Global Cities of Tomorrow; The rise of Dubai and its place in the future global city landscape

1

Global Cities of Tomorrow: The rise of Dubai and its place in the future global city landscape

Sofie Nilsson and Bryans Mukasa

2015-‐01-‐09

1.0 Background 1.1 Introduction The quest for global city status is so apparent today, accelerated by globalisation (Taylor 2011; Taylor 2004; McCann and Acs 2011). A city’s competitiveness at the global stage is determined by several factors, which according to The Economist Intelligence Unit (2013), create both sustainable economic growth and provide a favourable business and social atmosphere for those who live, work, visit, consume, and play in the city. Moonen and Clark (2013, p. 2) point out that “cities are now the major sites where challenges around the new economy, sustainability and resilience, equality, infrastructure, leisure and culture are all played out”. As such, a city’s capacity to attract and retain businesses, visitors, talent, and capital gives it a competitive advantage over other cities. Historic world cities, London, Paris, Tokyo, and New York have continuously embarked on consolidating their relative positions within the global city hierarchies -‐ gradually transforming from being strongholds of imperial power in the past centuries to dominant centres of global economic and financial flows in the 21st century (Taylor 2004). The ambition for global city status has also reached many other cities worldwide, with Singapore and Hong Kong closing the gap with the top four in recent years given the increasing foreign investments into the cities and growth of both their financial and tourism sectors (Moonen and Clark 2013). With Singapore and Hong Kong having transitioned into global cities, Shanghai, the financial and cultural capital of China, now tops the list of emerging world cities (Moonen and Clark 2013 p.33). However, of interest to this study is Dubai, which ranks second and has established itself as an important gateway in the Middle East and the Gulf region. For almost half a century now, Dubai has been pursuing world city status, emerging as a small trading port and fishing village in the 1900s into a major global tourist destination, financial centre, and rising real estate powerhouse today (Marchal 2005; Pacione 2005). According to Pacione (2005), Dubai has become a city of regional importance, and a significant player in the global urban-‐economic system. The global and local forces driving its growth are deeply grounded within a historical and geographical context. Its ports are close to regional and global markets, it has had relative stability in a region with political

2

instability, and it has had trade links with Africa, Middle East and Asia long before the 20th century (Marchal 2005). Its exponential growth in the past fifty years is however largely attributed to the discovery of oil and the “liberal economic approach of government that sought to attract inward investment to a low-‐taxation, business friendly, and politically stable environment“ (Pacione 2005, p. 3). It has also been planning for a future without oil, a key aspect to its sustainable development. By the year 2025, Dubai is predicted to be ranked 23th in the global city hierarchy, ahead of current influential cities such as Berlin, Shanghai, and Brussels (EIU 2013). Nevertheless, its lack of pluralism in the political system, low numbers of women in the workforce, questionable working conditions of the migrant labour force have attracted global attention and human rights issues have been reported by various studies (Haken 2011; The Library of Congress 2007; Pacione 2005; UNICEF 2011). The global financial crisis also tested its growth strategy and perhaps raised a lot of questions about the ‘Dubai model’. 1.3 Aim of study The principal aim of this paper is to examine Dubai as an emerging global city. It discusses factors that influence its competitiveness and are fundamental in defining its position in the global city networks in future. The aim of the study is approached through the following central questions: ● How has Dubai developed over the years? ● Are other cities around Dubai complementary or competing? ● What can Dubai offer in the global city network? ● What success factors drive Dubai’s role in the regional and global city networks? ● What limitations are hindering Dubai’s competitiveness in the global network? ● How can Dubai improve its image -‐ become more attractive and competitive at the

global stage? 1.4 Methodology Various think tanks and researchers have provided several indicators of competitiveness and criteria for ranking global cities (Moonen and Clark 2013; Globalization and the World Cities Group (GaWC) 2014; Taylor 2004). This study has adopted eight thematic clusters from The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU 2013) upon which to examine Dubai’s strengths and weaknesses as an emerging global city. To ensure that the selected clusters cover a broad spectrum of Dubai’s performance, they have been modified where necessary in accordance to the data provided by Moonen and Clark (2013). The data covers 150 global city indexes, benchmarks, comparative rankings, and other publicly available data from literature sources, global development organisations such as the UN Habitat and the World

3

Bank, statistics organisations, and business consultancy firms. We have ensured that where statistics are presented in this study, we provide information for the latest available year. The thematic clusters are: 1. Economic performance To examine the economic performance of Dubai, we consider the growth potential of the city by analysing its real GDP growth potential until the year 2025. We also discuss the market size, cost of living and size of the middle class households (average annual consumption for the middle class taken as US$14,000 and above (EIU 2013)). 2. Human Capital This discussion is essentially about Dubai’s demographics -‐ the implications of migrant workers and the productivity, and health of the labour force. We try to answer key questions such as: How skilled is Dubai’s workforce? How many women are parts of the workforce and what implications does it have on Dubai’s competitiveness? How is the quality of education? 3. Financial Maturity For purposes of this study, we evaluate the efficiency of Dubai’s financial infrastructure to ascertain whether the city is diversified enough to compete with established global financial clusters such as New York and London. 4. Global Appeal In this category, Dubai’s global attractiveness is assessed based on the presence of the Fortune 500 companies, reputable institutions of higher education, and global research institutes and think tanks. These entities should either have headquarters in Dubai or use it as a high connectivity gateway to global markets (Taylor 2004). 5. Governance The effectiveness of the government to formulate and implement strategies for economic, socio-‐cultural and political development is assessed. A comparison between authoritarian governments and those that allow more civic and private sector engagement is also made. 6. Physical Capital This category explores the transport and communication networks of Dubai. Physical infrastructure such roads and railways, airports and seaports play an important role in connecting a city to the global community. 7. Environmental Sustainability

4

In a time when the world is faced with rapid urbanisation and the challenges of climate change such as rising sea-‐levels (IPCC 2014), the environment is increasingly playing a crucial role in determining where people want to live, work, play, and visit. In order for emerging world cities such as Dubai to compete favourably with already established ones, they need to formulate robust ways to become more resilient to both anthropogenic and natural catastrophes. In this category, we discuss Dubai’s commitment to combat global and local environmental issues and its risks to natural hazards. 8. Social and Cultural character The social and cultural character of the city refers to those aspects, which make the city more liveable. Opportunities for recreation, leisure and hospitality make a city more attractive. A key aspect to discuss in detail is Dubai’s investment in global sports events and the resultant economic benefits. The list of indicators discussed under each cluster (success factors (+) and limitations (-‐)) in the tables below are adopted and modified from EIU (2013, pp. 32-‐33). 2.0 Discussion and Analysis 2.1 Economic performance Dubai remains the highest ranked city in the economic potential category in the Middle East. In 2011, it attracted 30% of all the foreign direct investment (FDI) projects into the region, which was four times its closest rival. It maintained its number one position in the region in 2012, a year in which 13% of the FDI projects invested more than 100 million US dollars in its economy (fDi Intelligence 2013). The city attracted 25 new international retailers across all sectors in 2012, the same number as Singapore and earning it a spot in the top five cities to attract new retailers. It is also becoming more affordable while retaining its economic competitiveness; although it is still the second most expensive city buy clothes, after Tokyo (Moonen and Clark 2013). In the figure to the right, a positive trend could be seen in the GDP per capita and GDP per employee (+11% and +15%) in the city of Dubai, compared to the whole United Arab Emirates (UAE) (Haryopratomo et al 2011). Yet, only a small part of the GDP per capita growth could be explained by the increase in labour productivity. This is because the population grew with 7% and almost everyone came from foreign countries.

5

Figure 1 Dubai’s nominal GDP, GDP per capita, GDP per employee and population from 2005-‐2010. (Dubai Statistics Center 2011 cited in Haryopratomo et al 2011) Part of Dubai’s success is also related to money-‐laundering and loose banking regulations (Brook 2013; Marchal 2005). In order to improve its image, there is need to address this issues through formulating more efficient economic policies and structures. Summary of Economic performance

Indicator Score Description

Nominal GDP (PPP) (+) Highest in the Gulf region

GDP per capita (+) Increasing in Dubai compared to the rest of the UAE

Households with annual consumption >US$14,000 (PPP)

(-‐) While the middle class is growing, the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing

City real GDP growth rate (+) Increasing until the financial crisis in 2009

Regional market integration (+) Part of the Gulf Co-‐operation Council and other economic agreements It also benefits from collaboration with other cities within the UAE

6

2.2 Human Capital In the late 1960s, immigrants from India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan were attracted by the merchant tradition of wholesale and retail trades of goods in Dubai (Pacione 2005). In the decades that followed, the rapid population growth due to the economic expansion in the oil industry created a demand for a skilled labour force and this expertise could only been satisfied from foreign countries. Despite policy regulations for illegal immigrants, 96% of the population is foreign born. This is high compared to New York, with 37% immigrants (Brook 2013). The productivity of a city’s labour force is significantly enriched by the presence of foreigners, especially in cases where the local population is lacking in numbers, skills and knowledge (The Economist Intelligence Unit 2013). The demographic profile is characterised by a dominance of economically active males in the 20-‐40-‐age range, both visible in expatriate and total population (figure 1). In the figure, the lower proportion of women is also visible.

7

Figure 2 Population pyramids by age and sex for total and expatriate population (Pacione 2005) UNICEF (2011) notes that the female participation in labour market is less than half of the men (42% compared to 92%). Globally, the female participation rate is about 52%. Furthermore, in 2008, the total female unemployment rate was 12%, much higher than that of men (2%). This raises issues of gender inequality. According to Moonen and Clark (2013), key to a city’s competitiveness is the presence of renown and good business schools as studies suggest that many of the graduates opt to remain in the cities in which they graduated due to the contacts they establish during the course of their studies. Furthermore, renowned business schools provide a learning experience that is truly global and contemporary due to investment in research, collaborations and partnerships, and presence of international faculty and students. In Dubai’s Internet City, an education zone was established in 2003 to enable co-‐existence and collaboration of research institutions and companies. Dubai has attracted a number of schools, ranked in the top 100 Business Schools in the World (Financial Times 2014). Among these schools are: London Business School (ranked top in 2011 and third in 2014), Hult International Business School (ranked 61st in 2014 and with presence in six other global cities). In terms of innovation, Dubai ranks 34th in the world, ahead of its rival Abu Dhabi but still with the need to improve if it is to compete with global leaders in education and innovation -‐ Boston, London, and Paris (2thinknow consulting 2013) . In UAE, public education is free for all nationals until the university level and education is compulsory until the ninth grade (The Library of Congress 2007). Statistics indicate that in 2005, 97% of female and 94% of male youth in UAE were literate (UNICEF 2011). However, until grade six, everyone is supposed to attend gender-‐segregated schools. Furthermore, female students were not allowed into the Zayid University in Abu Dhabi and Dubai until 1998. Morley (2014, p. 118) argues that a recurring pattern of male dominance in the academic field and underrepresentation of women as contributors to knowledge generation and dissemination is evident in various locations. Dubai is no exception, as its religious practices have served to establish such a status quo. In Dubai and all the emirates, healthcare is provided for all nationals. The health situation in UAE puts special attention to mothers and children in terms of promotion, health education and medical facilities (WHO 2014). By improving governance in healthcare, the UAE is committed to provide for world health-‐class services. However, to reach satisfactory health development at all levels, there is a need for improved policies and strategies. Summary of Human Capital

8


Population growth (+) Abundance of cheap migrant labour force

Working-‐age population (+) High working age population-‐ high productivity, but less representation from women

Entrepreneurship and risk-‐taking mind-‐set

(+) High access to new technologies

Quality of education (-‐) High percentage of low-‐skilled labour Higher education system is of low quality compared to cities like Boston, London, Paris High percentage of women in higher education

Quality of healthcare (+) High ranked globally but still need for improvement. According to PWC (2014), it ranks 12th in the world, performing better than all American cities.

Hiring of Foreign nationals (+) Diversity and competence

2.3 Financial Maturity Astbury Marsden, a leading financial services recruitment firm, produced a report in 2012 showcasing the preferred city to work in investment banking. The respondents chose New York (20%), London (19%), Hong Kong (16%), and Dubai (15%) (Astbury Marsden 2013). While the leading cities in West have been characterised by low wage growth and higher taxes since the financial crisis in 2008, Dubai and other cities from Asia have established themselves as lower tax hubs (Moonen and Clark, 2013). This has attracted investments to emerging cities and contributed to closing the gap between the former and the latter in the global cities hierarchy. Dubai also faces competition from its regional rivals like Bahrain and Riyadh. Nevertheless, Dubai is determined to stay ahead of its regional rivals. The establishment of Dubai International Financial Centre is part of its strategy as it is committed to building a highly competitive business atmosphere run by a competent multinational and multidisciplinary team consisting of members from as far as the UK and Hong Kong (Marchal 2005).

9

Astbury Marsden (2013) also predict that by 2022, the leading global financial centre will either be London or one of the Asian cities of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Although the possible shift of influence from the West to the East, Dubai’s position is uncertain. It begs to ask then: What does Dubai have to do to compete favourably with the Western and Asian rivals? To begin with, the presence of the Dubai financial centre free zone is not adequate, as Dubai has to rethink its policies in order to attract more global financial service providers and build resilience to future financial crises. Summary of Financial Maturity


Breadth and depth of the financial cluster

(+) Strong regional performance boosted by existence of the financial centre Reliable capital markets

2.4 Global Appeal Dubai boasts of five times more foreign owned companies (at least 1300 companies in total) than any other country in the Middle East (fDi Intelligence 2013). Dubai is also attractive to the rich and powerful property elite and global high net worth individuals (HNWIs) (Citi Bank and Knight Frank 2010; Moonen and Clark 2013). A survey of almost 8,000 top oil and gas professionals by Rigzone -‐ a petroleum employment and data clearing company indicates that Dubai tops the list of cities with the brightest future in the oil and gas industry (Rigzone 2013). The city has attracted leading global petroleum companies and many expatriates. Halliburton has its global headquarter in Dubai while Dragon Oil and Wood Group have also established their presence in the oil and gas hub. According to Moonen and Clark (2013), Dubai has utilised the oil and gas industry to build a business-‐friendly and economically diversified environment, eventually opening up new markets and expanding existing ones in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Dubai’s image is attributed to low tax and pro business philosophy. It has the lowest tax rate globally (PwC 2014). One part of the strategy is the formation of the trade free zones. Since its inception in 1996, the Dubai Airport Free Zone has been the fastest growing free zone in the Middle East. In 2010, it was ranked 2nd and then attained the top position in 2012 and 2013 according to the fDi Intelligence ‘Global Free Zones of the Future’ analysis (Moonen and Clark 2013, p. 157). Dubai has also witnessed the growth of other free zones such as the Dubai International Finance Centre, DuBiotech, Media City and Knowledge

10

Village, all with the favourable transport links and the capacity to attract foreign direct investments. Secondly, Dubai has set out to become a regional hub for commerce, service and leisure by developing these free zones as ‘cities within the city’ (Pacione 2005). Its efforts to use architecture as a symbolic gesture to market itself as a contemporary progressive society have resulted in one of the most powerful and spectacular skylines in the gulf region. Boasting of record breaking skyscrapers such as the Burj Khalifa (standing at 892.8m, the tallest building in the world upon its completion in 2009), it is ranked 5th among the cities with the most dominant skylines in the world by Emporis Skyline Ranking, based on the density, size and number of skyscrapers (Moonen and Clark 2013). The architectural masterpieces have improved the city’s image and perhaps boosted its tourism potential with visitor numbers increasing by over 10% per year (Moonen and Clark 2013; Pacione 2005). Summary of global appeal


Number of Fortune 500 companies (+) Presence of some of global companies, especially in the oil, real estate and financial sectors

Frequency of international flights (+) Global tourist destination Emirates airlines is emerging as a competitive brand globally

Global leadership in higher education

(-‐) Low numbers of women Low research output and innovation

Globally-‐renown think-‐tanks (+) Evidence of collaborations and partnerships with global universities and research institutions

Real Estate Market (+) Showing growth and recovery from the financial crisis. Its sustainability can not be predicted though

2.5 Governance and Political Structures

11

There is evidence that in cities like Dubai, autocratic governments have played a significant role in building infrastructure necessary for making them more competitive at the global stage while many emerging global cities with more democratised mechanisms and evidence of citizenship engagement, such as Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro, have struggled to formulate policies and address key aspects necessary to enhance their competitiveness (Moonen and Clark 2013). The political ideology in Dubai strives to balance the forces of global and local interests (Pacione 2005). The top-‐down decision-‐making approach can be viewed as a hybrid model incorporating both state control and economic liberalism with the sole purpose of attracting foreign investments by promoting free enterprise. This economic strategy is being implemented through urban planning and development. First, the authorities established free zones, as earlier mentioned, and then put in place policies to ensure that these zones operated on a more liberal and westernised model of doing business while the rest of Dubai was subjected to the traditional sharia law. As a result, the Jebel Ali free zone opened in 1985, where businesses could operate outside of common conditions and also benefit from absence of taxes and low-‐paid workforce. The city’s Internet and Media cities attracted global companies such as Microsoft and CNN because they were promised no Internet and media censorship (Brook, 2013). Nevertheless, the companies can not entirely exercise freedom of speech and other media freedoms since some content which is considered inconsistent with religious, cultural, moral and political values of the Emirates is blocked. Therefore, the issue of intellectual freedom remains a challenge for many media companies in the Dubai autocracy. Furthermore, the top-‐down approach to planning does not promote possibilities for local democratic participation, as there is a tendency to serve the interests of the ruling wealth families and protect their monopoly (Marchal 2005). On the contrary, Singapore and Hong Kong have strong interactions and cooperation between departments and institutions. Therefore, their business environment is more stable than the one in Dubai (Huriot and Lepage, 2006). It is partly for this reason that they have experienced rapid progression to global city status while Dubai and its neighbour, Abu Dhabi, are just showing evidence of world city formation (GaWC 2014). When it comes to gender equality in politics, the role of the religion and local culture are affecting the female participation in decision-‐making. The issues of gender inequality need to be put in the context of the Islamic society:

The role of Islam in this process is important, as Islam is not only a spiritual religion and code, but is also the basis for the legal, social, and moral codes of behaviour within the social group. (Kirdar 2006 in Kirk and Napier 2009, p. 306)

12

The UAE agreed in 2004 upon the resolutions in Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which maintains laws and practices, equal rights and legal capacity (UNICEF 2011). The legal framework allows Emirati women to divorce only when certain circumstances occur. The framework also includes women’s right of inheritance, children’s protection from marriage and protection from gender-‐based violence. The main national organisation promoting women’s rights is the General Women’s Union, which has developed a national strategy for the advancement of women used by government institutions. A department for protection of human rights have been established in Abu Dhabi and Dubai for women victims. The UAE have a constitution for freedom of speech, but according to the Library of Congress (2007), these opportunities of human rights are limited or totally non-‐existent in real life. Summary of governance and political structures


Electoral process and pluralism (-‐) None existent since the government is an autocracy

Local government fiscal autonomy

(-‐) Low transparency and accountability in government

Taxation (+) Low taxation rate and financial free zones Presence of consumer protection laws

Rule of Law (-‐) There is room for improvement if it is to compete with democratised economies More emphasis on media freedoms

Government effectiveness (+) Created a hybrid model merging centralised governance and economic liberalism. It is questionable whether this is effective in the long run

2.6 Physical Capital Lohmann, et al. (2009) discuss two factors that are important for a city to become a tourist destination hub. The place needs to be centrally located and easily accessible. Accessibility is achieved by having efficient transport and telecommunication infrastructure. Several factors have made Dubai into a major international tourist destination, among which is its well-‐developed infrastructure. In 2014, Dubai received 4.8 visitors per resident, up from

13

4.2 visitors per resident in 2009 and received over 10.9 billion US dollars in revenues from visitors, placing it in the top ten global destinations of 2014 (Hedrick-‐Wong and Choong 2014). In case of airline network development the government have been taking actions such as long-‐term investments and formulating development strategies to ensure global air travel dominance. Its main airport provides connections to over 180 global destinations with air travel. It benefits from its proximity to regional ports and from the fact that it is within reach to major global cities (Brooks, 2013). The Emirates, Dubai’s official airline, has daily flights to global hubs like London, Singapore, and Frankfurt in addition to an established market in Africa, the Gulf region and Asia. Dubai’s seaport is also among the best in the world (EIU, 2013) -‐ “with the lowest lead times on imports and exports in the Middle East” (fDi intelligence 2013, p. 69). Yet, a great challenge for Dubai is to provide the city with effective transportation systems to meet the demands of its rapidly expanding urban areas (Pacione 2005). In terms of spatial dimensions of global cities, there is a move towards more polycentric structures where the global city-‐region as a whole is getting more important as opposed to having a single clearly defined centre (Marchal 2005). Dubai can be considered as a conurbation as it is increasingly merging with neighbouring urban settlements. This requires investment in more infrastructures to improve commuter rates and enable fast flows. Summary of Physical Capital


Quality of road network in the city

(+) The government has heavily invested in infrastructure using oil revenues to meet the increasing demands of the rapidly growing city (Pacione 2005)

Quality of regional or international links

(+) Major tourist destination

Access to and quality of seaports

(+) There is good access

2.7 Environmental Sustainability Urban regions are known for their extensive use of natural resources and generation of waste products (Al Marashi 2010). By importing loads of goods and exporting additional

14

waste, they are leaving huge ecological footprints not only in the immediate environment, but also in distant ones for a long time. It is a challenge for the government to provide for a system that could handle these issues. Dubai is a car dependent city, below five per cent of all personal trips are made by public transport and traffic congestion is an increasing problem (Pacione 2005). Furthermore, with decreasing oil revenues and increasing population, there is a rising cost social infrastructure and utilities. The growing construction and real estate sectors which are huge contributors to the GDP of Dubai, are also natural-‐resource demanding activities (Al Marashi 2010). To cope with the growing city challenges, Dubai needs to develop sustainable development strategies. The non-‐governmental organisation, Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) based in Dubai, is the main force behind education in sustainable development, dealing with issues like waste management and public transportation (Al Marashi 2010). Its goal is to create a sustainable urban environment with help from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Regardless of the efforts by EEG, several studies suggest that Dubai is not performing well when it comes to environmental sustainability (Moonen and Clark 2013). As a coastal city, it is vulnerable to rising sea levels due to climate change. It is also experiences extreme desert climate. The city can improve in this area by developing robust sustainability strategies including developing a recycling culture, harnessing solar energy, and investing in mass transit system to counter increased car use. It should also capitalise on its vibrant economy to focus on innovation, research, and technology for combating the effects of climate change. Summary of Environmental Sustainability


Risk of natural disasters

(-‐) Coastal cities are affected by climate change. No evidence of robust strategies to combat it

Environmental governance

(-‐) Need improvement of development strategies

Consumer behaviour (-‐) Car dependence, oil industry and natural-‐resource demanding activities

2.8 Social and Cultural character

15

The city has also benefited from the social and cultural diversity due to its large scale of workforce consisting of migrants from the West, the Middle East and Asia (Marchal 2005). The liberal economic policy and flow of investment capital in Dubai has attracted immigrants, which had a strong impact on the socio-‐cultural character of the city (Pacione 2005). This heterogeneous urban character not only manifests itself the in dressing and language, but also in the increasing popularity of various sports. Dubai is the best sports city in the Middle East and Africa and is ranked 14th in the world, considering the quality of sports facilities, transportation, accommodation, security, degree of public interest in sports, and the use of social media (Moonen and Clark 2013). The city has expressed interest in developing target strategies for popular global sports. In 1996, the Dubai World Cup whose venue cost $1.25 billion was inaugurated, becoming the world’s richest horse racing event (Smith 2014). Since then, numerous prestigious events have been hosted by the city. The rapid changes in Dubai have created social polarisation. Apart from the fact that access to social and cultural activities is not equally distributed across gender, there is an increasing gap between the rich and poor in social, economic and spatial terms. A problem, which was mainly associated with the living and working conditions of migrant workers has spread to the locals as graduates are struggling to find employment (Marchal 2005). Incidents of racial segregation have also been identified. In terms of security and crime prevention, Dubai has continued to economically thrive in a region characterised by conflicts and war. It has a low crime rate, ranking fourth globally, after Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, outscoring all US cities and London (PwC 2014). At the global stage, history also suggests that Dubai has played a pivotal role in global hostage negotiations as many hijacked planes have landed in the city for refuelling (Brook 2013). However, the city has also been linked to transnational crime (Haken 2011). Numerous fearsome groups have also used its banks for money flows and funding and also travelled through its airport enroute to their missions. (Brook 2013). The Library of Congress alludes to the fact that, “trafficking in women and girls, used as prostitutes and domestic servants, and in men, used as servants, labourers, and unskilled workers, continues despite government pledges to end these practices” (2007, p. 27).

Summary of Social and Cultural Character


Freedom of expression and human rights

(-‐) Constitutes freedom in theory, limited in practise

16

Openness and diversity (-‐) Evidence of diversity due to presence of various nationalities but Gender inequalities and social polarization are present.

Presence of crime in the society (+) Low crime rate but there is need to tackle transnational crime.

Cultural vibrancy (+) Positive cultural impacts of immigration and the growing popularity of global sports

3.0 Conclusion -‐ What areas should Dubai improve upon? This study has showed that it takes more than just good economic performance for a city to compete favourably at the global stage. Issues like governance, health, security and safety, and environmental sustainability also play part. It is with such a holistic outlook on what makes a city competitive that we have assessed the success factors and limitations of Dubai as an emerging global city. The study has also identified that Dubai is a regional leader in almost all the categories discussed but the gap between it and leading global leaders is still wide, especially in areas of environmental sustainability, social and cultural character, education and innovation, and governance. Realising that the finite oil resources will soon be depleted and preparing for it is one aspect reflecting Dubai’s visionary approach to the challenges before it. But the economy needs to become more diversified for the city to stop heavily depending on the decreasing oil revenues. The increasing political instability within the region poses another threat to its competitiveness, in addition to the suppression of media freedoms. Although it has a high working age population, which means high productivity of workforce, Dubai has to deal with the social polarisation characteristic of many capitalist cities, as the gap between the rich and the poor is ever growing. There is need for more women in the education system and labour market to tackle gender inequality. Perhaps this can be achieved by embracing more liberal and more inclusive religious and institutional structures.

17

4.0 Reference list

4.1 Literature sources Al Marashi, H. (2010). Encouraging sustainable urban development in the United Arab Emirates. Citi Bank and Knight Frank (2010) Wealth Report 2010, p. 35-‐37. Davis, M. (2006) “Fear and Money in Dubai”. New Left Review. Volume 41, pp. 47-‐68. EIU (2013). The Economist Intelligence Unit. Hot spots 2025: Benchmarking the future competitiveness of cities. London: The Economist Intelligence Unit. Haken, J. (2011) Transnational Crime In The Developing World. Washington, DC: Centre for International Policy. Hedrick-‐Wong, Y. and Choong, D. (2014) MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index. MasterCard worldwide Insights. Huriot, J.-‐M. and Lepage, L. (2006) Megacities Vs Global Cities: development and Institutions. ERSA Conference Papers. IPCC, Intergovernmental panel on climate change (2014) Summary for Policymakers In: Climate Change 2014, Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. New York: Cambridge University Press. Kirdar, S. (2006). The development of women’s education in the Arab world. In: R. Griffin(Ed.), Education in the Muslim world: Different perspectives (pp. 191–210). Oxford: Symposium Books. Kirk, D., & Napier, D. (2009). Issues of gender, equality, education, and national development in the United Arab Emirates. International Perspectives on Education and Society, 10, 301-‐331. Lohmann, G., Albers, S., Koch, B., & Pavlovich, K. (2009). From hub to tourist destination–An explorative study of Singapore and Dubai's aviation-‐based transformation. Journal of Air Transport Management, 15(5), 205-‐211. Marchal, R. (2005). Dubai: global city and transnational hub. Transnational connections and the Arab Gulf, 16, 93-‐109. McCann, P. & Acs, Z. (2011) Globalization: Countries, Cities, and Multinationals. In Regional Studies. pp. 1-‐16.

18

Moonen, T. and Clark, G. (2013) The Business of Cities 2013: What do 150 city indexes and benchmarking studies tell us about the urban world in 2013? London: Jones Lang LaSalle. Morley, L. (2014). Lost leaders: women in the global academy. Higher Education Research & Development, 33(1), pp. 114-‐128. Pacione, M. (2005). Dubai. Cities, 22(3), pp. 255-‐265. Taylor, P., et al. (2011) Global Urban Analysis: A Survey of Cities in Globalization. London: Earthscan. Taylor, P. (2004) World city networks: a global urban analysis. Routledge: New York. 4.2 Internet sources 2thinknow consulting (2013) Innovation Cities Indexes 2012-‐2013 Launch. [Online] Available at: http://www.2thinknow.com/reference/media-‐release-‐innovation-‐cities-‐indexes-‐2012-‐13-‐launch/ [Accessed 03 January 2015]. Astbury Marsden (2013) Singapore -‐ preferred location. [Online] Available at: http://www.astburymarsden.com/our-‐thinking/article/0/singapore-‐preferred-‐location/ [Accessed 06 January 2015]. Brook , D . (2013) How Dubai Became Dubai.[Online] Available at: http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/how-‐dubai-‐became-‐dubai [Accessed 03 January 2015] fDi Intelligence (2013) Middle East Cities of the Future. [Online] Available at: http://www.tel-‐aviv.gov.il/TheCity/Documents/Middle%20East%20Cities%20of%20the%20Future.pdf [Accessed 03 January 2015]. Financial Times (2014) Global MBA Ranking 2014. [Online] Available at: http://rankings.ft.com/exportranking/global-‐mba-‐ranking-‐2014/pdf [Accessed 06 January 2015] GaWC. (2014). GaWC Network Research.[Online] Available at: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc [Accessed 08 January 2015] Jaramillo, A. (2013). Reforms needed in higher education to meet the needs of youth in the Middle East and North Africa. [Online] Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/MENAEXT/0,,contentMDK:23028342∼pagePK:14 6736∼piPK:146830∼theSitePK:256299,00.htmlAccessed

19

The Library of Congress (2007). Country Profile: United Arab Emirates, July 2007. [Online] Available at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/UAE.pdf [Accessed 08 January 2015] PwC (2014) Cities of Opportunity, 2014: Dubai. [Online] Available at: http://www.pwc.com/m1/en/publications/dubaicoo.pdf [Accessed 03 January 2015] Rigzone (2013) Oil and Gas Cities. [Online] Available at: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/126250/Rigzone_Ranks_the_Top_10_Oil_Gas_Cities_in_the_World [Accessed 03 January 2015] UNICEF (2011). UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Mena Gender Profile Status of Girls and Women in the Middle East and North Africa. [Online] Available at: http://www.unicef.org/gender/files/UAE-‐Gender-‐Eqaulity-‐Profile-‐2011.pdf [Accessed 08 January 2015] WHO (2014). United Arab Emirates -‐ World Health Organization. [Online] Available at: http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_are_en.pdf [Accessed 08 January 2015]

World Economic Forum (2014). Global Gender Gap Index 2014. [Online] Available at: http://reports.weforum.org/global-‐gender-‐gap-‐report-‐2014/rankings/ [Accessed 08 January 2015]

Haryopratomo et al. (2011). The Dubai Tourism Cluster. [Online] Available at: http://www.isc.hbs.edu/resources/courses/moc-‐course-‐at-‐harvard/Documents/pdf/student-‐projects/UAE_%28Dubai%29_Tourism_2011.pdf [Accessed 09 January 2015]

Global Cities of Tomorrow; The rise of Dubai and its place in the future global city landscape

Documents

Transcript of Global Cities of Tomorrow; The rise of Dubai and its place in the future global city landscape