Why many people say Arabian Gulf cities look "Fake " and "Soulless" ?

[Skyprince]

Originally Posted by zaphod

I think because these places are so new, they haven't developed layers of differently aged buildings and functions, or cultural traditions that bring out the best of the city. Idiosyncratic but endearing qualities often make a city less "bland".

As they age they will not seem as bland.

True there aren't many extremely old buildings in that part of the world. Could be due to very little population in the past or, no necessity to build solid homes due to extremely hot temperature or nomadic life , and many other reasons. But newer buildings and modern architecture are highly influenced by local/Middle Eastern culture and architecture style.

You can truly feel it. Many 4 or 5 star hotels are built with local-styled interior . Houses , especially villas where native populace live are absolutely Middle-Eastern.

As of "cultural traditions" they are truly represented well , there are people from different parts of the world living in Arabian Gulf countries.

I was very pleasantly amazed by the mix of people I saw there - Foreigners make up to 80% of UAE and 85% of Qatar population . Full of colours and full of spirit to me.

Many parts of Dubai and Doha looks almost like Karachi, Bandar Abbas or Cochin.

Don't expect Old grand palaces like in Europe- Gulf countries lie in Warm zone thus it was not essential to build solid structures ( in the past ) with proper insulation & protection from cold outside. Same with Southeast Asia , we cannot compare those Grand Palaces & Castles in Europe with historical buildings in Southeast Asia which were not built to withstand chill at all

[Rev Stickleback]

Castles weren't build to keep out the cold. They were built to keep out attackers.

[CNB30]

They are quickly planned out, and resemble suburban desert office park. Lastly, I know that the Architecture over there is rather plain consisting of blank walls, unlike Europe, or the US

[Disturbing Reality]

Originally Posted by joshsam

My friend who went the USA found in USA and I found also UK pubs and such and even parks closing early...I think by law?

It depends on which part of the country you go to.. I've seen clubs in some big cities in the east coast closing at midnight (some close at 2am), and i'm talking about new england states and others down south like florida.. In NYC, you can find places that almost never close.. Big cities like LA, San Francisco and Las Vegas... same thing.. In the US, it really depends where you're at..

[Cainta boy]

As a navy veteran who has been to dubai a number of times i can say i absolutely love dubai. The old town has character and the architecture has the personality of the local culture as oppose to every other major city in the world where old style architecture is pushed aside (for the most part) in favor of modern design. I had my first taste of shwarma on the streets of dubai and i instantly fell in love with it. That said, despite the fact that i have had a blast in dubai during the times i have been there the new city itself is in fact "soulless". When the old town is more bustling than the downtown are then you know something is wrong. There is no real barhopping district that i know of which can be explained by the fact that the local culture isn't very big on the barhopping lifestyle. You have to go to Hard Rock Cafe or Planet Hollywood for that.

Dubai was clearly built with the future in mind and you cannot hate on that. Every country in the world would die to have the ability (disposable $$$)to plan out their major cities 50 years ahead of time the way dubai has.

When people say the city (new city) is soulless, they are right. It has the soul of a typical American suburb. Don't be offended. It is just simply true. This city was built for the future and that is fine.

[soup or man]

Originally Posted by Skyprince

Many houses in Abu Dhabi are built with local design ( my pics )

I found Emirati traditional architecture very captivating

These homes are nothing special. They look like homes you'd find in the American Southwest. These are from Phoenix, Arizona (and surrounding areas).









Anyway, in regards to Dubai: I could never see myself living there. Doesn't look like a fun city (unless you have loads of disposable cash). It lacks something..that special something that makes it unique. To me, the new Dubai looks like an overgrown mall and the Old Dubai looks like a overgrown strip mall. And I live in LA. I know a thing or two about strip malls. :p

[Crazy4scapers]

I disagree, you can not compare. The US Southwest looks cleaner less dusty and better planned. The middle east needs mexican gardners.

[soup or man]

^ I loled.

[Legomaniac]

Originally Posted by Crazy4scapers

I disagree, you can not compare. The US Southwest looks cleaner less dusty and better planned. The middle east needs mexican gardners.

Sad part is America has people like you.

[Flanders20]

[Celdur]

America has like 130 million mexicans...

[idnobleg]

Hi all,

I am currently researching into the first carbon-free city in Abu Dhabi. The name of the city is Masdar city an initiative of the UAE government. I will be looking at the quality of construction and the impact of this sort of sustainable construction on the environment and the quality of living and working in such environment.

The public view/opinion is kindly needed to analyze the following:

1. Sustainable construction as a tool for improving construction quality.

2. Enhancement of customer satisfaction based on 1 above.

I have developed a questionnaire for this purpose and the link is provided below. Just copy and paste to your web browser.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/IdowuAjayi

Thank you so much as you take time to respond to my survey.

Idowu Ajayi
Kingston University London