Planetizen News, 3/22/10

By: Gary Toth

Like the U.S. in the mid-20th Century, much of the growth in Abu Dhabi over the last 35 years has catered primarily to the automobile. But new plans are re-wiring the city to make Abu Dhabi's streets more hospitable to pedestrians.

Abu Dhabi is a city of almost 900,000 people. It has grown remarkably since 1960, when it was a dusty village of 25,000 whose economy was based on camel herding, pearl diving, fishing and date farming. That was about the time it was discovered that Abu Dhabi –now one of the seven emirates comprising the nation of the United Arab Emirates – was sitting on one-tenth of the world's oil reserves…..

….The release of this green plan was logically followed by a new set of guidelines on street design, the Urban Street Design Manual (SDM). I played a part in helping Abu Dhabi's Department of Transport, Urban Planning Council, and a consultant team led by Otak International and Nelson Nygaard in shaping the new streets plan……

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