Call to set up an urban planning legislative and regulatory framework

08/27/2007
By Robert Ditcham, Staff Reporter

Dubai: Several key issues facing Dubai's future urban development and the way residents interact with the city will be tackled by the emirate's new urban development plan. Challenges to be addressed by the Dubai Urban Development Framework (DUDF) include the emirate's infrastructure and transport supply, its ecological footprint, urban amenities and community services, and coordination between organisations responsible for the built up environment.

According to urban planning specialists, the need to set up an urban planning legislative and regulatory framework will be one of the initiative's most important responsibilities. "This step is a natural reaction to the increasing pace of development in Dubai, which has been quite extraordinary compared to other cities around the world. There is a need to revisit and upgrade the overall urban masterplan and create a uniform system," said Rod Stewart, regional managing director, Hyder Consulting Middle East, an engineering, environmental planning and management consultancy.

Important part

"Ensuring that all the development that takes place in Dubai is brought under a wider umbrella of regulatory control is a very important part of the initiative and something to be supported." Gulf News yesterday reported that Dubai's Urban Planning Committee (UPC) awarded a contract to a consortium headed by Urbis (Australia) to prepare the DUDF, with support from environmental and engineering experts WSP Group.

The project, expected to be completed in 14 months, aims to create an innovative, flexible and fully integrated development planning and management framework for Dubai to the year 2020 and beyond. It will be guided by the UPC, which has key stakeholders including Dubai Municipality, the Road and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Dubai Land Department, and The Executive Office, as well as developers such as Dubai Holdings, Emaar and Nakheel.

In Dubai there has been some criticism over gaps in the provision of urban amenities and community services. The emirate's ecological footprint has also been an area of concern, while a shortage of affordable housing and the huge pressure on the traffic infrastructure remain the main worries among residents. Over the next 14 months the DUDF will attempt to draw up ways of keeping the housing stock in line with projected economic and demographic growth, as well as guiding public and private developers on aspects such as the design and grouping of their buildings.

The management of existing heritage sites and creation of new heritage sites will be addressed, as will sustainability of coastal areas and open spaces within developments. Perhaps the most important areas will be details of primary and secondary infrastructure networks required to 2020 and beyond, and creation of a framework and strategy to make Dubai a 'green' city. In addition, the initiative aims to make Dubai an energy-efficient city by providing an energy demand-supply assessment and management study.

Addressing the need for a legal and institutional framework that can handle the complexity of urban development processes in Dubai, the initiative will find ways to direct, manage and monitor all spatial and real estate market activities in Dubai. "This move is a recognition that Dubai has to have a good level of planning control to ensure that it continues to be a very livable city," said Stewart.

Key issues and challenges DUDF could address
- Coordination and integration among stakeholders involved in the built environment, including public agencies, quasi-public and private firms.
- Infrastructure supply - demand mismatch.
- Rapidly growing ecological and physical footprint.
- Gaps in urban amenities and community services.
- Mobility of goods and people across the emirate.
- Decline in housing affordability.
- Business competitiveness in light of rising cost of living and inflationary pressures.
- Urban planning legislative and regulatory framework.