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The smart city and the containment of informality: The case of Dubai

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  • Harris Breslow

Abstract

I argue that Dubai’s smart city project, ‘Smart Dubai’, is a response to the following priorities: (i) the furtherance of the city’s scale-making project and worlding strategies, through the propagation of the smart city imaginary and the buildout of a smart city infrastructure modelled after those in the global north and west and used to compete for members of the creative class and other high-value residents; (ii) a project to enlarge the scope of Dubai’s economy of flow. Dubai in particular, and the UAE in general, have long articulated a political economic project based on the creation of a political economy that positions the country as a regional hub within the global political economy of flow; and (iii) the containment of urban informality, which in Dubai is understood as both a disciplinary problem and an existential challenge to what is still, at heart, a rentier economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Harris Breslow, 2021. "The smart city and the containment of informality: The case of Dubai," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(3), pages 471-486, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:58:y:2021:i:3:p:471-486
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098020903233
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Martin De Jong & Thomas Hoppe & Negar Noori, 2019. "City Branding, Sustainable Urban Development and the Rentier State. How Do Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai Present Themselves in the Age of Post Oil and Global Warming?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-26, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ibrahim Mutambik & John Lee & Abdullah Almuqrin & Justin Zuopeng Zhang, 2023. "Transitioning to Smart Cities in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: The Role of Leadership and Organisational Culture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-22, July.
    2. Ibrahim Mutambik & Abdullah Almuqrin, 2024. "Employee Acceptance of Digital Transformation: A Study in a Smart City Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Ryan Burns & Victoria Fast & Anthony Levenda & Byron Miller, 2021. "Smart cities: Between worlding and provincialising," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(3), pages 461-470, February.
    4. Kerry Bobbins & Federico Caprotti & Jiska de Groot & Whitney Pailman & Mascha Moorlach & Hendrik Schloemann & Alex Densmore & Kimenthrie Finlay & Ellen Fischat & Siseko Siwali & Joslyn Links, 2024. "Smart and disruptive infrastructures: Re-building knowledge on the informal city," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(1), pages 165-179, January.
    5. Byron Miller & Kevin Ward & Ryan Burns & Victoria Fast & Anthony Levenda, 2021. "Worlding and provincialising smart cities: From individual case studies to a global comparative research agenda," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(3), pages 655-673, February.

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