Watch: How you can name Dubai’s roads
Special committee launches digital platform to accept submissions from residents
Dubai: Members of the public can now name Dubai roads and streets, thanks to the launch of an online platform.
Dubai Road Naming Committee, the entity that designates names for roads and streets in Dubai, on Thursday launched the ‘Street Designation Proposal’ platform under the supervision of Dubai Municipality.
The platform aims to enable public participation in proposing names for roads and streets across Dubai. This is in line with the Committee’s objectives of preserving the legacy of the past, promoting civilisation, staying updated with the emirate’s future development, and highlighting its achievements of high value, the Commitee said.
The public can contribute by proposing names for roads and streets through the link to a dedicated website, roadsnaming.ae.
Dawoud Al Hajri, director-general of Dubai Municipality and chairman of the Committee, said: “The new platform serves as a digital system, allowing the public to suggest names for streets and roads across Dubai, keeping in mind a comprehensive method and specific criteria that reflects our identity and interrelationship between past, present and future of Dubai."
He added: "It aims to revive valuable historical meanings, heritage, and urban monuments, in line with Dubai’s leading global position and reputation, further consolidating diverse areas of the emirate in the minds of present and future generations.”
Naming classifications
Furthermore, the committee has devised a method for proposing names based on specific classifications that will inspire the names for each area. These classifications include names linked to Arabic and Islamic design and architecture, along with names associated to art, culture and Arabic poetic prosody.
It will also encompass names of natural phenomena, local plants, trees, flowers, marine, and wild plants, along with the names of wild and marine birds. Additionally, it will also cover names related to environmental sustainability, ships, marine tools, fishing, winds, and rain.
On the other hand, the classifications will further include names of squares, forts, ancient castles, archaeological sites, local and ancient jewellery, and horse and Arabian camel names and descriptions. It will also include names of types of palms and date palms, names of farming and agriculture professions, as well as those inspired by industrial and art professions and their tools, names of gemstones, and names related to inventions and modern technology.
New road names in Al Khawaneej
Moreover, the committee has completed naming roads in the Al Khawaneej 2 area in its trial phase, which included names inspired by local trees, plants, and flowers, such as Ghaf Street, Ghaf being one of the most famous types of local trees, between the first and second Al Khawaneej areas.Additionally, other names of trees were also used for streets such as Sidr, Reehan, Faghi, Samer, and Shareesh.
How the Committee works
The Dubai Road Naming Committee was established by Executive Council Resolution No. 35 of 2021 and is led by the Director-General of Dubai Municipality. It includes the Director-General of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, CEO of the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Centre, CEO of the Traffic and Roads Agency at the RTA, and four experienced and expert representatives of Dubai citizens –Abdullah Thani Al Mataroushi, Hameed Sultan Al Matyouai, Juma Bin Thalith, and Rashad Bukash.
The committee follows a specific criterion for naming roads in the emirate, aiming to highlight Dubai’s national identity by reflecting its history, heritage, values, and cultural, civilisational, and social richness.
The naming process fundamentally relies on the principle of inference, achieved by creating a method that allows people to connect with the mental image of a place through its names, signs, and location details. With this new approach, street names will possess a unique and distinct character, making it easier to reach destinations seamlessly using the new addressing system.