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ABSTRACT
Adequate and affordable housing is a basic human need, and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a federation composed of seven emirates, housing is treated as a constitutional right of every Emirati national. Using interviews with municipal and housing officials and a survey of the housing beneficiaries, the study evaluates the efficacy of the two national housing programs in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah that provide subsidies for affordable homeownership—the Sheikh Zayed Housing Program and the President’s Initiative. The study found that the UAE is shifting back to a provider approach to housing for its citizens. The program beneficiaries seemed satisfied with the design of their homes but raised concerns about their locations. The locations and growth spurred by the two programs have significantly shaped the current sprawling urban form of the Ras Al Khaimah municipality. The question of the long-term sustainability of the two programs looms large, funded as they are entirely by the government, with limited participation from the private, nonprofit, or informal sectors. To make housing programs financially and environmentally sustainable, every stakeholder must play a role: the federal government, the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, the Ras Al Khaimah Municipality, and the individual program beneficiaries.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. Article 10: “The aims of the Union shall be the maintenance of its independence and sovereignty, the safeguarding of its security and stability, defense against any aggression upon its existence or the existence of its member states, the protection of the rights and freedoms of the people of the Union, the achievement of close co-operation between the Emirates for their common benefit in realizing these aims and in promoting their prosperity and progress in all fields, the provision of a better life for all citizens [emphasis added] together with respect by each Emirate for the independence and sovereignty of the other Emirates in their internal affairs within the limits of this Constitution” (UAE Constitution, Citation1971, p. 5).
2. Article 24: “The basis of the national economy shall be social justice. The support of the national economy shall be sincere co-operation between public and private activity. The aim of the national economy shall be the achievement of economic expansion, increased production, the raising of standards of living [emphasis added] and the achievement of prosperity for citizens within the limits of the Law” (UAE Constitution, Citation1971, p. 7).
3. This includes personal/family savings, individual money lenders, and remittances from family members.
4. Microfinance for shelter offers small loans suitable for significant housing improvements.
5. In the community fund approach, lending is typically to communities for land purchase, infrastructure, and service investment, and (in some cases) for housing construction.
6. Supported or supportive housing is for those who may have mental and physical health conditions, substance use, and/or other challenges that put them at higher risk of homelessness.
7. Cooperative housing provides at-cost housing for its members without the help of any outside landlord. It is controlled by members, who have a vote in decisions.
8. Emergency shelters are temporary but immediate places to stay for anyone who is homeless or at risk of homelessness.
9. Transitional housing is a type of supportive housing but is temporary in nature.
10. This refers to the community-based housing development sector, resulting in nonprofit municipal, nonprofit private, and cooperative housing in Canada.
11. An accessory dwelling unit is a a second small dwelling attached or next to a regular single-family house but on the same lot—for instance, a basement apartment or garage suite.
12. Tandem housing means two unattached single-family dwelling units occupying the same lot.
13. We promised our interviewees that we would keep their names and affiliations anonymous and would not use direct quotations in our publications to further ensure anonymity.
14. In the snowball technique, the researcher uses a small pool of initially identified informants to recruit other participants who could potentially contribute to the study at hand.
15. Preconstructed homes are typically about 400 m2, with four bedrooms, five baths, and a maid’s room, with an estimated cost in Ras Al Khaimah of 800,000 AED if the house has quality finishing. Another configuration is 250 m2, with three bedrooms and four baths.
16. According to the UAE Department of Economic Development (Citation2015), in 2015, 100,000 Emiratis resided in Ras Al Khaimah. In the same year, Abu Dhabi and Dubai were home to 507,479 and 222,875 Emiratis, respectively. In Dubai, the expatriate population was more than 10 times that of Emiratis, whereas in Abu Dubai, they were fivefold more. In Ras Al Khaimah, expatriates were 4.5 times the number of Emiratis. More recent population estimates, including the 2018 census, are publicly available for Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but not for Ras Al Khaimah.
17. Estidama is the Arabic word for sustainability and is a key aspect of the Plan Abu Dhabi 2030, aimed at making Abu Dhabi more sustainable.
18. According to Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (Citation2016), the Pearl Rating System is a part of Estidama, which aims to address the sustainability of a given development throughout its life cycle from design through construction to operation. The system consists of three levels of ratings, based on qualities such as integrated development process, natural systems, liveable spaces, water use, energy efficiency, sustainable material, and innovative practice.
19. It is a fact that the construction and building industry is a major sector and a key economic engine, contributing over 10% of the country’s GDP in 2017 (Clifton, Citation2018). It also contributed more than 9% to Ras Al Khaimah GDP in 2014 and employed roughly 13% of workers in 2013. The SZHP investment in Ras Al Khaimah alone was over 1.5 billion AED; another 1.5 billion were poured in by the Ras Al Khaimah Ministry of Public Works and the Federal Ministry of Infrastructure and Development to build other housing projects, schools, hospitals, mosques, and other public institutions and facilities.
20. This is a long-range plan that guides new growth of development of land, community, and infrastructure.
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Notes on contributors
Sandeep K. Agrawal
Sandeep Agrawal is a Professor and Director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Alberta in Canada.
Varkki Pallathucheril
Varkki Pallathucheril is Professor and Dean of Faculty of Architecture at American University of Sharjah in the UAE.
Pradeep Sangapala
Pradeep Sangapala is a doctoral student in the School of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Alberta in Canada.