Detached villas are ecologically stressful, adding to our rate of land and energy consumption.
Detached villas are ecologically stressful, adding to our rate of land and energy consumption.

Time for Gulf to detach from our villa obsession



GCC nationals will live only in detached villas. So runs the conventional wisdom, and if we look around the region today, developers are building almost nothing but detached villas for them.

Yet if the region is to create the 500,000 or so homes that it needs, as estimated by Jones Lang LaSalle last year in a report titled Why Affordable Housing Matters, we have to go beyond villas, and that means diversifying supply and redirecting demand.

Desire for villas is almost universal. As the University of Illinois professor Robert Bruegmann wrote in his book Sprawl: "Polls consistently confirm that most Europeans, like most Americans, and indeed most people worldwide, would prefer to live in single-family houses on their own piece of land rather than in apartment buildings."

Similarly, 80 per cent of American respondents said that is what they wanted, according to a survey last year by the US organisation the National Association of Realtors.

The reasons for this desire are easy to identify. People perceive a villa as private and quiet, with outdoor spaces in which children can play. Also, villas may be expandable as families grow and are often associated with a higher social status.

Why then is it so important to consider other housing choices, such as semi-detached houses, terrace houses, duplexes and apartments?

Simply, it is because the health of our cities, and hence of our economies and our nations, depends on diversifying beyond the detached villa.

To begin with, there is cost. As more people live in cities, land prices rise, and villas that would be affordable far from towns and jobs will be unaffordable closer in. However, spreading out raises the cost of ancillary infrastructure - roads and utilities - that has to be covered directly or indirectly by house prices, driving detached residences out of the reach of most people.

Detached villas are also ecologically stressful, adding to our rate of land and energy consumption.

Villas mean several cars for each household, which in turn contributes to rising levels of greenhouse-gas emissions, air pollution, traffic congestion, and obesity, as shown by studies such as the US-based Urban Land Institute's 2010 study titled Land Use and Driving.

Conversely, higher density resulting from greater diversity of housing types can reduce average costs, which means younger people can buy into their own homes earlier. Townhouses, walk-ups and well-designed high-rises also mean scale economies, less extensive infrastructure, and greater compatibility with public transport, all of which make cities healthier and more lively.

That diversity also enhances social cohesion. People in different stages of their lives can move to larger or smaller homes without leaving their communities.

What then can governments and private developers do to promote other types of housing?

Here are a few ideas. First, recognise that people make trade-offs between size, price, location and convenience. Offer diversity of options, for instance with lower-cost, smaller housing that is accessible to work, parks, shops, schools, public transport and other local amenities. Households, especially smaller ones, may be willing to compromise the detached villa for a more central location.

Second, offer incentives. Make it more affordable to live in housing other than villas. Incentives can include letting people move in through a rent-to-own scheme and thus start enjoying their new home while saving to buy it, or offering cash rebates, where people are given a choice to consume less and be financially rewarded.

In every other market we have encountered, when faced with such a choice, some voluntarily consume less.

Third, show people alternatives by using open-source consultation sessions. Let people from the community consult on unit design, programmes and planning.

Elsewhere in the world, such transparency has made remarkable changes in the public's attitude to new ideas, and can ensure that the project meets the needs of its residents and increases pride in the project, which, in turn, encourages high-quality maintenance and adherence to community rules and policies.

Fourth, do not take short cuts on the details.

Smaller does not mean inferior quality. Use good finishes, plus durable and attractive materials. Be clever in floor plans, layouts and room options that are culturally appropriate, fit into the surrounding environment, and fulfil the aspirations of diverse types of families.

Finally, emphasise the sociability of proximity living by adding convenient shops and services, restaurants and coffee shops and small mosques in the overall complex, so that living closer together means making new relationships and reviving old ones, and strengthening lively cultural activity.

Really, it is all about choice. Give people more choices of price point, configuration and tenure options, and they will surprise you.

Introducing new price points and configurations will accelerate the development of a truly diversified inventory of affordable housing in the GCC, reducing the waiting lists and backlogs much faster than a unitary model that relies only on developing detached villas.

Maysa Sabah Shocair is the Middle East and North Africa adviser for the Affordable Housing Institute

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How tumultuous protests grew
  • A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
  • Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved 
  • Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
  • At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
  • Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars 
  • Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
  • An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital 
The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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MATCH INFO

Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)

TV: BeIN Sports

if you go

The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow. 
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes). 

Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades. 

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

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The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)