How Dubai's 20-minute city ambitions are becoming reality

UAE planners can learn from mistakes of older cities, experts say

The 20-minute city encourages a world without private cars. Antonie Robertson / The National

Dubai’s 20-minute city ambitions are a “reality in the making” as the Metro expansion, alongside the promotion of walking, cycling and greener spaces help to change perceptions of urban life, experts say.

The UAE can also learn from older cities' mistakes by dispensing with legacy systems to reimagine a new world.

The topic was in sharp focus at the Mobility Live Middle East and Middle East Rail conferences which took place side by side on Tuesday and Wednesday in Dubai.

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While the 20-minute city concept is not new – European cities have been built based on people being close to services – the term has been coined for a new generation of urban planning. It is typically used to refer to having key daily needs – work, services, schools and shops – within a 20-minute radius and accessible without having to use a car.

Martin Tillman, a founder of transport consultancy TMP Consult, said the shorter these distances are, the better in the Gulf summer, and the move towards this in Dubai is a “reality in the making”.

“You've got a huge part of the population that needs to walk or cycle to get around the cities and they don't have the luxury of having an air-conditioned environment. Not everyone can afford a taxi,” he said. “We can make it more comfortable with shading and misting and other features.”

Closer look at Dubai Metro's Blue Line expansion

A closer look at the Dubai Metro Blue Line

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Sources of inspiration

High-density developments are important in this regard. Cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia use them effectively and incorporate public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure.

Gulf cities can look to these for inspiration, and Dubai’s Sustainable City, with its car-free streets, emphasis on sustainable transport and access to shops, reflects some of the components of the 20-minute city. Expo City Dubai, with its focus on cyclists and pedestrians, is another example.

Dubai's 2040 urban master plan incorporates the concept and a 20-minute model city being built in Al Barsha 2. Dubai is also set to transform into a more pedestrian-friendly city with more than 3,000km of new walkways in plans announced in December.

A larger challenge for planners is to incorporate schools and workplaces, and this is where high density also plays a role in the 20-minute city.

“The lower the density, the harder that process is to put in place,” said Mr Tillman, referring to how people drive to schools and workplaces if they are farther away. “The higher the density, the easier it is to put in. Here, people like big, separate low-density residential developments but we're slowly moving away from that.”

Mr Tillman said the weather is another reason to build higher-density developments. “We try to make sure that those distances that need to be covered are climate-sensitive … to make it possible for people to walk, cycle and use sustainable transport for as long as possible.”

He said many new developments are trying to include sustainable elements.

Richard van den Dool, vice president of charge at Enrx, a green technology company based in Norway, said his vision is about reclaiming the streets for people rather than cars.

“Cities that do it well make more public transport, reduce parking spots and create greener areas and make it liveable again,” he said. “They want people back living in the city.”

Shaded paths at Expo City Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National

Impact of public transport

Dubai's roads are still often congested amid a continued population expansion and the car's continuing allure. That is where better public transport comes in.

Dubai’s huge expansion of the Metro, the revamped and extended bus network and the UAE’s forthcoming Etihad Rail passenger service could have a huge impact, creating developments around stations, cutting congestion and boosting the 20-minute city push.

The Dubai Metro Blue Line will connect major existing and new residential districts, while an Etihad Rail station is being built at the heart of the Jumeirah Golf Estates expansion.

“We have a golden opportunity to intensify development around new stations,” said Mr Tillman.

“The key here is to make sure that Etihad Rail is not a standalone train system and Dubai Metro is not a standalone. We must make sure these are integrated.”

Mr van den Dool, whose company works in inductive heating, charging and power transfer, said his vision was one of mobility where electrified cars, scooters or buses can be charged using infrastructure built into clutter-free streets.

“How would it look if all those cars needed to have a cable? It will be a spider web of poles and cables,” he said.

Instead, his company’s technology is already used in Europe to charge buses on wireless inductive plates at bus stops, for example, removing the need for fixed-point charging. He said it is feasible for an entire city’s bus network to run on such a system.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has also tested wireless charging of electric vehicles and buses.

Mr van den Dool said Dubai and the UAE had an opportunity to learn from legacy cities and not repeat the mistakes older cities made.

“They can be the showcase for the rest of the world,” he said. “Call it the 15 or 20-minute city or whatever … it's about where we want to be in 10 years from now.”