With its ambitious and extravagant plans, Dubai has fallen hard amid the economic bust. Nearby Qatar, on the other hand, is poised to weather the economic storm a little better.
Te neighboring country is, like Dubai, the beneficiary of expansive natural resources. And while it is investing in some big-name architecture, its leaders are taking a more reserved course than Dubai.
"While Europe and the U.S. are still struggling for growth, it's almost business as usual in Doha, the capital. Just ask Kevin Lamb, assistant dean of Carnegie Mellon Qatar. Located in Education City, a gleaming new complex under construction on the outskirts of the capital, his school is one of six American universities that have set up shop in the country over the past few years. Thanks to the deep pockets of the Qatari government, Lamb has more space in the college's new building than he knows how to use. 'It's an administrator's dream,' he says. Or ask Oliver Watson, director of Doha's new Museum of Islamic Art. Unlike most museum heads around the world, Watson hasn't had to ask for a penny to build or run the magnificent I.M. Pei-designed museum on Doha's waterfront. 'We haven't felt the financial crisis at all,' he says."
FULL STORY: The Lessons of Dubai
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