Dubai

If Dubai, rising out of the desert sands that meet the Persian Gulf, is going to be more permanent than Burning Man, urban communication scholars may have an important role to play. The carefully engineered private enclaves of land, indoor ski slopes, massive malls, and transportation infrastructures are strikingly visible. Dubai is one of the fastest growing cities in the world because it is a hub where flows of economics, culture, and history converge. But where are the spaces of communication needed for a community to make sense of itself? Google's Sketchup and related forums on the Web are one place where this might happen.