Dubai: Last year, Gulf News reported that Dubai Municipality had said that a proposal to ensure enough affordable housing for ‘mixed income’ people (low to middle-income) that would fill the gap between the worker class and luxury market is under review.
If made law, the proposal will not only provide more economic stability but also reduce traffic jams, said a Dubai Municipality official.
Several government departments, including municipality, transport and land divisions, are involved in the process, the official told Gulf News.
The proposal to develop a law that will balance out luxury and affordable housing — while reducing traffic congestion — is part of the overall strategy of “building a sustainable city”, the official said.
“Laws take some time to mature. There is a lot of discussion about the law itself. It’s more about building a sustainable city, signalling affordable housing, but not necessarily to limit luxury housing” by any fixed formula, the official said.
The official stressed that the mechanism to implement the law would be “more complicated and comprehensive” than simply restricting the amount of luxury projects or forcing a minimum number of mid-market projects on to the market.
He added: “The city did well for labour housing. They are geographically well located, enough dwellings were built. But between the labour and luxury housing, that’s the spectrum where more work needs to be done.”
He said projections indicate if people live and shop close to their place of work, it will reduce congestion, pollution and volatility of property market cycles.
“You’ve to make cities in a way that more people find it easy to get from work to home and back. If you do that, it has a positive impact on the city’s sustainability, environmental, economic and social sustainability.”
Though there is no shortage of labour accommodation or luxury properties in Dubai, the executive working class is facing a housing squeeze as Dubai expands in area and population, the official added.
Many middle-class workers priced out of the market moved to cheaper areas within Dubai or other emirates. By comparison, there was no significant migration in the labour or upper class brackets.
To factor in population growth and its impact on traffic, housing and other issues, Dubai is working on an Urban Plan 2020 to ensure the situation is as ideal as possible by the time 2020 rolls in.
