Page 19 - Implementing ITU-T International Standards to Shape Smart Sustainable Cities: The Case of Dubai

Implementing ITU-T International Standards to Shape Smart Sustainable Cities – The Case of Dubai

Table 1 – Six dimensions of Smart Sustainable Cities (as categorised in the
ITU-T Recommendations) (end)

Dimension Description
4) Equity and social inclusion  The KPIs within this dimension aim to assess the
impact of the use of ICTs to promote urban equity,
citizen participation and to enhance social
inclusiveness.
 These KPIs focus on qualities such as equity,
governance, city openness and public participation
5) Quality of life  The KPIs within this dimension aim to assess the
impact of ICTs to improve citizens’ quality of life.
 These KPIs focus on areas such as education,
health and city safety.
6) Physical infrastructure  The KPIs within this dimension aim to assess the
impact of ICTs on city infrastructure, development,
and sustainability.
 Aspects evaluated by these KPIs include
infrastructure for the provision of city services such
as water and waste management, energy, sewage,
transport, road infrastructure, and buildings.

The essence of the pilot project in Dubai

Overview of Dubai
Dubai is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which was
established as a nation in 1971. It is located on the Eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the
southeast corner of the Arabian Gulf. Dubai has an area of 4,114 km², and is the second largest
emirate in the UAE.

Situated on the banks of the Dubai Creek, the Emirate initially emerged as a small trading hub.
Today, Dubai ranks as the UAE's most important port and commercial centre. Dubai is also one
of the 10 cities to have the highest growth rates between 1990-2014. Dubai has become an
attractive holiday destination with 10 Million tourists a year (as of 2012) (Smart Dubai, 2016).
As of 2015, the population of the Emirate of Dubai was estimated to be 2,446,675 (Dubai
Statistics Center, 2016). Table 2 depicts the profile of Dubai.

Table 2 – Emirate of Dubai profile – Year 2014 (Dubai Statistics Centre, 2016)

Item Unit Value Observation
2
City Area km 4.114 Includes the desert area
City Inhabitants Inhabitants 2.327.350 Includes only residents.
st
Value for the 1 Quarter of 2014
City Households Units of households 452.935
2
City Density Inhabitants/km 565
Active population Inhabitants 1.081.000 People working in the city from 6:30
am- 8:30pm in city

As Dubai is an integral member of the UAE, it is also bound by the UAE Vision 2021, which was
launched in 2010. Under the UAE Vision 2021, several national priorities have been identified.
These priorities are expected to be adopted by each of the Emirates including Dubai. The

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