TITLE:
The Abnormal Population Growth and Urban Sprawl of an Arabian Gulf City: The Case of Abu Dhabi City
AUTHORS:
Fayez M. Elessawy
KEYWORDS:
Abu Dhabi, Population Growth, Expatriates Guest Workers, Abnormal Urban Growth, Global Business Hub
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.9 No.2,
February
20,
2021
ABSTRACT: Abu Dhabi
is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The capital went through a radical
transformation from a nomadic settlement before the 70’s of the 20th century to a metropolis that
ranked as the world’s fourth
favorite city in 2013. It became “the safest city in the world” for the fourth time
in January 2020. Abu Dhabi and other Arabian Gulf cities have evolved rapidly in
the second half of the 20th century, due to investment of oil and gas revenues. Abu
Dhabi’s population
has been growing significantly at an average annual rate of 5.2% during the last
two decades. To this end, the total
population of the city has grown rapidly by 1000% over the last 42 years. According
to the first census conducted in 1975, the total population of Abu Dhabi was 120,000 inhabitants,
which increased in 2019 to more than 1.3 million. This increase makes Abu Dhabi’s population one of the fastest growing cities in the world in terms of annual population
growth rate. Abu Dhabi city is a good example of a rapidly developing city. Until
1969 the city was characterized by its slow-growth economy. Its population lived
in traditional houses made of palm fronds with poor infrastructure. The rapid development
of the city transformed Abu Dhabi from a small
poor and isolated fishing village into a global financial and leisure center.
Its built-up area increased from only 54 square kilometers in 1975 to 758 square
kilometers in 2019. This rapid spread (1300% in 44 years) makes the city one of
the fastest growing cities in the world. The researcher applied the topical approach with the use of analytical and cartographic techniques to reach
the aims of the study to understand the issue of population growth and its effect
on urban sprawl in Abu Dhabi city during the period 1960 to 2019 which has been
fuelled by economic growth and technological advancements.