Rebooting Dubai

The city of skyscrapers in the desert is coming of age. Its biggest challenge is to keep growing

- Alaa Shahine & Zainab Fattah

Growing up in Dubai, Sarah Al Amiri watched the city rise into the sky, building by building. Now, at 31, she’s overseeing the latest shoot-for the-stars initiative in all the Arab emirates: a mission to Mars. It’s part of an ambitious blueprint for reinvigorating the economy that also includes printing three-dimensional buildings, running the city on block chain technology, and assembling a fleet of driverless flying taxis. “We’re not hesitant toward taking risks,” says Al Amiri, who was appointed minister for advanced sciences in October. Gesturing toward the 2,722-foot-tall Burj Khalifa, which eight years after completion is still the world’s tallest building, she adds: “We don’t like stopping when it comes to development.”

The quest for the next new thing, though, masks an uncomfortable truth: Dubai has no choice but to reinvent itself constantly or risk a severe reversal of fortunes. Even as wealthier neighbours are trying to replicate its effort to move beyond oil, the international banks that once rushed to Dubai to open offices are retrenching.