ABSTRACT

Yasser Elsheshtawy explores Dubai’s history from its beginnings as a small fishing village to its place on the world stage today, using historical narratives, travel descriptions, novels and fictional accounts by local writers to bring colour to his history of the city’s urban development.

With the help of case studies and surveys this book explores the economic and political forces driving Dubai’s urban growth, its changing urbanity and its place within the global city network. Uniquely, it looks beyond the glamour of Dubai’s mega-projects, and provides an in-depth exploration of a select set of spaces which reveal the city’s ‘inner life’.

chapter 1|16 pages

The Emerging Urbanity of Dubai

chapter 2|15 pages

Arab Cities and Globalization

chapter 3|28 pages

The Other Dubai: A Photo Essay

chapter 4|42 pages

The Illusive History of Dubai

chapter 6|38 pages

Spectacular Architecture and Urbanism

chapter 9|31 pages

Global Dubai or Dubaization