Why Dubai Might Be the World’s Most Ambitious City (Without Really Trying)

You know when a city feels like it’s running after something you can’t quite identify? That’s Dubai for you. It doesn’t broadcast its desire to be the greatest with flashy ads or loud speeches. In fact, it doesn’t even have to. The ambition is perceptible everywhere – the streets, the skyscrapers stretching towards the sky, the skyline that gets a facelift every year. Moreover, it’s visible in the cafe scenes, which are packed with startup founders who think up fresh ideas as they sip their coffee; the small shops trying out delivery apps and the universities which are launching programs that didn’t even exist a year ago. One reason why the city will fetch such a massive crowd is because it keeps on moving all the time. You come to the city expecting one skyline only to realize that in a year, you see a completely different city.

However, this constant change does not signify disorder. Dubai has mastered the art of allowing private ambition and public strategy to nourish each other. This is why the city seems to be creating the future live. The truth is it is way more than the buildings and infrastructure. It is about people. So many people who come here have their own story: an entrepreneur launching a business model, an artist getting to know the audience, a student studying for an international degree. All the individuals contribute to the city’s character.

What is very interesting is that such a huge ambition is not only limited to one industry, in fact tourism business technology culture are all advancing at the same time. One day you can have a safari in the Sahara desert, then meet up with some of the techies in the city in the afternoon and in the evening watch a live art performance. How can they all be together?

However, there are always some who will raise their voices opposing/presenting arguments to the matter of pace being hectic, too much focus on commercial, too much constant growth leading to unsustainability. Maybe thats their point. But the friction, the clash of speed and sustainability is one of the things that make Dubai such an attractive place to visit/its a city that psychologically/culturally very different, the concept of time here is totally different. They are so different that the city intuitively acts as a buffer in between to bridge the enormous divide between the inhabitants.

Maybe, this is the takeaway from this: ambition need not be loud. Sometimes it just manifests itself visually, in the skyline, on the streets, from the people who are building when others are still planning.

And for those who live here or visit frequently, the city’s quiet audacity becomes increasingly difficult to ignore. You begin to understand the reasons why so many people are attracted here, not only for the opportunities, but also due to the feeling of being part of something that is happening right now.