Anyone visiting Abu Dhabi in the 1970s could never have imagined how the city would look today. Rapid economic development guided by the vision of Sheikh Zayed, the founder of the nation, has transformed the capital from a modest town to a fast-paced modern metropolis.
As The National recounted yesterday, the original development grew from plans developed by Abdulrahman Makhlouf, who under Sheikh Zayed’s guidance set out the city’s first master plan.
The souq built under that plan is gone now, replaced by a far bigger complex. Buildings limited to three storeys have given way to gleaming high-rises. New neighbourhoods have sprung up, older ones have evolved. But the city’s geometric street grid remains, and the planning roots put down back then have nourished the much bigger city of today.
While the landscape of Abu Dhabi has been changing, Al Ain city, the birthplace of Sheikh Zayed, remains the Garden City of the Gulf, with oases, parks, tree-lined streets, and a four-storey limit on buildings.
Cities, like people, have different characters, and these are not set in stone; they can evolve as their realities change, while cherishing the memories of their origins.
