WHICH CASTS THE QUESTION PROPERLY:

Dubai unveils $7.6-billion mass-transit rail system (Meris Lutz, September 10, 2009, LA Times)

Dubai, a Persian Gulf boomtown where Porsches share the road with truckloads of South Asian laborers, launched a mass-transit rail system Wednesday in an effort to ease crippling traffic that costs the city-state an estimated $1.4 billion a year.

Despite recent economic reverses, the railway in this United Arab Emirates city of superlatives -- home to palm-shaped artificial islands and the world's tallest building -- will sport a showy attitude. The system will include VIP cars with fares equivalent to $3.55, more than seven times the lowest-cost ticket. [...]

Only 5% of Dubai residents use public transportation, but authorities are hoping to raise that number to 20% by keeping regular fares between 50 cents and $1.50, the same as the bus system.

Rapid transit is an element of public space and life in cities such as New York, London and Paris. Many wonder whether Dubai's rail system can make a difference in a city defined by individualism and gated communities.

Do you want a society or atomization?

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 1, 2009 6:59 AM