Dubai’s Urban governance and Planning framework

 Aims The predominant objective of this research project is to look at the urban governance and development regulatory framework in the context of Dubai. Particularly, this research aims in analyzing the fragmented institutional arrangement of urban governance in the freehold areas. Objectives 1. The research will identify the emirate’s parameters in the development path since the establishment of the freehold zones in 2002. 2. Identify the structure and the role of the institutes and stakeholders in the urban development field and how they shape the governance system 3. Look into the planning policies and land law used in the development framework under multiple zoning authorities. Literature review By reviewing literature on urban governance, this research will conduct a detailed analysis of the institutional arrangement and development framework in the Freehold zones in Dubai. Due to deficiency of academic research on urban planning in emerging countries, this research will critically review literature on planning theories applied in developed and developing countries. Moreover, this research will look into literature on Dubai’s urban development process, which will provide a better perspective on the governance system of Dubai. In order to focus on achieving the objectives of this research, literature review will focus on key themes in the field of urban governance; Secondary data will include concepts on: 1. Urban Governance and the role of institutes 2. Land and Planning law 3. Case Studies (developing and developed countries) 4. Dubai’s urban development So you are spanning the developed country debates on ‘planning theory’ and the relevance of planning, and developing country literature on ‘planning and land law’. While these are relevant to Gulf countries, there is definitely a GAP, because the planning system in developed countries has existed for most of the 20th century, and debates on planning for developing countries deal mainly with informal development. However, there is very little literature on planning/land law in the very particular circumstances of the Gulf countries (rapid growth of GDP as a result of oil and hydrocarbon exploitation, massive development supported by an influx of expatriate populations).