Some cities seem to encapsulate a particular moment in time.
Dubai is now known as a Global City. This global city is dependent on foreign investment as well as tourism to sustain its economy. Above is the Dubai International Airport which flies to more than 284 destinations. The airport has the capacity to transport more than 2.5 million tons per year as well as having the ability of hosting vast numbers of people. The city has hundreds of luxurious hotels, restaurants, apartments, metros, and investment centers that really marks it as a global city. A city that was built out of oil by the migration on Asian workers, it has became a bustling metropolis. With its hip restaurants, hotels, museums, and art it has made the rankings in being a global city. It has been able to become a city of desire and curiosity to many tourists. The industrialization of Dubai has came at a heavy cost and a high price, but with the never-ending goal and objective to brand itself as the city to be in.
Some cities seem to encapsulate a particular moment in time. Dubai, right now, seems to represent three moments, one more important than the other two. First, one of the last gasps of the oil culture; second, the rise of business as a way to govern society. And third, and most significantly, the shift in the world’s economy from developed markets toward emerging markets.
Dubai is a Middle Eastern city, of course. There are plenty of Gulf state characters in Rolls Royces pulling up to hotel bays, and the call to prayer echoes from the mosques. Dubai is also, as has been written, a sort of celebration of elegant consumption. In a jewelry store in the Dubai Mall, I had this memorable exchange with a salesman who asked if I wanted to see a necklace.
