Dubai: Smart cities don’t treat their soil like dirt.
Instead, worldwide metropolitan cities make municipal gardens their top priority in the beautification of urban landscapes.
Nabeel Bin Haither, head of the Horticulture Services Section at Dubai Municipality, said greening of Dubai with the help of private green thumbs can go a long way to further the emirate’s beautification.
“As a government sector, we are responsible in beautifying the city for residents, and we want them to know that it is not only important to have a garden within your compound wall but externally as well,” he said.
Haither was speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of a press conference announcing that eight finalists were selected to participate at the Dubai International Garden Competition.
Desert gardens contest
On April 3, eight gardens designed by local and international teams will showcase their designs at the Downtown area near Burj Khalifa.
A panel of six judges will award medals to the best gardens, and the first-place winner has the opportunity to have their designs adopted by Dubai Municipality.
“We encourage residents to make use of their gardens because having one can provide you them with a high-quality lifestyle. There are many ways in which residents can make their garden interesting -- such as putting up a hanging garden, or creating different themes. This will encourage them to spend more time outdoors,” Haither said.
In 2013, Dubai Municipality planted 50 million seeds. Haither said that with the private sector’s involvement in urban landscaping, the total number of seeds planted in Dubai reached over 100 million.
Daniel McNamara, managing director of Greenable Landscapes, pointed out that the majority of landscapers are not cost effective. McNamara also said that developers need to change their mindset in order to introduce more foliage in residential areas.
“The landscaping industry here needs to grow and learn, and more changes need to be done. The cost of getting projects completed is too high and not efficient enough. With the new construction, residential buildings are placed side-by-side and there isn’t any space available to put greenery between them,” he said.
