As the global economy imploded — taking Dubai along with it — Abu Dhabi stood almost alone as a place on Earth that was still financially healthy. The financial system, that lubricant of international business, just about nearly ground to a halt but Abu Dhabi was spending cash building whole new cities: a cultural district and new financial center, an island dedicated solely to tourism and amusement.
But since then we’ve seen signs that perhaps the emirate got a little ahead of itself, forgetting the painful lessons taught to Dubai just up the road. Some of the retrenchment and reprioritization is good. In my view, there seemed to be too much focus on high-end housing (despite a chronic need for decent middle-class housing in the emirate) and luxury everything, regardless if that was where the demand would come from. My latest story, this time for Architectural Record, looks at how the latest cutbacks are affecting the design and construction businesses which had regarded Abu Dhabi as a bright spot in troubled economic times.
I don’t agree with the headline — clearly, Abu Dhabi is in no danger of running out of cash any time soon — but the comments to the story offer additional insight into what it’s like working there.
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