DanMr

Hello, sorry if my first post is not Houston related, I live in Dubai and I came across this thread. I'm really interested in this sort of stuff so I feel I should contribute. I definitely agree with "the voice of university oaks", the boom here is not related to tourism only, but also to business, trade, etc. Tourism is obviously a main part but they're trying to diversify into a service based economy I think. I've actually got mixed feelings about the projects here. I might aswell start with the bad, I wish they'd stop with the man-made islands. I mean, the original palm was a great idea and played a main part in advertising this place to the world but when you get palm 2, 3, the world and some more the idea is ruined. They're destroying our coastline with this stuff, of course the developers say that the palm islands are actually encouraging more marine life, I really doubt this is true. Of course once the construction stops the marine life will come back and there would probably be more than before because of the islands but here's the thing, the islands will have to be constantly be replenished because of erosion so the sand will never settle. Another thing that bugs me is that there's so much sprawl and they just keep on building those houses in the middle of nowhere. I know a lot of cities in the States, including Houston have suffered because of sprawl but we don't seem to be learning from the mistakes of others, instead we're just so obsessed with copying the american dream that we completely overlook the bad consequences. In a few years Dubai's sprawl will extend beyond jebel ali, that's over 60 kilometers, and the authorities are surprised at the gridlock traffic. Not all is bad though, there are some great developments in Dubai, one of those is the marina. The marina's a massive residential project with loads of towers. I've actually bought myself an apartment in the jumeirahbeach residence, about 40 similar-looking towers (what most people call the ugliest development in the city). I do think this is true, however the developer has promised that the common podium of the towers will contain more than 300 stores so it'll mean I won't have to travel by car to do my shopping. Also my apartment is really near the bridge to the other side. I'm hoping to move in next year. Also in an area at the top of the picture they hope to build several supertall towers over 1000ft, some of which will scrape 1300ft or even 1400ft One development that people from outside never guess is the metro system, yes dubai is planning a mass transit system and a major one at that. 2 lines from a new lightrail system are being built right now, the trains will be driverless and I think it'll be the longest driverless track in the world (not sure exactly). I consider this the most important development in the city, another advantage of my jbr apartment is that across the bridge the metro station will be right there. Here are the 2 lines under construction. Apparently, a blue line will run from the old airport to the new one being built now, also a 4th line has been mentioned in the news but it's still under design. A figure of 300km of lightrail track is being targeted by 2020, that's a huge number and I'm glad they're now taking public transport as being equally important as building roads (that's the way it should be anyway) As you've guessed I'm a fan of high density and tall buildings. I lurk on skyscraperpage and skyscrapercity and have found some great pictures of the major developments here. One thing that's been holding my attention for a while is that a new sort of CBD is taking shape over around the current tall towers along the main highway. I've noticed that the developments have been linked well around there, the burj dubai complex and business bay for example. That whole district will have over 500 towers eventually. I actually think those projects will be a huge success because they look well planned from the masterplans, definitely looks like a new area of dubai I'll enjoy walking around in. Also that area will contain some of the tallest towers in the world, I've heard rumours of over 20 towers over 1000ft. What I'm sure about though is that the burj dubai will not stand alone. Here are some pictures of a model the guys over on skyscrapercity and skyscraperpage made. It's of this district I've been talking about. One thing I fear about this new CBD is that businesses may move out from the old centre to this place in order to maybe avoid traffic, or to be closer to certain areas. Of course it'll be great if these buildings will be filled since it'll make the area much more lively with people all around but the old centre could suffer. I'd hate to see that happen since the old centre is where all the soul is.