Lusail: City of the Future
Perhaps "City of the Future" makes the suggestion that the cars will be hovering, the trees will be holographic, and sentient robots will live as our equals, but Lusail - located in Qatar - really does fit that title: it doesn't exist yet.
Well, more specifically it's still in construction.
Unlike most cities which are birthed naturally as a result of a growing population, Lusail was conceived as a massive project by the Qatari government filled with luxuries such as golf courses, a theme park, and plenty of skyscrapers. Work on the infrastructure began towards the end of the 2000s with the completion expected to be this year. The city is planning to accommodate 450,000 people, 250,000 of them being residents, an interesting statistic considering there are only about 333,000 Qatari citizens. We'll delve into Qatar's population a little later on.
The city's total cost is expected to be $45 billion. How can Qatar finance this new city? What made them so rich?
Oil and liquid natural gas. Lots of it. Produce it, sell it, get rich.
Qatar's Gross Domestic Product has leaped hugely over the last 30 years, from around $10 billion in 1989 to getting close to $210 billion last year. It's an absolutely ridiculous number and the Qatari royal family is loving it. The tiny peninsula nation has been building constantly since their massive boom.
Part of the reason for Lusail's existence is to diversify Qatar's economy. The nation has effectively been relying on oil money for the past decades and the government is aware that this won't last forever. Qatar wants Lusail to be a place where businesses from all over the world will set up and generate income for the nation, and furthermore attract immigrants and tourists to use it's shiny new attractions. For Qatar, hopefully this will ease the need for the production of oil.
Qatar isn't exactly a country with a large amount of freedom, although this isn't uncommon for nations on the Arabian peninsula. However, according to the 2019 Index of Economic Freedom, economic activity in Qatar is mostly free, accommodating outside businesses and allowing them to grow within the nation.
Another interesting aspect to Lusail is the fact that everything in the city is designed in conjunction with modern technology. Most cities have been around for centuries and have to develop existing buildings, infrastructure, etc, to stay up to date. Lusail lacks this problem, so can potentially be the most modern city in the world.
Lusail is going to be an "eco-city". For example, the city is designed with a unique cooling system (incredibly convenient for a country that can hit 50°C) that utilises 175 km of piping and will save about 200,000 tonnes of CO². Even the construction of the city has the environment in mind: recycling and reusing materials (which themselves come from local sources), and reducing the amount of travel as much as possible. Also, the number of vegetation that will be planted will also help bring life to the city, especially since the area was nothing but sand at the beginning of the millennium.
One reason people are particularly interested in Lusail as well as Qatar as a whole is the 2022 World Cup, set to take place in the country at the end of that year. The final of the tournament will be played in Lusail's new (and currently unfinished) stadium, which itself is expected to be full of innovations. For example, holograms of players will be available for fans to take photos with, and fans can digitally "try-on" football jerseys using a special mirror before buying them. Should these innovations come to life they will offer a truly unique and "futuristic" experience. There are even "floating hotels" that are being planned to help hold the visiting fans, designed to be ecological of course.
Qatar learned that they would be holding the World Cup in 2010, back when Lusail was basically just lines in the sand. Typically, fans from across the continents would soak up the culture of the host cities of previous tournaments that have existed for 100s of years. In 2022 fans will be in a city that has only existed for only 2.
Now is a good time to mention the population. As stated before, Qatar has 333,000 citizens, but the nation's total population is 3 million, meaning that Qataris are quite comfortably a minority in their own country.
However, unlike countries like the United Kingdom or the United States, if you were born in Qatar and/or grew up there you are not a citizen. Children born to immigrants in Qatar are expatriates, even if they have never left the country. Except sports people.
This is a rather controversial topic. Many athletes, football players and handball players are granted Qatari citizenship simply because they are good at their sport and can compete for Qatar internationally. The winning Qatari football team of the 2019 Asian Cup included players born in Sudan, Iraq, Algeria and Portugal, even though anyone else of these nationalities in Qatar would never be granted citizenship.
![Qatar players and coaching staff pose with the trophy after winning the Asian Cup [Suhaib Salem/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2019/2/2/e8559ab0783e4a019f54228f12904db7_18.jpg)
The larger issue is that the workforce who have built the stadiums and Lusail are largely expatriates. In fact, there are more Indians, Bangladeshis and Nepalis in Qatar than Qataris. Indians total up to 700,000, more than double the number of the country's citizens. These groups make up most of the workforce, which has effectively been described as slave labour. Workers allegedly have their passports confiscated, are not allowed to quit their jobs, and cannot leave the nation. They work all day making barely anything and are living in awful accommodations, separated from the glitzy and glamorous parts of the nation.
Furthermore, Qatar is currently being boycotted by other Arabian nations (Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) due to accusations that Qatar has supported terrorist groups, something that the country denies.
Qatar's reputation has certainly been damaged, yet is still developing quickly and it expects Lusail to be completed on time and as planned. Qatar is seemingly banking on the ends justifying the means, but it will be very interesting to see how the world will treat the new futuristic city and whether it makes up for the sacrifices made to construct it.
What are your thoughts on the City of the Future? Comment below!
Sources used:
Archdaily: Qatar to Create 16 Floating Hotels for the FIFA World Cup 2022
https://www.archdaily.com/933881/qatar-to-create-16-floating-hotels-for-the-fifa-world-cup-2022
Business Insider: How Qatar got so rich so fast
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-qatar-got-so-rich-so-fast-2015-5?r=US&IR=T
Business Insider: Qatar Is Building A $45 Billion City From Scratch For The World Cup That It Might Lose
https://www.businessinsider.com/lusail-city-qatar-2014-9?r=US&IR=T
Guardian: Lusail: Sleek new city offers glimpse of Qatar's post-oil future
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jul/11/lusail-sleek-new-city-offers-glimpse-of-qatar-post-oil-future
Gulf Times: Lusail City supply shifts office market momentum towards price correction
https://www.gulf-times.com/story/654102/Lusail-City-supply-shifts-office-market-momentum-t
Haaretz: How the Saudi-led Qatar Boycott Transformed the Tiny Emirate's Economy
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/how-the-saudi-led-qatar-boycott-transformed-the-tiny-emirate-s-economy-1.7335205
Heritage: Country Rankings
https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking
Highway Today: Lusail City an eco-city for the future is all set to rise in Qatar
https://highways.today/2019/02/27/lusail-city/
Independent: World Cup 2022: Qatar's workers are not workers, they are slaves, and they are building mausoleums, not stadiums
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/world-cup-2022-qatars-workers-slaves-building-mausoleums-stadiums-modern-slavery-kafala-a7980816.html
Priya D'Souza Communications: Population of Qatar by nationality - 2019 report
http://priyadsouza.com/population-of-qatar-by-nationality-in-2017/
Qatar 2022: Lusail Stadium Experience
https://www.qatar2022.qa/en/stadiums/lusail-stadium/experience
Well, more specifically it's still in construction.
Unlike most cities which are birthed naturally as a result of a growing population, Lusail was conceived as a massive project by the Qatari government filled with luxuries such as golf courses, a theme park, and plenty of skyscrapers. Work on the infrastructure began towards the end of the 2000s with the completion expected to be this year. The city is planning to accommodate 450,000 people, 250,000 of them being residents, an interesting statistic considering there are only about 333,000 Qatari citizens. We'll delve into Qatar's population a little later on.
The city's total cost is expected to be $45 billion. How can Qatar finance this new city? What made them so rich?
Oil and liquid natural gas. Lots of it. Produce it, sell it, get rich.
Qatar's Gross Domestic Product has leaped hugely over the last 30 years, from around $10 billion in 1989 to getting close to $210 billion last year. It's an absolutely ridiculous number and the Qatari royal family is loving it. The tiny peninsula nation has been building constantly since their massive boom.
Part of the reason for Lusail's existence is to diversify Qatar's economy. The nation has effectively been relying on oil money for the past decades and the government is aware that this won't last forever. Qatar wants Lusail to be a place where businesses from all over the world will set up and generate income for the nation, and furthermore attract immigrants and tourists to use it's shiny new attractions. For Qatar, hopefully this will ease the need for the production of oil.
Qatar isn't exactly a country with a large amount of freedom, although this isn't uncommon for nations on the Arabian peninsula. However, according to the 2019 Index of Economic Freedom, economic activity in Qatar is mostly free, accommodating outside businesses and allowing them to grow within the nation.
Another interesting aspect to Lusail is the fact that everything in the city is designed in conjunction with modern technology. Most cities have been around for centuries and have to develop existing buildings, infrastructure, etc, to stay up to date. Lusail lacks this problem, so can potentially be the most modern city in the world.
Lusail is going to be an "eco-city". For example, the city is designed with a unique cooling system (incredibly convenient for a country that can hit 50°C) that utilises 175 km of piping and will save about 200,000 tonnes of CO². Even the construction of the city has the environment in mind: recycling and reusing materials (which themselves come from local sources), and reducing the amount of travel as much as possible. Also, the number of vegetation that will be planted will also help bring life to the city, especially since the area was nothing but sand at the beginning of the millennium.
One reason people are particularly interested in Lusail as well as Qatar as a whole is the 2022 World Cup, set to take place in the country at the end of that year. The final of the tournament will be played in Lusail's new (and currently unfinished) stadium, which itself is expected to be full of innovations. For example, holograms of players will be available for fans to take photos with, and fans can digitally "try-on" football jerseys using a special mirror before buying them. Should these innovations come to life they will offer a truly unique and "futuristic" experience. There are even "floating hotels" that are being planned to help hold the visiting fans, designed to be ecological of course.
Qatar learned that they would be holding the World Cup in 2010, back when Lusail was basically just lines in the sand. Typically, fans from across the continents would soak up the culture of the host cities of previous tournaments that have existed for 100s of years. In 2022 fans will be in a city that has only existed for only 2.
Now is a good time to mention the population. As stated before, Qatar has 333,000 citizens, but the nation's total population is 3 million, meaning that Qataris are quite comfortably a minority in their own country.
However, unlike countries like the United Kingdom or the United States, if you were born in Qatar and/or grew up there you are not a citizen. Children born to immigrants in Qatar are expatriates, even if they have never left the country. Except sports people.
This is a rather controversial topic. Many athletes, football players and handball players are granted Qatari citizenship simply because they are good at their sport and can compete for Qatar internationally. The winning Qatari football team of the 2019 Asian Cup included players born in Sudan, Iraq, Algeria and Portugal, even though anyone else of these nationalities in Qatar would never be granted citizenship.
The larger issue is that the workforce who have built the stadiums and Lusail are largely expatriates. In fact, there are more Indians, Bangladeshis and Nepalis in Qatar than Qataris. Indians total up to 700,000, more than double the number of the country's citizens. These groups make up most of the workforce, which has effectively been described as slave labour. Workers allegedly have their passports confiscated, are not allowed to quit their jobs, and cannot leave the nation. They work all day making barely anything and are living in awful accommodations, separated from the glitzy and glamorous parts of the nation.
Furthermore, Qatar is currently being boycotted by other Arabian nations (Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) due to accusations that Qatar has supported terrorist groups, something that the country denies.
Qatar's reputation has certainly been damaged, yet is still developing quickly and it expects Lusail to be completed on time and as planned. Qatar is seemingly banking on the ends justifying the means, but it will be very interesting to see how the world will treat the new futuristic city and whether it makes up for the sacrifices made to construct it.
What are your thoughts on the City of the Future? Comment below!
Sources used:
Archdaily: Qatar to Create 16 Floating Hotels for the FIFA World Cup 2022
https://www.archdaily.com/933881/qatar-to-create-16-floating-hotels-for-the-fifa-world-cup-2022
Business Insider: How Qatar got so rich so fast
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-qatar-got-so-rich-so-fast-2015-5?r=US&IR=T
Business Insider: Qatar Is Building A $45 Billion City From Scratch For The World Cup That It Might Lose
https://www.businessinsider.com/lusail-city-qatar-2014-9?r=US&IR=T
Guardian: Lusail: Sleek new city offers glimpse of Qatar's post-oil future
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jul/11/lusail-sleek-new-city-offers-glimpse-of-qatar-post-oil-future
Gulf Times: Lusail City supply shifts office market momentum towards price correction
https://www.gulf-times.com/story/654102/Lusail-City-supply-shifts-office-market-momentum-t
Haaretz: How the Saudi-led Qatar Boycott Transformed the Tiny Emirate's Economy
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/how-the-saudi-led-qatar-boycott-transformed-the-tiny-emirate-s-economy-1.7335205
Heritage: Country Rankings
https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking
Highway Today: Lusail City an eco-city for the future is all set to rise in Qatar
https://highways.today/2019/02/27/lusail-city/
Independent: World Cup 2022: Qatar's workers are not workers, they are slaves, and they are building mausoleums, not stadiums
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/world-cup-2022-qatars-workers-slaves-building-mausoleums-stadiums-modern-slavery-kafala-a7980816.html
Priya D'Souza Communications: Population of Qatar by nationality - 2019 report
http://priyadsouza.com/population-of-qatar-by-nationality-in-2017/
Qatar 2022: Lusail Stadium Experience
https://www.qatar2022.qa/en/stadiums/lusail-stadium/experience
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