Basic Needs and Human Rights
In the case of Dubai, the basic needs of its denizens are far surpassed than
what is necessary. High-rise condos, exclusive estates, and other ambitious
high-end housing projects are being built on an enormous scale in Dubai, something
that is seen as a major boost to the already bursting-at-the-seams economy.
But because of this focus on catering to affluent citizens and wealthy foreign
investors, there is little and almost no housing provision for lower to middle
class income families, most of them immigrant workers.
An example of the many high-rise
residential towers in the region.
Dubai has the latest and greatest of all basic needs, ranging from infrastructure
of roads to potable water to electricity. The UAE government even provides
'social housing' for every native Emirate family, which consists of an above-modest
home with 3 bedrooms, and free utilities. Being a native Emirate has its perks,
but living here is especially expensive for migrants and foreigners.
'Social housing' project in Dubai.
The average home interior seen
here.
Dubai is very much a commuter city, and there is a complex network of highways
and thoroughfares throughout the city to promote maximum mobility, and electricity
has also been implemented for quite a while; due to early British control
and influence over the region. Water is essential in the hot, dry desert climate
of Dubai. The Maktoum family, rulers of the city-state, implemented many enormous
desalination plants to cope with the water shortage in the desert. The poor
and lower middle income families of Dubai do not have to worry about broken
water pipes or shortages, broken roads, and vast human waste dumps. They do,
however, have to worry about where they can afford to live.
Desalination plant on the outskirts
of Dubai.
With the construction of many new offices and shopping centers and tourist
attractions and condos in Dubai, the demands on the housing sector will only
get worse. Not only do the rich demand housing in this highly desirable region,
but the lower income groups, such as the construction workers who are building
the shopping malls for the higher class, need an affordable place to live
within the city. Thus, it is important that Dubai’s city authorities
act quickly by building both low and middle-income housing in the region that
caters to all incomes (Al-Bawaba). If this is not done swiftly enough and
kept up with the growth of the city, Dubai could see an economic standstill
with an unbalance between lower and higher income groups.
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