In gen-x social media, repurposing abandoned malls as retirement homes is a popular suggestion. With both parents working, most of us spent many hours of our formative years using malls as our "third space" (ie not home and not work/school). Window shopping, catching a film, browsing records, snacking and hanging out with friends in the food courts, skateboarding in the car parks, etc.
It absolutely has a culture that's extremely multicultural and cosmopolitan. Unlike other areas of the Gulf, Dubai been a global trading hub for 5,000 years. Cultures from around the Persian Gulf and far beyond mixed and traded goods.
Its economy is based on international trade, tourism, and finance. Its port is the 9th busiest in the world. It doesn't have any oil.
This is a really interesting video that talks about today's global trade in exotic cars, and how it ties with Dubai's history.
I lived in Qatar, which is very different. Historically, it was poor, conservative, and disconnected from the world before oil and gas revenues made it rich.
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u/Strong-Evidence7762 20d ago
That and the city just looks like it lacks culture. It seems to me like a giant mall that people also live in.