167/ Netanyahu's Dubaization Plan for Gaza After the Genocide w/ Yasser Elsheshtawy

The Fire These Times

For episode 167, guest host Justin Salhani is joined by Yasser Elsheshtawy to talk about the Dubaization plan that Netanyahu's team put forward for Gaza after their genocide. You won't be surprised to know that we think it's a terrible plan, but what is dubaization?

du·bai·za·tion /dōō’bīzāSHən/ adjective: 1. the act of building a city which relies on spectacular, non-contextual architecture (“The dubaization of Cairo’s skyline”). Synonyms: gulfication; spectacular urbanism. Antonyms: context-oriented urban development; integrated urban fabric; informality.

Bio: Yasser Elsheshtawy is a Non-Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC, and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University (GSAPP). His scholarship focuses on informal urbanism and environment-behavior studies, with a particular focus on Middle Eastern cities. Moreover, he is an Independent Consultant and has worked on numerous projects in Saudi Arabia, collaborating with renowned architectural and planning practices. He taught at United Arab Emirates University from 1997 till 2017 and was appointed as Curator for the UAE Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016. He was a Visiting Professor at Université Paris Sorbonne during the Fall semester of 2017. He has authored over 70 publications including Riyadh: Transforming a Desert City, Temporary Cities, and Dubai: Behind an Urban Spectacle. He also edited The Evolving Arab City which received the 2010 International Planning History Society Best Book Award, and Planning Middle Eastern Cities. Two chapters on urban development in the Arab world were published in the widely-known City Planning and Urban Design Readers. Elsheshtawy has a PhD in Architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a Master in Architecture from Pennsylvania State University, and a Bachelor of Architecture from Cairo University.

Links:

• Salhani's profile at Al Jazeera

• Jerusalem Post's article on Netanyahu's plan: From crisis to prosperity: Netanyahu's vision for Gaza 2035 revealed online by Yuval Barnea

• Yasser's piece for DAWN MENA: Selling Egypt by the Pound: 'Gulfication' and the Ras al-Hekma Land Deal

• Yasser's blog Dubaization.com

Recommended Book:

• Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih (موسم الهجرة إلى الشمال)

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Credits:

• Host(s): ⁠⁠Justin Salhani

• Guest(s): Yasser Elsheshtawy

• Music: ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠

• Sound editor: Elliott Miskovicz

• Episode designer: ⁠⁠Elia J. Ayoub⁠⁠

• Team profile pics: ⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠

• Original TFTT design: ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠

• TFTT Transcripts: ⁠⁠Antidotezine⁠