Just for once, in our discussion of models of today's modern cities, let's go to Asia, with the analysis of several cities: Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in Southeast Asia and, in the Arab world, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We'll explain why we've chosen these cities in particular, and what our reasoning is for choosing to analyze these four cities. What we'll try to show is that there are choices, political choices, societal choices, which are made as one plans a city, and that these diverse choices, the panoply of choices which one makes, is what, in the end, we call a model. There are great models one can follow, we have city models which are, in the end, economic ones, but not solely, for within these same economic models in Southeast Asia or in the Arab world, we can see that the choices made are extremely different, with very diverse results. So we'll begin with what we call "global cities." Why global cities? Because a number of cities, whether African, Asian, European or American, today form part of this worldwide competition, where the goal is to attract the largest flow possible, whether this is one of people or finances, based at once on business and tourism. Therefore the state of the global city is to a great extent linked to these flows, which may be of money, of airport rankings, the number of mentions in the press. This is where it all begins, with the number of international visitors. But a city cannot declare itself a global city. On the contrary, these are key means to achieve this, via the number of international conferences, studies, important indicators which give or deny a city its status as a global city. We will also see that in certain global cities, whether in Africa or Asia, the strategies are precisely the same. The goal is to attract the largest number of people and the flow of finance and commerce. So to speak of "global cities," let's use the ranking which is practically the rule of law: the MasterCard ranking, whose #1 in 2008, ---since we don't have the latest figures, this will work-- was London, a prime example of a global city, followed by New York, Tokyo, and with Singapore in fourth. I'll go down the list quickly, for as you'll see it is made up of mostly American and European cities; we have to go much, much lower in order to reach African cities, or Asian cities. Yet these are the ones which interest us today: Singapore, as we've mentioned, Dubai in the U.A.E., and Kuala Lumpur, which we find in here in 38th position, Dubai in 37th in 2007, moving down a bit in 2008, and Kuala Lumpur with a steep drop in 2008. Abu Dhabi... the fourth city, is not on this list of global cities. Four cities, four countries: Malaysia, Singapore, the U.A.E, Kuala Lumpur 1,500,000, Singapore 4,700,000, Abu Dhabi, a very small city with fewer than 700,000 and a city such as Dubai which is on par with Kuala Lumpur, with 1,500,000. The goal is not to calculate demographics based on this data which are certainly of interest, but rather to quickly dive into these other cases, and see how they have treated urban space in a different way. Abu Dhabi. In a few words, Abu Dhabi was a bit wary of opening itself up to foreign investment until 2004, when upon the death of the Sheikh, Abu Dhabi found itself as a regional center while Dubai saw itself as an international hub. 1962, a very important date. The first commercial effort to exploit oil and, since 2004, another important phenomenon, the increase in oil prices, which transformed Abu Dhabi into an extremely rich country and, conclusively, allowed an influx of capital, thanks to the security measures, notably in the U.S. after the terrorist attacks. Abu Dhabi sees itself equally as a cultural city. While it may not currently be, it will become one, little by little, investing in museums, such as the Louvre and the Guggenheim, both of which can be found in Abu Dhabi. Dubai has far less oil than Abu Dhabi, yet during the crisis of 1973 quadrupled its price, so that finally the royalties from oil would become so significant that Dubai would achieve autonomy, but very quickly exploring other options, outside of oil, for development, notably thanks to their deep water port. So Dubai sees itself as a solid base for the development of enterprise and commerce and, while Abu Dhabi is a cultural city, Dubai is one of commerce. Singapore, developed since 1980, with a huge recession, and therefore other avenues have been pursued, notably the question of its patrimony during the 1980's, one will invent, the invention of the patrimony, one will invent the patrimony. They will take all that is more or less their colonial patrimony and blow it up to make of it a selling point. So they will rely at once on commerce and on tourism. Our last city: Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur arrives much later, its delays in development, blamed on the "Tigers," on the large Séhoui-style cities which had been developed well before in Asia, and takes back the domains that the others no longer wanted. Singapore wants no more of heavy industry, neither does Séhoul, and it is Kuala Lumpur who will take back part of this development. Kuala Lumpur will develop industry, for it is a city of commerce and industry which profiles itself equally on information technology. Why do I say this? Simply because we can see how the paths are different, the choices are different, one can at the same time base one's commerce on development, on tourism, on industry, yet in the end it is the same, which is to say it must attract the greatest possible flow. We'll now see, in detail, several flashes like this one, where the great differences which one finds between cities which are, after all, which at the end of the day have extremely similar strategies. But the answer we'll find behind these strategies is extremely diverse. It is what we'll see, within this first theme which explores the question of interior vs. exterior. The Dubai Airport. Interior. A shopping mall, where one sees only retailers, stores, the ebb and flow of people, all night long, who arrive at 2 a.m. and leave at 6 a.m. for another place, and who in the meantime consume. We are in an air-conditioned space, a closed space, one that is protected, 100% controlled. The Dubai airport, where the only hard thing is to find the boarding gate, sandwiched in between two large signs of world distribution. Another example. Dubai once again. A commercial mall where they have recreated an Italian piazza with relative success, but where all the symbols of the Italian square are recreated in the interior. It's 40 degrees centigrade outside, in the shade, 18 degrees inside. It is full of people, who spend their day in these commercial malls, in these artificially created universes, an exterior universe recreated in the interior. Another example, again in Dubai. Inside a commercial mall: a ski slope. A ski slope that would normally be outdoors, in countries where it is extremely hot, like the U.A.E., can only be achieved if it is indoors. One leaves this commercial mall, leaves the ski slope, and finds oneself, still in Dubai, with housing developments and banks, yet no one is outdoors. One sees only a flow of cars, yet not one person strolling, not one pedestrian, for the conditions are such that it is extremely hot. There is no shade. We can see how difficult it would be to imagine sitting oneself down, calmly, on a bench, under this glaring sun. On the other hand, we have Singapore. The same temperature. Slightly higher humidity. In other words, a heat which is difficult to bear, yet a place where large shaded coverings permit a natural ventilation and allow people to walk around outside. Kuala Lumpur, at night. Restaurants line the streets. We see that there is truly life in the exterior. We find that, in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, one recreates in the interior, in a confined space, in a completely temperate climate, one that is completely controlled, a universe which should be exterior, while in the cities of Southeast Asia, one relies on the exterior, knowing that the people will go, despite the heat, to these exterior spaces. Another example, again in Singapore. People wait calmly to cross the street. while in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, this would be practially impossible. To finish up on these questions of interior/exterior, we should say that when we speak of models, here are some choices. Does one develop a city for pedestrians, who can walk outside? Or does one develop a city for drivers who park their car, or take a taxi, who park their car, and find themselves in an aseptic, totally air-conditioned climate? We can see here that, between the countries of Southeast Asia and those of the U.A.E., the situations are extremely different. Okay, let's stop here, at the end of this first part. I'll see you for the next one.
