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Abu Dhabi Forges Ahead With Plans to Create a Cultural World Capital

Posted by: Jonathan Nettler

25 January 2012 - 2:00pm

Abu Dhabi today reaffirmed its commitment to completing the long-delayed project to build a $27 billion cultural and tourism project known as Saadiyat Island.

As Anthony Shadid reports in The New York Times, a veil of secrecy had hung over the future of the ambitious project in light of protests prompted by workers’ conditions, fears of a financial bubble like the one that hit neighboring Dubai, and qualms over the overall vision for the project.

The project will include an architectural petting zoo of sorts featuring a branch of the Guggenheim museum designed by Frank Gehry, a branch of the Louvre designed by Jean Nouvel, and a national museum by Lord Norman Foster, which are now scheduled to be completed by 2017.

"These days, with something of a chip on its shoulder, Abu Dhabi appears determined to eclipse Dubai, its sister city, still reeling from the crash that began in 2008. The 10-square mile Saadiyat Island is one of the centerpieces of that Pharaonic vision, the museums joining a performing arts center designed by Zaha Hadid and a maritime museum planned by Tadao Ando."

Full Story: An Ambitious Arab Capital Reaffirms Its Grand Cultural Vision
Source: The New York Times, January 24, 2012
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What the Census will not include is the long-form questions that have, since 1940, asked one-sixth of American households to reveal fine details about their lives. The long form was scrapped following the 2000 Census, so planners who are accustomed to relying on detailed, nuanced Census data to analyze and plan their communities may not get the detail that they expect.
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