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Role of the Information Technology on changing the Urban Form in Dubai, UAE

Gihan Selim

Lecturer;
Department of Architecture, United Arab Emirates University
PO Box 17555, Al Ain, UAE
e-mail: g.selim@uaeu.ac.ae

Abstract

According to the growing needs of our world today, many efforts were emerged to create more liveable cities and
communities. A major effort has been made to direct growth in a way that decreases changes to environment and to create a
balance between the four changing poles of urban growth: economy, society, environment and politics. Experts and
professionals in many parts of the world developed, implemented and monitored different policies and strategies to achieve
that aim. However, this view of the development of urban forms and cities need to be revised with the immense growth of
the use of information technology and emerge of global economy and globalization. This paper aims to highlight the impacts
of information technology and globalization on the urban form. The goal is to achieve a clear understanding of the changes
of urban forms in the information age. The integrating new trends of IT in the process of smart growth create new urban
forms. The paper discusses the challenges and opportunities of applying new IT development centres in the city of Dubai,
UAE, in a way that can enhance the process of the city's smart growth (SG) plans. The creation of new IT centres in Dubai,
followed by other development patterns, resulted in the creation of: unbalanced development, urban sprawl, traffic
congestion, environmental hazards and underutilization of resources. The results of this paper suggested that urgent efforts
are required to alleviate the negative consequences of current development. We developed desired development-key issues
that must be achieved. The recommended desired issues include the creation of independent urban centres and the
enforcement of environmental control measures. The study concludes by highlighting the linkages between urban growth
and information technology.

Keywords: Dubai, Information Technology, Urban Form, Smart Growth

Introduction

Recent research in the field of urban analysis and information technology repeatedly showed three
clear perspectives: (1) that we are experiencing a shift to a new type of knowledge economy, in which
intellectual capital is rapidly replacing other forms of capital in the generation of wealth; (2) that
understanding where in the metropolitan region the new breed of knowledge and high-tech workers
want to live, work, and play is fundamental to the geography of the New Economy and (3) that
designing quality places that attract elite-tech workers can protect the local community from
globalization's ravages, such as deindustrialization, cross geographic arbitrage, and other vicissitudes
of our newfangled digital age (Aguilara, Ward, and Smith, 2003, Audirac, 2002a, Castells 1996,
Graham and Marvin 1996, Storper 1997, Hall 1997, Mitchell 2000, Richard Florida 2000, Kotkin and
DeVol 2000.)
This research raises two questions: How could the accelerated progress of IT affect the cities’ smart
growth plans? What is the future of our cities in light of globalization and information utilizing the
city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates as a case study? However, there is an emerging research
consensus regarding IT and urban form effects that raise important issues for Smart Growth policy
(see, for example, Aguilara, Ward, and Smith, 2003 and Audirac, 2002a.)

Smart Growth and Information Technology

Harvard Graduate School of Design, Dubai Conglomerated: The Urban
HARVARD Planning and Design Challenges to Building a City of Many Cities,
UNIVERSITY
Editors: Sarkis, H. and Marcus, P., April 2003.
All rights reserved: ©HGSD 2003
Mostafa El Araby and Gihan Selim

Currently, movements such as Smart Growth, the Congress for the New Urbanism, New-Economy
Towns, Liveable Communities, New Regionalism, and a flurry of e-networked civic coalitions are
emblematic of (a) growth management and urban design manifestos attempting to come to grips with
new sociospatial realities besieging urban life and the economic future of cities, and regions in the
information age, and (b) new powerful organizational and networking competencies enabled by the
information revolution (Audirac, 2002a), which Manuel Castells (1996) asserts to be fundamentally
new expressions of the current "network society." (See also: Kirby, 2002) Therefore, locales are
reinvented to be more liable, sustainable and vibrant digitally connected communities. Stakeholders of
this reinvention include local governments, educational institutions, e-entrepreneurs, the IT industry,
community developers, planners and urban designers. Hence, in the absence of effective models of
regional governance and planning, urban growth in the New Economy may result in the furtherance of
urban sprawl, understood as more exurban development, social and spatial segregation, and traffic
gridlock (Audirac, 2002a).

Urban Forms in the Information Age

Research that examines the spatial synergies involving IT, telecommunications, and transportation
suggests that the emerging urban form in the digital era is increasingly more fragmented, polycentric
and complex, fast dispersing and reconcentrating at the metropolitan edge, and increasingly stuck in
traffic (Bunnel, Barter, and Morshidi, 2002, Aguilara, Ward, and Smith, 2003). In urban de-
concentration research, location preferences of New Economy firms and high-tech workers are the
major factors explaining such outcome, while urban restructuring enquiry underscores the
information-age's political economy of fast accessibility and mobility and global competition, which
in turn translate into time-sensitive rather than distance-sensitive development patterns – the
dominance of the" space of flows" over the" space of places" (See Audirac, 2002a, Castells 1996,
Graham and Marvin 1996, and Storper 1997). To summarize, the information-age metropolis emerges
as (1) polycentric and intensely extra-networked by land, air, water, and digital means to regional and
urban global urban systems; and (2) deeply digitally and multimodality intranet worked, albeit all the
more socioeconomically segregated, physically overextended, and stuck in traffic (Audirac, 2002a).
Urban forms in the New Economy, according to Castells (1996), are defined by three interrelated
supporting layers of "the space of flows," which include: (1) the cities forming part of a global
network of production, financial, managerial, drug trafficking, etc; (2) the technological infrastructure
(e.g., fiber optic, satellite, and telecommunications networks and intermodal logistics systems) that
form the digital and fast communications lattice connecting these cities (very much like railways
defined economic regions in the industrial era) and (3) the places valued by the information-age elite
(e.g., knowledge workers, and the New Economy's managerial and high-tech elite). Outside these
urban forms or "space of flows" lie the urban underclass and information-age-have-nots, whose labor
is superfluous to the New Economy (Audirac, 2002a). Researchers of urban forms in the information
age defined three types of metropolitan landscapes: cyber-districts, aereotropoli and New Economy
towns (Sommers et a1., 2000 and Shen, 1999). Cyber-districts refer to the districts where telecom
hotels, media software and e-com firms have tended to cluster, co-locate or relocate. The rise in
business-to business (B-B) activity, associated with production and supply-chain transactions, has
spurred the need for speed and agility in the processing, delivery, and management of Internet-based
business, and in turn, generated spatial agglomerations of distribution and e-commerce fulfilment
centers near and around airports (Audirac, 2002a). This trend has stimulated the expansion of
intelligent road freight transportation facilities leading in and out of airports and given way to a new
urban form that John Kasarda calls" Aerotropolis." Aerotropoli is defined as the" aerotropolis is
based on low density, wide lanes and fast movements" (Kasarda, 2000, 3). New Economy towns
stresses the location preferences of firms and knowledge workers or from an economic restructuring
perspective, which emphasizes the political economy of the global information age, the dominant

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 Role of the Information Technology on changing the Urban Form in Dubai, UAE

spatial logic of the New Economy remains that of peripheral dispersion with strategic re-
concentration, but more so at the urban edge than in old city cores (see: Bunnel, Barter, and Morshidi,
2002). The spatial logic of these new emerging information-age landscapes is based on fast and
reliable multimodal and digital connectivity, with a tendency for peripheral and 2nd tier city
dispersion.
All in all, the above trends suggest that in the absence of effective models of regional governance and
planning, the New Economy may defy Smart Growth's attempts to curb down urban sprawl,
understood as more exurban development and loss of farmland and open space, social and spatial
segregation, and traffic gridlock. Most research in the area of urban forms and the information age has
been primarily found in amenity-rich metropolitan areas (mostly in the developed countries). This
research contributes to the knowledge by examining the impacts of information technology on the
urban form of the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. These impacts are illustrated in the following
sections.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the Case Study

Introduction and Background

Dubai, UAE, is one of the most modern third world towns due to its advisements. The Emirate of
Dubai extends along the Arabian Gulf coast of the UAE for approximately 72 kilometres. The total
area of Dubai Emirate is c. 3,885 square kilometres, which is equivalent to 5 per cent of the country’s
total area, excluding the islands. Dubai city is built along the edge of a narrow 10-kilometre winding
creek that divides the southern section of Bur Dubai, the city's traditional heart, from the northern area
of Deira.

Fig 1: The City of Dubai with the Creek that divided the urban structure of the city center.

In the past years, the city witnessed economic, commercial and construction boom, which has drawn
tourists and businessmen to search for investment opportunities. Dubai is considered to be the second
major city in the UAE after Abu Dhabi, the capital and centre of oil wealth. On one hand, Dubai was
able to make confidant strides in all aspects of development by following certain scientific planning
process to catch with the new trends of urban development of smart growth. The oil discovery, on the
other hand, opened the way for large scale of development and increased the economy and urban
growth, which is still progressing until today. Furthermore, Dubai is experiencing rapid urban growth
in terms of population, development and sprawl over available land. This urban growth is

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Mostafa El Araby and Gihan Selim

characterized by vast development, well-developed and maintained network of roads, commercial,

industrial and information technology centres that divided the city into different explicit sectors. For
instance, Dubai had a population of 55.000 in 1967, by the year 1980 this figure reached 250.000
(Taryam, 1987) ten years later this figure became 529.000, the projected increase in population by the
year 2012 is 3.6 million (Sultan, 1999). Dubai could be considered as a model city, which applies the
ideas of smart growth in its urban development, plans that will be illustrated in the following section.

The Urban Development of Dubai

The urban development of Dubai passed through five stages of development, which shaped the natural
growth, happened since the 1960s. Dubai developed according to the central place theory with multi-
nuclei centers, fig (2).

Fig. 2: Dubai’s urban development from the Sixties to the Nineties.

The center was developed towards the north cost, and then city spread to different directions to the
south and the west. Dubai’s growth is illustrated in figures (3 and 4) where it is explicit that the
directions of expansion of the city were multi-directional according to the availability of land for
development and along the development of road networks, a process that is still occurring until recent
days. Different Types of functions appeared in the urban development of Dubai due to its growing
urban patterns of the city, few residential areas turned to commercial activities or even business zones
especially in the centre of Dubai. According to that, two trends of growth appeared in Dubai. First, the
growth of the center (Deira) was occurred to the north coast direction. Second, the city was expanded
to the west direction towards the boarder of Abu Dhabi-Dubai emirates. The aim is to preserve more
suitable zones and to avoid crowded traffic and pollution. Both trends of growth shape the main axes
of Dubai’s urban growth since the 60s (Gabriel, 1988).

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 Role of the Information Technology on changing the Urban Form in Dubai, UAE

1960 1965

1968 1976

Fig 3: A series of Arial photographs illustrating

the urban development of Dubai 1960-2000
(Gabriel, 1988 & Dubai Municipality, 2002)

Fig 4: The directions of urban development from 1960 – now

Smart Growth and the Development of Dubai

Dubai’s growing policy began in the early 1960s experiencing a long way of development starting
within the master plan. With the availability of funds, modern technology, and availability of large
areas for development, Dubai development plans were able to establish new urban areas and propose
areas for future extensions. According to that, economic and urban growth rates have been in excess
of 8 per cent/annually in order to achieve the targets of the smart growth (Dubai Municipality Report,
1997). The main objectives of the urban development proposed by the year 2012 include:
• Increasing isolated areas between residential and industrial areas.
HGSD, Dubai Conglomerated, April 2003 95
Mostafa El Araby and Gihan Selim

• Increasing public services for residential areas and landscaping zones.

• The need to develop road networks to connect the new urban areas.
• Planning for extra infrastructure facilities to serve industrial and commercial growth.
• Developing urban sprawl in different directions to create urban extensions away from
the crowded centers of Dubai.
In order to make progress in the role of smart growth initiative two major goals are to be well
considered:
Determine the directions of growth development
Dubai’s recent development programs are based on radial and ring roads with separate residential and
commercial areas and a tendency towards centrifugal radial expansion, generally oriented along the
coast. On the other hand, there seems to be another direction for growth and expansion towards the
west part of Dubai, particularly the movement of creating new technology centers to attract the areas
of growth in Dubai.
Determine the zones of growth development
The foundation of the smart growth initiative is the identification of the Desired Development Zones
(DDZ) which we can define the directions of the proposed growth or which we call (Oriented
Development). The Structure Plan for Dubai's urban area is broken up into eight plan elements and for
each of these issues has been identified. Goals, objectives and policies have been developed, and
recommendations and projects proposed for the implementation of these policies, fig (5).

Fig 5: Study of the Desired Development Zones (DDZ) in the proposed urban development plan of
Dubai (Dubai Municipality, 2000)

The plan elements include socioeconomic factors, land use, housing, community facilities,
transportation, industrial development, infrastructure and environmental resources. It also provides a
framework, which Dubai Municipality will reach more detailed planning controls and land use
decisions. It also focuses on maintaining the advances in social and economic progress achieved to
date. Future development will center on furthering economic diversity and efficiency, and optimizing
resource allocation. The system of development Dubai city encompasses three categories: the local
residential areas, the commercial districts and the business or industrial areas, fig (6).

96 HGSD, Dubai Conglomerated, April 2003

 Role of the Information Technology on changing the Urban Form in Dubai, UAE

Fig 6: Proposed structure plan for Dubai by the year 2012 (Dubai Municipality, 2000)

The existing airports and sea ports are continually expanding. This development requires a road
network to support it, a highway network that connects with the various internal road systems of each
emirate in order to provide convenient and quick access, fig (7).

Fig 7: Study of extensions of road hierarchy and road network in Dubai

(Dubai Municipality, 2000)

Impacts of Information Technology on the Development of Dubai

The information age technologies, the expansion of the use of communication technology and the
New Economy trends influenced the development of Dubai in the Nineties with the evolution of
Dubai Internet city and Jebel Ali Industrial Free Zone. Dubai Internet City has played a key role in
transforming Dubai into a thriving hub for the New Economy and the center of choice for technology

HGSD, Dubai Conglomerated, April 2003 97

Mostafa El Araby and Gihan Selim

companies wishing to service the region. Dubai Internet City is the first complete Information
Technology and Telecommunications centre in the world to have been built inside a free trade zone
and boasts an infrastructure second to none complete with the largest generation Internet Protocol
telephony system in the world. The development of Jebel Ali Free zone in 1985 was part of Dubai
strategic plan and with the changes of the global economy it turned out to be a hub for international
light and medium industries. The development of these two major entities created new centers to the
west direction of the city and allowed more urban sprawl of tourism, business, commercial and
recreational activities outside the city core.
The developed new areas include Dubai Internet city, Dubai Media City, Jebel Ali Free Zone, and
Sheikh Zayed Road. These centers are designed to complement and contribute to Dubai's growth and
development since 1995 in order to create IT communities and Technology electronic commerce
which are to be considered the E-commerce hub of Dubai. The new IT centers are being created in the
west part of Dubai as future expansions to the city core and because it is the only available direction
for expansion.

Name Date of Establishment

Operating
Jebel Ali Free Zone 1985
Dubai Internet city 2000
Dubai Media City 2000
Center on the Sheikh Zayed road 1999
Dubai Gold and Diamond Park (a) 2000
Table 1: Dates of Establishment of IT and Economic Centers in Dubai

Dubai Internet City

Dubai Internet City (DIC) provides a Knowledge Economy Ecosystem that is designed to support the
business development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies. It is the
Middle East’s biggest IT infrastructure, built inside a free trade zone, and has the largest commercial
Internet Protocol Telephony system in the world. Within a short span of time, a dynamic international
community of ICT companies has established itself in Dubai Internet City, fig (8). Today DIC is
home to 350 companies including Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Oracle, IBM, Cisco, Compaq and
Arabia. This is expected to increase to 500 by 2002 (Dubai Municipality, 2002).
Dubai Internet City allows 100% foreign ownership and sales, company earnings and private income
are exempt from any form of taxation. Companies can take land on a renewable lease of up to 50
years and build their own offices. Sophisticated intellectual property and cyber regulations have been
implemented to protect the integrity of e-business. A dedicated government agency has been created
to ensure enforcement of these regulations.

Fig 8: The development of Dubai Internet city (Author and Dubai Municipality, 2002)

98 HGSD, Dubai Conglomerated, April 2003

 Role of the Information Technology on changing the Urban Form in Dubai, UAE

The platforms and infrastructure supporting Dubai Internet City’s services have been carefully
engineered and implemented to provide the best quality of service at the highest levels of availability,
performance, and in harmony with customer expectations and global standards. In addition, it has
developed programs that can be leveraged by the ICT community to explore and expand 'Channel
Development' opportunities. The City's business and urban model is providing the impetus for the
continued expansion of broadband access across Dubai.

Dubai Media City

Dubai Media City, in close proximity to Dubai Internet City, is the media community for the region
offering world-class infrastructure, talent, services and technology. Inaugurated in January 2001, the
vision behind DMC is to become a global media hub by creating an infrastructure, environment and
attitude that will enable media focused enterprises to operate locally, regionally and globally out of
Dubai with significant competitive advantages. Some of the most widely recognized names in the
global media industry including CNN, Reuters, CNBC, MBC, BBC, EMI and Lintas Middle East
North Africa have established operations in DMC where the promise is one of 'Freedom to Create'.
In addition to providing the media community with an advanced infrastructure based upon a global
interconnected network, linked by satellites, computers, the internet, television, radio, journalism,
cinema and film production, DMC provides a tax-free environment, transparent relationships with
government and legislative authorities and a one stop shop for all services. 100% foreign ownership is
permitted within DMC. DMC currently consists of 380 companies and aims to host 550 by end of
2002 (Dubai Municipality, 2002).

Jebel Ali Free Zone

Dubai has become the fastest-growing and most attractive business center in the Middle East. Much
of this success has to be credited to the development of the Jebel Ali Free Zone, fig (9). Jebel Ali Free
Zone (JAFZ) is created in the 1985 to attract international investment, and is located just 35 km from
the center of Dubai. It offers well-structured tax and business incentives in a long established free
zone with good manufacturing, warehousing and distribution facilities. Over 150 of the world’s major
container shipping lines call into Dubai, including feeder vessels to Iran, Africa and the Indian
subcontinent. Dubai International airport, just 30 minutes by road from JAFZ, is serviced by more
than 95 airlines to and from over 137 destinations.

Fig 9: Arial view for Jebel Ali Free Zone (Dubai Municipality, 2002)

The development of this zone is part of the strategic plan and at present it is planed for light and
medium industries. Based on this, Jebel Ali Free Zone authority provides criteria for investment and
general guidelines for development. The business entities that choose to locate in Jebel Ali, on the
other hand, will provide their own development plans in accordance with the provided development
guidelines. The only restriction is the environmental safety.

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Mostafa El Araby and Gihan Selim

The Gold and Diamond Park

The Gold & Diamond Park is part of the Jebel Ali Free Zone Area, whereby all tenants can benefit
from the facilities offered by the free zone authority. Also there is available transportation between
the Gold & Diamond Park and the Gold Souq. Dubai Municipality's provides regular pickup services
for all gold manufactured and sold from the Gold & Diamond Park.

Sheikh Zayed Road

The development of Sheikh Zayed Road, a major highway that connects Dubai to Abu Dhabi, created
a civic center along side the road. The type of development along this road includes business,
commercial and recreational facilities. Furthermore, it has diverted some of the activities of the
crowded old civic center into a newer, more spacious area.

Fig 10 (a): Different types of office buildings, hotels and recreational facilities along the road (Author
and Dubai e-government, 2002)

The development of Sheikh Zayed road also involves the evolution of major educational institutions
and universities along with the expansion of mega housing projects to accommodate elite, IT and
knowledge workers. Master planned neighbourhoods and communities are built, inhibited and/or
under construction. Resort hotels, pristine beaches, exclusive shopping, marinas, world-class golf
courses and a variety of homes, townhouses and apartments are some of the offered amenities. These
multi-millions projects of housing expansions further enhanced the urban sprawl of the city. Effects of
urban sprawl in Dubai are immense and a further and detailed research in the topic is required.
However, improve the "quality of life" features including housing quality, easy commuting and
parking, attractive urban design, and most of all, access to good educational institutions are urgently
required. Thus, Dubai as one of the expected New Economy towns has to respond to these
preferences, as states and cities vie with their national and international counterparts for global
competitiveness (Audirac, 2002a).

Fig 10(b): The urban composition of office buildings and hotel towers along the road (Dubai e-
government, 2002).

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 Role of the Information Technology on changing the Urban Form in Dubai, UAE

Fig 10 (c): Examples of housing and residential developments along Sheikh Zayed road. (EMAAR,
2002)

The process of developing Dubai to become an important global node is still in progress. The aim is to
integrate the city into global production networks such as global supply and production chains. In
order to achieve that goal, future and undergoing expansion projects are currently executed and
planned. These multi-millions projects include but not limited to: Cargo Village Expansion, Jebel Ali
Port Expansion, Dubai Railway Project, Jebel Ali New International Airport, Dubai Healthcare City,
Heavy Equipment and Trucks Zone, Knowledge Village, Silicon Oasis, and Dubai International
Financial Centre (see for more details, Dubai E-Government, 2002). This ambitious plan of expansion
and development will put more tensions upon the city form and will be a serious challenge to the city
aimed smart growth measures. Challenges of the development of Dubai in the information age to
smart growth are presented in the following section.

Concluding Remarks:
Challenges of Smart Growth to the Dubai Current Development

One of the major challenges of Dubai current development pattern is the uncontrolled urban sprawl.
Sprawl is taking a grave toll on Dubai’s environment and the way of living there that exhibit mind-
numbing traffic, unmanaged development, fragmented communities, and loss of open space.
Currently, there is no effective, standardized mechanism for identifying vacant or underutilized sites
in Dubai urban areas and evaluating their potential for redevelopment. As problems associated with
urban sprawl grow, it is urgently required to find new ways to accommodate swelling populations
with further expanding urban boundaries.
The new directions of urban development in Dubai can take two Strategies. First, to start developing
from existing centers as Growth Axes between different urban zones directed to available directions
of development, and in order to stop sprawl development towards undesired directions. Second,
developing separate urban nuclei through developing new urban zones according to its activities
(tourism, housing, IT, new economic centers, etc.) and connecting them with road networks and
separating the growth in these zones into sectors or two stages of development. The suggested urban
development alternatives are evaluated on the basis of how well they achieve the urban development

HGSD, Dubai Conglomerated, April 2003 101

Mostafa El Araby and Gihan Selim

outcomes listed below. Alternatives are also evaluated for their economic and technical feasibility,
and for the urban development trade-offs and consequences likely to occur from their implementation.

Fig 10: Directions of urban development in Dubai toward IT centers and free zones

Desirable Urban Development Outcome

Future urban development features improved
housing opportunities for all urban area
residents
Future urban development features fair
distribution of growth costs and benefits
among citizens
Future urban development features the
preservation and enhancement of ecosystem
functions in urban areas and the preservation
and restoration of native ecosystems
Future urban development features energy
efficient communities with ready access to
jobs, goods, and services.
Future urban development features vital and
strong central cities.
Table 2: Evaluation criteria for proposed development
Key Ideas
Improved affordability, greater choice, and
more locational options
Benefits realized are proportional to costs
incurred Greater accountability for costs and
impacts imposed onto other communities or
region because of local land use and
development regulations
Type of development is compatible with the
environmental conditions and capabilities of
the area Critical habitat and unique biological
qualities are preserved in urban development
activity and enhanced where possible
Better urban mobility, reduced congestion
Core cities are economically competitive and
attractive places to live and work

The second challenge is improving the quality of life and the environment. Preserving and enhancing
new urban trends of development, protecting environmental quality, improving accessibility and
mobility and finally strengthening economy, can apply this. A smart growth strategy for Dubai can
consider ways to limit the environmental impacts of future urban development. Major challenges
include preventing loss of open space and habitat and reducing air and water pollution. At the same
time, smart growth policies can consider ways to restore natural ecosystems in existing urban areas
and provide new parks and recreational resources.
Installed computerized devices on certain buildings are used to monitor air pollution. The Creek water
should be analyzed on regular basis to ensure that city wastes do not pollute it.
102 HGSD, Dubai Conglomerated, April 2003
 Role of the Information Technology on changing the Urban Form in Dubai, UAE

There must be strict effluent and pollution controls for all manufacturing and industries. It is highly
recommended to build green belt zones between the suggested sectors of development. Buffer zones
with trees and greenery could be created between industrial and residential areas to ensure
environmental safety and to limit the current ambiguous form of development. These belts would
enhance Smart growth plans that enable communities to pursue open space protection and
development objectives through the clustering of development activity away from sensitive natural
areas.
The suggested proposals can achieve not only Smart Growth's quality of life objectives for consumers
of Dubai but also for New Economy Towns with similar conditions. They could effectively help
curtail exurban expansion, traffic congestion and sociospatial segregation to satisfy the digital
connectivity and fast mobility demands of the users’ live-work-play preferences and businesses of the
city in the coming century.

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