Because there is no dominant culture one feels pressured to join, Dubai is a cosmopolitan city where most people are not cosmopolitans.
That is a sentence from Brook’s new A History of Future Cities, a frequently interesting conceptual history of Dubai, Mumbai, St. Petersburg/Leningrad and Shanghai. The first Amazon review is quite on the mark.
I grew up in Dubai (my parents moved there, I went to high school there, and then left to go to college in the US).
This is an extraordinarily perceptive description. Looking back now, after living for 6 years in two incredibly cosmopolitan environments in the US, I’m struck by the degree to which Dubai is a collection of disparate enclaves. People live in culturally and racially segregated communities, go to nationally distinct schools, and most social circles are highly homogeneous. Part of this has to do with the lack of ‘public’ or governmental resources. The public education system is incredibly poor, so you have a profusion of cheap private schools that are ethnically tied. (There are many dozens of Indian schools, Pakistani schools, ‘Western’ schools etc.)
Part of it also has to do with the government’s policy on long term citizenship/immigration. There are lots of old Dubai hands who know that at any point they might be kicked out of the country, (if they get fired and can’t find a new job quickly, for example), so they obviously have no incentive to form part of a new ‘Dubai’ community. Some of it also has to do with a certain degree of latent racism/a colonial hangover that’s very obvious if you stay in Dubai long enough. There’s a distinct hierarchy in Dubai that has everything to do with which country you’re from, and it shows up in everything, from the accents people adopt, to the ease with which you can hail a cab.
Thanks for the insight, I just left Dubai after 2 days of very random walking around Deira, the skyscrapers etc. and my impression was very much identical. Most multiethnical cities are highly segregated but in Dubai I felt is stronger than everywhere before. It’s two (or more cities) really. The prices for taxis or Pakistani restaurants (the excellent Ravi’s) etc. are way below Western levels while prices in the shopping malls are on par. In Ravi’s there were only Pakistanis and Western tourists, the Arab part of the population didn’t seem interested. In Dubai Mall, on the other hand, are also no Pakistanis/Indians other than workers.
Your Dubai Mall comment might be a bit of an overstatement. There’s a substantial Indian middle and upper middle class community there, so malls are actually some of the few areas where you’ll see people of all races and nationalities. (Which also has something to do with the very strange position they occupy as cultural centers, Dubai is one of those places where people think nothing of just hanging out in a mall for hours on end).
You’re entirely correct about taxis and restaurants. If you know where to go, Dubai can be one of the cheapest places in the world to get an incredible meal. (Not that there aren’t incredibly expensive Asian restaurants, you can find those too).
I think the “everyone hangs out in malls” thing is the product of three factors: newly developed country, oppressive climate, Muslim. Malaysia is the same way– malls are simultaneously the best place for status signalling, the only public social space, and the only place to get out of the heat. All countries that are least slightly developed have a mall culture to some extent, but it’s exacerbated when your cities have no traditional downtown and bars are not the default location for socializing. I would love to see some sociological literature on what this does to social solidarity, urban planning, etc. For comparison, I’m writing this in a Starbucks in Istanbul, but not one that’s in a mall– Istanbul has some of that “let’s go to the mall” attitude but it’s much less prevalent since downtown areas are walkable and there is more of a cafe culture.
Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and increasingly India have very strong mall cultures. Oppressive climate and the lack of any urban planning are, as you say, major factors. Bangkok or Manila, for instance, don’t have anything comparable to the sorts of walkable shopping districts one finds in New York or London and nobody wants to spend much time outdoors there anyway. I don’t think Islam is given the fact that mall culture is very strong in many non-Muslim, tropical, rapidly-growing countries.
Poland also has a very strong mall culture for a European country I find it particularly striking in provincial cities like Lodz where a potentially beautiful 19th century downtown is simply crumbling and dingy, apparently because all the investment dollars are going to the spanking new shopping malls (and they are the best shopping malls I’ve seen anywhere in Europe, at least when judged by American standards of what a mall is supposed to be). I suppose anyone who has spent time in Poland from November to March might agree with the “oppressive climate” hypothesis.
I’m not sure why you thought every Westerner in Ravi’s was a tourist. I eat there at least once a month and always notice Western expats there. The Green Chicken Masala is awesome by the way! As far as Dubai mall, I happen to live within walking distance and I see large amounts customers from the subcontinent shopping/eating in the mall. Perhaps you were there at an odd time?
I have just one singular observation really, I don’t try to pretend I’m an instant expert on Dubai. These were just my first impression.
Well it sounds like you were able to see a good variety of Dubai in just two days. Good choice going to Ravi’s, I can’t get enough of that place!
+1
I’m glad you mentioned the colonial hangover. Europe may be going down the drain in some ways , but encounters with some of the Europeans in Dubai leaves one with the impression that they think they still rule parts of the world.
Europeans Do Rule! The disparity in price between a European hooker and an Indian or African is asotnishing!
+1
“Dubai is a cosmopolitan city where most people are not cosmopolitans.”
so its authentic.
oil was discovered in 1996, and new Dubai was born in the 1990s. Is it too soon to do a definitive assessment on the life on Dubai?
Not an expert on Dubai, but I’m not sure what you’re referring to here. As far as I know, Dubai has very little of its own oil, and has become rich through finance and real estate funded by Abu Dhabi’s oil revenues… I’d say it’s perfectly reasonable to look at what Dubai has become after 20 years of a very intentional growth strategy.
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