Well, we’re coming to the end of our journey exploring the city of Dubai. I have explored various material flows including water, food, sewage, energy and solid waste. Through a UPE underpinning I have made effort to explore holistically the interactions and transformations of these materials in relation to wider social, ecological and political factors….
Category: Dubai
Food for thought – the natural and unnatural
Food is something we take for granted, widely available and with diverse choice – all it takes is a few minutes stroll to our local supermarket and we have access to food from all over the world. When paying attention to food, what becomes apparent is the ways food is integral to our urban life;…
Rubbish in the palace – Dubai’s waste management
In the first blog of this series, I mentioned that with such grand levels of consumption in the city of Dubai, there is expected to be equal amounts of waste. The last blog explored sewage and sanitation in Dubai and attempts to keep such flows hidden in the city, today’s blog will directly explore how…
What to do…with all this poo?! – Dubai’s hidden sewage concerns PART 2
The last blog provided a brief overview into Dubai’s sanitation, including how infrastructures for sewage had been over exhausted and neglected in relation to rapid urban growth. Dubai’s sanitation story illuminates the importance of acknowledging hidden flows in the city and their significance in the day to day functioning of the city. In this blog…
What to do…with all this poo?! – Dubai’s hidden sewage concerns PART 1
Sewage is often overlooked, hidden from plain sight – thus deemed invisible in the city. However, the adequate disposal of human waste is crucial for sanitation, public health and general wellbeing – so much so that sanitation is a part of the UN’s sustainability goals (UN, 2018). With one flush we can make our waste…
Fill up the tank, drive away from Petrocapitalism!
In the last blog we addressed flows of water in Dubai, specifically the costs and benefits of desalination. However, as mentioned – desalination is fuelled by fossil fuels and Dubai’s explosive urban growth is rooted in the discovery of huge oil reserves in the 1900’s. The aim of today’s blog is to explore the commodification…
Water you doing Dubai?
‘All life comes from water’ – and that’s why deserts are described barren, cruel and dead environments. Now, of course deserts aren’t dead, but their ecosystems aren’t exactly the epitome of ‘busy’. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine that much of modern-day Dubai, in all its neon glory – stands in place of…
Dubai – The desert that sparkles?
Oh, the sheikhs, the glamour and the glory. Dubai is a truly global city, known for its pomp and glitter, luxury and celebrity endorsements – the city that sparkles, the epitome of consumption. However, with so much consumption, must come equal volumes of waste… Urban political Ecology (UPE), is the exploration of the material flows…
The Urban Digest 