Real Estate Liberalization as Catalyst of Urban Transformation in the Persian Gulf

Wiedmann, Florian

Abstract

This chapter discusses the liberalization of the real estate sector which has accompanied the recent urbanization in emerging Gulf cities. It outlines the key role played by real estate in redefining development patterns, and promoting both economic growth and a reinvention of the cities’ identities. Rising land prices, new forms of urban governance, and an extensive demographic change have led to completely new urban morphologies reflecting the immediate consequences of rapid urban growth. This chapter illustrates that the extensive global trade with real estate and the merge of international capital have created a new basis for city networks, in which each city’s objective is to become a major control center of international advanced producer service sectors playing key roles in initiating urban growth in strategic locations. Dubai and Bahrain are used as case studies to carry out a comparative assessment regarding the various forms of local real estate markets as well as their impact on urban structures.

Citation

Wiedmann, F. (2016). Real Estate Liberalization as Catalyst of Urban Transformation in the Persian Gulf. In M. Kamrava (Ed.), Gateways to the World: Port Cities in the Persian Gulf (172-195). C. Hurst & Co

• Online Publication Date: Apr 21, 2016
• Publication Date: Apr 21, 2016
• Deposit Date: Nov 19, 2019
• Pages: 172-195
• Book Title: Gateways to the World: Port Cities in the Persian Gulf
• Chapter Number: 7
• ISBN: 9780190499372
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3334358
• Contract Date: Jan 1, 2016