🏙 Dubai: 1980 vs Today | From Desert to Global Hub What you’re seeing:
A matched aerial view of Dubai around 1980 and today. In the first shot, the landscape is mostly desert with a highway interchange, one tower and a few low-rise districts by the Gulf. In the second, the same area is packed with multi-level interchanges, dense clusters of high-rises and, on the horizon, the Burj Khalifa. How did Dubai grow this fast?
Early oil money paid for basic roads and utilities, but most of the modern skyline comes from trade, shipping, aviation, real estate, tourism and finance. Free-trade zones, Jebel Ali Port, Dubai International Airport and Emirates airline turned the city into a regional hub. Low or zero income tax and light regulation attracted banks, developers and millions of expatriate workers. Who built it, and under what conditions?
Modern Dubai was built largely by migrant workers from South and Southeast Asia. Expatriates are the vast majority of the population, while Emirati c...