Dubai
From Singapore, one often had to stop over in Dubai (especially if you are flying via the Emirates) and spend a bit of time in transit when going to the UK. Needless to say, we spent some time in transit again during our return from the holidays.
Upon arrival my dad would always take a look at the airport, the city and the outside. "Imagine" he would say "all this would not be around approximately 20 years ago". This is not that far from the truth. Dubai was a small village not too long ago, it's presence only justified due to the presence of oil (the so called "Black Gold").
Although Dubai has a significantly large amount of oil and other fossil fuels like gas (I remember reading a book somewhere that Dubai exports approximately 8 times more energy than they use, although the information now may be a little outdated), it doesn't take a genius to realise that it will someday run out. City developers had to keep the city alive using other methods. Today we see the fruits of their works.
We now see huge tourist attractions, like the Burj Khalifa, the Dubai mall and the palm to name a few. Dubai has also seen a lot of trade in the area, blooming because of their geographical location (like many other areas famous for trade... Singapore?). This has caused a lot of economic growth in the area, and it's not hard to see that often economic growth causes more economic growth, depending on how you spend it. Fortunately, Dubai has spent it well, and until today we see top class tourist attractions being built, as well as efficient trade systems. Economic growth also causes a lot of immigration, especially when the surrounding areas are plagued with political disputes and slow economic growth. Taking a quick survey when walking around, 6 out of 10 people I see are not locals. Many come from India (bringing their valuable jewelry and gold with them to sell), Afghanistan (our "Tour Guide" was Afghanistani) as Asians, coming from as far as The Phillippines (often these people work in hospitality).
Immigrants, Trade, Tourism... sounds a lot like Singapore on steroids. The only difference is is that they have space. Urban expansion occurs along the coast, northeast from the city. Singapore has no more land to build on, and land reclaimation doesn't seem to be a practical option. Singapore, now the densest city in the world, still wants to increase their population by another million at least. For the sake of South East Asia and as a fellow Singaporean, I do hope that Singapore will be able to cope with the population increase as Dubai had.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
Upon arrival my dad would always take a look at the airport, the city and the outside. "Imagine" he would say "all this would not be around approximately 20 years ago". This is not that far from the truth. Dubai was a small village not too long ago, it's presence only justified due to the presence of oil (the so called "Black Gold").
Although Dubai has a significantly large amount of oil and other fossil fuels like gas (I remember reading a book somewhere that Dubai exports approximately 8 times more energy than they use, although the information now may be a little outdated), it doesn't take a genius to realise that it will someday run out. City developers had to keep the city alive using other methods. Today we see the fruits of their works.
We now see huge tourist attractions, like the Burj Khalifa, the Dubai mall and the palm to name a few. Dubai has also seen a lot of trade in the area, blooming because of their geographical location (like many other areas famous for trade... Singapore?). This has caused a lot of economic growth in the area, and it's not hard to see that often economic growth causes more economic growth, depending on how you spend it. Fortunately, Dubai has spent it well, and until today we see top class tourist attractions being built, as well as efficient trade systems. Economic growth also causes a lot of immigration, especially when the surrounding areas are plagued with political disputes and slow economic growth. Taking a quick survey when walking around, 6 out of 10 people I see are not locals. Many come from India (bringing their valuable jewelry and gold with them to sell), Afghanistan (our "Tour Guide" was Afghanistani) as Asians, coming from as far as The Phillippines (often these people work in hospitality).
Immigrants, Trade, Tourism... sounds a lot like Singapore on steroids. The only difference is is that they have space. Urban expansion occurs along the coast, northeast from the city. Singapore has no more land to build on, and land reclaimation doesn't seem to be a practical option. Singapore, now the densest city in the world, still wants to increase their population by another million at least. For the sake of South East Asia and as a fellow Singaporean, I do hope that Singapore will be able to cope with the population increase as Dubai had.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
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