Living in an ethnically-mixed neighbourhood in Dubai: The Greens

Dubai is a unique global city where migrant workers/expatriates constitute more than 85 percent of its population. Contrary to the cities in Europe, immigrants in Dubai altogether do not only form the majority population but mostly live in ethnically-mixed neighbourhoods, mostly work for transnational organizations, and frequently use same shopping centres or restaurants. This unique characteristic of Dubai provides a highly relevant geographical space to study 'Mixite'. This paper presents the preliminary findings of a qualitative research project on transnational lives of expatriates in Dubai. The Greens, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the new Dubai is selected for the study. The research project on which the paper is based aims to understand and explain the relevance of different factors in establishing a meaningful interaction among different ethnic/national/religious groups. Therefore- although the study is limited to The Greens- the analyses include the perceptions of expatriates about their neighbourhood but go beyond where they actually live in. Thus, the study also focuses on their daily lives and practices (both spatially and virtually) outside the neighbourhood to understand how and where do they develop and expand their social contacts, and also their willingness or reluctance to develop intercultural social contacts.