What happened to Abu Dhabi’s urbanism? The question of regional integration

Abstract

Neighbourhoods designed for Emirati citizens form more than 50% of Abu Dhabi’s urbanized land. As a result of planning strategies that neglect regionalism, these percentages are likely to grow in an unsustainable manner. This study traces these neighbourhoods’ morphological evolution towards the goal of identifying urban attributes that encourage cohesive growth. The analysis identifies three periods in Abu Dhabi’s neighbourhood morphology: the Inception Period (1967–1975), characterized by diversity, close-knit neighbourhoods, environmentally sensitive planning and integration with adjacent neighbourhoods and the city fabric; the Dispersion Period (1975–2007), characterized by fragmentation, massive expansion, parcel inflation and restricted integration with existing fabrics; and the Redemption Period (2007–present), characterized by nostalgic historicism, densification, parcel deflation and sparse regional integration. Neighbourhood typologies developed after the 1980s failed to conceive of physical planning at different scales. This failure led to a lack of environmental stewardship in efforts to meet citizens’ housing needs. Future development must take into account both cultural affinities and environmental effects and create effective compromises between these two priorities. Instead of relying on foreign experts, Abu Dhabi must involve local planners and academics in the construction of a new policy agenda that promotes the integration of different planning scales.

Notes

1. Arish is a traditional house made of dried palm leaves and split palm trunks or any other wood. It can mostly be found in desert landscapes, specifically in the Persian Gulf.

2. The 2015 geospatial data included information about buildings, plots, landscape, roads, utilities and services, jurisdictional boundaries and demographics.

3. Estidama’s system is divided into three subsystems: (1) Pearl Community Rating System, (2) Pearl Building Rating System and (3) Pearl Villa Rating System. Under the Pearl Community Rating System, Regionally Responsive Planning is one of the sub-criteria that a plan must meet to achieve a complimentary pearl rating.

4. Examples of participatory planning: In 2008 a participatory planning session was conducted in Al Shahama and Al Bahia, two Emirati neighbourhoods. The session included planners, designers, architects and Emirati residents (men, women and children). The goal of the session was to understand the public’s requirements, perceptions, visions and ambitions (Gudaitis 2010). In 2013–2014, three charettes took place to discuss the Plan Capital 2030 Update. Participants included experts in the field ‒ planners, designers, consultants, academics ‒ as well as many other stakeholders from the private and public sectors. The objective of these sessions was to see what had changed since the first plan in 2007 and to identify challenges and opportunities for future implementation.