In Dubai, developers are transforming 3 billion square feet of desert into Dubailand, a colossal complex of theme parks, malls and model cities. This is how it works. From; how 'stuff' works, but, is it good to know?
perhaps this is a dumb set of questions, but one of you smart people out there can drop some knowledge on me:
what happens when the oil runs out? that's where all that money's coming from, right? i heard somewhere that they're depending on tourism. is that really viable? with the way things are going in the middle east, are people really expected to flock to dubai for vacation? new financial center?
it just seems odd to me, the artificiality of it. like vegas on steroids.
Dread, exactly like Las Vegas on steroids, in the last year or so room rates in hotels have doubled due to supply shortage. Thus on the rim of the first palm island (Palm Jumeirah) there will be 22 five star hotels. This will double the city's five star capacity.
Looking around the city, all the usual suspects have set up - the banks, the software companies, the consultants, the people who take Grade A office space. Where one goes, the other follows.
I think oil/hydrocarbons now account for under 20% GDP. Check me on this.
I'm not suggesting that I like it, or that I think it's sustainable. A friend pointed out that some of our greatest urban architectural marvels were created in similar cicumstances of vast development under the direction of a dictator/emperor...
Mar 25, 08 11:25 am ·
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5 Comments
yay! another mall for dubai! finally!
How is this different than Dubai itself?
What differentiates Dubai Land from Dubai?
^ Great comment, namhenderson.
perhaps this is a dumb set of questions, but one of you smart people out there can drop some knowledge on me:
what happens when the oil runs out? that's where all that money's coming from, right? i heard somewhere that they're depending on tourism. is that really viable? with the way things are going in the middle east, are people really expected to flock to dubai for vacation? new financial center?
it just seems odd to me, the artificiality of it. like vegas on steroids.
Dread, exactly like Las Vegas on steroids, in the last year or so room rates in hotels have doubled due to supply shortage. Thus on the rim of the first palm island (Palm Jumeirah) there will be 22 five star hotels. This will double the city's five star capacity.
Looking around the city, all the usual suspects have set up - the banks, the software companies, the consultants, the people who take Grade A office space. Where one goes, the other follows.
I think oil/hydrocarbons now account for under 20% GDP. Check me on this.
I'm not suggesting that I like it, or that I think it's sustainable. A friend pointed out that some of our greatest urban architectural marvels were created in similar cicumstances of vast development under the direction of a dictator/emperor...
Block this user
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