Dubai

Quick History Formed in the early 1800s Geographic location made it perfect for trade Massive oil reserves found in the late 1960s Rapidly the economy expanded as foreign companies invested $$$ By 1971 the city’s size expanded 300% Dec. 2, 1971 Dubai and 6 other emirates formed the UAE

History cont… While most of the city was built on oil revenue the government invested much of that money into more sustainable development Today the bulk of Dubai’s revenue comes from tourism, property and financial services

Tourism Burj-al-Arab 7-Star Hotel Heli-pad Controlled access Rooms range between $1000- $25,000 / night

This is as close as I got!

Luxury

Palm Island

Palm Islands Largest Man-made islands ever!! Islands in the shape of giant palm trees Each encircled by a large breakwater Three in total: –Palm Jumeriah –Palm Jabel Ali –Palm Deira Construction began in 2001

Construction Dredgers 20 miles offshore constantly sucked up sand from the ocean floor. Palm Jumeirah took 80 million cubic meters of land. Palm Jabel Ali is even bigger!! Palm Deira was planned on being the biggest, but was scaled back after the financial crisis

Palm Jumeriah 8km long “tree trunk” 17 “fronds” between 100m-1km Host hotels, villas, mega malls, amusement parks, etc.

The World

A total area of 20 square miles $14 billion to build 300 islands arranged to look like the globe Each island is 5 to 20 acres You can buy your own for as little as $7 million or as much as $35 million

Environmental Impact Construction is taking its toll on local marine life Coral beds and sea grass habitats are being destroyed These play a major role in the local ecosystems Recent estimates put the habitat loss at 35%

Nakheel’s Response Nakheel is the company building the islands They acknowledge the damage and promise to reverse it after construction One suggestion is to build artificial reefs after construction is completed and the sediment has settled They also are employing marine biologists to monitor and repair damaged reefs