The Emirates of Dubai is without a doubt a complete success story when it comes to infrastructure and tourism developments. In its 50 years of journey, Dubai is known for transforming a desert into astonishing skyscrapers, breath-taking architect, luxurious malls, heritage sight-seeing, tourist attraction and has become a hub for businesses like real-estate and retail industry.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of the Emirates of Dubai, claimed that this city is going to be number One, as Dubai has been competitive and proven itself multiple times. It is the most record-breaking city across the entire MENA region, holding more than 400 Guinness world records.
Some of the notable being the tallest building in the world, the largest mall in the world, the largest dancing fountain in the world, the tallest hotel in the world, the largest flower garden in the world, the longest driverless metro transport in the world and the list goes on.
The vision of being number one doesn’t end here. What’s worth noticing is that developments in Dubai never stops, as it is a city that keeps on striving, constructing, and developing. With this being said, on March 13, 2021, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has announced an “Urban Master Plan” which is the vision of Dubai 2040.
In simple words, this urban master plan is to utilize the empty spaces and empty lands that are already available within the city and encourage infrastructural developments like buildings and roads within these empty lands. It is using the available environment to boost its infrastructure.
The cities included in the urban master plan are Deira and Bur Dubai, Downtown Dubai and Business Bay, JBR (Dubai Marina), and the two centers, Expo 2020 and Dubai Silicon Oasis.
-Developments in Deira and Bur Dubai shall focus on the heritage part of the Emirates,
-Downtown Dubai and business bay will focus on the financial areas, being the business and corporation hub,
-JBR(Dubai Marina) will focus on the tourism and hospitality aspect of the Emirates
and the two new centers:
-Expo 2020, which will focus on hosting the world’s exhibition and being the center of the logistics sector
-and Dubai Silicon Oasis, where its development will focus, mainly on science, technology and not only bring in innovation to boost the economy further but also to identify new talents who will have the capabilities of executing a scientific breakthrough in the future.
The Dubai 2040 Urban master plan is to revive these cities to sustain more progressive growth. According to the population of each of these cities, the building of roads, schools, hospitals, parks, public transport, malls, housing, source of energy, water, and many other facilities shall be allocated accordingly. This makes sure that all the needs and wants are being met in abundance.
According to gulf news, the population of Dubai is 3.3 Million currently, and with the successful execution of Dubai’s 2040 vision, the population of residents living in Dubai is expected to increase by more than 5.8 Million, whereas the day-time population is expected to increase by 7.8 Million by the year 2040. The reason being, this urban master plan will attract people from all over the world, where it can fulfill a dream for many who are looking to progress their careers and grow professionally.
Talking about its construction, the urban master plan will go contrary to the likes of its current cities. The development of all these cities will be focused more on green spaces, where parks and other recreational areas will be doubled by size.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has himself tweeted that nature reserve in the urban master plan will comprise 60%, which can improve Dubai’s ecosystem, preventing sandstorms, enhancing biodiversity to optimize scientific research opportunities, and simply to display an astounding sight for tourists to experience.
It is mainly for increasing the quality of life by giving residents a chance to explore more leisure activities like beaches, sports, gyms, academies, shopping malls, and even healthcare while experiencing greenery, all contributing to an enhanced lifestyle. It is good news for the ones planning to settle in Dubai because as the population increases, the cost of living can become less due to its increasing demands and focus on nature reserves.
To serve the purpose further, there is an emphasis on government services like public transport, where pedestrians, bicycles, and the use of metro, buses, or tramp will be encouraged more by 2040.
It is one of the conclusive measures to keep the roads clear and end the increasing traffic on road, making the city look wider, less congested, and greener to preserve the nature reserves. Another measure is to promote the use of technology within the city, with high advancements in transportation. Since traveling is going to increase, movements from one place to another within the city will be made much easier.
These developments will help not only Dubai, but the entire U.A.E’s economy to grow exponentially as it can combat the losses from the shutdown, recently caused by covid-19. Since many job losses have occurred in U.A.E with a lack of constructive activities in the previous year, especially from the private sector, the urban master plan has enlightened an opportunity to regain the confidence of its residents back in Dubai.
Not only the residents, but it mainly aims to pave the way for investors in real estate and businesses, injecting an increasing inflow of capital to recover strongly from the shutdowns and economic loss due to covid-19.
Another advantage is that it can help to cease the existence of a dual economy, where the entire city can be economically balanced and properly utilized. Through this idea, the city will not be dependent on a particular area for economic growth but will have every area bringing in their valued contribution to the city together. Other than that, it can improve the overall image, where every part of Dubai will seem more esteemed and not just one particular part of Dubai seem energetic and lively.
It will attract investors from all over the world, potentially bringing in talented individuals with hi-tech knowledge and trending business insights that will progress Dubai ahead of its game with valuable ideas and contributions. This eventually means new job opportunities, where ex-pats can benefit from a developing economy and upgrade their careers that will be recognized around the world since Dubai shall become the center of attention.
The Dubai 2040 urban master plan is bound to be successful. The reason being, Dubai is no stranger to transforming nothing into something stunning. In 50 years, it has transformed a desert into what it is today, carrying an impressive track record of achieving the unthinkable, and proving to the world that you can do wonders with all the available resources.
