Mirage in the Desert

(Pictured above: the tallest man-made structure in the world, the Burj Dubai, towers over the city & half-built artificial islands make up The World, whose construction has been put on hold.)

From the moment that I heard of the boom taking place in Dubai, I had a feeling something was up. This feeling was only confirmed when I visited twice last year (see: Tower of Babel..., Brave New World..., old Dubai..., skiing in the desert??? ). While of course it was, and still is (I went again this summer, see: New talents from Kuwait ), an exciting and dynamic, visually and culturally rich, futuristic city, does it make any sense, in this age of environmental concern, to attempt to create a mega-city in the middle of a desert? Really, how many people are going to want to live, and/or can sustainably live, in the middle of a desert?

Dubai Mega-Tower `Last Hurrah' To Age Of Excess

A Financial Mirage in the Desert

Debt Crisis Tests Dubai's Ruler