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4.3 foCus on uses and users: The reporT of The siTe visiT
Site visit finds Non functional Dubai trolley (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)
4.3 Focus on uses and users: The report of the site visit
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Dubai downtown being home to the tallest tower in the world is assumed to be easily accessed from every nook and corner of Dubai, but a first-time visitor can’t reach the area without falling victim to the confusing maze of highways and bridges around the destination. It is preferable to traverse through the downtown ring road by private vehicles than using slow mobility options. The easiest way is to get off at the Dubai mall metro station and walk for about a kilometre using the skywalk (see image 13).
The entrance to the downtown is flanked by tall, glass skyscrapers on either side of the street gradually decreasing to low-rise vernacularly imitated buildings. Right in the middle of the street is the track for non-functional Dubai trolley and their stations (see image below and the trolley stations in image 20, 21 and 22). The roads are designed with huge pedestrian boulevards of typical Arabic palm trees on either side (see image 17). The pedestrian pathways are furnished with abundant urban street furniture and kiosks that could change their theme seasonally.
The pathway is usually crowded with residents, employees of the restaurants and boutiques and tourists. Walking along the right side of the street will lead the visitors to a large public square that opens to the view of Burj Khalifa with the extravagant fountain at its foot. This is a completely pedestrianized zone where one could see people skating, riding their bicycles and guardians strolling with baby prams.
0 0.75km 1.5km
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Site study map of Downtown Dubai (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)
Image key of site visit 1. Burj Khalifa 2. The Dubai mall
3. Dubai Opera house (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)
Meanwhile Burj park is packed with residents and tourists on small picnics while enjoying the view of the fountain with the Burj Khalifa and Dubai mall in the background.
A preferred access to the development is the Burj plaza (see image 7) from where there is a magnificent view of Burj Khalifa. From this area onward, the streets are limited to only pedestrians and bicycle users indicated through differed paving material. Further on from here, the Burj park can be accessed which is a large landscaped urban lush green space that behaves as a lung to the downtown campus (see image 10). It offers a panoramic view to all the important structures nearby like the Dubai mall (see image 2), Dubai Opera (see image 3), Souk al Bahar (see image 4 and 8) and the Burj residences (see image 9).
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Image key of site visit 4. Souq Al Bahar 5. Address hotel
6. Entrance to downtown
7. Burj Plaza (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)
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Image key of site visit 8. Walkway to Souq Al Bahar
9. Burj residence plaza 10. Burj park 10. Burj Park 11. Dubai Opera Square 12. Burj Khalifa fountain
13. Metro pedestrian bridge to Dubai mall 14. Street leading to the campus 14. Street leading to the campus (Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)
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Image key of site visit 15. Electric bike parking 16. Bicycle parking Burj residence plaza 17. Pedestrian and bicycle paths 18. Pedestrian and bicycle paths 19. Dubai trolley 20. Dubai trolley station 1
21. Dubai trolley station 2
22. Dubai trolley station 3
(Source: Author, Sneha S Kumar)