Uploaded on 2016-08-07 by Joanna Truffaut

1. First, identify the most important stocks and flows (at least three) entering, staying in and eventually leaving your area (or city).  In Dubai, I can see the following types of Flows: - Water thanks to the nearby sea - Food import. Dubai is a regional hub for the import and export of food - People. Dubai is an expatriate city (more than 80% of the population are expats), hence the in and out flow of people is massive Stock: - Datacenters for government and privately held organizations - Water in my home water tank - Buildings: Dubai is a relatively new city and large city with many city centers 2. Describe your findings based on the concept of stocks and flows by presenting the necessary information or examples.  Water: Dubai is located on the Arabian gulf, hence the city has build itself around the water. Food: As of Dubai 2012, Dubai was the 15th biggest importer of food worldwide http://www.zawya.com/story/UAE_is_15th_biggest_importer_of_food_constituting_11_of_worlds_imports_in_2012_WTO-ZAWYA20140402112156/ People: expats in Dubai: http://www.emirates247.com/news/expats-make-up-over-88-of-uae-population-2011-04-17-1.381853 Buildings: over 900 towers in dubai…http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/909-towers-in-dubai-how-to-survive-an-earthquake-2013-04-16-1.502399 3. Imagine and shortly describe how these stocks and flows could change in the future for the benefit of your area. Let’s take the example of people and buildings: People: When the 2009 financial crisis occurred in Dubai, the city became a ghost town within a year. It had lost a significant part of the expat population which got let go, roads were empty, residential buildings suffered low occupancy, the real estate market went. The outflow of people outnumbers the inflow of people in the city. It was sad but the city was way more livable than what it is today due to the high number of new expats (not all having a job already) coming into the city which is negatively impacting traffic and putting the infrastructure into stress mode. A better regulation of the flow of the population in certain areas of the city by create new attractive zones would certainly be beneficial along with a continuous enhancement of the city infrastructure. Buildings: the inflow of people is putting a lot of pressure on building safety and energy consumption. Therefore, this trend should hopefully drive more environment friendly, always more earthquake safer architecture and energy consumption reduction through sustainable solutions.