Simulation City JaSon Carlow Dirk GebharDt larS harmSen

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Simulation City JaSon Carlow Dirk GebharDt larS harmSen slanted

Simulation City: the theminG of Dubai JaSon Carlow

loVe ISlanDS Dirk GebharDt

anatomy of haPPIneSS larS harmSen

Simulation City: the theminG of Dubai

JaSon Carlow

“Live your story. The sea breeze on your face, sun-kissed warmth on your skin and a heart set on new adventures…can you feel it?” asks the Dubai Tourism Board on their splash page.1

As the oil-rich cities of the Gulf continue to grow and develop, some Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) governments have taken steps to diversify their economies through real estate development, global tourism, financial services, and industrial production. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become a regional leader in this diversification. Since the discovery of oil in the late 1950s and the formal establishment of the UAE as a nation in 1971, petroleum production has been the largest and most transformative industry for the national economy. Abu Dhabi, with the largest land area of the seven emirates, holds 94 % of the country’s oil reserves.2 Leaders of other emirates with smaller and less sustainable oil and gas reserves have made efforts to diversify economies away from fossil fuels. Of the seven emirates in the UAE, it’s fair to say that Dubai – the once obscure, coastal trading post – has been the most brazen in its diversification and development of a new global city and booming economy over the last three decades. The strategic combination of developing global tourism and real estate markets, fuelled by

The city is built and serviced by hard-working laborers from Africa and South Asia, who left their home countries to provide much-needed income for their families. Other sectors like education, finance, and healthcare typically employ skilled expatriates from all around the world. The number of immigrated residents outnumbers the emirate’s population of permanent citizens nearly nine to one. As rapidly developing cities like Dubai are built on industries driven by global capital (related to real estate, tourism, and finance), a large income gap between the skilled expatriates and the poorly educated working class has subsequently developed, affecting access to the city for different classes of workers. The social and economic divisions of the emirate are sure to remain as the city continues to develop and play holiday host to the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected tourism across the globe, and Dubai is no exception. According to the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, 2019 brought 16.73 million tourists to Dubai while that number dropped to 5.51 million in 2020 due to the pandemic.15 However, in relation to the rest of the world, the UAE tourism economy was “among the least affected and fastest to recover around the world due to early reopening of economy and facilities offered to the businesses.” 16 Given that tourism represents such a large part of Dubai’s economy, the emirate made its public vaccination campaign a top priority early on and focused its public health efforts on regaining the trust of residents and visitors alike. As one of the few tourist destinations around the world that welcomes travelers without the need to quarantine, and with Expo 2020 targeting to open its doors in October 2021, Dubai is positioning itself to lead the global post-coronavirus tourism recovery.

Dubai’s economy will undoubtedly continue to bounce back, just as it did after the 2008 crash. The global economic

slowdown has not seemed to affect the number of construction cranes in the city skyline. Tourists and residents alike will continue to jet in and out of this sun-drenched city with endless entertainment, beaches, and waterfront promenades. Dubai remains a city where few of the residents are citizens; rather, they have chosen to live and work in and between the superhighways, mega malls, and gated neighborhoods. Whether it is for a short getaway or an entire career, Dubai embodies a simulated wonderland where, if you have the means, you can “live your story” in the stylized context of your choice – where the boundaries between theme park and city have all but disappeared.

1 “Visit Dubai,” Official Tourism Board in Dubai, accessed May 1st, 2021, visitdubai.com/en

2 “The Report: UAE: Abu Dhabi 2016,” Oxford Business Group, accessed September 2nd, 2021, oxfordbusinessgroup.com/ uae-abu-dhabi-2016/energy

3 “Dubai Tourism Statistics,” Dubai Online, accessed May 1st, 2021, dubai-online.com/essential/tourism-statistics

4 “United Arab Emirates Number of Hotels, Rooms and Beds,” CEIC, accessed May 1st, 2021, ceicdata.com/en/unitedarab-emirates/number-of-hotels-rooms-and-beds/no-of-hotel-rooms-avg-dubai

5 “Dubai Statistics Center,” Government of Dubai, accessed May 1st, 2021, dsc.gov.ae/en-us/Themes/Pages/Tourism. aspx?Theme=30&year=2019#DSC_Tab1

6 “London Hotel Industry Set for Record Year in 2020,” London & Partners, accessed May 1st, 2021, media. londonandpartners.com/news/london-hotel-industry-set-for-record-year-in-2020#:~:text=Total%20additions%20 to%20the%20London,increasing%20supply%20of%20hotel%20rooms

7 “United Arab Emirates Tourism Revenue,” CEIC, accessed May 1st, 2021, ceicdata.com/en/indicator/united-arabemirates/tourism-revenue#:~:text=United%20Arab%20Emirates’s%20Tourism%20Revenue,bn%20in%20the%20 previous%20year

8 Zachary Wilson, “Universal Studios Dubailand: A Case Study on the Rise and Fall of Dubai,” Fast Company, August 24th, 2009, fastcompany.com/1338215/universal-studios-dubailand-case-study-rise-and-fall-dubai

9 “Dubai’s answer to London Eye scrapped, search on for stand-in,” Arabian Business, accessed May 1st, 2021, arabianbusiness.com/dubai-s-answer-london-eye-scrapped-search-on-for-stand-in-438572.html

10 Michael Sorkin, “Introduction,” in Variations on a Theme Park: The New American City and the End of Public Space (New York: Hill and Wang, 1992), xv

11 “Merass Holding real estate firm launched in Dubai,” Business Property, Gulf News, published September 27th, 2008, gulfnews.com/business/property/merass-holding-real-estate-firm-launched-in-dubai-1.133157

12 “Kelly Clarke, “Prince Charles’ ‘Love Letter’ that saved Al Bastakiya,” Khaleej Times, November 7th, 2016, khaleejtimes.com/nation/general/prince-charles-is-the-reason-we-have-al-bastikiya

13 “Creating Realistic Rock Formations,” Themed Attraction, accessed May 1st, 2021, themedattraction.com/creatingrealistic-rock-formations

14 Brian Ackley, “Permanent Vacation: Dubai Circa 2005,” in With/Without: Spatial Products, Practices and Politics in the Middle East, ed. Shumon Basar, Antonia Carver, and Markus Miessen (co-published by Bidoun Books: New York and Moutanarat: Dubai, 2007), p. 36

15 “Number of International Visitors to Dubai,” Dubai Online, accessed May 1st, 2021, dubai-online.com/essential/ tourism-statistics/#:~:text=Data%20from%20the%20Dubai%20Department,due%20to%20the%20 coronavirus%20pandemic

16 Muzaffar Rizvi, “Covid-19: UAE Records World’s Second-Highest Hotel Occupancy Rate in 2020,” Khaleej Times, April 10th, 2021, khaleejtimes.com/news/covid-19-uae-records-worlds-second-highest-hotel-occupancy-rate-in-2020

DIrk GebharDt

Ship wrecks at the Abu Dhabi Free Port, Abu Dhabi

Around 16.000 trees, with those on the perim eter forming a heart shape and the word love, Love Lake, Dubai

The Al Fanar Restaurant and Cafe is part of the Yas Mall. Abu Dhabi

Power distribution station close to Al Fathiya, Abu Dhabi

Love Lake covers an area of 55.000 square metres (592,015 sq. ft.), Dubai

West Blue Land camel race track close to Liwa Oasis, Abu Dhabi

Construction of additional buldings for the Warner Bros. World, Abu Dhabi

Portrait of Mohammed bin Raschid Al Maktoum in front of the Yas Waterworld, Abu Dhabi

Closed parking lot, Dubai

Workers setelment, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan international road, Abu Dhabi

Global Village features 78 cultures in 26 pavilions, Dubai

Zabeel Park, Dubai

Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

Al Qudra Cycle Path with a length of 86 km is right in the middle of the desert, Dubai

Car scrap yard, Zayed City, Abu Dhabi

Global Village, Dubai

Restroom at Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan international road, Abu Dhabi

larS harmSen

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© Slanted Publishers, Karlsruhe, 2021 Nebeniusstraße 10, 76137 Karlsruhe, Germany

© Text: Jason Carlow

© Photography: Dirk Gebhardt

© Illustrations and Book Design: Lars Harmsen

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-3-948440-28-2

Text: Jason Carlov

Photography: Dirk Gebhardt, dirkgebhardt.com

Design: Lars Harmsen, Slanted Publishers, Melville Brand Design

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About Slanted Publishers: Slanted Publishers is an internationally active independent publishing and media house, founded in 2014 by Lars Harmsen and Julia Kahl. They publish the award-winning print magazine Slanted, which twice a year focuses on international design and culture.