A Khaleej Times article in its “advertising supplement” dated march 30,2010, entitled “Abu Dhabi in Progress” calls Abu Dhabi a “city in pursuit of excellence” and a very pedestrian city, and posts a photo of the new Corniche! Yes, there is very pedestrian and beautiful, but that’s only for that stretch of 5 kms. And it was pedestrian since it was contrcuted in the 80s; it didn’t become pedestrain because of the recent ‘devepolment’, albeit much more beautiful. Furthermore, walking in any neighbourhood below airport road and before Musrhif, in this core of shabbiness, is a feat among the dirt, pigeon droppings, broken pavments, and alleyways that have become storage areas of shops around. So if we take all the city and not jsut the Corniche, it’s become the most unpedestrian, un-civilian place to be in. People live in their flats and all there is around them are building material companies, and the space is so overcrowded with cars that neighbourhoods look like car scrap dumps. Not a single glimpse of greenery. Abu Dhabi looks like a car scrap dump.
If there were urban planning, who would have ever accepted that building material companies turn the city neighbourhoods into what looks like construction zones. What’s funny is that as soon as the contruction of Dubai-style impeccable towers is finished you find building material shops opening up in them!
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- Dirty pedestrian pavements in prime locations in Abu dhabi, just 1/2km from advertised places like the Corniche and Emirates Palace
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- Not very pedestrian friendly neighbourhoods.
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- Most of Abu Dhabi apart from the few touristic streches looks like this
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- The only three buildings in our neighbourhood that are always clean and whose pavements are clean because the owner wants that.
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- Pavement around the Vision Furnished Apartments. Cleanliness and a bit of landscaping is possible, with coffee shops on the streets, but this cleanliness is only privately undertaken. Ten meters away you see the condition in the other photos
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- Cleanliness from a private initiative. The owner likes it this way, but there’s law no to make it this way.
