Kuwait is the Past, Dubai is the Present, Doha is the Future: Informational Cities on the Arabian Gulf

Abstract

Many cities in the world define themselves as 'smart.' Is this term appropriate for cities in the emergent Gulf region? This article investigates seven Gulf cities Kuwait City, Manama, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, and Muscat that have once grown rich due to large reserves of oil and gas. Now, with the threat of ending resources, governments focus on the development towards a knowledge society. The authors analyzed the cities in terms of their 'smartness' or 'informativeness' by a quantitative survey and by in-depth qualitative interviews N = 34. Especially Doha in Qatar is well on its way towards an informational city, but also Dubai and Sharjah both in the United Arab Emirates make good scores.