“And an Island Never Cries”: Cultural and Societal Perspectives on the Mega Development of Islands in the United Arab Emirates

This chapter aims at revealing cultural and societal aspects of the megaengineering of artificial islands and other island development projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE is a federation established in 1971 of seven traditional sheikhdoms or emirates, located on the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf. The largest emirate Abu Dhabi; and also the name of the capital, but perhaps most famous is the city and emirate of Dubai for its many spectacular and extravagant megaprojects. The number and size of these new island projects can be understood by studying the elaborate chapter “Infrastructure” in the latest official United Arab Emirates Yearbook 2009. This chapter recounts for several projects of this kind that will be the starting point for my article and explained below in detail: In Abu Dhabi city the yearbook mentions that the islands named Sowwah, Al Reem, Saadiyat, Yas and Lulu are undergoing reclamation. In Dubai the world’s largest artificial archipelago called The World has been finalized and the three large man-made Palm Islands are under construction with one recently being completed. In the coastal areas of the smaller and poorer northern emirates, islands are being developed as well, following the pattern of the larger emirates.