildings, and its downtown functions well because it’s tall and connected. An abundance of close and connected vertical real estate would decrease the pressure on roads, ease the connections that are the lifeblood of a 21st-century city. (Glaeser, 2011 p1-5) The success of the high-density urban form in Singapore has influenced the other two cases, especially Dubai. Limiting heights doesn’t stop urban growth. We have seen this time and again, how more and more migrants would squeeze into squalid, illegal slums rather than occupy legal apartment buildings. The city-state of Singapore has more than 8,600 completed skyscrapers, the majority of which are in the Downtown Core. The Guoco Tower currently holds the title of the tallest building in Singapore at 290m (951 ft) and is the only one that doesn’t follow the height restriction of 280m in the Central Business District.

Singapore’s history of skyscrapers began with the 1939 completion of the 17-storey Cathay Building. The 70-metre (230 ft) structure was, at the time of its completion, the tallest building in Southeast

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72 Asia; it was superseded by the 87-metre (285 ft) Asia Insurance Building in 1954, which remained the tallest in Singapore until the 100 m (328 ft) Shaw Centre was completed in 1958 (Patowary, 2012).

The city-state of Singapore has more than 4,300 completed skyscrapers, the bulk of which are located within the Downtown Core. Singapore went through a significant building boom within the 1970s and 1980s that resulted from the city’s rapid industrialisation. Now UOB Plaza became the tallest building within the city-state; the 280 m (919 ft) structure was also the tallest building in the world outside of North America from its 1986 completion until 1989 when the Bank of China Tower in the urban centre was completed. The skyscraper boom continued during the 1990s and 2000s, with 30 skyscrapers having a minimum of 140 m (459 ft) tall, many of them were residential towers, constructed from 1990 through 2008. Since 2000, there has been a steep increase in the number of skyscrapers under construction within the city area, particularly within the Marina Bay district. One project completed in Marina Centre is the Marina Bay Financial Centre, which contains three office towers offering 280,000 square metres (3,000,000 sq. ft) of office space, two residential developments offering more than 500 apartments and a 16,400 square-metre (176,000 sq. ft) commercial and retail space, named Marina Bay Link Mall.

There are several new developments within the city’s shopping hub, Orchard Road. The Orchard Residences could also be a 218 m (715 ft), 52-floor tower inbuilt conjunction with ION Orchard, a store just beside Orchard MRT station. additionally, the 245 m (804 ft) Ocean Financial Centre, a 43-floor skyscraper, is made in Raffles Place.

Skyline showing skyscrapers in Downtown Singapore (Source: Google images)

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73 5.2.3 Shopping malls The retail industry has changed drastically since the 1960s.

Retailing shifted from shophouses in the past to modern shopping centres in the old city centre. However, to reduce overcrowding and traffic congestion in the Central Area in the 1990s, the Revised Concept Plan 1991 by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) proposed the concept of decentralization into regional and suburban centres (Sim and Goh, 1998).

The major retail and entertainment destinations in the city centre were built around the 1980s. Marina Square is a shopping mall built in 1985 on the newly reclaimed Marina centre with about 65,000 sq.m total retail floor area and the Esplanade mall was built near the Esplanade, Singapore’s national performing arts centre.

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74 5.2.4 Parks, Gardens, and sanctuaries As seen in the map of Singapore downtown, the large park near the city centre was developed as a vision to make a “city within a garden”. It captures the essence of Singapore as a tropical garden city with a perfect environment to live and work, making it a leading global city of the 21st century (Gardens by the bay official). Merlion Park is a famous Singapore landmark and a major tourist attraction, located on the side of The Esplanade bridge, near One Fullerton, Singapore, in the Central Business District (CBD). The Merlion is a mythical creature with a lion’s head and the body of a fish that is widely used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore (Google arts and culture). The 3.2kilometre-long waterway from the mouth of Kim Seng bridge empties into Marina Bay

Top to bottom Aerial view of Fort Canning park (Source: littlestepasia)

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Map of green Infrastructure in Downtown Singapore (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

75 5.2.5 Hotels Tourism, being a large-scale industry in Singapore, in terms of job opportunities and commercial activity, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is continuously looking at potential ways to make Singapore a competitive destination. Singapore cannot be compared with other countries’ nature and touristic attractions. Unlike other countries in which the capital city provides a gateway to touristic attractions, Singapore’s tourism lies solely with ‘city tourism’. However, most of the hotels in the city-state are clustered around regions rich in cultural heritage (from the British colonization period) leaving the downtown scarce from tourism.

Singapore’s national plans for both a growing resident and visiting population are generally far-sighted and tourism infrastructure and developments are integrated into national plans which cover 10 to20-year projections (Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) 2001; Ministry of the Environment 2002; STB1996). As a result, while other cities and countries worry about the impact of mass tourism on their tourist attractions, Singapore’s concerned less about the ecological and cultural impact of mass tourism. The city-state has sustained a hotel industry that can well manage a high intake of tourist traffic, and the government is targeting a greater volume of tourist traffic.

Map of Hotels in Downtown Singapore (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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76 5.3 Focus on uses and users: The example of Suntec City In Singapore, the process of urbanisation started at the mouth of the Singapore River. The CBD with an area of 82 hectares, is meant to be the nucleus of business and entrepreneurship developed in the south of the river (The Urban Redevelopment Authority, 1995).

Through private initiatives and government land sale programs since 1967, the CBD has been developed into one of the world-class business and financial hubs by the 1980s (P. K. K Lum, 2005).

Suntec city of Singapore was commissioned and built by a private consortium in phases between 1995 and 1997 in the heart of Marina Centre Singapore. Like City Walk, Suntec is designed as a ‘city within the city’, offering a wide variety of shopping and leisure venues on a generously proportioned area with five office towers branching out from a four-storey retail podium. With a supply of 2.3 million square feet of office space, Suntec City has the critical scale to seriously rival the office space in the existing CBD at Raffles Place, which is just five minutes away by car. Despite the disadvantage in Suntec’s location and the lack of agglomeration economies, Suntec offices may take over Raffles place in the following five years.

Hosting the country’s largest convention hall, the development also comprises a family entertainment complex and exhibition centre all connected by street-level plazas, streets, walkways, and courtyards.

Located within the Central Business District, Suntec City is within walking distance from the landmark Esplanade – Theatres by the Bay and near the Marina Bay enclave. Suntec City is within a 20-minute drive from Changi International Airport. Its prime location is easily accessible by all forms of public transport, including the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and is well served by two MRT stations, the Esplanade Station, and the Promenade Station, while within walking distance to City Hall Interchange (Suntec official website).

State entrepreneurship may not be a new concept to Singapore, but the successful public-private partnership and political entrepreneurship have rather proved capable of harnessing private capital as a step towards branding and globalization.

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A home grown version of this kind of development is also seen in Dubai and discussed in detail in the Chapter 07.

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CHAPTER 06

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CHAPTER 06 6. Comparative Case study: Downtown Kuala Lumpur The desire of the Malaysian government to position its capital city Kuala Lumpur as well as its largest city as a global city has led to its modernisation. Together with its surrounding urban areas, it forms the most industrialized and economically stable region making it the fastest growing city in Malaysia. The Urban area covers an estimated 1,940 square kilometres with an estimated population of 6.6 million (2013). Among the 70 world urban areas with more than 5,000,000 population, Kuala Lumpur ranks 56th in population density, with approximately the same density as Western European urban areas in the same size classification (Cox, 2013). Located in a densely forested tropical region, the urban areas with somewhat low density have permitted the retention of substantial greenery (Cox, 2013). As a result, Kuala Lumpur appears to be among the “greenest” urban environments in the world. The greenery is especially evident in residential areas, where most housing is either detached or row house (Cox, 2013). Since the city downtown represents the city itself, we see that all new developments in the Middle East and Asia are being made based on this liberation

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of the cultural background in the respective contexts. In the last decade, The Greater Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Region (KLMR) has witnessed a rise of new residential, institutional and commercial development driven by economic and political reasons.

Location map of Downtown Kuala Lumpur (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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6.1 Location and dimension of site The development of the Kuala Lumpur Central City (KLCC) complex including the Petronas Towers, a large shopping complex, a convention centre and a 20-hectare urban park all replacing a former Turf horse racing track was a major decision for urban transformation made by the Federal government in 2009. Meant to be a “city within a city” development it features a complex interrelation of private and public sector interests forming the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s downtown core. There was a demand for premium commercial spaces, but the land had become scarce. A decade into the 2000s, the vacant plots surrounding KLCC were developed into high-rise, high-density lands allowing the construction of 50 storey buildings. The urban fabric of the downtown core drastically and rapidly changed into a forest of skyscrapers with many single-use plots being converted into mixed-use ones. The downtown region is served by an extensive network of urban expressways and urban railways, yet it primarily relies on private vehicles. In the 1980s about 35 per cent of transportation was by mass transit but in just three decades this had dropped to 10-12 per cent. Two new lines have been proposed through the core despite the declining use of public transport and it is not predictable if this trend could be reversed now. These expressways have an influence over accessibility patterns and play a significant role in the development patterns of the downtown core.

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6.2.1 Waterbody and Canals The Klang river begins in Ampang Jaya, Selangor, then deviates and runs along Ampang–Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway till the city centre. The Gombak River flows through Selangor and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. It is a tributary of the Klang River. The confluence of these 2 rivers gave rise to the name of Kuala Lumpur.

This confluence is located behind Masjid Jamek.

The post-independence era has witnessed rapid developments in Kuala Lumpur. The uncontrolled developments scarred the heritage and the natural resources specifically the rivers that were once the

Left to right Top to bottom Merdeka square, (Source: Shutterstock) River confluence, (Source: Google images) Map of Blue Infrastructure in Downtown Kuala Lumpur (Source: Author, Mariette Robin) 0

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85 lifeline of the city in the past. Kuala Lumpur has reached a point where dramatic intervention is required to reconnect the community and river. The concerned Ministry in early 2012 imposed a ROL Project for the cleaning, beautification, and development of the Kuala Lumpur River (Othman and Abdul Majid, 2018). This was proposed to orient the city back to its roots along the Klang and Gombak Rivers by rehabilitating the water quality and revamping the riverbanks with a variety of developments. The proposed master plan maximised the social and economic potential of the river by connecting, activating, regenerating, and enlivening the people in Kuala Lumpur through the waterfront (Othman and Abdul Majid, 2018).

Klang and Gombak river’s primary function today is to mitigate floods as the Malaysian climate is well known for its rains.

Therefore, flood control is vital for the city’s drainage system. The beautification strategies are vital to change the mentality of the people who have been disposing of trash into the rivers and have converted it into a huge sewerage disposal area.

The rivers would not be revived for human consumption but for daily chores and leisure activities along with flood mitigation. Due to the small dimension and size of the Gombak and Klang River, it is not suitable for water transportation mode. Also, the bridges crossing the river are too low for boats to pass through.

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86 6.2.2 Towers and skyscrapers The burgeoning rapid physical development ever since Malaysia’s rapid industrialization in the 1970s and 1980s has never seemed to recede. Kuala Lumpur has joined the fray of rapid growth competition with other cities worldwide and has witnessed an increase in the number of high–rise buildings. The use of highrise architecture has been a well-trodden symbolic path to the modern world. The skyscraper is a celebration of modern building technology, “a marker of modernity worldwide”. A supposedly positive public response to the KLCC project, therefore, is interpreted as a sign of the national will to change, to accept the

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Top to bottom Map of Skyscrapers in Downtown Singapore (Source: Author, Mariette Robin) Skyscrapers details in Downtown Singapore (Source: skyscrapers. com) Aerial view of skyscrapers in Downtown Kuala Lumpur (Source: Google Images)

Research | Comparative Case study: Downtown Kuala Lumpur

87 new, to embrace, perhaps, modernity itself (Bunnel, 1999). In pursuit of becoming the “world city image”, impressive urban image and managed skyline consequently become very vital in planning and design (Yusoff, Noor and Ghazali, 2014).

The skyscrapers are what each city is known by, be it Burj Khalifa in Dubai, Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur, or the entire complex of skyscrapers in Singapore’s downtown core. This branding was necessary to market the city on a global platform and to attract international investments. What Burj Khalifa (2010) is to Dubai, Petrona towers (1998) are to Kuala Lumpur. The list of tall towers built in Singapore before the 1990s is endless.

Petronas Towers (452-meter) in Kuala Lumpur City Centre built in 1998 and KL Tower (421 meter) in Bukit Nanas built in 1996 are two landmarks in the heart of the Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur; the iconic symbols that are synonymous with the city of Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia. These landmarks are in the most strategic commercial district and have become an important symbol of pride and achievement.

The Petronas Tower’s role in national development is not merely aesthetic but envisioning a global architecture that would mould the true Malaysian urbanity. Petronas towers promote a new sense of “viewing” among the citizens. Also, the sky bridge is symbolic of a gateway of new opportunities of the developed world, trying to bridge the gap between the first and third worlds. The architecture of Petronas tower is a powerful representation of Islam and Melayu Baru (“new Malay”), the modern Muslim, that has entered a new world of commerce and development.

KLCC itself hosts about 10 skyscrapers that are around 200-300 meters high including the Petronas towers (452 meters), four seasons palace (343 meters), IIham tower (274 meters) and Petronas towers 3 (267 meters), Felda tower (216 meters), Naza tower 1 (216 meters), Menara maxis (212 meters), the troika tower (204 meters), Citibank tower (190 meters).

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88 6.2.3 Shopping malls Suria KLCC was developed into a shopping mall in 1998 as a part of the Kuala Lumpur City Centre project and was constructed as the base for the Petronas Twin Towers. It has a total retail floor area of 140,00 sq.m. The mall overlooks the KLCC Park and Lake Symphony. Kuala Lumpur has followed the trails of Singapore in terms of public green spaces. Roberto Burle Marx who designed the space appears to have ensured the tall towers of KLCC are perfectly balanced by a 50-acre garden very close to the KLCC shopping centre. The Suria KLCC mall is curated with a combination of luxury goods, high-street labels and mid-range retail chains,

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Top to bottom Map of shopping and retail facilities in Downtown Singapore (Source: Author, Mariette Robin) Suria KLCC with Petronas towers in the backdrop (Source: Shutterstock)

Research | Comparative Case study: Downtown Kuala Lumpur

89 along with cafes and restaurants. In addition to retail spaces, the mall includes the Petrosains Science Discovery Centre and an art gallery. Shopping centres in the Kuala Lumpur region have undergone a transformation from small shops to department stores, to large shopping malls often located near expressways and interchanges.

6.2.4 Parks, Gardens and Sanctuaries Parks traditionally played a variety of roles, the most significant one being to provide an open space to unwind from city life. Over half of the KLCC is a sixty-acre landscaped public park designed by world-famous landscape artist, the late Roberto Burle Marx. He was a great admirer of natural gardening and consistently sought to recreate the illusion of nature in urban green spaces. The KLCC Park which is a large park in between the Suria Shopping Mall and the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre located within the KLCC complex comprises many features including a mosque, a children’s playground, a splash pond, bicycle paths, jogging tracks, and walking paths. It covers half of the area of the complex and was designed to be the lungs of the downtown core. It surrounds the Petronas towers with a heritage of tropical greenery making it a contrasting calm environment amid the hustle and bustle of the city.

Not only does the park provide green open space for the benefit of the public in an otherwise concrete jungle, but it also is an open space that provides opportunities for leisure and social activities, as well as showcases the Malaysian flora and fauna to the visitors.

Conservation and biodiversity were a major influence in the creation of the park. 23 of the mature and rarer specimens were saved from the old Selangor Turf Club and transplanted into the park grounds.

1900 indigenous trees and 66 species of palms were planted in the park to promote biodiversity (KLCC Tourism). The trees were deliberately selected to attract local and migratory birds. It also features a combination of natural features such as trees, shrubs, stones and wood with man-made designs such as a lake symphony in the middle of the park with an 18-metre-high water fountain.

A 4.3-metre elevated bridge that cut across the lake provides a vantage view of the park and the twin towers (KLCC Tourism). The second large green space in the downtown core is the Perdana

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90 Botanical Gardens, a recreational park that sits within the Abdul Razak heritage park near the central railway station.

Built in the year 1888, Perdana Botanical Gardens, also known as Perdana Lake Gardens, consist of Deer Park, Hibiscus Park, Orchid Parks, is Kuala Lumpur’s first large-scale recreational park with many amazing natural beauties flaunting their tropical glories within these 226 acres of land.

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Top to bottom Map of green infrastructure in Downtown Kuala Lumpur (Source: Author, Mariette Robin) Aerial photo of KLCC Park (Source: SuriaKLCC website)

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91 6.2.5 Hotels Since Kuala Lumpur is rated as an alpha city in the world and is the only global city in Malaysia, it is also certainly the centre for finance, real estate, insurance, media, and the arts of Malaysia.

Therefore, finding luxurious hotels next to the city centre becomes fundamental to accommodate as well as attract tourists from across all disciplines. The downtown proves to be an ideal location for tourists and business travellers as it hosts the world’s tallest twin towers with a luxury 5-star hotel, “The Mandarin Oriental” along with a large shopping mall attached to it.

Kuala Lumpur is home to many international groups of hotels.

Next to the twin towers is a 343-meter tall Four seasons palace in Kuala Lumpur, which again comprises of hotel, apartments, and a shopping mall. Hilton Kuala Lumpur, a 5-star business hotel, is situated in the heart of the vibrant KL Sentral area, towering 35 floors and 154m in height. Next thereto is the same building that houses a hotel of the French chain Le Meridien. The Renaissance Hotel encompasses a tributary of the Gombak River running through it. The Berjaya city district, 203 meters high, has been tagged because the world’s largest building ever inbuilt in one phase. It’s a twin tower with a hotel, condominium, indoor amusement park and a shopping centre. Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur, JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur and several other famous names also contribute to the hotel industry located in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur.

Map of Hotels in Downtown Kuala Lumpur (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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92 6.3 Focus on uses and users: The example of Central Market The area covering approximately 60.54 acres is located adjacent to the convergence of River Gombak and River Klang, where Kuala Lumpur was founded (Abidin, 2016). The neighbourhood retains the character of Kuala Lumpur‘s older urban areas even it has undergone many commercial developments over the past forty years. With housing moving further away from the downtown, the land that used to be a wet market was transformed into a more relevant mixed-use complex and came to be called the central

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Top to bottom Map of Central Market, a mixeduse development in Downtown Kuala Lumpur (Source: Author, Mariette Robin and Google earth) Kasturi Walk, a Pedestrian Street in Central Market, Kuala Lumpur.

(Source: edgeprop. com/central market and its evolving heritage)

Research | Comparative Case study: Downtown Kuala Lumpur

93 market. Despite its new use, it continues to adapt and remain as a gathering space for the older community.

Its strategic location is just a few minutes from Petaling Street and its heritage status also brings in many tourists annually. Now the central market is an iconic attraction and landmark for Malaysian heritage. Its easy accessibility to public transportation and ability to foster a greater appreciation for racial tolerance and integration make it a huge success among younger generations as well. It has a pedestrian-only area that is now covered with a roof and consists of 55 units of kiosks selling arts with Malay concepts, handicrafts, apparel, food and beverages much like a City Walk in Dubai.

Rapid urban development in the neighbourhood has brought about housing decline as many dwellings are converted into commercial uses. There are only a few members of existing communities who are still living in shophouses within the neighbourhood. Despite this, the government has taken the initiative to redevelop and regenerate dilapidated areas and privatise the project to attract people and investment into the neighbourhood.

An emerging model of this kind of development is also seen in Dubai and discussed in detail in the Chapter 7.1.

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CHAPTER 07

7. Emerging Urban models in Dubai Al Wasl is located in the western part of Dubai, bordered to the north by Jumeirah, Business Bay to the south, Al Safa to the west and Al Satwa to the east. Flanking Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Wasl, a shopping district prioritising high-end brands is hosts upscale malls such as City Walk, Mazaya Shopping Centre, Galleria Mall and Boxpark. Al Wasl was one of the traditional neighbourhoods which has been transformed into a long stretch of posh villas, indie boutiques, gourmet bakeries and elegant cafes, while big-name rock concerts and international sporting events are held at the circular Coca-Cola Arena. Since its founding in 2007, the Meraas group has developed projects in several sectors.

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Location map of emerging urban models, City Walk and Boxpark with reference to Downtown Dubai (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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96 7.1 City Walk While we have talked about urban models being circulated from other contexts into Dubai, City Walk was a first of its kind built in Dubai adaptive to the context and then circulated to other cities.

City Walk is a relatively new public development in the Al Safa district. It has become one of the well renowned and popular destinations because of its location in the city centre. The beachside Jumeirah district was regenerated into a three-phase mixed-use development that has urban infill on previously vacant land close to downtown Dubai district and under the shadow of City Walk is an ideal example of how urban models are circulated from Dubai.

Focus on uses and users: The report of the site visit City Walk lies towards the north-western side of main Safa street which leads directly to Downtown Dubai and Dubai Mall. The development is about 12 hectares the area featuring a walkable, car-free urban space along with sections for outlets, retail shops, restaurants, cafes and entertainment. City Walk development is the first of its kind that engages people into many walkable and social practices along with cultural, health, shopping and entertainment striving to be sustainable. It is a mixed-use space combining residential and commercial activities into the site and comprises the vehicle-dependent part of this development. Unique landscaping and furnishing can be observed throughout the development that helps enhance the visitor’s experience and to encourage outdoor activities. It is a medium-size development in comparison to Downtown Dubai beside it with a diversity of land uses. The picture above indicates the land use in City Walk comprising the commercial, entertainment, residential and mixed-use spaces. The development also has scope for additional green spaces in the empty land pockets surrounding it. This could be another public magnet for its users as well as pedestrians from the adjacent streets.

Dubai’s heat only allows one to visit public spaces like City Walk when the sun has begun to set. So even our site visit was carried out at 5.30 PM in mid-July. Located on Safa Road between Al Wasl Road and Sheikh Zayed Road at the Dubai Mall interchange, the City Walk could be a 15-minute walk from the Burj Khalifa metro

Research | Emerging Urban models in Dubai

97 station. While traversing through the Dubai mall interchange, one can spot a solo cylindrical entity standing in solitary on a large parking field which is the Coca-Cola arena (see image 1). A series of low-rise apartments run parallel to the arena adorned by European-style pedestrian boulevards, which trees lined on one side of the walkways (see images 11, 14). While vehicular access

Top to bottom Map indicating built space in City Walk, Dubai (Source: Author, Mariette Robin) Site study map of City Walk, Dubai (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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98 is restricted to the Coca-Cola arena and the apartments, all the paved pedestrian pathways converge in the central zone that is specifically designed for eateries and leisure activities and hosts an elaborate framework of lights that are lit up in the evenings.

City Walk is Dubai’s recent urban addition to regenerate the heart of the city and is spread across more than 900,000 square meters while accommodating retail stores, entertainment, apartments, hotels, restaurants, cafes and much more in the shadow of Burj Khalifa. The tree-lined avenues and stunning collection of contemporary street art murals make walks in the vicinity an absolute delight in the evenings. This part of the City Walk is more like a city-level community centre that is completely restricted of vehicular access.

Facing the Al Safa road is a shopping mall, flanked by high-end boutiques and cafes with boulevards underneath a glass roof immersed in natural lighting but with subtle air-conditioning. The internal tree-lined streets are typical of Dubai’s glossy malls, and the external streets are pastiche London architecture, having sash windows and British street furniture. The outdoor spaces have been beautifully designed with boulevards, wide streets that wind down into small plazas surrounded by cafes, restaurants, and boutiques.

Some pathways have experimented with different types of roof shading systems that slightly pacifies the harsh weather (see images 8, 9, 17). The cobbled streets are themed with architectural styles from western countries just like the small public plaza with the famous English iconic photobooth teleports the visitors to the old English urbanscape (see image 13).

The development includes a novel water feature moreover has a children’s play area that may be transformed into a venue for concerts, weekly markets, or exhibitions (see image 18 and 19).

Around 1800 basement parking spaces are adding to convenience for the users of the destination. The nights are spectacular as the City Walk is lit up with millions of lights weaved in different colours and shades with stereos playing pleasant music, hence making it a vibrant destination for every age group to visit throughout the year.

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Top to bottom left to right Image key of site visit 1. Coca cola Arena 2. Street leading to the arena 3. Adjacent street 4. Street from the residences 5. City Walk from the main road 6. Entrance to show street 7. Drop off and pedestrian walkway 8. Interior shaded walkway (Source: Yadu Krishnan)

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Top to bottom left to right Image key of site visit 9. Show street 10. Place des lumieres 11. Pedestrian walkway 12. Street facade 13. Small plaza 14. Small plaza 15. Secret cafe 16. one of the street kiosks (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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Top to bottom left to right Image key of site visit 17. Shaded plaza 18. Waterbody within the campus 19. Garden and public plaza 20. Residential areain City Walk (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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102 City Walk Circulated City Walk, Dubai Built in 2016 City Walk, Dubai’s emerging model and well adapted to the context was the beginning of a retail trend across its neighbourhood cities. Designed to make a comfortable experience for its users all year round, it instantly gained popularity amongst developers of similar contexts.

Ajdan Walk, Al Khobar Designed to cater to Saudi’s culture and context, Ajdan walk built in 2019 by Benoy across 15,120 m2 appears to have taken inspiration from City Walk Dubai, though not officially claimed.

Similar to City Walk Dubai, the project creates a cultural relevance through design, featuring carefully curated landscaping and seamless pedestrian flow, and engages both residents and visitors.

U Walk, Riyadh The U walk complex is yet another open retail space stretching across a 900 meter long walkway built in Riyadh in 2021. With rows of open spaces combined with a relaxing atmosphere, the complex seems well adapted to its context and provides a comfortable experience to its users which is the ultimate motive of these pedestrian prioritised complexes.

Zawaya Walk, Sharjah This project involves construction of a new shopping mall in Sharjah.

It is one of the biggest ongoing development projects since 2018 in the Emirate of Sharjah, ZAWAYA is designed to become the next family destination with a big variety of shopping destinations and restaurants. The smart upscale mall will feature a mix of modern refreshment environment and suites with culturally-conscious design elements.

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Top to bottom City Walk, Dubai built in 2016 (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar) Ajdan Walk, Al Khobar built in 2019 (Source: Official website) U Walk, Riyadh built in 2021 (Source: Official Website) Zawaya walk is an ongoing project since 2018 (Source: JD design studio)

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104 7.2 Boxpark Developed by Meraas, Boxpark is a unique destination in Dubai that is exclusively made from containers placed, stacked, and juxtaposed with each other to build a quirky new tourist destination on the high living street of Jumeirah. It is believed that the idea of a high street pop mall came from London, UK. London hosts 3 successful Boxparks which have been a stimulus for various emerging cities across the world to adapt the Boxpark concept. The Boxpark in Dubai is spread on the two-kilometre stretch of the Al Wasl Road, ideally located next to the new Dubai Canal leisure destination.

Boxpark is a stark contrast to the city’s familiar malls. The old residential neighbourhood where the Boxpark is built-in has been slowly transforming into a strong retail district. The regeneration has the potential of encouraging start-ups meanwhile giving the whole area a new pizzazz.

Map indicating built space in Boxpark, Dubai (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

Research | Emerging Urban models in Dubai

105 There was a demand to have a quick-to-build and easy-to-operate informal shopping and activity destination to pull in a young, millennial crowd. The neighbourhood solution is circulated from several cosmopolitan cities, where 220 shipping containers are put together to form a one of a kind destination. This leisure destination comprises an area where Shipping containers are stacked together to form stores and restaurants and supplemented with precast concrete structures. These modified and insulated containers allow for a smaller store footprint of the outlets they house. In addition to shopping and leisure, Boxpark offers its visitors some valuable services such as 210 free parking spaces which are available directly in front of the shops. In addition to these facilities, with playgrounds for children and shaded resting areas around them, Boxpark seems to be an age-inclusive destination that is extremely successful. With multiple popular brands selecting Boxparks to gain traction, Dubai rests its confidence in this next concept.

During the last decade, the city experienced a revival of the old souk concept. Brought down to the human scale, the spectacle is being redefined with the introduction of various new materials, utilization of digital technologies that transform the building surfaces to interactive ones which aim at engaging society. Modular construction was able to achieve this success as it is one of the construction methods which became popular due to its relatively low cost, time and labour, textures, layers, and colours replaced ornamentation and fully air-conditioned spaces replace the passive performance of traditional architectural spaces. Learning from its past experiences it can be assumed that this evolution is not stopping soon and there is still more to watch as Dubai through import, export and circulation of ideas and solutions offers more to the built environment.

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106 Focus on uses and users: The report of the site visit Along the same road as the City Walk and towards the southwest on the Al Safa road is this colourful urban infill project. Our visit to the destination left us with the impression that Boxpark attracts crowds from younger who belong to the upper-middle class who come here to unwind. It runs a stretch of about 1.2 kilometres covering 3 urban blocks commencing at the Emraat gas station and concluding near a block of low-rise structures. It is high street retail, outdoor dining, and entertainment destination in a hip and modern setting. It is a fine example of contemporary architecture with the aesthetic of shipping containers. The industrial character dominates throughout the container system which is adorned with a vibrant lighting system.

Street vendors and stores have been part of the retail and urban fabric of many cities across the globe. Pop-up shops are usually retail stores that operate for short periods, something that came to be known for its ability to adapt to the rapidly evolving retail industry. This comparative research on Boxparks outlines the origins

Site study map of Boxpark, Dubai (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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Boxpark, Dubai layout details (Source: Official website Boxpark)

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and nature of these stores.

The most convenient mode of transportation to access this development was through a private vehicle with little or no access to public transportation. Because of this one lane of parking runs parallel to the stretch (see image 3) apart from a dedicated parking space provided in the middle of it. A recent installation of structures providing shade receives the user throughout the stretch of Boxpark (see image 1). But contradictingly the plazas of the development remain unshaded in spite of having urban furniture and stand alone scanty trees (see image 2, 4 and 6) What seems to be dull and unpopular during the day changes completely as the sun sets. The colourful lights focused on the structures with the setting sun in the background (see image 7 and 8) attracts more dusktime visitors. In these peak hours, the service lane running parallel to the parking lane eases some of the traffic on the Al Wasl road (see image 3 and 5).

Research | Emerging Urban models in Dubai

A vibrant and crowded Boxpark (Source: Meraas website)

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Top to bottom left to right Image key of site visit 1. Shaded walkways on some stretches of the development 2. Plaza with the barrier that seperates Boxpark from the residential buildings 3. Parking running parallel to the stretch 4. Unshaded open air plaza with Urban furniture 5. The development lies in Al Wasl. Seen here is the service road that gives access to the parking 6. Boxpark Plaza in the third segment 7. Pedestrian and bike paths accessing the development 8. Nightime lighting of the containers (Source: Arjun Mani)

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Boxpark Circulated Puma City, Multiple global Ports (2008 onwards) Boxparks across the globe might have been a trend started by the first one in London but the concept of using shipping containers for retailing for the first time was by the firm LOT-EK architects for their client Puma. The containers were reclaimed from the waterfront in Boston to develop an Incredibly dynamic public space design that is both flexible and eco-friendly. At 11,000 square feet of space, it is the first container building of its scale to be truly mobile, an experimental one that takes full advantage of the global shipping network already in place. The structure is comprised of two full retail spaces on the lower levels, both designed with large double-height ceilings and 4-container-wide open spaces – as a counterpoint to the modular box quality of the container inner space (Container homes website). The second level houses offices, press area and storage, while a bar, lounge and event space with a large open terrace is placed at the top (PUMA city official). Made of twenty-four shipping containers, the building was disassembled and reassembled several times at different international ports to retrofit and transform into a transportable retail and event building.

Boxpark, London (2011 onwards) In an attempt to develop the world’s first pop-up mall, Roger Wade a UK-based entrepreneur opened Boxpark made entirely from refitted shipping containers in London. Sprouting from an idea he had at a German trade show, it was launched with a vision to support young businesses in a fast-changing sector. The concept gained popularity within a short time and just five years after opening Boxpark Shoreditch in 2011, Boxpark Croydon was opened followed by Boxpark Wembley in 2018. What started as a place to just shop eventually evolved into a leisure destination for food and lifestyle. Boxpark Wembley exhibits this evolution hosting vendors for food and drinks as well as a large space to host concerts, conferences and sports screenings.

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Top to bottom Puma city, built across multiple global ports and for the first time in 2008 (Source: Google images) Boxpark, London (Shoreditch) built in 2011 (Source: Official website) Boxpark, London (Croyden) built in 2016 (Source: Official website)

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Boxpark, Dubai (2011) As mentioned in detail before, Boxpark Dubai, developed in the same year as the first one in London, could be difficult to say which city circulated the concept from which city. But Boxpark Shoreditch claims to be the first one with many articles crediting them. There is a possibility that both simply took inspiration from Puma city.

Boxpark, Seoul (2018) Inspired by the success of the Boxpark in London, the mayor of Seoul, Kolon industry and the Seoul business agency signed a business agreement to establish one in Seoul as well. This Boxpark in Kolon common ground near the Konkuk industry is the world’s largest container mall housed in the garage of Daehan taxi. They plan on building these kinds of retail stores in multiple unused lands in underdeveloped regions bringing together smaller brands and popular restaurants to rejuvenate local commercial areas. While the business agency offers financial support to the project, the government offers administrative support and land and the Kolon industry supplies the shipping containers and support for marketing and distribution.

Boxpark, Doha (2021) When it comes to the most picturesque of all Boxparks, the one in Doha ticks all the boxes. Opened in March 2021, the development is filled with colourful repurposed shipping containers overlooking the sea. The project features cafes and retail stores in an extremely appealing setting making it the most evolved version of Boxparks comparatively.

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Top to bottom Boxpark, Dubai built in 2011 by Meraas developers (Source: Official Website) Boxpark, Seoul builtin 2018 by Partnership between Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Kolon Industry and the Seoul Business Agency (Source: Official website) Boxpark Doha built in 2021 (Source: Google images)

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ANALYSIS 115

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CHAPTER 08 8. Urban Design and User analysis 8.1 The literature review Public open spaces play the role of cultural landscapes that manifest vigorous bonds of people and place. A public open space rooted in sociability is a place for publicness and representation. Socializing in public open spaces is important in promoting the interplay among all classes of urban citizens whereas it reduces conflicts, avoidance behavior, ignorance, and segregation.

As William H. Whyte discussed in his book “The social life of small urban spaces” investigated the curious dynamics of urban spaces by observing parks, plazas and various informal recreational spaces.

The book culminates on why some city spaces work for people while others don’t. Similarly Mathew Carmona’s work on the classification of public spaces as explained in his book “Public spaces Urban spaces: The dimensions of urban design” (2003, pg-43) enabled to note down predominant types of public spaces to support our research.

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Public spaces are like the living rooms of our city. When the community gets involved in shaping the use of public spaces, they come alive as vibrant and delightful places for people to linger, bond and interact with one another. This also strengthens our sense of ownership, identity, and emotional connection to the area, while ensuring a more livable environment and enhancing our quality of life.

“Public space in cities is a common good, meant to be open, inclusive and democratic, a fundamental human right for everybody” (Bravo, 2016) (Bravo, The Journal of Public Space, Founder & Editor in Chief, 2016)

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118 Public open spaces create the basis of public life and prepare people’s needs for their socio-cultural activities, rituals, social interactions, and joy. As explained in the book “Needs in public space” / journal – urban design reader, public spaces can be classified into eleven kinds: Public parks, squares and plazas, memorials, markets, streets, playgrounds, community open spaces, greenways and parkways, atrium/indoor marketplaces, found spaces or everyday spaces and waterfronts.

With a different viewpoint, Gehl had listed public open spaces into five categories: Main city square; recreational square; promenade; traffic square; and monumental square.

From a sociological perspective, public open spaces are dividable based on the way people socially engage themselves with the public open spaces or perceive these places, proposed the five following types: 1. Everyday places within the range of neighbourhood communal spaces, which cover much of the public realm and daily places of interaction.

2. Places of meaning vary from person to person and concern specific relations and connotations associated with particularly positive and negative places.

3. Social environments that actively cause social relations among the users. Their design and uses bring about relations that might be brief or meaningful.

4. Places of retreat clear the way for some people to be alone or to communicate within their small groups of friends.

5. Negative spaces where some groups face different facets of disorderly manners such as racism and troublesome behaviour that are often threatening.

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Illustration to summarize what makes a great public space.

(Source: twitter)

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120 Recent trends in contemporary public spaces Privately owned public spaces (POPS)

Excessive commercialization has struck public spaces everywhere. The trend of overcommercialization is apparent in the design of retail kiosks and storefronts in and around public spaces. When a square is bordered by chain franchises that don’t respect the local context, it sends a signal that the space no longer represents the surrounding community. The best public spaces provide their users with a sense of ownership and identity. But if your local park or square is surrounded by generic franchise architecture and aggressive commercial signage, the place becomes less distinctive and its users feel no personal connection to it. Hence this jeopardizes the quality and quantity of the public spaces.

Analysis | Urban Design and User analysis

of Public spaces

Privatization Commercialization

Although public spaces are considered open for all cross-sections of populations, the boundaries of publicly accessible contemporary public spaces are shifting.

The privatization of spaces has introduced a desire to incorporate the control, redesigning, limiting, and policing of public open spaces. Public spaces have always gone hand in hand with commerce.

Markets, vendors, and retailers are essential components of many public spaces. But when does vibrant economic activity cross the line and become crass commercialization is an important element to observe.

121 8.1.1 The demands of human scale for public spaces 1. Sense of Place A place for experiencing and celebrating a shared sense of society utilized by a vast spectrum of users is known as a public space. This contributes to the identity of a community and serves as a symbol of civic pride. Users must be able to have close contact with the environment and feel a sense of belonging in public spaces.

2. Understand the Needs in Public Open Spaces A successful public space should target addressing people’s needs, as different people fill in the public spaces at different hours of the day for varying reasons.

The spaces should focus on striking a balance between people’s lives, allowing escaping from the hustle and bustle of the tiring urban contexts. It would be ideal for the location to provide its users’ groups comfort, relaxation, passive engagement with the environment, active engagement with the environment and discovery of oneself.

3. Responsive Public Open Spaces Responsive public open spaces make people understand where they should go and where they should not go and understand the opportunities the place provides. This increases the spectrum of available uses and makes a responsive public open space more flexible for multiple purposes. Overall, a responsive place should be clean, permeable, possessing varieties, legible, robust, visually appropriate, rich, and personalized.

Diagram for illustrating the demands of human scale for public spaces (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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4. Comfort and security Comfort and security are vital for creating a convivial public space. It is measured by the length of time people spend in public open spaces. The sense of comfort is also dependent on environmental factors, physical comfort, social comfort and psychological comfort. And the sense of security is felt by the users when one’s person and possessions are not vulnerable.

5. Accessibility Public spaces should be accessible to everyone regardless of their dwelling, physical capabilities or financial possessions. Also, people tend to be more enthusiastic to use the public spaces that are near their homes and workplaces. Maximizing access to a public space should be a vital element in public realm planning as the location and design of public spaces play a significant role in bringing people together.

6. Natural elements The use of green spaces improves people’s health and place satisfaction and persuades them to participate in physical and social activities. The use of local plants, water elements, diverse colours and objects around gathering points create more attractive and securer public open spaces.

Diagram for illustrating the demands of human scale for public spaces (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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123 7. Activity responsiveness Public space should provide strategies to integrate different social events, diverse daily and seasonal activities. Active activities ensure the vibrancy of public open spaces, make them conducive to providing new place experiences, increase people’s presence, and strengthen social interactions in such spaces. These activities encompass jogging, recreation, gathering, sports, competitions, and other physical involvements. In contrast, passive activities, such as hearing, resting, looking, meeting, and other activities of this sort, create peace of mind without direct engagement with public open spaces.

8. Social responsiveness A socially responsive public space is where people can observe, meet friends, and interact among different groups of people. Social activities impose an impact on people’s place satisfaction and assist in creating a responsive public space. Social activities involve designing different focal and gathering places, seating spaces, eating facilities, multifunctional kiosks and special hobbies such as street shows, public arts and sports competitions that enhances the social responsiveness of public open spaces.

9. The conviviality of the spaces

Diagram for illustrating the demands of human scale for public spaces (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

Public spaces tend to become attractive when it provides a variety of services, user interests, and social infrastructures that acts as catalysts for fostering social activities. The attractiveness of public open space is not only from the traits of appropriate urban forms, but also from the dynamism of activities, daily interaction, and users communal experiences. The most notable trait of a successful public open space is its capacity to welcome the most diverse spectrum of social activities that tally with the needs of different groups of society.

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124 8.1.2 The potentialities of urban design for walkability As stated by Jamei, Ahmadi and few other scholars (2021) in their research “Urban design and walkability: Lessons learnt from Iranian traditional cities. Sustainability”, Walkability is defined as the extent to which the built environment supports and encourages walking through providing safety, and high level of accessibility and connectivity to destinations, and visual interest within a reasonable span of time”.

1. Influence of design on walkability Studies show that the quality of public spaces is more important than their numbers or sizes in promoting walkability. High-quality public spaces were identified as the most important contributing factor in the social life of people and, therefore, in increasing the walkability rate in the neighbourhoods. The use, access, frequency of use by people and the strategic location of each public space in a neighbourhood affects the quality and attractiveness of public spaces, and people’s motivation to walk.

2. Influence of urban density on walkability The higher densities in urban areas lead to revitalization and liveliness of communities and increase the tendency towards choosing walking over other means of transportation means. Density is a key concept in urban design and planning. Referring to the planning proposals of Le Corbusier, such as Ville Contemporaine (Contemporary City) in 1922 and the Plan Voisin in 1925, high density was one of the fundamental principles in creating walkable cities.

3. Street Connectivity and walkability Connectivity of path network correlates with street patterns.

The street pattern is associated with block size. When block size becomes smaller, the urban structure becomes finer and better connected with many intersections. Short blocks enhance connectivity by offering additional opportunities to turn corners and alternative path choices to walk. The walkability of the built

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Diagram for illustrating the characterisitcs of a walkable area (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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126 environment is enhanced if the pedestrian network is connected to public transportation modes. Moreover, if destinations within walking distance are well connected, then people will be encouraged to walk rather than drive.

4. Effects of the streetscape on walkability In addition to street connectivity, the streetscape also play important role in encouraging walkability in cities. The experience of walking down a street is directly dependent on the micro environment of the street itself. The street trees and leaf area index block the sight and mitigate the scale of buildings and wide streets, thereby further enhancing the built environment for pedestrians.

5. Safety and comfort Pedestrian safety can be considered the most advanced and implicit feature of walkability. Walking trips are enhanced by safer places protecting their users from the dangers of crime and traffic.

A comfortable place is an environment where the form and the capacity of streets and public spaces match the pattern of human behaviours, providing a sense of ease and enabling a feeling of personal safety.

6. Convenient, engaging and vibrant A convenient and vibrant location with clear image, legibility, easy to understand, providing a sense of being near-at-hand with visual cues and physical directness to a pedestrian’s most essential need.

It is equally important for the walk to be engaging as a visually rich aesthetic setting with interrelated parts, providing a sense of contentment and enabling both formal and informal forms of social exchange. Several contributing factors lead to the positive experiences along a street from the treatment of building facades, spacing of trees, lighting, quality of benches and cafe space on wide sidewalks that lead to an area pulsating with life, vigor and activity.

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127 8.2 The international case studies: The circulation of public and pedestrian spaces As quoted by Jan Gehl “Throughout history, contact with other people in public spaces has been a very important part of the way we live as human beings, and it still is. If anything, with longer life spans, smaller families, and more leisure time, there is a strong tendency that we will use good quality public spaces more intensively”. Today, a great city is not only defined by good urban plans and architecture, but also by the vibrancy of its public spaces.

Public places are where people come together to interact, to build trust and to build a comfort level, and this is, I think, something that is key in our effort to build a harmonious society and in achieving the objective of our nation-building.

In chapter 9 and 10 it has been discussed how Dubai has circulated urban models from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur for urban interventions and large-scale mixed-use developments. This chapter focuses on the import of public spaces and walkability, which has gained greater prominence in cities throughout the world in recent years. While Kuala Lumpur’s city centre (KLCC) has been more accurately adapted in terms of design and planning of the urban development, Singapore’s planning initiatives are adapted for policy planning in Dubai.

Kuala Lumpur is a perfect example of a city that has undergone a transformation in public spaces in terms of both urban policy and practice. the concept of public open spaces has undergone a sort of reformulation. A reformulation of the idea of public spaces can be witnessed in Kuala Lumpur’s old city centre. In the era of colonization, public open spaces underwent tangible changes to the extent that traditional design criteria were left obsolete and neglected by the societies of designers. Whereas in the contemporary period with the emphasis on tourist attraction, social interaction has been pulled into the atrium, theme parks, and shopping malls (Goh et al., 1990; Ahmad, 1998). KLCC presents a new era of evolved public spaces that focuses on attracting public users more for commercial activities along with leisure.

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128 KLCC park was designed to showcase a heritage of tropical greenery by integrating man’s creation with nature. The Park itself contrasts as a calm environment in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city. The Park features many combinations of manmade interventions such as concrete statues, water bodies and also nature-based interventions such as trees, shrubs, stones and wood. The provision of a huge green lung, now known as KLCC Park within KLCC Development is to preserve the quality of life in Kuala Lumpur and to mitigate the creation of a concrete jungle. The KLCC Park was a visible manifestation of the Government’s efforts then, towards a Garden City. In many respects, the KLCC Park is very much a People’s Park. By virtue of its location, and fed by various transformation modes, it is easily accessible to city dwellers.

There is something in the park for everyone. For those seeking respite from the stress of city life, the beautifully landscaped verdant gardens provide a haven of tranquillity. But it is also a fun place, with the children’s adventure playground and a specially designed fountain pool to enchant and enthral the senses. Above all, it is a place that Malaysians can proudly call their own, in a worldclass property development that will stand as an icon of the new millennium.

While Kuala Lumpur is majorly an automobile dependant city, KLCC is one of the urban scale developments that is equipped with sufficient pedestrian walkways that invite and encourage more people to walk. The city centre of Kuala Lumpur has various public transport networks to connect people to a destination and all the locations are easily accessible on foot. However, the average walkable distances depend on several factors such as the harsh climate, safety, security, and comfort. Taking these points into design consideration, elevated air-conditioned walkways connecting KLCC, and Pavilion KL have been built to provide comfortable walkability between these destinations.

The Public Redevelopment Authority of Singapore aims to make Singapore a great city to live, work and play as the importance of public spaces is even more pertinent because of the cosmopolitan and multiracial nature of its society. The authorities have introduced

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Top to bottom KLCC park and campus aerial view (Source: klcciconic.com) KLCC park master plan (Source: rearchitecture.com/klcc) KLCC park plan (Source: junipersjournal. com)

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130 initiatives such as the “Lively places programme” a joint effort

by URA Urban Redevelopment Authority and HDB Housing and Development board to support community-led efforts in enlivening Singapore’s public spaces. A few examples of the vibrant public spaces in Singapore are Boat Quay, Chinatown, Little India and Orchard Road.

Singapore’s development of pedestrian infrastructure has been excellent. Pedestrian sidewalks are ubiquitous all around the city with adequate street lighting and segregation from traffic. Motorists are law-abiding and traffic safety for pedestrians is reasonably good. The pedestrian system is well-maintained. Even for the final tier of walking needs, the beautiful tree-lined streets of Singapore are a testament to her efforts to make the pedestrian experience better both visually and for the practical purpose of shading from the tropical sunshine. Yet despite Singapore’s efforts to improve the walking environment, the perennial complaints from people are that Singapore is too hot to walk around, be it for commuting or for leisure. Elevated air-conditioned walkways, underground ventilated walkways have been a few solutions to address the issues regarding walkability in Singapore.

Similarly, the Dubai climate is a key aspect that will need to be addressed to enhance the pedestrian experience as Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has lavishly spent on constructing sidewalks, pedestrian walkways and recent initiatives to add bike lanes at certain locations of the city. A thorough analysis is carried out in the following topics of this research to analyse and understand the resemblance of policies and designs that have moulded the public spaces and pedestrian experience in Dubai’s downtown. However, while Dubai downtown is believed to be an adaption of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur’s urban models, City Walk, and Boxpark could be claimed as an evolved experiment of public spaces that focuses more on the improved pedestrian experience. City Walk is an indigenous idea whereas Boxpark is an international theme public realm that has been circulated across countries.

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Top to bottom The vibrancy of China town, Singapore (Source: visitSingapore. com) Orchard road, Singapore (Source: flickr.com) The Helix bridge, Singapore (Source: archdaily)

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Image from Pixabay, edited by Mariette Robin

133 8.3 The focus on Dubai: The quality analysis of public and pedestrian spaces

8.3.1 Dubai Downtown

Axonometric introductory illustration of Downtown Dubai (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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134 Built space analysis The built space analysis is to understand the density of buildings in Dubai downtown in comparison to its context. Despite the downtown being one of the largest neighbourhood in this district of Dubai, it is sparsely populated with buildings comprising of mixed-use towers, residentials towers, hotels, commercial buildings such as Dubai mall and Souq al Bahar. The core of the downtown comprising of Burj Khalifa, Opera, Dubai mall and Souq al Bahar is a sparsely designed urban block in comparison to the urban blocks accommodating residential and mixed-use towers next to it. The study also indicates that Dubai mall occupies the largest footprint in the neighbourhood, which illustrates to attract and accommodate more number of visitors that other built spaces in the locality.

Built space analysis, Downtown Dubai (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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135 Open space analysis The open space analysis is to understand the ratio of built spaces of Downtown in comparison to its context. Downtown is a carefully designed neighbourhood that caters to the needs of its user groups by providing various types of public spaces.

The largest urban block marks the core of Downtown comprising of Burj Khalifa, Opera, Dubai mall, Souq al Bahar along with a large water body with the famous Burj fountain, Burj park, Burj plaza, Dubai opera plaza and an exclusive garden around the Burj Khalifa. The water body is the largest (open space) feature in downtown which attracts public gatherings and activities around it.

The urban blocks accommodating residential and mixed-use towers are designed with ample public and green spaces, hence making it a balanced composition of built vs open spaces.

Open space analysis, Downtown Dubai (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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136 Functional analysis Functions of each urban block is studied to have a general understanding of the composition of downtown activities. While Dubai downtown accommodates the tallest tower and the largest shopping mall in the prominent urban block, it is surrounded by mixed-use developments which accommodates a good percent of its user group.

Functional analysis, Downtown Dubai (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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137 Mobility Infrastructure analysis Mobility infrastructure analysis indicates the major highway connections to the downtown along with the primary and secondary vehicular access as Dubai is a major car dependent city. With a dedicated metro station for the downtown, Dubai mall and the Address hotel can be reached by a footbridge from the metro station. While Dubai trolley was an initiative to improve the commute along the perimeter of the downtown core, which has been put on a halt for unknown reasons. The downtown core is strictly designed to prohibit vehicular access in order to promote pedestrian, cycling and other public activities. Meanwhile, huge pedestrian pathways on either side of the downtown ring road have been recently improved to accommodate lanes for bicycle users which could be a starting point for improved design of pathways dedicated for cars, public transport, pedestrian users and for activities that help to create a public realm.

Mobility infrastructure analysis, Downtown Dubai (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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Observations made in Dubai Downtown (Pros)

(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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Observations made in Dubai Downtown (Cons)

(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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Image by Sneha S Kumar, edited by Mariette Robin

147 8.3.2 City Walk

Axonometric introductory illustration of City Walk (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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148 Built space analysis The built space analysis is to understand the density of infrastructure in the recently constructed City Walk in comparison with contextual developments. City Walk is an experimental mixed-use development with dedicated zones for residential zone and areas that provide leisure, commercial services to its residents, visitors and tourists. The equally spaced buildings arranged in parallel to the sheikh Zayed road comprises of the residential activities whereas the structures with larger foot print accommodates the commercial activities and the large elliptical arena is a major entertainment attraction.

Built space analysis, City Walk (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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149 Open space analysis The above indicated analysis helps understand the ratio of built vs open spaces in the City Walk development. While the residential block has been characteristically designed with smaller footprints with adequate spill over spaces in between them, the commercial/ leisure block has been carefully designed with open plazas, semiopen plazas, promenades, and covered shopping areas.

The open spaces are designed along the axes to get a view of the Burj Khalifa from any point within City Walk and generates more wind flow along the pathways thus generating an essence of traditional arab architecture. Meanwhile, each plaza in City Walk has been designed with distinguished elements such as green parks, water bodies, creative water fountain and shading devices. Ample open space has been provided around the coca-cola arena as it is expected to accommodate large crowds for events throughout the year.

Open space analysis, City Walk (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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150 Functional analysis Functions of each urban block ir stuies to have a genral understanding of the composition of activites in the City Walk.

While Dubai downtown accomodates the tallest tower and the largest shopping mall in its most prominent urban block, it is supplmented with a mixed-use developemnt tha accomodates a considerable perrcent of its user-groups.

Functional analysis, City Walk (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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151 Mobility infrastructure analysis Mobility infrastructure analysis indicates the major highway connections to the City Walk along with the primary and secondary vehicular access as Dubai is a major car dependent city. City Walk is 30 minutes away by foot from the Dubai mall metro station. It can also be reached by RTA buses that runs along the primary roads.

While the residential zone can be accessed by the private cars, the commercial and leisure block of City Walk is strictly prohibited of any vehicular access. Well-designed huge pedestrian pathways can be observed on either side of the road connecting the end of residential zone. Also, the spillover spaces between the buildings only encourage pedestrian activities.

Mobility infrastructure analysis, City Walk (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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City Walk

Observations made in City Walk (Pros)

(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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City Walk

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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City Walk

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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City Walk

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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City Walk

Observations made in City Walk (Cons)

(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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City Walk

158

(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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Image Sourced from Google and edited

by Mariette Robin

160 8.3.3 Boxpark

Axonometric introductory illustration of Boxpark (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

Analysis | Urban Design and User analysis

161 Built space analysis The built space analysis is to understand the composition of temporary structures with that of the permanent structures. The profile of Boxpark corresponds to the structures in the vicinity. The unevenness and projections of built mass in Boxpark fuses with the residential buildings profile generally observed in Al Wasl area.

Meanwhile it helps understand the density of infrastructure in the neighbourhood.

Built space analysis, Boxpark (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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162 Open space analysis The open space analysis is to understand the distribution of spaces in each block and the entire area. The built mass on either side of Al Wasl road has a similar grain of built versus open massing. It is moderately dense with small independent structures. Similarly, Boxpark has been designed with a balance of built and open spaces that corresponds to the surrounding.

Open space analysis, Boxpark (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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163 Functional Analysis The areas indicated in red within the site boundary is the Boxpark development. Boxpark is a unique entity that is physically and visually separated from the permanent residential and commercial structures situated behind it (indicated in grey). In this map, the red stands for the temporary structures of Boxpark that is made out of shipping containers and the buildings in grey are residential villas.

Functional analysis, Boxpark (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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164 Mobility Infrastructure analysis Since Boxpark is situated on the Jumeirah road, it is easily accessed by private vehicles. Since Boxpark is further away from City Walk, it can be reached by RTA buses than metro. While the Boxpark provides car-parking facilities, the entire stretch is pedestrian ad cycle friendly.

Mobility infrastructure analysis, Boxpark (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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Observations made in Boxpark (Pros)

(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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Observations made in Boxpark (Cons)

(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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172 8.4 The outcomes of the comparative analysis: Public survey and user perspective The research phase helped us understand the importance of the presence and utilisation of public spaces towards the branding of a city and its popularity amongst the people. Our previous analyses demonstrated the presence and underutilisation of the said public spaces which is scarce. Since it was possible to visit our primary case, Dubai and observe the users presence, it was necessary for us to conduct an online survey to collect similar user data for our secondary cases, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. In October 2021 we created an online form and circulated it through social media, friends and acquaintances to about 40-45 responses for each of the three cities. The responses included city residents as well as frequent flyers.

The online form was structured in a simple and easy to answer format with multiple choices for the subjects to choose from. The first couple of questions determined the age and the city experienced by the subject and they were redirected to relevant questions about the selected city. The next part consisted of three sections, the first part focused questions on the public spaces mentioned in this research and their popularity among our subjects. The second part focused on the accessibility to these spaces and the mode of transportation used. The final part consisted of space for suggestions and improvements the subjects would like to see in the near future.

This research was conducted to verify and analyse if the public had similar opinions as us. We found them to run almost parallel with our thoughts as an urban designer and planner. For example, the mode of transportation most utilised by our subjects in Dubai was private vehicles whereas in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur it was distinctly public transportation and slow mobility which was almost absent in Dubai.

*Find graphical representation of the results from the survey in annex

173

Diagram methodology for the online survey conducted by the authors (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

174 User-experience in Downtown, City Walk and Boxpark To understand the evolution of public spaces from Dubai downtown to City Walk and Boxpark, a social gravity indication is provided to understand the frequency and popularity of use of the public spaces in these 3 developments. While in the case of Dubai downtown, the indoor spaces such as shopping malls and Opera experiences heavy influx of visitors and tourists throughout the year in comparison to the dedicated public plazas in Dubai downtown and City Walk. City Walk is an experiential development encouraging pedestrian and cycling activities with various types of public spaces.

Whereas Boxpark is an entire stretch of public realm that has been gaining popularity among visitors. Public

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

175

spaces have been indicated on the maps based on a public opinion poll conducted on site and based on our personal experience of visiting the three sites of study. The enriched analysis has enabled to indicate a popularity of each public space among Dubai residents and tourists.

(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

Sneha Santhosh Kumar

176 Walkability in Dubai downtown, City Walk and Boxpark Though dedicated walkways are present in all three cases, the comfort level varies considering the arid environment.

Walking is made more experiential in City Walk as it is pleasant all year round. In downtown, the disconnected pathways with scarce urban furniture has a scope for improvement. In the case of Boxpark which functions as an independent unit, the absence of viable walkways from City Walk and Downtown plays an important role in its low number of users.

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

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178 Public spaces in Dubai downtown, City Walk and Boxpark

Area: 11000 sq.m Type: Open plaza No artificial shade or natural vegetation Presence of waterbody: Around the plaza Location: Central plaza with view of Burj khalifa, fountain, Dubai mall & Souq al bahar Access: By pedestrian and cycling pathways

Analysis | Urban Design and User analysis

Area: 4800 sq.m Type: Open plaza Partially shaded by artificial roof Presence of waterbody: Central fountain Location: Central plaza with quadratic axes connecting major locations of City Walk.

Access: By pedestrian and cycling pathways

Area: 800 sq.m Type: Open plaza No artificial shade or natural vegetation Presence of waterbody: None Location: On the edge of the street Access: By pedestrian and cycling pathways

(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

179 Public spaces in Dubai downtown, City Walk and Boxpark

Area: 3800 sq.m Type: Open plaza Existing natural vegetation doesn’t provide shade from sun Presence of waterbody: None Location: Entrance plaza known as Burj Plaza Access: By pedestrian and cycling pathways

(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

Area: 2200 sq.m Type: Shaded plaza Partially shaded by artificial roof Presence of waterbody: None Location: Entrance plaza with grand roofing Access: By pedestrian and cycling pathways

Area: 560 sq.m Type: Open plaza No artificial shade or natural vegetation Presence of waterbody: None Location: On the edge of the street Access: By pedestrian and cycling pathways

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180 Walkability in Dubai downtown, City Walk and Boxpark (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

Type: Open pathways No artificial shade or natural vegetation Access: By pedestrian and cycling pathways

Type: Shaded pathways Shaded by artificial roof Access: By pedestrian and cycling pathways

Type: Shaded pathways Shaded by artificial roof Access: By pedestrian and cycling pathways

181 Walkability in Dubai downtown, City Walk and Boxpark (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

Type: Open pathways with ample urban furnitures.

Unshaded by existing vegetation Access: By pedestrian and cycling pathways

Type: Open pathways with ample urban furnitures.

Unshaded by existing vegetation Access: By pedestrian and cycling pathways

Type: Open pathways with ample urban furnitures.

Unshaded by existing vegetation Access: By pedestrian and cycling pathways

182

A Simulation in Dubai

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183 8.5 The local reconnection of international urban models: A simulation in Dubai This thesis focused on in-depth research and analysis of our cases which helped us understand the functions of the studied developments and their relevance with context. What worked in one city may not necessarily work in another without modifications to adapt to the context.

This research and analysis allowed us to structure a set of contextually adapted guidelines that can act as a base for the future circulation of urban models in Dubai.

As the longest road in the Emirates, Sheikh Zayed road is an arterial highway that connects major areas of the UAE. stretching from Al-Silah in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi until in Ras al-Khaimah emirate, and runs almost parallel to UAE’s coastline along the Persian Gulf. While it is known for its hyper connectivity, it tends to create a barrier for the immediate developments on either sides of it, something that is evident in our area of study as well. We see Downtown Dubai, City Walk and Boxpark suffering from this fragmentation.

In the first image we see Sheikh Zayed road splitting the area of study into two. The public or users of these spaces could benefit from a completely pedestrianised connection spine that runs all the way from Boxpark to Downtown Dubai as seen in image 2.

The central spine connecting Dubai downtown, City Walk and Boxpark can feature a variety of activites to improve the experience along the passage. This uninterrupted and pedestrianfirst transit priority corridor could create a new place of social interaction for the citizens of the neighborhood.

An effortless change would be to limit the traffic along the street

Joint work

184 and make it completely accessible by pedestrians and cyclists along with public leisure activities. These activites could form the core attration of this new stretch. A sequential display of recreation, diversions and ventures could encourage the users to walk the entire stretch.

The implementation of tactical urbanism with the use of light, fast and inexpensive interventions in an experimental way can help test solutions in a reversible manner for Dubai’s new context.

The new urban street can be designed to include several types of seating, children’s play areas, racks for private and shared bicycles, jogging tracks, open - air gyms with equipments, open air theatres for public performances, games and sports areas and many more.

The temporary nature of this street would help to accomodate activites that would provide a comfortable environment to its users throughout its harsh weather as well.

Another feature that could improve the usability and comfort of this street during the peak summers would be water mist sprays (popularlu known as the outdoor misting system) that helps reduce the ambient temperature around the misted area. This is also remarkably an energy and water efficient method for public spaces.

Similarly, free public drinking water facilities would be an advantage for several users. Small-scale pop-up kiosks could open up opportunities to several inidividual vendors and improve the economic viability of this location.

By beautifying the streetscape and improving the green cover with thick branched trees to provide shaded pathways meanwhile creating unobstructed views of Dubai’s downtown.

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185

Top to bottom A rapid transit road with heavy traffic separates the two key developments from Burj development.

Proposed spine forms a safe and shortest possible connection (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar) Analysis | Urban Design and User analysis

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Joint work

188 Strategy diagram of Vision (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

Well-furnished pedestrian and cycling pathways making it an enjoyable boulevard along the key vehicular access to this developement.

The central spine connecting Dubai downtown, City Walk and Boxpark could feature a range of activities such as green parks, children playgrounds, open spaces for outdoor leisure activities and games, cycling, walking, running, jogging, dine-out options.

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The existing facilities in Dubai Downtown could be improved to enrich the experience of walking and cycling around the downtown. It could include more leisure activites to attract the local users along with the heavy tourists it experiences throughout the year.

An elevated pedestrian bridge or pedestrian underpass would be an ideal, safe, well-furnished connection to link the developments on the east and west side of the Sheikh zayed road.

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Simulation for the connection spine (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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Simulation for the connection spine (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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CHAPTER 09 9. Urban Planning and Policy analysis 9.1 Land acquisition policies in Dubai The department of land under the emirate of Dubai allocates a plot of 1400 sq. mt for free to all UAE male citizens when they turn 20 years old. This along with financial assistance such as interest-free loans for purchasing housing. Private enterprises are excluded from these benefits to avoid competition for social services. Before 2006, foreigners were not allowed to own any property within Dubai increasing the need for housing development for foreigners. The presence of many laws also created problems for developers.

Escrow law via WPS The UAE government introduced new Wages Protection System (WPS) which has become problematic for the developers in UAE.

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Dubai Urban Area Structure Plan 1993-2015 (Source: Dubai municipality)

Mariette Llewellyn Vanessa Robin

194 The system was introduced as a measure to safeguard the jobs and wages of 4 million employees working in the UAE. Initiated in 2009 during the economic recession, it was intended to control companies defaulting to pay salaries because many property developers faced cash flow problems and were unable to pay salaries for a long time.

Visa Law Many buyers invested in properties under the presumption that residential visas would be given to all those who bought freehold properties in Dubai. In 2009, a senior government official also confirmed a federal law will be introduced by the end of the year whereby visas will be granted to the property owners regardless of

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Worker protection system flowchart (Source: Gulf news May 26 2009)

195 their nationality, size, or the value of the property. This information was welcomed by property developers, however, to date no decision on granting visas to property owners in Dubai is taken which adds a further lack of incentive for the investors to buy the property and invest in Dubai. This creates an additional problem for property developers who are keen to sell their properties hence creating further problems for them.

Visa being one of the reasons to invest in Dubai (Source: Advertisement by a real estate company Dec 2010)

Eventually, these issues were taken into consideration and some alterations were made. As a first step, investments with full foreign ownership were introduced and expanded through specialized zones like the internet city, media city, and the DIFC. The real estate sector became the second major investment opportunity as there had been restrictions on non-nationals owning property in Dubai.

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196 In March 2002, Dubai introduced freehold ownership. In this policy, foreigners were allowed full ownership of apartments and houses.

Among the first properties to be sold were the residences on palm island before the government allocated specific sections of land in the city to be sold as housing for foreigners. By mid-2007, more than 15,000 expatriates had bought the property. Dubai made the most of its unique real estate investment situation originating from excess capital in the region.

The government disclosed its intentions for urban development through regular strategic plans. In these plans, there are some zones assigned as free business zones which have minimal interference by the government to attract private developers. Three major real estate tycoons that Dubai’s urban development is highly dependent on are Emaar, Nakheel and Meraas properties. The chairmen of these properties also hold important positions in the governing body. The Chairman of Emaar, Mohamed Ali Alabbar, is also the Director-General of the Department of Economic Development of the Emirate and a member of the Emirate Executive Council, the supreme governing body of the Emirate. The Chairman of Nakheel, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, is from the ruling family of the Dubai Emirate. Urban development in Dubai is usually initiated by ruling families and later approved by the government before being

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Freehold areas in Dubai (Source: investmentgate.com)

197 assigned to the tycoons for implementation. This way, Emaar and Nakheel undertake tasks such as the development of urban plans, negotiating with investors, overseeing the construction, marketing and sale of properties. Utilizing them to handle some roles of the government lowers the assumption of tight governance and helps attract investments globally.

Like Dubai, Singapore aspires to become a world-class city.

However, the two cities contrast sharply in land use control and housing development—and, consequently, affordability. In Singapore, the government develops and provides affordable housing units, while in Dubai the government only subsidizes housing for citizens; private developers build for well-off immigrants, so no one is serving the housing needs of the other population segments who compose a large portion of the population. Singapore’s housing market is dominated by the public sector, which exclusively develops condominiums for its poor and middle-income groups (Yuen, 2005). Singapore’s government provides large subsidies to its residents, and affordability issues are consequently close to nonexistent: Singapore’s poorest 20% of households are well housed, and 75% of them are homeowners (Yuen, 2005, p. 5).

Although Dubai’s government subsidizes housing for citizens, most of Dubai’s residents do not qualify for these subsidies and so must search for housing in a market in which most offerings are geared toward the affluent. Compared with countries in the Global North and South, Dubai is a unique case: its affordability concerns are triggered by a neo-patrimonial system of government and market operations and a government commitment to house citizens but not the non-citizen immigrants who make up most of the population.

For this reason, the case of Dubai presents an opportunity to expand the terms of the discussion of affordability in the scholarly literature.

Since the commercialization of oil in the late 1960s and the subsequent economic boom of the 1970s, Dubai’s government has awarded housing subsidies to its citizens. These subsidies are largely sanctioned by the UAE’s political structure; they are intended as a method of sharing the oil wealth and are a deep-rooted practice sustaining the relationship between the government and citizens

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198 (Alawadi & Benkraouda, 2017). The national housing concept and welfare policies were established by the UAE’s founding father, Sheikh Zayed, who endorsed the allocation of public housing free of charge to citizens to build up the nation (Elsheshtawy, 2016; Leech, 2016; Wimsatt, 2010). The institutionalization of national housing has contributed to a massive expansion of Single-Family Communities, which occupy a large swath of Dubai. And as our findings below reveal, the rental prices in national housing areas are geared to higher-income groups. The extent to which private developers are involved in shaping the city’s urban fabric is another major driver of affordability problems in Dubai.

In the late 1990s, Dubai adopted neoliberalism as an economic strategy and shifted its economic focus from oil to hospitality, infrastructure development, finance, tourism, and real estate (Kanna, 2010; Kathiravelu, 2016). During this neoliberal economic restructuring, Dubai greatly increased the private sector’s role in the city’s economic and urban development. Private developers now have enormous power to shape the city but are continually reluctant to develop affordable housing units. The involvement of the private sector, backed up by state power, has resulted in significant changes to Dubai’s physical and housing landscape: the focus of development became the construction of mega-developments designed to attract private capital and skilled migrant groups from all over the world.

Dubai’s motto during this phase was “Build and they will come,” and this mantra resulted in over-scaling the built environment (Kathiravelu, 2016, p.136).

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199 9.2 Land acquisition policies in Singapore A former British colony, in 1819 the land office was set up which is now a part of the Singapore Land Authority. The city-state became an independent republic only in 1965 but since then has come a long way in its land allocation and development system. The initial years of Singapore’s independence had fragmented land ownership which made it nearly impossible to redevelop the city comprehensively and came to be known as a period of confusion and chaos.

Following the footsteps of the British, modern Singapore continued issuing leasehold leases of up to 99 years. Sites were usually sold on 99-year leases for commercial, hotel, and private residential development, whereas leases for industrial sites are usually for 60 years or less. The lease tenure for other types of sites varies depending on the uses. The usual sale method is through public tender. Presently, this tenure policy is preserved in Rule 10 of the State Lands Rules of the State Lands Act (Cap. 314, Section 3), which states that “the title ordinarily to be issued shall be a lease for a term not exceeding 99 years, except that where the land is not capable of independent development and is required for development with the applicant’s land, the title may be the same

Singapore’s first Land use plan (Source: Planning authorities website)

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200 as that of the applicant’s land”. The state practised control over the urban policies and development with direct access to the public and private real estate markets and land ownership. In 1966, the state passed a land acquisition act that enables the state to control about 85 per cent of Singapore’s land and influence its land use, zoning and aesthetics.

The Land Acquisition Act (1966) introduced several modules to facilitate redevelopment: i. The rate of compensation for the acquired land “should not be higher than what the land would have been worth had the government not carried out development generally in the area.” This made sure that the government could acquire land for the purpose of redevelopment at sustainable prices.

“As I develop town A, I have to start resettling people in area B, so that they can move into town A. Then when I develop town B, I will think about resettling people in area C.” (Beng, 2014) -Yap Chin Beng, Deputy CEO, Housing & Development board

ii. “The landowner had no means to challenge the government’s right to acquire his land but could only appeal to the Appeals Board (Land Acquisition) over the compensation amount offered.” This permitted resistance-free urban development. iii. The concept of land acquisition by the government for “public purpose” was introduced. This permitted the government to acquire land for uses ranging from public housing to private, commercial developments.

Land acquisition policies could be described as policies of reform in an urban setting. There was a massive transfer of land resources from private landowners to the state in the two decades after independence. The parliament considered it fair to acquire land

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201 from these wealthy landowners because of the size of land parcels they owned (Centre for Liveable Cities 2014, 7). The state also took measures to prevent land hoarding and other conditions that interfered with national development and compromised social equity. In the 1970s because of the soaring prices of real estate, the Singapore government decided to focus on “keeping down the cost of residential property, leaving the market value of commercial and industrial properties to find their levels by the interaction of factors governing supply and demand”. It was foreseen that noncitizens who could buy private residential properties were making quality private housing out of reach of the middle-class citizens. So, in 1973, a government press statement was released that stated that effective immediately only citizens of Singapore would be allowed to purchase residential property without restrictions.

Land use planning in Singapore established its roots when the founder of modern Singapore Sir raffles set up a committee for the development of a city layout plan. This plan focused on assigning land parcels to different societal groups. However, this was shortlived with Singapore gaining independence from the British shortly after. With little planning expertise, the government sought help from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1967 to kick-start the State and City Planning Project (SCP) giving rise to Singapore’s first concept plan in 1971. Established as a landuse strategic plan, it focuses on the state’s development over the next 4-5 decades. The task of reviewing and preparing the Concept Plan and the Master Plan is undertaken by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore’s national planning authority.

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202 9.3 Land acquisition policies in Kuala Lumpur Land acquisition in Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Areas has been dependent on the changing landscape realizing some concerns.

Firstly, the increase in demand for urban land and revaluation of the laws and policies deciding which groups of people are legally or morally entitled to land. The globalisation vision of KLMA has displaced people without formal registration of land leading us to our second concern. Which are the methods used by these displaced groups to seek and regain rights to land. This could be through the narration of history, ancestral occupation and inheritance. Narrating how they came to live or occupy that piece of land.

Geo-histories of Land and Economy The continuous shift in political powers and partnerships across the region had direct impacts on broader land use and territorial administration. It became necessary to reform the existing land tenure which was considered harmful to capitalist development.

The Malay rulers who held all Malay land were vested with the power to alienate land as they pleased. Secondly, land registration and documented land titles were introduced. Registration in local registers was recognized but it limited the ownership to smaller plots. There were also restrictions enforced on the rights of indigenous settlements to specific areas. In 1957 the state attained independence and inherited a political framework that facilitated capitalist control of land and resources. Established shortly before this, The Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) aided with the transformation of jungles into lands suitable for settlement.

The Malay squatters Before independence, untouched land was considered no man’s land and free for Malays and Muslims to use. Once cleared and occupied for cultivation, the occupier was considered the rightful owner of the land for as long as he showed proof of cultivation or occupation. Once abandoned, the land was reverted to its previous jungle state. Land acquisition through this kind of squatting took place through clearance and cultivation however this was restricted to rural areas and sizes of less than 100 acres and

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203 further reduced to 10 acres in 1926. This remained so until shortly after independence when squatters began to appear in urban areas. The state government intervened and ordered the clearance of squatters in 1963. The whole event was controversial as the squatters fed the growing demand for industrial labour, but it was considered unsightly in a city which was undergoing globalization.

Many native or aboriginal groups were forced to move to the jungles to give way to the Malay groups. British had overseen this and legally set aside some rights to these native groups through the Perak Aboriginal Enactment 1939 which allowed them to claim ownership over their land in the form of aboriginal reserves.

Malay squatters (Source: Property hunter)

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204 9.4 The outcomes of the comparative analysis: The types of circulating urban policies

9.4.1 Land acquisition comparative analysis

Dubai

Singapore

Kuala Lumpur

Landuse planning

The government of Dubai provides funds and fully-serviced land to citizens.

Assisted by the UN, the government completed Singapore’s first concept plan, to guide the country’s physical development for the next 20 years.

Town and Country Planning Act 1976 defines a local authority.

Land ownership

The government is a significant landowner thanks to the property left by the colonial administration in 1971

The government is a significant landowner thanks to the property left by the colonial administration in 1959

Malaysia uses the Torrens system of ownership

Public housing Land administration

In Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, the government develops and provides affordable housing units, while in Dubai, the government only subsidizes housing for citizens (Yuen, 2005)

Dubai Municipality (DM) in the 1990s, power transitioned from DM to various public-private firms such as Dubai Holding, Emaar, Nakheel, and Meer

Urban Redevelopment Authority

Federal Land Development Authority

The government only subsidizes housing for citizens; private developers build for well-off immigrants,

The government develops and provides affordable housing units. Housing Development Board.

Dubai Authorities have approved several plans to regulate the development of urban areas in Dubai city.

The Singapore Land Authority

City Hall of Kuala Lumpur is the local planning authority that is treated as an agent of the public institution.

Transfer of land is a process to change the name of the registered proprietor in the title.

JTC Corporation (JTC).

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For land settlers, the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, as well as pertinent land and regional development agencies, have all played their roles in providing low-cost housing.

205 9.4.2 Circulation of Urban Policies Cities with successful urban development in the process of becoming global cities have become a model to upcoming cities. This chapter will discuss Dubai and the possible models it has circulated from our case studies to enter the competitive world of globalization. It is in this sense that Singapore has become a paradigmatic example of “a site of the production of urban planning knowledge and ‘best practices” that gets assembled and translated into contemporary circuits of capital’ (Pow 2014: 287) The extreme success of these urban models or policies for urban intervention has caused Dubai to import them assuming they would follow similar growth patterns. Dubai has simultaneously pursued two infrastructural strategies with respect to flow: one of extensification and one of intensification. (Ong, 2011; Roy, 2011a, 2011c) The strategy of extensification is based on Singapore’s urban model, one of the cities that Dubai aspired to be. This is where problems sprout.

Models that were successful in an East Asian context are applied to an Arab context with different social and political conditions. As Perera and Tang (2013: 14) say: ‘the central question is who and what gets left out . . . Planners and policymakers have a way of focusing on growth and remain silent about important tensions that emanate from ethnic, religious, and other cultural differences by portraying them as ‘“low-politics”’.

The ulterior (and often unintended) effects of policy outcomes – on people, places and the environment – should be given as much attention as the indicators and badges of urban success. We will examine some possible urban models circulated by Dubai to verify its success.

Dubai seems to share some similarities with Kuala Lumpur or Singapore in policy making methods, that anticipate health and well being of citizens, public private partnerships and destination making of cities.

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206 Urban Policy 1 | Concept of Healthy cities Healthy cities are those that identify health determinants of their occupants and the necessity to work on them through the collaboration of public, private and community sectors. The challenge in implementing this is understanding and defining the scale of the urban intervention. This urban strategy is becoming more relevant these days with the public health challenges of the 21st century. The authorities in Dubai recognized the health problems arising from their car-dependent urban development.

Their rapid urban transformation from dense fabric with walkable alleys to communities and neighbourhoods which could be accessed only by cars were taking a toll on public health. An article on the Gulf News dated July 10, 2019, reported the results of a study on 33000 Emirati men between the age of 18 and 20. Shocking statistics state that the majority of them suffer from obesity, diabetes and other lifestyle conditions Dr Mohammad Al Haddad, consultant bariatric surgeon and head of bariatric and metabolic surgery at Health Point, Abu Dhabi told Gulf News: “The obesity epigenetics is very high in the UAE and the statistics of incidence is three times higher than the rest of the world. Obesity begins at the time of conception of the foetus when mothers who are obese or have a bad lifestyle conceive” (Al Haddad, 2019).

Therefore, it is important to check obesity from childhood to be able to stop this trend of early onset of adult obesity, diabetes and other cardio-metabolic co-morbidities.” Among other causes for this, experts identified the lack of physical activity as the primary issue.

Dubai’s development pattern inconvenienced the pedestrians and forced them to rely on automobiles for their commute. The road networks are completely car-dependent and lack interconnectivity making it impossible to walk even to close destinations. This has made the city infamous for its lack of walkability. The planning authorities with an intent to address this issue created some experimental projects through Meraas.

City Walk and Boxpark are two such experimental projects in which Meraas attempts to stimulate physical activity in its users. City Walk

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207 Left to right Walkways in Dubai City Walk, Kuala Lumpur city market and Singapore’s Suntec city (Source: Google images)

partially succeeded in attracting people with its multiple shaded and open walkways inspired by shopping districts in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Though the drawback is the shopping districts in the latter cities are perfectly connected to public transportation unlike City Walks as seen in the site study in the previous chapters.

Boxpark was another similar attempt by Meraas but unlike City Walk, it failed to attract many pedestrians because of its location.

Boxpark is another circulated project, originally from London and from there on the concept has been in circulation in many other cities. In most places, they are placed in an ideal location with transit stops nearby but Boxpark Dubai is located along the residential stretch on Al Wasl street with no transit stop nearby.

The two sites selected to compare and understand the importation of this model are Downtown Dubai with Raffles place in Downtown Singapore. Both sites are shaped by developments that re-imagine the respective cities towards globalization, Singapore earlier than Dubai. The commercial hub designated by Singapore’s Raffles town plan served as the centre for Raffles place, an area of 10700 sq.m with a garden serviced by one transit station and flanked by skyscrapers on either side. Spread over 200 hectares, downtown Dubai also flanked by skyscrapers is the city’s centre with interventions to encourage cycling and walkability. There is a pedestrian link of 820m from Dubai mall to Burj Khalifa station however it seemed inefficient as it can be accessed only from inside the mall. The streets surrounding raffles place are closed to vehicular circulation and to discourage traffic inflow, even the nearby streets have been converted to one-way streets.

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208 Similarly in downtown as well only the spine surrounding the Burj is allowed to host vehicles. From this spine, there are about 13 intersections that are pedestrianized. Both sites have walkways amid greenery and landscaping. However, what works in Singapore’s climate cannot be circulated directly without shade to be used in Dubai’s scorching heat. The circulation pattern and transit connections for both sites can be seen in the figure below.

Left to right top to bottom Maps highlighting Pedestrian network in Downtwon Dubai (L) and Raffles place (R) Pedestrian paths (Source: Author Sneha S Kumar and Open street map contributors) Walkways in DowntownDubai and Raffles place with almost identical context (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar and Google images )

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209 Urban Policy 2 | Public-Private Partnerships It can be a topic of debate that corporations between public (government) and private (companies) sectors are used around the world for multiple reasons fiscal deficit, budgetary pressure, demand-supply gap, inefficient public services to infrastructure, operational efficiency, innovative technology and management skills and more active involvement of private players in public services.

Possibly the most important one is the lack of sufficient funds in either party to handle projects individually and the ability to carry it out efficiently with the involvement of both parties. The formation of a public-private partnership to assume responsibilities that were solely performed by the public sector is beneficial for both, citizens and the government.

In Asia, public-private partnerships gained popularity in the development of infrastructure as they seemed more effective in achieving the money’s worth. In Kuala Lumpur, the concept of public-private partnerships has helped in overcoming the challenge of scarce housing for the urban poor. The Privatisation Policy was launched in 1983 to support the Malaysia Incorporated Policy towards increasing the private sector’s role in the country’s economic development. Though the government tried and tested the implementation of many policies, insufficient funds were the ultimate barrier to overcoming this social challenge. Wangsa Maju, a township north of downtown Kuala Lumpur is one such example of a successful PPP project. The private party was able to reap profits through success and the government was able to fulfil its social responsibilities. Some other examples include KL Sentral, Light Rail Transit (LRT), medical facilities, many highways, bus stations and others (Abd Karim, 2011). The methods used for the implementation of PPP projects in KL include Build - Operate - Transfer (BOT), Build - Lease - Transfer (BLT), Build - Operate - Own (BOO), Build - Lease - Maintain - Transfer (BLMT), Land Swap, Contract Management, Corporatisation (Source- Official portal of PPP unit) In Singapore, public-private partnerships were introduced in 2003 and since then multiple PPPs have been successfully completed.

As part of the government’s continual search for better value

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210 for money and better ways of delivering public services, it is an alternative procurement method that public agencies can consider.

PPP offers the Singapore government an additional source of quality services through tapping on the capabilities of the private sector in service delivery. The government ensures public service quality will not suffer due to PPP by specifying the service standards and appropriately incentivizing the private partner to meet these standards. Subsequently, the government outsourced projects worth S$1.3 billion to the private sector for the next 3 to 5 years (Li, 2006). The government ensures public service quality will not suffer due to PPP by specifying the service standards and appropriately incentivizing the private partner to meet these standards.

The successful fulfilment by the government of their social responsibilities in these examples was possibly a source of inspiration for Dubai. A city in which all major interventions were solely handled by the ruling family and the authorities appointed by them with no involvement from the public changed its regulatory framework. This reform was much welcomed by the public who had been demanding more participation in this otherwise zero political system. In order to win the citizens over and regain trust and confidence in the system, in 2015, the government of Dubai issued a new law (Law No. 22 of 2015). This created a legal framework for greater collaboration and contractual partnership between the public and private sectors in respect of major projects in Dubai (the new PPP law). Apart from the primary concern, the law was issued with the aim to distribute the government’s financial budget with the involvement of the private sector. Some of the benefits of the PPP law are, it allowed efficient implementation of urban development projects, brought in financial, technological expertise from the private sectors, allows citizens to have access (at least seem like it) in the decision-making procedures, trains citizens to manage such projects.

The passage from public managerialism to public-private entrepreneurialism allowed foreign investments to flow allowing financial and public image growth of Dubai. Giant holding companies partnered with the state in which the ruling family

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211 and its allies hold a majority. For example, Meraas the large holding company developed City Walk near Dubai downtown in partnership with the Government. Though it appears to the world that these companies are authorized to function in accordance with international standards they can’t disassociate them from the vision of Sheikh for Dubai. So much so that the ruling family indeed holds companies that are directly involved in the urban development of the city and most importantly the ownership of land.

Comparison table of PPP in the three downtown cases Dubai, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (Source-Thales group)

PPP Model in Dubai (Concession type)

PPP Model in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur

• The private company acts on behalf of the public authority.

• Public authority pays for the service.

• The citizen pays the private company for the service.

• Public authority keeps control and benefits according to the concession contract.

• Public authority keeps the public service mission.

• A private company acts as a supplier to the public authority.

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212 Urban Policy 3 | Concept of Destination making and Branding Place branding has been used as a new marketing strategy that brands the unique characteristics of a place, thereby stimulating the location’s growth (Kavaratzis 2004; Zenker and Martin 2011).

The process of branding a place is like that of branding a product.

When a product is branded, a symbol, name, design, or sign is applied to distinguish the product from its competing products, thereby forming a unique image in the minds of consumers (Kneesel, Baloglu, and Millar 2009; Kotler 1997). The strategy is driven by the necessity to boost the economy through tourism, leisure, entertainment and by attracting locals, tourists, investors and stakeholders to keep the economic cycle going. When a place is known for something unique or something that is available in only that place, be it an experience, a place, a store, it is bound to attract visitors. The problem arises when the brand is marketed to only tourists the locals are not involved. This could make the area highly touristy leave the locals disinterested and cause conflicts between both parties eventually. Destination Dubai is building an image based on iconographic prominence, immense novelty and invention, and super-modernism. Culture and identity are not the primary design considerations for architects planning buildings and spaces in Dubai.

The concept of using shipping containers to develop a leisure destination was started as Boxpark for the first time in London, UK. As seen in the previous chapters it was a successful project first as PUMA city and then as Boxpark in the original context from there on it was being circulated in several other cities including Dubai. The two cases we’ll be comparing for the importation of this model are Boxpark in Shoreditch, London and Boxpark Dubai. The fact that Boxpark strips and retrofits shipping containers that are supposedly waste to create low-cost retail space became a revolution and granted London popularity for creating the world’s first pop-up mall. It intrigued people and brought them in just to be able to experience the world’s first pop-up mall. This feeling of wanting to visit or revisit a place is what creates their Brand Experience. Dubai has jumped on to this wagon by importing this model to help with self-branding by becoming the first one to have a Boxpark in the Middle East.

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213

Left to right Top to bottom Map of contexts of Boxpark Dubai and Boxpark Shoreditch and Burj park exposing the contrasting choice of location. In Dubai it is located in a residential area and in Shoreditch it is sensibly located in an already commercial area (Source: Google earth) Entrance to Boxpark Dubai and Boxpark Shoreditch (Source: Arjun Mani and Google images) Marketing for Boxpark Shoreditch in London (Source: Marketing brochure)

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214

Boxpark Shoreditch with an ideal location alongside a metro station and heavy marketing became the talk of the town in no time.

Though the urban model by itself is something that has the potential of bringing in an economy in Dubai, it runs along the residential area on Al Wasl street for a stretch of 1 km with no transit stop nearby. In a car-dominated city like Dubai which is still trying to crack the issue of lack of walkable places, a destination like this has just brought in more traffic. In the maps sourced from google, we see Boxpark Shoreditch located in a commercial area right in the hustlebustle of the city whereas Boxpark Dubai is completely isolated from any commercial activity failing its purpose of activating street life. Talking to a few residents in Dubai in the age group 20-35 about Boxpark as a destination for socializing left us in surprise.

Most of them did not know about its existence. The destination was not marketed as wholly as it was in London (see image in previous page) and something that is so unique, it is the first of its kind in UAE should have helped build a brand towards Dubai tourism and as a destination city but it unfortunately, did not.

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215 9.5 The citizen perspective: Proposals for circulating urban policies Introducing new urban policies in a city like Dubai may not be as simple as any other global city but the issues highlighted in this research are not ignorable. Policies up until date have been introduced by the authorities for the benefit of the authorities. In the race to keep up with building a brand, the needs and sentiments of citizens have not been addressed wholeheartedly. Under this section, we investigate possibilities of modifying existing policies and introducing new policies that have worked in similar contexts as recommendations. Our suggestions intend to prioritize and improve the quality of life of citizens and locals while improving and taking inspiration from emerging models and policies. The simulation involves introducing urban policies that would facilitate the improvement of the existing infrastructure through design interventions. The policies would address the general improvement of the downtown and Al Wasl area while prioritizing the citizens and their health.

Diagram of methodology for the development of the policy proposals (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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216 Traffic taming policies Transport Demand Management is the ability to influence travellers (by either reducing or redirecting them) in a certain space and time. Under the study of the downtown area, one of the issues highlighted was the heavy traffic around the ring road making it almost impossible for pedestrians and bikers to perform a simple task as crossing the street. In Kuala Lumpur, TDM measures were first considered in 1973 for the area around KLCC. Some of the measures they considered were preservation of rights-of-way for short and long-term improvements for public transport, elimination of extensive parking provision in the core area and overall improvement in the Kuala Lumpur Central Area Traffic Circulation system (Kiggundu, 2007). Usage of certain streets were limited for certain times of the day to only buses or high occupancy vehicles.

Private vehicles parking prices and supply were controlled in the already overcrowded commercial area.

“The move to pedestrianise roads was necessary as the city was often crippled by traffic snarls. “Kuala Lumpur has a daytime population of three million people. Even with a shortfall and discounting those taking public transport or carpooling, we easily have between one million and three million cars making multiple trips on city roads, and the number is growing” (Dahlan, 2020) -Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan Similar policy measures can be considered in downtown Dubai where the street has been designed solely for car users and users who may not even be using accessing the downtown area. Policy measures could include restricting traffic or transforming streets that feed traffic into the downtown area into oneway streets at peak hours. The mild inconvenience could possibly divert traffic of users not interested in accessing downtown Dubai.

Only improving public transportation and expecting the public to all of a sudden change their method of commute may not be

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217 feasible in a car-dependent city like Dubai. But an initiative where certain streets are limited to just buses on Saturdays or Sundays (the weekly holiday in Dubai) may ease the users into finding public transportation comfortable. For this to work, more bus lines will have to be introduced and on these days, the car lanes could be transformed into temporary bike lanes and walkways. Prioritising people over cars provides pedestrians with a safer walkable environment. The more pedestrians this initiative wins over, the safer the street becomes for them (Jacobs, 1969). Soon enough the public will be trusting public transportation again.

Top to bottom “Plans being drawn up to pedestrianise 10 KL roads by 2025 – trial runs to be carried out over next five year” (Source: Paultan.org) The scramble crossing at this busy intersection in Bukit Bintang is set to improve the walkability of Kuala Lumpur.

(Source: Thestar.com)

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218 Passive and active engagement policies Under the concept of healthy cities, we have seen the Dubai government introduce new projects that encourage their citizens and users to walk. Apart from this, Dubai also conducts an annual celebration of fitness and wellness under the pretext of a challenge.

The Dubai fitness challenge requires its participants to complete 30 minutes of physical activity each day for 30 days inspiring its citizens to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

“Delivering on its promise to make fitness readily available to all, the hub will feature “City is a Gym”, a virtual map of Dubai spanning 30 different locations across the city where individuals and groups can work out for free without any equipment. Upon arrival at each location, participants can scan a QR code with their mobile device, and an easy-to-follow workout unique to that place will appear for them to complete their 30 minutes of exercise.” (zaki, 2019) -Published on Thursday, October 03, 2019

by Yousra Zaki, Asst. Editor, Emirates 247 It is unfortunate that such an effective initiative happens only once a year. Policies could be introduced to activate underused public spaces in and around the downtown area through similar schemes.

What happens only 30 days a year can begin to take place every weekend or one day a week with incentives rewarded to those who participate. According to a study conducted by McCormack in 2010, the presence of certain features in a park positively influence its use. Facilities like playgrounds, children’s play equipment, running tracks etc directly impact its usability. KLCC Park in Kuala Lumpur has considered these things in its design offering its users, particularly children, a wholesome experience that a public park is supposed to provide. It offers amenities such as a two-acre children’s playground, symphony fountain, wading pool, jogging track, shelters and benches, patterned footpaths and sculptures.

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219 Policies could be introduced to include such facilities in the existing and upcoming parks in the downtown area.

Top to bottom Picture from Dubai fitness challenge 2018 (Source: Emirates 247) Residents taking part in the fitness challenge enthusiastically (Source: Timeout Dubai)

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220 Social impact assessment policies Under the governance section of this research, we have seen that the government does not provide its citizens with transparency of the planning and development system in Dubai. Or rather offers an illusion of transparency which only results in the citizens not trusting and supporting the development authorities.

For the citizens to develop an affinity towards the place, they should be allowed a certain level of involvement and participation. In Kuala Lumpur, a social Impact assessment program was set up to address this issue. The program evaluated the needs and sentiments of neighbourhoods surrounding upcoming development plans while regulating developers and preventing disruption that could be caused by them.

A program like this could be set up in Dubai for all new developments to prevent disruptions like that of the redevelopment in Al Wasl from taking place again. Their trust and support can be obtained by involving them in the decision-making process and highlighting the public benefit from the said developments.

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221

Top to bottom left to right Methodology diagram of suggested Social Impact Assessment program (Source: Author, Mariette Robin) Programmes and meetings conducted

by Social Impact Assessment associations in Kuala Lumpur (Source: msiamy.org)

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222

INTERPRETATION 223

224

CHAPTER 10 10. Conclusion 10.1 Types of circulating urban models Urban design has time and again proven to be a relevant and useful tool for contemporary cities to globalise and compete with fellow global cities. Cities apparently compete to collect new pieces of architecture as if they were pieces of art, sometimes without considering their urban meaning and contextual functions.

Second and third-tier cities have often adopted this strategy as well (Ponzini, 2011) As mentioned about Abu Dhabi by him, it could also be interpreted in the case of Dubai as discussed in this research, as a city trying to manoeuvre international contemporary architecture to express the new-born identity of the nation. The situation Dubai is in is quite particular in many aspects. Contradicting older communist cities of the west where they are occupied with urban regeneration, our case of Dubai is preoccupied with urban generation.

Regardless, we have seen Dubai share similarities with third world

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cities where they faced challenges in keeping up infrastructurally with the growth and expansion which Dubai overcame through its relatively strong economy. With abundant land in the desert landscape and no industrial contamination, no urban sprawl, no unforeseen settlements and strong political and economic factors it tried to develop and mould itself into a city that directly qualifies as a developed and global city of the twenty-first century.

However, in this attempt to skip steps into entering the global market the development revolved around the circulation of models and trophy architecture that worked in contexts very different from Dubai. Its urban landscapes grew more unsustainable with its growth having little thought being put into emerging urban models. For many experts, the “Dubaisation phenomenon” as a model of urban transformation and development, disregards, diminishes and erodes

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226 the local, the traditional and the communal dimension of culture. In 2004 when Yasser Elsheshtawy introduced the term Dubaization, He accentuates the highs and lows of Dubai’s development. But today the term is correlated to the concept of star architecture or those that are used in the branding of global cities.

As Khaled Alawadi states in his PhD dissertation, a few ideal practices that could be applied to new neighbourhoods to make them more sustainable are as follows: emphasize more public participation in the planning process, connectivity and multiple transportation options; adequate diversity; green, open, and social nodes in the urban fabric; culturally relevant urbanism and architecture; climate-sensitive urbanism and architecture; ecobalanced design applications; and adaptability, all integrated into the urban fabric and arranged compactly. Whereas strategies such as a macro-network of transit, walkability, intensification (developing on vacant lands), and green spaces can potentially be applied to existing neighbourhoods to improve their liveability.

Regardless of the universal applicability of urban design principles discussed above, the implementation and prioritization of the strategies will diverge based on the location’s specific factors such as local environmental conditions, local political structure, cultural practices and beliefs, geographic context, and social composition.

The detailed analysis of policies in the urban planning chapter enlightened Dubai’s downtown was planned and designed based on the guidelines that led to Singapore’s downtown re-invention and expansion. Meanwhile, the urban design chapter enabled us to find the distinct analogy between the masterplans of Kuala Lumpur downtown and Dubai downtown.

Interpretation | Conclusion

227 This thesis is divided into three main phases: Research, Analysis and Interpretation. Through research, urban models in Asia’s thriving cities such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and the Middle east’s emerging global city, Dubai were found to exhibit homogeneity in their respective downtowns and public spaces. Furthermore, the circulation of these urban models was not limited to just replication as seen with City Walk which most likely is an emerging urban model. Whereas the case of Boxpark in Dubai is a perfect example of the circulation of international design ideas across various continents irrespective of its contextual features, which works more like a plug-in urban feature.

Circulation of urban models in Dubai revolves around standardisation, replication and innovation.

Diagram illustrating the types of circulation seen in and around Downtown Dubai (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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On analysing the data acquired it was possible to develop an analogy to explain the development characteristics exhibited by Dubai which can be interpreted as Homogeneity, Homeomorphism and Emerging.

10.1.1 Standardized downtowns As a model of urban development, Dubai and cities like it elsewhere in the Middle east are based primarily on images, icons and star architecture rather than sustainable concepts and strategies, resulting in degradation of locality and a lack of social cohesion or uniqueness; bringing us to the question, should every downtown look the same? This process where a city is replacing or replicating urban models with those from other contexts is what we discussed as the circulation of urban models in our research. In our analysed cases this is what we have observed where the three downtowns, Dubai, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were created with an intention to create a city within a city.

For Dubai downtown, Kuala Lumpur City Centre with its iconic twin towers and lush green park with every feature one would need to get away from the monotony has been a model proving that combining business with leisure can be a successful formula for a city centre. The formula is not far from being relevant to even downtown Singapore with its iconic Bay that doubles up as a beautiful waterfront for its downtown and a venue for leisure and water sports. The problem arose when the formula wasn’t adapted to suit the needs of Dubai downtown which was steadily becoming a consumerist city with its decreased people-based development.

With the rapid homogenization of downtowns and the creation of “non-place” consumer arenas, transportation hubs, and leisure spaces (Auge, 1995; Ellin, 1997; Harvey, 1989; Sorkin, 1992) neighbourhoods became less about the local users and more about homogenization, or rather, doing what everyone is doing.

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Standardised Downtowns Top to bottom left to right Downtown Dubai (Source: newplacestay) Downtown Singapore (Source: freepik) Downtown Kuala Lumpur (Source: freepik) Diagram indicating standardisation (Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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230 Three of the models have been selected to analyse comparatively in-depth.

Urban model 1 | Skyscrapers Cities for centuries have rivalled in competition for economical, global establishments. This is described as competition for urban status by theorists like Patrick Geddes, Lewis Mumford et al.

And skyscrapers were looked at as a symbol of success and establishment globally. Dubai well has not stayed away from this competition. The Sheikh Zayed road which stretches for about three kilometres in the area that came to be known as downtown Dubai portrays just this. The possibility of redefining a city centre with a skyscraper is a model circulated from Kuala Lumpur City Centre where the towers and their development recreated the city centre away from the old city centre near Chinatown. The two cases compared for this urban model is Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur and Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Burj Dubai and its complex are reminiscent of Petronas towers and its surrounding development. In the 1990s, the twin towers with the accomplishment of being the world’s tallest buildings pushed Malaysia to become a competitor in the list of global cities. The 452m tall towers took 6 years to complete and cost the country a fortune of over RM 6 billion (USD 1.6 billion) but in the end, proved to be worth the time and money. If Kuala Lumpur has a symbol, it is, without a doubt, the Petronas Twin Towers (Lee, 2014). Indeed, these buildings would also be the symbol of Malaysia for many people within and beyond the country’s borders (Lee, 2014). This is exactly what His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum had in mind to elevate Dubai’s status as a popular tourist destination in the Middle East. An American Architect Adrian Smith from the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill came up with a neo-futuristic design inspired by the desert lily, a regional flower that grows in the Arabian Desert. The construction began in 2004 in downtown Dubai. Exactly six years later, standing 828m tall as the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa was opened to visitors. The cost of the project was $1.5 Billion, and the entire investment was recovered within the first year after the building was inaugurated (Arabia horizons, 2020).

231

Burj and Petronas Towers size compared in Burj’s context.

(Sourced from size explorer and edited by author, Mariette Robin)

232 Both cases demonstrate how the iconic high-rises are more than simply consequences of urban speculation (Ali and Al-Kodmany, 2012). The iconic skyscrapers ‘‘cannot be understood merely as a function of land values” (Bunnell 1999) They stand as a symbolic representation of the respective cities in the world through the redefinition of their identity. They represent the development taking place in Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and other cosmopolitan cities which is why the planning authorities seek the construction of a symbolic skyscraper in bringing their urban vision for the city to reality. The problem arises when the presence of these skyscrapers or rather, high-rise developments results in social segregation. Locals prefer living in residential towers with compact housing near the centre and non-locals prefer living in larger traditional houses away from the chaos of the city centre. This segregation needs to be addressed with proper planning and policies that focus on mixeduse development and spaces for social integration and recreation.

Left to right “They stand as a symbolic representation of the respective cities in the world through the redefinition of their identity.”

Dubai as represented by a graphic designer Engin Korkmaz (Source: Deposit photos) Kuala Lumpur as represented by a graphic designer Engin Korkmaz (Source: Deposit photos)

233 Urban model 2 | Waterbodies While the tallest iconic towers set off to become the image for the city, the developments around them began to unfold to provide a balance of nature and man-built structures.

Singapore is a blessed land with rivers flowing through the city and the Downtown Core Planning Area is the economic and cultural heart of Singapore. The downtown core, commonly known as the Central Business District (CBD) surrounds the banks of the Singapore River and Marina Bay. Singapore River Planning Area is a thriving hub of activity with historic buildings, buzzing nightlife and quality waterfront city living (URA Govt). UD guidelines here focus on capitalising on its heritage as a waterfront lifestyle destination, with pedestrian-friendly waterfronts and promenades. Built on the reclamation land, Marina Bay is a 360-hectare extension within the downtown core, it is an integrated mixed-use development that is envisioned as a work-live-play vibrant 24-hour CBD. This district forms the economic and cultural heart of Singapore, thus becoming a round-the-clock vibrant commercial district. Marina Bay is home to prime office spaces supported by complementary uses, luxury homes and some of the city’s most distinctive architectural icons, including the soaring structure of Marina Bay Sands and the charmingly durian-shaped Esplanade.

Kuala Lumpur has the Klang River and Gombak River flowing through its old city centre whereas the KLCC doesn’t display any noticeable natural water body flowing on its natural course. But in the middle of the KLCC park, a man-made lake was built with an 18-meter high water fountain, directly in front of Suria KLCC mall and Petronas Twin Towers towards the middle of the park.

A 4.3-metre elevated bridge that cut across the lake provides a vantage view of the park and the twin towers (Malaysia tourism).

Dubai downtown is embellished with a 3-kilometre-long artificial water canal that accommodates hotels, shopping centres, restaurants, luxury housing, walkways and cycle paths along both banks and surroundings, thus creating a new public realm. Marina Bay development in Singapore was added as an extension to the CBD on reclaimed land, similarly, the Dubai canal is an extension of downtown to enhance the economic and cultural activities.

234 Another prominent water feature is the Dubai fountain at the centre of Dubai downtown. Submerged within the 30-acre Burj Lake, at the foot of the Dubai Mall, powerful water jets are laid out strategically over an area the length of two football pitches (Dubai tourism). It is 275 m (902 ft) long, illuminated by 6,600 lights and 50 coloured projectors and shoots water up to 500 ft (152.4 m) into the air accompanied by a range of classical to contemporary Arabic and world music (Dubai tourism).

The study carried out here helps us to conclude that the water features present in and around Dubai downtown are inspired by both Singapore’s Marina Bay and the Fountain at the foot of Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Towers.

235

Top to bottom 1. Marina bay, Singapore 2. Dubai canal, Dubai 3. KLCC Fountain, Kuala Lumpur 4. Burj fountain, Dubai (Source: Google images)

236 Urban model 3 | Large Parks The presence of Parks in downtowns right in the hustle and bustle is essential for cities to promote themselves as attractive places to live, work and travel to. Apart from self-marketing they also help through the shade, oxygen, and stormwater storage. They are necessary elements for healthy and liveable communities. With the tourism and popularity, the towers were brought in for Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian government was fully aware there would be a need for more green spaces, something the new downtown was lacking. This was when the beautifully landscaped KLCC came into reality. The two cases compared for this urban model are KLCC Park in Downtown Kuala Lumpur and Burj Park in Downtown Dubai.

The KLCC park was designed to display a heritage of tropical landscaping while providing much-needed relief from the dynamic city centre. The relief that Dubai hoped to provide as well to the users of the campus was laced by skyscrapers. Over 50 per cent of KLCC’s park was designed by Burle Marx who sought to create the illusion of Greenspace in a Concrete Jungle. The Burj park is much smaller and more of an island and a timid attempt to recreate the effects of KLCC park on a business district. Ideally designed for a high-end range of corporate events and exhibitions including banquets, weddings, concerts and product launches, the park is contained on an island along Burj Lake (Dubai tourism). While KLCC park focused on the preservation of natural elements and exhibits local culture and art, the Burj park focused on hosting a range of events such as weddings, banquets, fashion galas, exhibitions, concerts and corporate functions. But both parks were designed to be a green lung in the chaotic district for the benefit of the community and businesses in the surrounding areas.

Both cases are designed to make the place more liveable for its users; an ideal place to live, work, visit, relax, and shop. They represent the city’s initiative to break the monotonous business district with a refreshing open space. Both Parks encompass a children’s play area, a pond, bicycle paths, and walking paths in an open space that provides opportunities for leisure and social activities.

237

Left to right Top to bottom Map of KLCC park and Burj park exposing similarities in the surrounding features in the map (Source: Google maps) Aerial view of KLCC park and Burj park where both are laced by skyscrapers (Source: Google images) View of KLCC park and Burj park showing a similar space for events and activities (Source: Google maps)

238 10.1.2 Replicated Boxparks The property, shown by certain chemical compounds, having the same crystal form but different chemical compositions can be termed as Homeomorphism. Also used when there is a close similarity in the crystal forms of unlike compounds. In our case, this metaphor refers to Boxparks which are urban models similar in concept and materials but different in every execution. Shipping container architecture or cargotecture has become the epitome of “New, Now, Next.” The recent focus of development in Dubai has been on shopping malls, retail stores, cafes, restaurants and not on public parks and spaces like in other developing cities. So, the circulation of successful urban models facilitating fast retail using container architecture was much welcomed as we have seen in earlier chapters.

Boxpark in Dubai is a stand-alone development on Al Wasl street without any tangible connections with the neighbouring developments. Despite Meraas attempt to achieve a form that is indistinguishable from the architecture in context, it fails to attract visitors as anticipated during its conception. Though the initial idea was to develop a pedestrian-oriented public realm, it is overshadowed by its consumer-based planning.

Negligence in the selection of an appropriate location may have led to this. But with improved connection with City Walk and Dubai downtown along with strategic branding and marketing, Boxpark could be revived. Because trends such as city branding, spectacular sizing and urban marketing are all strate¬gies used by international de¬velopers, investors and municipalities as an economic boost and to reach a glob¬al city image (Ponzini, 2011,2013)

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239

Replicated Boxparks Map of Europe and Asia indicating locations of the replicated Boxparks.

(Source: Author, Mariette Robin)

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240 10.1.3 Emerging City Walk The emphasis on the characteristics of three downtowns led to the discovery of a common urban model solution: a mixed-use development in each downtown. Suntec is an established city within a city offering a variety of shopping and leisure venues with five office towers branching out from a four-storey retail podium. It also accommodates a large convention hall, a family entertainment complex, exhibition centre all connected by street-level plazas, streets, walkways and courtyards. And Kuala Lumpur’s central market is an iconic attraction and landmark for Malaysian heritage.

Despite heavy urban transformations in the vicinity, the central market continues to adapt and remain as a gathering space for the older community.

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Emerging City Walk (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)

City Walk is Dubai’s recent example of urban regeneration neighbouring the towering Burj Khalifa and its downtown. Along with tree-lined avenues, a variety of public plazas, it also hosts retail stores, entertainment facilities, apartments, hotels, restaurants, cafes, educational institutions and a large arena. City Walk has evolved to be a city-level contemporary community centre that can be accessed by various user groups while encouraging nonvehicular access. In terms of climate considerations, the City Walk is successfully adapted to its context. Nevertheless, this sprouting mixed-use neighbourhood stands on the land that was erased from its buzzing community life.

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242 10.2 Questioning Dubaisation: Two-way circulation and demands for a citizen-oriented approach On examination of the data and research included in the previous chapters, the similarity in the urban fabric, components and development between the chosen examples are almost evident without putting them under a microscope. Dubai has established itself into a brand that many cities aspire to be. In a matter of a few years, Dubai began to be considered as a standard of urban development and success for upcoming and developing cities in its prime time.

This concept of imitating Dubai’s pattern of development or individual projects is termed as Dubaization as we see today. In fact, other gulf cities themselves attempt to imitate Dubai’s success with all their skylines looking identical. So how exactly did Dubai become a global icon and source of inspiration for developing cities in the current decade? Analysing the data (putting them under a microscope) will answer that question. It is important to note that while this export of Urban models from Dubai are taking place for the past two decades, we see that Dubai has circulated and circulated urban models from global cities in its growing years.

Dubai has undergone a process of construction, deconstruction and reconstruction of its identity to be at par and achieve a striking resemblance with these global cities. This process where a city is replacing its own urban models with those from other contexts is what we are discussing as the circulation of urban models in our research. Marvin Hvidt, in his article The Dubai Model: An Outline of Key Development-Process Components in Dubai discusses that the Dubai model is an economic model which derives its inspiration from Singapore and is based upon a combination of statism, a private sector able and willing to engage in the development process, and not least a deeply rooted vision of “catching up” with its oil-rich neighbours and the “first world.” According to him, East Asian states like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur share features that influence deep economic intervention. Since the late 1900s, their development experience has been an important source of inspiration for the urban developers of Dubai.

Interpretation | Conclusion

243 Dubai

Singapore

Kuala Lumpur

Landuse planning

2.3 SqKm

3.8 SqKm

4.8SqKm

Mixed use in the vicinity

City Walk

Suntec City Telok Ayer Market

Central market

Waterbody and Canals

The Dubai fountain Creek canal

Merlion Pearls hill city park Singapore river

Symphony Lake (KLCC Park)

Tall towers

Burj Khalifa Address downtown Dubai Forte towers Grande II Primo

Capital tower Frasers Oxley tower Prudential tower Central boulevard towers

Petronas, Menara exxon mobile Menara 3 petronas

Shopping and retail

The Dubai mall Souk al bahar

Marina Square Suntec city mall

Pavillion Kuala Lumpur Suriya KLCC Sogo

Parks and gardens

Safa Park Zaabeel Park

Fort canning park Gardens by the Bay

Perdana Botanical Garden KLCC Park

Hotels

Palace downtown The address Sofitel Taj Dubai

Mandarin oriental Duxtun reserve Singapore The Clan hotel Singapore

Shangri la Mandarin oriental hotel Grand hyatt

Downtowns

Comparison table of the urban models identified in the three Downtowns Joint work

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Through innovation, strategic investment, branding, and openness to globalization, Dubai has been able to transform a backwater, oil-poor Arab city-state into an international metropolis. He quotes Nabil Ali Alyousuf, director general at The Executive Office in Dubai, “Singapore became a reference point for Dubai because of the similarities between the two countries—especially in vision and proactive leadership.”

A comparative analysis of the downtown core of three cities illustrates the similarities and homogenisation in the urban landscape, infrastructure and facilities that propagate them in the global market. Success and stability of cities undoubtedly lie in the development of its downtown which is why it was necessary to ensure what was being planned was already successful in another context. Three of our cases of the study referenced here are downtown Dubai, Downtown Singapore and Downtown Kuala Lumpur.

The first things one would notice to be common in the three cases are the skyscrapers and urban components of the downtowns which almost brands the cities in terms of star architecture, attractiveness for foreign investments and as a marketing strategy to attract its target audience. While this is one model, the concept of circulation is not limited to this model alone and will be discussed over the next chapters. The table highlights some of the key physical similarities in the downtowns of Dubai, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

Regarding the first question which deals with what lead the metropolis of Dubai to become a global icon for circulation, we can reflect on the comparison made in chapter 10.2 between downtown Dubai and the other two downtowns, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur studied in this research.

“So how exactly did Dubai become a global icon and source of inspiration for developing cities in the current decade? Analysing the data (putting them under a microscope) will answer that question.”

245 Marvin Hvidt, in his article The Dubai Model: An Outline of Key Development-Process Components in Dubai discusses that the Dubai model is an economic model which derives its inspiration from Singapore. According to him, East Asian states like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur share features that influence deep economic intervention. Since the late 1900s, their development experience has been an important source of inspiration for the urban developers of Dubai. Similar elements in the three downtowns like waterbodies, large parks, skyscrapers, retail developments, mixed use developments and hotels were identified as urban models.

Our case was built by going in depth over three of these models, Skyscrapers, Waterbodies and Large parks which seemed the most significant ones.

The second question encompasses the public’s relationship with the circulated models studied in this research. Whether or not they have been successfully implemented. What better way to perceive that than incolve the public themselves?

“In October 2021 we created an online form and circulated it through social media, friends and acquaintances to about 40-45 responses for each of the three cities. The responses included city residents as well as frequent flyers.”

In chapter 8.4 we reflect on the methodology for the survey we conducted online. The questions were simple yes or no ore multiple choices ones covering the circulated models of our research and the target was residents or frequent travellers to the three cities. The data we collected seemed to run almost parallel with our thoughts as an urban designer and planner. For example, the mode of transportation most utilised by our subjects in Dubai was private vehicles whereas in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur it was distinctly public transportation and slow mobility which was almost absent in Dubai. The graphical representation of this survey is available in the annex of this book.

246 The next question addresses the adaptation of the urban models and policies circulated. Parts of this, specifically the circulated policies have been reflected on in chapter 9.4. Through research we were able to build our case around how models that have been circulated to Dubai and originally from elsewhere have seldom been adapted and do not necessarily work the best.

Though the urban model by itself is something that has the potential of bringing in an economy in Dubai, it runs along the residential area on Al Wasl street for a stretch of 1 km with no transit stop nearby. In a car-dominated city like Dubai, a destination like this has just brought in more traffic.”

In the other case where the model originated in Dubai and were circulated out from homeground, it wroked almost flawlessly as reflected in the chapter on CitWalk a home grown model.

The final research question discusses the types of circulation of urban models seen in Dubai. An analogy was developed to interpret our research data leading upto this in chapter 10

“Circulation of urban models in Dubai revolves around standardisation, replication and innovation which can be interpreted as Homogeneity, Homeomorphism and Emergence.”

Each of the three case studies in Dubai exhibited one of the three types of circulation. Downtown Dubai exhibits standardisation as studied with its comparative case studies, Downtown Singapore and Downtown Kuala Lumpur. Boxpark exhibited replication as there seemed to be minimal changes in the model in each execution. City Walk unlike the others was a home grown model and seemed best adapted to its context and worked sucessfully in comparison with the other models.

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ANNEX An online survey was conducted to collect user data for Dubai, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. An online form was created and circualted through social media, friends and acquaintances for each of the cities. The responses included city residents, frequent flyers and tourists. The online form was structured in a multiple choice format to determine their experiences in the downtown and other public spaces in each city. And a part of the survey has the scope for suggestions and improvements.

248

Annex

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250

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