Lack of Shops in Khalifa B City - Research Paper Example

Lack of Shops in Khalifa B City Contents Contents 1 Abstract 2 Introduction 3 Literature Review 5 Methodology 7 Results 8 Discussion 14 Conclusion 17 Recommendations 17 References 19 Appendix – Questionnaire 20 Abstract The emergence of new metropolitan centres in Abu Dhabi orchestrates the rapid development being experienced by the region. The rapidly expanding cosmopolitans around Abu Dhabi under the Vision 2030 programme tend to have their own unique problems. The lack of shopping facilities around the residential neighbourhoods due to a lack of shops is one such problem. The current research has shown that the dearth of shops in Khalifa B City provides distinct disadvantages to the residents in terms of wasted time and effort. The randomised distribution of shops presents another set of challenges. The gravity of the situation demands immediate solutions such as incentives for the growth of new shops and clustering the current shops together to foster growth. Introduction The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is emerging as one of the worlds’ forerunning metropolitan development destinations. The oil wealth of the region has been transformed to create sustainable development and growth solutions. The dependence of the UAE on oil based revenue has been systematically removed over the decades by diversifying the economy. Currently, the UAE is serving as one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations as well as being one of its busiest ports. The UAE’s seven emirates have seen different levels of development over the years depending on the policies of the local ruling classes. The current patterns of growth show that Dubai is the regional favourite in terms of attracting business and spurring growth[Ben09]. The gauntlet thrown down by Dubai has been assumed by other emirates and new development patterns are emerging. In an effort to spur growth in the Abu Dhabi region, the local government has taken up an ambitious plan for attracting new businesses and new people to live in the emirate. In an effort to expand the current population levels, the Abu Dhabi region has chosen to establish a number of new cities in order to catalyse growth. One such city is the Khalifa City that has been designed to act as a residential suburb of Abu Dhabi. The development of the Khalifa City has not been restricted to one central location alone. Instead, Khalifa City has been planned into three distinct areas that have been designated as: New Khalifa City; Khalifa City A; Khalifa City B. Khalifa City A is located close to the main highway connecting the Abu Dhabi emirate to Dubai and also lies in proximity to Abu Dhabi itself. In contrast, Khalifa City B has been created farther inland from Khalifa City A while the New Khalifa City lies between Khalifa City A and Khalifa City B. The burgeoning population of Khalifa City B is slightly disadvantaged given the fact that shopping areas near the city are modest at best. In order to deal with their needs, the residents of Khalifa City B have to drive up to half an hour to access larger shopping centres. The distance that separates Khalifa City B from the larger shopping centres has the direct consequence of forcing residents to go farther causing wastage of time and fuel. This research looks into the problems faced by Khalifa City B’s residents in terms of ill equipped shopping areas and provides recommendations on how to improve the current imbroglio. The current research is not planned as a holistic solution but rather as a road map to improving the current situation in terms of shopping area access and availability. Literature Review The UAE economy has successfully diversified itself over the years to assume international significance. Dubai has already been on a successful diversification path that reflects in the strong growth figures and the emergence of Dubai as a symbol of catalytic growth [Mic10]. Following Dubai’s lead, Abu Dhabi has chosen to diversify its economy from oil and gas extraction to new dimensions such as industrial growth, tourism development, real estate investments, retail businesses and other such functions. Given the fact that Abu Dhabi holds UAE’s largest oil reserves, it has greater fiscal backing to expand its current diversification program. In order to take up urban development and expansion, the Abu Dhabi government commissioned the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) in 2007 to deal with current expansion challenges. The agency has begun work on the ambitious Abu Dhabi 2030 Urban Structure Framework that plans to catalyse urban growth and development in the next 25 years [Gov13]. The agency lists its aims to create an authentic Arabian city as well as a Vision 2030 brand to popularise the growth in the region. Moreover, the agency lists its aims as the creation of “a harmonious, diversified, culturally rich, stable and sustainable society” [Gov13]. At present the growth of Abu Dhabi is being carried out at accelerated rates in order to achieve Vision 2030 as soon as possible[Han11]. The creation of entirely new cities from scratch brings enormous challenges in themselves including the need to develop new shopping areas to facilitate the new population. However, this is easier said than done since the emergence of new cities and neighbourhoods around the world has shown that enormous momentum must be developed to properly integrate residential and commercial functions in new urban establishments. Additionally, Abu Dhabi’s aim for diversification through the development and growth of retail businesses relies in large part on the ability of shopping centres to attract tourists[Han11]. In this sense, the shopping centres surrounding residential areas represent important developmental assets that should be developed meticulously. Moreover, the concepts of urban planning are currently restricted to the influence of Western ideas but urban planning including the placement of shopping areas with respect to residential districts is an Islamic idea [Sar13]. Abu Dhabi has a large chance to prove the efficacy of such ideas by integrating shopping areas with residential districts seamlessly. It has also been argued that the placement of shopping centres can be seen as planned attempts to link together social reform and the ensuing physical design. The creation of shopping places, especially in nascent metropolitans, can be seen as the controlled use of public environments. The planning of suburbs, allows the revitalisation of the major cosmopolitan in the vicinity[How85]. The development of residential areas such as Khalifa City B allows Abu Dhabi a chance to revitalise its aging cosmopolitan character. Methodology The current research was designed to be based on primary sources. In order to carry out the current research, a questionnaire was assembled which was distributed to various respondents for soliciting their responses. In order to ensure that the questionnaire reflected ground realities, it was assembled after a thorough literature review had been conducted. Major issues discovered in the literature review were targeted in the questionnaire. In addition, the questionnaire was constructed so that it revealed the gender, age, nationality and residence period in Khalifa B City of the respondent. This ensured that the respondents were properly profiled and hence their relevance to the current situation was ensured. All of the questions on the questionnaire were close ended with most questions based on the Likert scale construction method [Lee101]. This was done to ensure that the responses could be quantified with ease. The overall design of the research is quantitative and hence any open ended questions in the questionnaire would produce the possibility of qualitative results. The questionnaire was distributed to around 41 people out of whom 30 chose to respond to the questionnaire. It must be kept in mind that the questionnaire was delivered by hand and filled immediately by the respondents rather than using regular mail, email or any other delivery technique that would have cost greater time for response. In order to preserve the identity of the respondents, no questions were directed at their personal identification. Moreover, it was ensured that the surveys were distributed equally fairly between genders, various age groups and people with differing nationalities living in Khalifa B City. The surveys were provided to the respondents in the shopping area designed for Khalifa B City where most respondents were shopping. Results The results from the questionnaires delivered to the respondents indicated that around half of the respondents were male while the other half were female. Out of a total of 30 respondents, 16 were male while the rest were female. The distribution of genders at the shopping centre in Khalifa B City indicates that shopping is a gender neutral activity which is carried out by both genders equally. Hence, it would not be unjustified to comment that the lack of availability of shopping centres tends to affect both genders alike. Figure 1 - Distribution of gender for respondents in the survey. In response to the question regarding age, the respondents were expected to indicate their age by decades starting from the twenties and end up at the fifties. The response to the age classification indicated that there were more shoppers between 20 and 40 years of age than any other age classification. It is noticeable that there was only one teenage shopper while there were 6 shoppers in their forties and 3 shoppers in their fifties. The remaining shoppers were distributed equally in samples of 10 between the twenties and the thirties. The distribution of respondent age is represented in the diagram attached below for reference. Figure 2 - Distribution of respondent age for the survey. When asked about the nationality, the respondents were asked to choose between being UAE nationals and otherwise. The respondents who were not UAE nationals were not asked to classify their parent nationality since it was seen as irrelevant to the current research. Similarly, the UAE nationals were not asked to classify which emirate they belonged to since it was seen as irrelevant to the current research area. The results indicated that the respondents were divided exactly into half of UAE nationals and half of non UAE nationals. Figure 3 - Distribution of nationality of respondents in the survey. Respondents were asked to classify how long they had been living in Khalifa B City based on one year intervals ranging from one year to eleven years. The results revealed that most respondents had moved to Khalifa B City in the recent past that is within the last seven years. In contrast, the number of respondents living in Khalifa B City for more than seven years was lower. The number of respondents living in Khalifa B City for seven years or less was 20 compared to respondents living in Khalifa B City for more than seven years, which were 10. The skewed distribution of respondents living in Khalifa B City for seven years of less means that most respondents were recent immigrants to the city. Figure 4 - Distribution of respondents living in Khalifa B City as per their length of residency. Respondents were asked about the average time (in minutes) that it takes the respondent to find the nearest shop. The nascent character of Khalifa B City’s shopping district means that the shops are distributed at random throughout the facility. Consequently, shops are not distributed according to particular patterns but are rather placed at random. The results from the respondents presented an interesting trend. Most respondents felt that finding the nearest shop took them 20 minutes or more. The total number of respondents who thought that finding the nearest shop took between 20 minutes and 35 minutes was 22 compared to only 8 respondents who thought that finding the nearest shop took under 20 minutes. Interestingly, only one respondent replied that finding the nearest shop took him around ten minutes. Otherwise, the overwhelming majority of respondents felt that finding the nearest shop took more than 10 minutes. The average time required to find the nearest shop was 23.13 minutes. Figure 5 - Distribution of time required by respondents to find the nearest shop. When respondents were asked if they could locate what they required from the first shop or market, the results revealed that most respondents (33.3%) could not find their required product from the first market or shop they visited. On another note, no respondent strongly agreed to the idea that the first market or shop visited would produce the required product. Half of all respondents believed that they could find the required product by visiting the first market or shop either sometimes or that they could find the product without specifying a frequency of such occurrence. Figure 6 - Frequency of getting the required product from the first shop or market visited by the respondents. When respondents were asked if they required a market or shop near their home, an overwhelming majority (25 respondents) replied positively. Even more interestingly, no respondent agreed to the idea that they did not require a shop or market near their home. Figure 7 - Requirement for a shop or market near the home of the respondent. When respondents were asked to choose what kind of shop they would prefer around their house, the responses were balanced out with each other. Respondents opted for grocery stores, laundries, butcher shops, restaurants, bookshops and pharmacies alike. The responses were equally divided between each available option in the questionnaire. Figure 8 - Preferred shop type near the respondent's home. Discussion The results reveal important things about the local composition of population at Khalifa B City in terms of the age strata. Since most respondents of the survey were between 20 and 40 years of age, it can be surmised that they represent the local distribution of population at Khalifa B City. It would also be reasonable to expect the same age strata distributed roughly along the same lines as the survey results to populate the local shopping centre at Khalifa B City. Since the greatest number of shoppers is economically active people between 20 and 40 years of age, the upcoming shopping centre at Khalifa B City should reflect this based on the kinds of shops being opened up. The distribution of the nationalities reveals the true nature of Abu Dhabi’s fast evolving demographic structure. The presence of as many UAE nationals as non UAE nationals in the local shopping area of Khalifa B City indicates that the city is fast assuming multi cultural dimensions. This fact has multiple affects for the development of shops at Khalifa B City’s local shopping district. On the one hand, the shops at Khalifa B City’s local shopping district must account for the different cultural needs of the various nationals and on the other hand, the shops at Khalifa B City’s local shopping district will present a large cultural variety. Moreover, it could be expected that the differing cultural backgrounds would also provide various new kinds of people to take up shops at Khalifa B City’s local shopping district if provided a chance through greater market liberalisation. The distribution of length of residence in Khalifa B City revealed that most respondents were recent immigrants to Khalifa B City. The average length of residence of the respondents came out to be 2.73 years which reflects on the nascent nature of Khalifa B City and hence it’s shopping district. It could be considered that the rare few people living for a long time in Khalifa B City might have used their homes here as weekend getaways or as resorts. Hence, these homes had been isolated from the beginning and there were no serious moves to develop a large shopping district since people were looking for isolation. The weekend retreat stance would also suggest that such residents would come to Khalifa B City stocked with supplies from their points of origination since they already did not expect large shopping districts in Khalifa B City. The use of already stocked supplies by the early residents of Khalifa B City acted as a natural barrier to the development of large shopping district(s) locally since there was no actual demand. However, the recent trend to populate the Khalifa B City area backed by the Abu Dhabi government would provide for greater impetus to develop shopping districts. It could also be surmised that the growth of shopping district(s) in Khalifa B City was only nascent and has taken off in recent years only. The results of the average time required to find the nearest shop indicates that finding fitting shops for shopping needs of residents in Khalifa B City is a challenge. It needs to be kept in mind that only 1 out of 30 respondents believed that the nearest shop could be found in ten minutes. The low amount of respondents agreeing with such a position indicates that such a result could be considered as an outlier and hence could be ignored outright. The overwhelming response of the respondents regarding finding the nearest shop indicates that the situation is unmanageable since the majority of respondents have to spend between 20 minutes and 35 minutes to merely locate the nearest shop. This is to say that the nearest shop is found without any consideration for the object being shopped for being available at the nearest shop. Hence, a respondent living in Khalifa B City might have to search through a number of disjoint located shops to find the required product, if available. The fact that the respondents living in Khalifa B City waste sizable amounts of time and effort while looking for shops is undeniable. This position indicates that immediate action is required to deal with the current situation. Consider for example a respondent who has to buy three different kinds of products. If searching for the nearest shop selling each kind of product is assumed to take the average time of 23.13 minutes, the respondent would have to spend 69.39 minutes or one hour and ten minutes merely looking for the nearest shop! The distribution of need for having a shop or market near the home of the respondent indicates that the majority of respondents have strong problems in locating shops and markets at a distance. As revealed from the analysis above, it is apparent that respondents spend a large portion of their day in looking for shops and markets to find fitting products. This tends to underscore modern views on efficacy and the use of time that require the best possible use of time. The randomised distribution of shops and markets in Khalifa B City’s commercial landscape indicate that massive room for improvement exists as it is. In addition, the list of shops approved by the respondents for construction around their homes indicates the real needs of the people living in Khalifa B City. Residents of Khalifa B City require the construction of grocery stores, laundries, butcher shops, restaurants, bookshops and pharmacies alike in their nearest commercial areas. Conclusion The results of the current research indicate clearly that the residents of Khalifa B City have a dearth of shopping places in the form of shops and markets around their residential localities. The multicultural facet of the residents requires the presence of a variety of shopping places. Moreover, the improper distribution of shops in various locations tends to provide greater obscurity to the shopping process. It could be said that shopping in Khalifa B City is an extensively time consuming process that requires investments in the resident’s time and effort. There is dire need to put the current state of affairs right by developing the shopping areas to accommodate a greater number of shops to resolve the crisis of Khalifa B City’s residents. Recommendations The primary area of focus for alleviating the current crisis is the development of new shops at a pace that matches the pace of the residential increases. The best possible method achieving success on this front would be to allow greater market liberalisation to encourage foreign investors to set up their shops. The presence of a large foreign population indicates that many residents would take up such businesses on their own if the market was allowed greater freedom of setting up businesses in Abu Dhabi. Another approach to deal with the current imbroglio would be to consolidate the current shops with an already defined shopping district by providing incentives to current store owners to relocate. The presence of a large number of similar shops in one place would have two distinct advantages. The first advantage would be that residents of Khalifa B City would have greater shopping variety present in one place and this would allow the creation of a strong market. The second advantage would be that the fostered competition between shops in a clustered market would allow greater growth and development as the existing businesses would try to fill in the market gaps present. References Ben09: , (Bennett, 2009), Mic10: , (Acuto, 2010), Gov13: , (Government of Abu Dhabi, 2013), Han11: , (Hazime, 2011), Sar13: , (Moser, 2013), How85: , (Gillete, 1985), Lee101: , (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010), Appendix – Questionnaire 1. What is your Gender? a. Male b. Female 2. How old are you? __________ Years 3. What is your nationality? a. UAE b. Others 4. How long have you been living in Khalifa B city? __________ Years 5. How long does it take you to find nearest shop? __________ Minutes 6. Do you always get what you need from the first shop or market you research or still have to drive again looking for another shop? a. No b. No strongly c. Sometimes d. Yes e. Yes strongly 7. Do you need to have market or shop near to your home? a. No b. No strongly c. Sometimes d. Yes e. Yes strongly 8. What Kind of shop do you prefer to have near to your house? a. Grocery b. Laundry c. Butcher shops d. Restaurants e. Bookshop f. Pharmacy Read More