Fifteen-, Ten-, or Five Minute City? Walkability to Services Assessment: Case of Dubai, UAE

Maram Ali, Tarig Ali (), Rahul Gawai and Ahmed Elaksher
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Maram Ali: Master of Urban Planning Program, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates
Tarig Ali: Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates
Rahul Gawai: Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates
Ahmed Elaksher: Department of Engineering Technology and Survey Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 20, 1-24

Abstract: The rapid urbanization growth in Dubai has resulted in connectivity issues and is therefore considered tremendous development pressure. That has led the local authorities to set a vision for Dubai as a 15–20 min city by 2040. In a 15 min city, all services can be reached within 15 min of travel time using sustainable mobility means, including walking, cycling, or electric biking. This study aims to assess the current walkability situation within 15 min in the most significant parts of Dubai. The study considered 13 communities, including Bur-Dubai and Business Bay, which were selected to represent ungated communities and eleven major gated communities. Those neighborhoods were selected based on the developments’ socio-economic status and population density. The assessment considered 14 essential services, grouped into five categories: educational, health, social, entertainment, and religious. The data for this study was collected through desktop research, site visits, and residents’ interviews. The data layers were prepared in ArcGIS Pro 3.0, which was used to perform the network analysis. The results indicate that 28.25% of residents in the ungated neighborhoods have access to essential services within 15 min, similar to gated communities where residents rely on cars to access many services. Furthermore, results suggest that service distribution patterns and walkability infrastructure outside these communities should be developed to obtain higher walkability indicators.

Keywords: urban design; sustainability; sustainable development; gated community; walkability; Dubai; United Arab Emirates (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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