Emerging global cities: comparison of Singapore and the Cities of the United Arab Emirates.

As can be seen, there is an increased understanding among nations and cities of the competition that they must endure in order to link their economy to the global value chain. The development strategy is a formal order of just that, where in the city defines its role in this value chain and utilizes its resources and comparative advantages to position itself as the peer for the product. However, this accomplishment can easily fall short with the lack of effective institutional thickness and nimbleness. As the 'rules of the game' these institutions establish a framework for achieving the set vision and create an urban environment that physically and economically helps in sustaining its competitiveness. Singapore has achieved significant success in the last four decades, from a small city to a regional and an Asian city. It now aspires to become a global city for business functions and the above study explores the potentials and shortcomings that it possesses in its stride. As for the three UAE cities, the intr a city functions and inter city functions are presented in the study.

Whether Dubai will be successful in emulating Singapore, or whether Dubai and Sharjah will work complementarily, or if Sharjah can formulate a clearer vision, Abu Dhabi a more sophisticated institutional set up, or for that matter Singapore a global city in the future, is an aspect that will have to be seen. But one thing that clearly stands out for all the subject cities is the need to recognize and implement strategies that support, exploit and benefit the socio-economic status of the city and the human capital that builds it. Therefore, for the UAE cities, Singapore may stand as an exemplary example of a city, but for Singapore the need to launch further in the global economy rests on the same principle as required in the UAE cities, the human capital and their capacity to build, foster and add value to the knowledge based economies of the world.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Ali Parsa is director of research at the Centre for Surveying and Property Studies at South Bank University, in London. (E-mail: parsaaa@sbu.ac.uk) Ramin Keivani is an urban development specialist at South Bank University, London.

Loo Lee Sim is an associate professor at the National University of Singapore.

Seow Eng Ong is an associate professor at the National University of Singapore.

Bassam Younis is a transportation engineer and traffic management expert at the University of Sharjah, UAE.

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