A friend sent a link showing the ridiculous growth in Dubai. The 18 or so cranes you can see in the picture above is proof that the city was growing faster than anyone could reasonably expect.
Perhaps the greatest act of hubris was building islands in the Gulf. Most of the housing built on the island was paid for by speculators hoping to flip it. According to rumors less than 1 in 10 of the completed housing units are occupied. (There are no official numbers, of course.)It is worth noting however that every project they show for the "future" of Dubai has been canceled or indefinitely postponed.
There will be no super huge glass encased ski resort surrounded by the desert... There will be no kilometer tall building...Some here chuckle at the demise of Dubai. It makes me sad. Dubai is trying to build attractions/tourism and a strong financial sector independent of oil money. In the long run that's a good thing.
But...but they drew pictures?
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are architects projecting what it would look like. I remember the first time I saw the huge ski slope enclosed in glass. I thought, "Hmm, a hot house uses enclosed glass because it lets in the sun and traps the heat. Yeah, that's a good idea for a ski slope..."
ReplyDelete