Opting for Growth: A Strategy for Al Ain

Urbanization in the Gulf countries is strongly shaped by the oil-based economy and is characterized by a primate distribution. The United Arab Emirates shows an exception to this trend to some extent due to the federal political system on the one hand and the “sedentarization” policy for Bedouin population in their homeland on the other. Urban development in the Al Ain region presents an example of such a balanced distribution. However, the fast growth of Al Ain city generated by planning practices that have been developed in an economy of abundance and as a result of a generous welfare policy, could lead the region to rejoin the Gulf model of primacy. Thus, a spatial strategy is required to redress the situation