Dubai is shaping the next 25 years with a new urban vision

The Director General of Dubai Municipality, Marwan bin Ghalita, revealed the features of the plan for the next 25 years, within the Dubai Urban Plan 2040, and the plan for anticipating the future, which is based on 3 fundamental transformations.

Bin Ghalita explained during his opening speech at the “Future Cities Week” held at the Museum of the Future, that this philosophy is based on three main transformations that will guide the path of Dubai’s development during the next stage.

The first transformation is the transition from the concept of the smart city to the predictive city, through the development of a “digital twin” of the city of Dubai, which is a living virtual model that simulates the components of the city and allows studying the impact of projects before their implementation, including air quality, traffic, and the level of resident satisfaction, in order to move from treating problems after they occur to preventing them from arising in the first place.

The second transformation relates to the transition from sustainability to renewal, as the goal is no longer limited only to achieving zero waste to landfills by 2041, but rather to repurpose resources within an integrated circular economy that reuses them continuously, and to divert 100% of waste from the landfill route, in addition to designing buildings that can be dismantled and reused, in a way that enhances the enrichment of the environment rather than just preserving it.

The third transformation, which is most closely related to residents’ daily lives, comes from focusing on creating facilities to designing quality of life, through the application of the “20-minute city” concept, which allows 80% of Dubai’s population to reach most of their daily needs within a 20-minute walk from within their neighborhoods. It also includes doubling green spaces, increasing public beaches four-fold, and weaving green corridors that connect our neighborhoods and communities, in order to engineer happiness, and design an urban experience that is the best in the world.

Bin Ghalita stressed that this vision is not the result of the moment, but rather an extension of a five-decade journey during which Dubai Municipality led major transformations in the areas of urban planning, infrastructure, public health, environmental sustainability, and beautification of the city.

Believing that creating the future is a shared responsibility, today I announced the launch of the Future Signals Service – Dubai Community Observatory via WhatsApp. This service is the first of its kind in municipal work in the region, and is an official invitation to every individual in Dubai to transform from an observer into an active partner in anticipating and shaping the future of his city with us.

Bin Ghalita revealed the launch of the “Signs of the Future – Dubai Community Observatory” service via the “WhatsApp” application in the belief that creating the future is a shared responsibility. He explained that this service is the first of its kind in municipal work in the region, and aims to involve community members in anticipating and shaping the future of the city, and transforming every individual in Dubai from an observer into an active partner in anticipating and shaping the future.

At the conclusion of his speech, he stressed that Dubai, which 25 years ago was building the foundations of a global city, is working today to formulate a new global standard for future cities, saying: “The future is not waited…it is made…and together we make it every day.”

The Director General of Dubai Municipality reviewed the most prominent achievements of the past phase, which included improving the waste management system, developing an integrated network for rainwater drainage and sewage, transforming large areas of the desert into sustainable green environments, in addition to improving the quality of life by ensuring the safety of food and buildings and enhancing trust between the community and the city.

He pointed out that these achievements were not achieved through the efforts of one party, but rather through integrated and coordinated government action that constitutes a model for what he described as “the story of one government in Dubai,” which represents one of the most important factors for the city’s success in building a global urban model.