The economic downturn has halted many projects in Dubai, but the show's not over in the elaborate emirate. In fact, its patterns of development may even be spreading to other cities around the world.
Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne examines the unique type of development going on in Dubai, where mini-cities within the city stand as self-contained and separate urban imitations.
"Dubai's new neighborhoods, by contrast, have been colonized by builders simply pushing out into virgin desert -- or, in the case of the emirate's now-iconic island developments, into the gulf. That makes Dubai -- its neighborhoods unburdened by history, its developers unconstrained by zoning codes, preservation battles or community activism -- an unusually pure, unfiltered example of what new cities look like in the age of globalization."
FULL STORY: Dubai development may be down, but it's not out

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research