A comprehensive plan that lays out the future of Dubai's sustainable urban development was launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid on Saturday.
The Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai unveiled the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan with the aim of transforming the emirate and creating a truly interconnected, people-led city that balances community with tourism and modernity with heritage and nature.
Over the next two decades, the emirate's population is expected to swell to 5.8 million, from 3.3 million now, and this new plan aims to ensure that Dubai is the best city in the world to live in.
The National breaks down what to expect from Dubai by 2040.
What is the plan?
The Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan is the seventh plan of its kind to be implemented in the emirate since 1960.
It focuses on using space within the limits of the current city and concentrates development in existing urban areas.
These are the main highlights:
- Five main urban areas will be developed
- Spaces designated for educational and health facilities will increase by 25 per cent
- Areas for hotels and tourism will be expanded by 134 per cent
- Areas used for commercial, industrial and economic activities will increase to 168 square kilometres
- Length of public beaches will increase by as much as 400 per cent
- 60 per cent of Dubai to comprise of nature reserves and natural areas
- 55 per cent of the population will live within 800 metres of a main public transport station
Ultimately, the plan seeks to raise the quality of life of the city while increasing population densities around mass transit stations.
Along with the physical plan, an urban planning law was issued to support sustainable development and improvement in the emirate.
What is the aim?
The main goal it to make Dubai the best city in the world to live in from a leisure and working perspective, Sheikh Mohammed said.
Other key priorities include improving resource use efficiency, developing vibrant and inclusive communities, and doubling green and leisure areas to provide a healthy environment for residents and visitors.
The plan seeks to provide sustainable and flexible means of mobility, foster greater economic activity and attract foreign investments to new sectors.
Other objectives include enhancing environmental sustainability, safeguarding the emirate’s cultural and urban heritage and developing a comprehensive legislation and planning governance model.
The five major zones
Under the plan, development and investment will be focused on five main urban areas, each with their own theme that supports economic growth, increased job opportunities and will provide lifestyle facilities that cater to the needs of all sections of the population.
Two of the areas will be new, while the other three will be revitalised.
The existing urban centres include Deira and Bur Dubai, historic areas that highlight the emirate’s tradition and heritage; the business and financial heart of the city encompasses Downtown and Business Bay; the hospitality and leisure centre will be the Dubai Marina and JBR, which will also serves as an international tourism and leisure hub.
The new centres include the Expo 2020 Centre that will include affordable housing and become a focal point for exhibitions, tourism and logistics sectors. Dubai Silicon Oasis Centre will be a science and technology and knowledge hub that will drive innovation and digital economy development and foster talent.
A sense of community
The Dubai of the future will be constructed of areas that each have access to facilities, services and opportunities for all residents.
Communities have been defined throughout the plan based on their populations and the number of available facilities will depend on how large each area is.
This is hierarchy set out in the plan:
1. Towns: the largest areas with populations of 1 million to 1.5 million. Five towns will be built around each of the five urban centres
2. Multi-sector: the second largest with populations of between 300,000 and 400,000
3. Sector: populations of 70,000 to 125,000
4. District: populations of 20,000 to 30,000
5. Community: populations from 6,000 to 12,000
6. Neighbourhood: populations of 2,000 to 4,000
Investment in infrastructure, energy and government services, and facilities like schools, hospitals and leisure centres will depending on an area's classification.
Transport
The "people-led" development aims to improve interconnectivity by ensuring 55 per cent of the population will live within 800 metres of a main public transport station.
Images of the plan indicate that a third airport will be built near Dubai Silicon Oasis. Further details about the airport were not released.
Previously, it was announced that more cycling lanes would be laid down across the emirate as part of a move to encourage healthier lifestyles and cut traffic.
Several green corridors will be established to link the service areas, residential areas and workplaces, ease the movement of pedestrians, bicycles and sustainable mobility means across the city.
Beaches, parks and sustainability
A big part of the plan is to vastly increase the green areas across Dubai emirate. Wildlife sanctuaries and natural rural areas will make up 60 per cent of the emirate.
In October, Sheikh Mohammed said Dubai would create a dozen new beaches and 8 million square metres of green spaces at a cost of more than Dh2.5 billion ($680 million).
“We also approved the development of 12 kilometres of Dubai's beaches, that cover 1 million square metres, from Mamzar Beach to Umm Suqeim II,” Sheikh Mohammed said at the time.
The beach projects are being developed at a cost of Dh500m.
Hatta development plan
The Hatta Development Plan, part of Dubai's wider plan, seeks to develop and raise the profile of Hatta's natural and tourism attractions, as well as protect its environment.
A sustainable hydro-electric power plant will be built. People in the area will be given the opportunity to help promote tourism and preserve Hatta's natural beauty - with the aim of increasing tourism and agriculture contribution to the region's GDP by 32 per cent.
At least 78 per cent of Hatta will be designated as conservation reserves, as the population is expected to double by 2040.
Emirati housing
Homes for Emiratis are also included in the plan with the goal of providing "diverse solutions with the highest standards".
The communities will include green spaces, commercial centres and recreational facilities.
Any old districts designated as Emirati housing will be revitalised.
Integrated town house-style complexes will be developed as well as multi-storey units.
Strategic land banks will also be reserved for housing beyond 2040.
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Moonfall
Director: Rolan Emmerich
Stars: Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry
Rating: 3/5
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
UAE SQUAD
UAE team
1. Chris Jones-Griffiths 2. Gio Fourie 3. Craig Nutt 4. Daniel Perry 5. Isaac Porter 6. Matt Mills 7. Hamish Anderson 8. Jaen Botes 9. Barry Dwyer 10. Luke Stevenson (captain) 11. Sean Carey 12. Andrew Powell 13. Saki Naisau 14. Thinus Steyn 15. Matt Richards
Replacements
16. Lukas Waddington 17. Murray Reason 18. Ahmed Moosa 19. Stephen Ferguson 20. Sean Stevens 21. Ed Armitage 22. Kini Natuna 23. Majid Al Balooshi
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
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Asia Cup Qualifier
Venue: Kuala Lumpur
Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6: Final
Asia Cup
Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Schedule: Sep 15-28
Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier
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What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
