Urban planners and developers may share the city's vision but need to talk to each other more to learn how to achieve it, the Urban Planning Council believes. It will soon open an institute to help.
Abu Dhabi's ambition to become sustainable, pedestrian-friendly and cosmopolitan should be understood by everyone, said Fouad Kassem, spokesman for the planning council.
The Abu Dhabi Institute for Advanced Urban Planning will continue the work of the Contemporary Urbanism Forum, which concluded yesterday.
"No matter how good ideas are, when they are only shared among a few people, they can be fleeting," Larry Beasley, the Canadian urban planner and architect of the Abu Dhabi 2030 Plan, said at the forum. "You need belief in those ideas, then they become robust; they become part of the indigenous culture.
"Human values are a high priority in the building of this city. The young, enthusiastic, well-educated Emirati nationals here are the people to take the great ideas for the new city forward. You have a great responsibility."
Forum participants included planners from UPC and private developers including Reem, Al Qudra and Mubadala.
Yasmeen al Rashedi, a planner, said: "Having developers participate in this was so important because it changed their mindsets."
Muna al Dhaheri, an Adar engineer, said it was important for developers to have a line of communication and education with planners. "For us as developers, we will work on one part of the city and not know what is happening in another part. But Abu Dhabi is developing so quickly, developers really need to know more about urbanism so that we can make our projects better."
Ms Rashedi said one of the biggest challenges for planners in Abu Dhabi was persuading Emiratis to integrate with people from other countries.
"We need mixed communities. We need to build more Emirati parcels within the city, not just outside the downtown," she said.
"But we need more education to make this kind of change successful. And not just for the planners. For the people, too."
jhume@thenational.ae
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
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BLACKBERRY
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The results of the first round are as follows:
Qais Saied (Independent): 18.4 per cent
Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent
Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent
Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent
Youssef Chahed (former prime minister, leader of Long Live Tunisia): 7.3 per cent
The specs
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
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On sale: now