Ok HERE (http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=210258) is another Thread about Dubai in general, but maybe there are some more questions remaining.

The UAE forumers including myself are complaining about the lack of knowledge concerning Dubai or the UAE some people have here.
They have to explain the same points again and again, examples, oil, money, who is filling those skyscapers etc.

So i though it would be good idea to create a Q&A Thread similar to the one on SSP, moderators i was not sure where ,so i did it here.

The Idea is that finally if somebody posts something wrong (Dubais economy consists of oil etc.) one of the formers can send him the link to this thread where he will get the correct facts!

RULES

A Forumer askes a question, and another forumer gives an answer which is definetley right, not only in his opinion, best proofen by a link or other forumers.
Of course a question like "is dubai a good place to live in", or "what about dubais economy" is senseless, try to ask specific things, which don't create a discussion.

There are additions to answers allowed, but no discussion!!

Be sure you only post an answer which is 100 % right , and not influenced by your own opinion.

This time i hope it will work , and the thread does not have to be closed eventually again.
Try to be friendly and reasonable.

After the first question is cleared, somebody is allowed to ask the next one
and the question will be added to the first post where all Q&A will be collected.


1.
Concerning Dubai's planned transportation system: http://urbanrail.net/as/dub/dubai.htm "- The driverless trains consist of 5 car sets offering a separate first class compartment and section for women and children." What's up with this?

Answer: Well there is no real correct answer, you can just guess, they wan't to attract people who are used to drive with their s-class and don't want to use the public transportation system if they have to sit next to a smelling construction worker. Children and women, well the same point as above, and there is no actual seperation between women and men, but some women might prefer it to have their own section. They are not forced to use this section , it is just an offer. Kinda the same thing, that women and children are the first to get a rescue boat if the ship sinks ;) , it is more or less a privilegue. I cannot proof my point, because there is just no official answer. More : http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=97253



2.
what are the rules on alcohol and weed?


Answer : Weed is completely illegal, very stiff sentences.

Alcohol is allowed only in hotels, which means all the nightclubs and bars here (with the exception of a few) are all tied to a hotel.
You can buy alcohol from off-licenses but to do that you need an alcohol permit. Only non-Muslims are allowed alcohol permits.
Alcohol is freely available at the airport duty free and in a little duty free shop on arrival into Dubai, many residents stock up there on their way back into the country.

3.
average temperature of each month throughout the year.

amount of rainfall of every month throughout the year.

Answer:

Average January temp: 24°C (75°F)

Average July temp: 41°C (106°F)

Annual rainfall: 300mm (11.8 inches)

4.

is UAE like other Middle eastern countries racists against Americans?

Answer:

The UAE is one of the safest countries in the Middle East for Americans. The population of US nationals here is around 10,000 and there is no tension between them and the locals. If anything, people just disagree with US foreign policy, and not Americans themselves.

5.
I want to know is Dubaians the correct names for the people that live in Dubai

Answer:
It varies. Most expats call them simply the 'locals' or the Emiratis. I don't really know anybody that calls them Dubaians, IMHO that name sounds a little strange to say and I don't think it is really used except in the media if at all.

6.
how far apart are the current clusters of high rises (specifically SZR and Dubai Marina)?

just look at the Major Projects pdf, or visit the UAE section, and you should get an impression
: Download Map (http://www.gis.gov.ae/en/downloads/pdfs/Major%20Projects.pdf)

Concerning Dubai's planned transportation system:
http://urbanrail.net/as/dub/dubai.htm

"- The driverless trains consist of 5 car sets offering a separate first class compartment and section for women and children."

What's up with this? It sounds sort of bad, but I'll give Dubai the benefit of the doubt this time.

Concerning Dubai's planned transportation system:
http://urbanrail.net/as/dub/dubai.htm

"- The driverless trains consist of 5 car sets offering a separate first class compartment and section for women and children."

What's up with this? It sounds sort of bad, but I'll give Dubai the benefit of the doubt this time.


Well there is no real correct answer, you can just guess,
they wan't to attract people who are used to drive with their s-class and don't want to use the public transportation system if they have to sit next to a smelling construction worker.

Children and women, well the same point as above, and there is no actual seperation between women and men, but some women might prefer it to have their own section.

They are not forced to use this section , it is just an offer.
Kinda the same thing, that women and children are the first to get a rescue boat if the ship sinks ;) , it is more or less a privilegue.

I cannot proof my point, because there is just no official answer.
More : http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=97253

Well, as long as they aren't forced to use it, I'm fine with that.

and that is not the case for sure.

ready for next question :)

Great idea!!! Worked great on SSP.

edit Sorry I didn't read the first post. I don't have any questions now but I'll ask some for sure later.

why, my god, why does dubai have so many u/c projects and skyscrapers in general?

what are the rules on alcoohol and weed?

do you get 10years for a blunt..

what are the rules on alcoohol and weed?

do you get 10years for a blunt..

Alcohol is allowed I'm sure but I know that being drunk out on the middle of the street isn't. People can drink as they please in pubs and hotels and of course your own home. I'm not sure how strict they are about all this though. Dubaiflo?

Aswell weed and any drug are not allowed at all and they're very strict about this as far as I've heard.

I have a question. What is the land area size of the city of Dubai (in sq. miles or km), and approximately how far apart are the current clusters of high rises (specifically SZR and Dubai Marina)?

average temperature of each month throughout the year.

amount of rainfall of every month throughout the year.

thanks!

I want to know is Dubaians the correct names for the people that live in Dubai.

Also, is UAE like other Middle eastern countries racists against Americans?

what are the rules on alcoohol and weed?

do you get 10years for a blunt..

Weed is completely illegal, very stiff sentences.

Alcohol is allowed only in hotels, which means all the nightclubs and bars here (with the exception of a few) are all tied to a hotel.
You can buy alcohol from off-licenses but to do that you need an alcohol permit. Only non-Muslims are allowed alcohol permits.
Alcohol is freely available at the airport duty free and in a little duty free shop on arrival into Dubai, many residents stock up there on their way back into the country.

Average January temp: 24°C (75°F)

Average July temp: 41°C (106°F)

Annual rainfall: 300mm (11.8 inches)

Ethnic mix:
60% Indian, Pakistani and Filipino, 25% Emiratis, 12% Arab and 3% Western ex-pats.

I want to know is Dubaians the correct names for the people that live in Dubai
It varies. Most expats call them simply the 'locals' or the Emiratis. I don't really know anybody that calls them Dubaians, IMHO that name sounds a little strange to say and I don't think it is really used except in the media if at all.

Also, is UAE like other Middle eastern countries racists against Americans?
The UAE is one of the safest countries in the Middle East for Americans. The population of US nationals here is around 100,000 and there is no tension between them and the locals. If anything, people just disagree with US foreign policy, and not Americans themselves.

how far apart are the current clusters of high rises (specifically SZR and Dubai Marina)?

There are several main clusters. The 'New Dubai' cluster consists of Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lake Towers, and Jumeirah Beach Residence, along with towers from Dubai Internet City and Media City. This is the new growth corridor of Dubai around the 5th junction of SZR

The second cluster would be the current cluster of towers around Junction 1 and 2 of SZR (this is where Emirates Towers is at) and the Burj Dubai (worlds tallest) is going to be around J1, along with the massive Business Bay development

I would say these are the two main clusters, they are roughly 25-30km away from each other, possible other tower clusters include the ones in Dubai Waterfront, Dubailand, and Jebel Ali Airport City.

flo, maybe you can upload that map of Dubai showing all the projects to the thread

i just did it myself, here you go

http://tinypic.com/5v0fiw

Correction: There are about 10,000 Americans and not 100,000 (Sure it was a typo though).

Before 9/11 Americans were everywhere, but now they keep a low profile and it seams like they aren't there. However, despite their numbers being lower then before, still 10,000 is a considerable one.

I heard that the number of Canadian citizens is roughfly the same.

phuuu a lotta things, thanks for helping me.
perhaps it would be better if you wait until the last question has been answered before asking a new one!

ok updates the above questions.
what is new?

Someone above asked why the hell they're building so much stuff. I want to ask aswell why aren't they building projects for all income classes. Even if the population increases by 12% per year, there won't be nearly enough rich people to fill all this stuff up.

If they were targeting everyone with these projects then I'm sure they would fill up after a while but they're not. Doesn't that mean that there'll be a massive oversupply of housing for rich and upper-middle class while there won't be nearly enough for the rest? And would that create ghetto areas in Dubai after they work hard to keep it a safe place?

Ok difficult question, i guess i need some help from the others.
First of all , dubai indeed tries to attract upper class people.
But second, most of these developments are not thaaat expensive compared to other major cities.
third, there are low cost projects ,too.
International city for example.
Not every project is just upperclass, of course non of the indian construction workers could ever afford to live in the marina, but they go back to india anyway after they finished their work and have earned a lot more than they could in india/their home country.

OK I know it's hard question again but out of the 100,000 to 200,000 people moving to Dubai a year, about how many roughly would be able to afford to live there? No need for an exact number. Just an extimate would be fine. Would you say the majority would be able to afford an appartment at the marina for example?

Thanks for ur replies BTW :)

Most of the people buying to Dubai Marina, will have it as holiday home. While they officially will be Dubai residents, they'll not spend much time in there.

Thinking of it, having people spending just a few weeks a year is better for us, full-time residents. The traffic is terrible, at least during peak hours, so less leisure people driving, means less time gone waste, for us who have actually work to do.

To get back to your question, most of the people comming now in the city are related to the construction, architecture and real estate industry. When the boom will slow down, big part of them will live the town, but then those big projects will be compleated and professionals and holiday makers will take their place.

additon:
not to forget that there are a lot of office towers UC and many companies from all over the world open an office in dubai, attracted by central location and taxfree system.
Those companies bring a lot of employees to dubai, who then move into one of the villas or apts usually.
most of the people might be mid and high class, so they can afford to live in most of the projects, actually in all the projects, which are ,again , not thaaaat expensive in comparison.