Friday, April 4, 2014

Explain the evolution of uniform urban landscapes: the effects of common commercial activity, structures, styles of construction and infrastructure.


           Uniform urban landscapes mean that the Homogenization of landscapes is occurring. Homogenization is the process in which people, products and places become the same. Urban landscapes are becoming the same. They have same infrastructures, same stores and companies in the cities. The towns are dominated by chain stores which make all the towns look similar. These towns are called clone towns. Dubai is a great example of a uniform urban landscape.
         30 to 50 years ago, people in Dubai used to live like nomads and lived in tents. Their economy was moderated by fishing, pearl diving, date farming and camel herding. The life of 7star hotel was something that is so far off from the lifestyle in 1970s at Dubai. Now Dubai is considered as one of the most advanced city in the world. This title “one of the most advanced city” was given to the city because Dubai looked just like New York or other large cities.
Dubai in 1980s
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         Dubai now has 7star hotel which is the only 7 stared hotels in the world. Lots of malls with Transnational Corporations are thriving in the city of Dubai. The airlines like Emirates have increased the tourism in Dubai. Dubai started to host global sporting events such as IRB Rugby sevens, Race to Dubai Golf and ATP Tennis.
Dubai Today
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         Number of cities is increasing however their uniformity do not change. This leads to more and more clone towns that have no unique taste or culture.