Housing trends and prospects for marginalized populations in Al Ain City, UAE Abstract This paper discusses housing trends and prospects of marginalized populations in Al Ain city, United Arab Emirates. Marginalized populations in Al Ain city are workers coming from developing countries looking for better living conditions and high income to support their families. In this rich oil country, they are confronting challenges of scarcity of affordable housing and expensive living conditions. One group lives in slum areas while another group lives in neighboring Buraimi city. Al Ain governmental agencies are trying to solve these problems by building affordable housing for non-citizens. The aim of this paper is to discuss prospects and possibilities for housing these marginalized populations. Al Ain Town Planning Department provided data, statistics, and surveys prepared by the department. Other information and figures used in this paper were collected by the author through several visits to the sites and interviews with informants. Housing trends of two groups of workers are discussed in this paper. The first group of marginalized populations, composed mainly of clerical workers, is residing in nearby Buraimi city in the Sultanate of Oman because of the availability of affordable housing dwellings. Many residents of Oman are working in Al Ain city crossing the borders several times daily. This daily migration from one country to another is pausing a serious problem for the government of the UAE, especially in the absence of control check points between the two countries. The second group of marginalized populations is composed of manual workers who are living on city skirts in informal settlements and slums. The informal housing slums occupied by daily foreign workers are a social and health hazard to the rest of the city. The slums are located behind a mountain separating them from the rest of the town. The streets are too narrow for police or ambulance cars to go through them. The residents have their own social network and conflict solving councils. Many of the residents are illegal immigrants and hide in the slums for protection. Incidents of social conflicts occurred between residing groups were very alarming to the rest of the community. This paper stresses the urgency to recognize the housing needs of marginalized populations in Al Ain city. Gulf countries, with their high income and low populations, depend on less fortunate developing countries for supply of workers and work force. In order to keep a healthy interaction between community groups, housing schemes developed by the government should recognize the needs of all members of the society: permanent and temporary alike. Comprising all social groups in governmental housing programs is a must. The needs of large number of foreigners should be recognized in order to provide healthy and appropriate housing environment for them to live and produce.

1. Housing Trends and Prospects for Marginalized Populations
in Al Ain City, UAE
Paper presented to
ISA - Research Committee 43 - International Conference
HOUSING IN THE 21ST
CENTURY: LOOKING FORWARD
June 11-14, 1997
Paper presented by
Dr. Yasser Osman Moharam Mahgoub
Department of Architecture - College of Engineering
United Arab Emirates University

2. Dr. Yasser Mahgoub 2
Housing Trends and Prospects for Marginalized Populations
in Al Ain City, UAE
Dr. Yasser Mahgoub
Introduction
While the population of the UAE is approximately 2.5 Million persons, the
estimated number of foreigners is more than 1.5 Million- according to 1996
statistics. Approximately 75% of foreigners are coming from Pakistan, India
and other South Asian countries, the other 25% percent are foreigners from
Arab and European countries.1
S a u d i A r a b i a
U . A . E .
O m a n
I r a n
P a k i s t a n
Figure (1.) Map of the Gulf Region
Al Ain City
Al Ain city is a middle size town of approximately 250,000 persons,
hosting the United Arab Emirates University and several touristic attractions. It
has common borders with Buraimi city of the Sultanate of Oman. Due to the
good economic and job opportunities, there are many foreigners working in Al
Ain city.

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Figure (2.) Map of the United Arab Emirates
Social Groups in Al Ain City
There are two main social groups in Al Ain city: citizens and non-citizens.
The citizens are decedents of tribes who historically lived in the area. Citizens
are occupying trading, governmental, managerial and important administrative
jobs. Non-citizen groups are composed of workers coming from different parts
of the world. They occupy teaching, clerical, and manual jobs. This group is
composed of Arab, Iranian, Indian, American and European citizens. The
largest sub-group of non-citizens is called Batan referring to all persons coming
from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other South Asian countries. Many
of these foreign workers are illegal residents, low paid and live in degraded
housing conditions. The government is restricting immigration opportunities
and enforcing strict residency laws.

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Figure (3.)Map of Al Ain City
Housing Stock in Al Ain City
Housing stock in Al Ain city is composed of the following items:
1- Private Housing
Wealthy citizens build their private houses on large plots assigned by the
government in the suburbs. They usually build luxury compounds of villas
away from the down town area seeking privacy.
2- Public Housing Projects
The government provides the less fortunate citizens with housing units and
loans to build their own dwellings. Many schemes of public housing started in
the seventies to provide citizens with adequate houses and settlements. Some of
these schemes aimed at settling the Bedouins while other schemes aimed at
improving the living conditions of urban dwellers. The government took the
responsibility of building houses for all its citizens. The expense of the so-
called “public house” for a family of six persons has reached one million UAE
Dirhams (approximately 300,000 US Dollars). This high cost is result of

5. Dr. Yasser Mahgoub 5
assigning large plots due to social needs of privacy, wide vehicular streets and
luxury finishing materials used in the houses.
Governmental agencies continue to build public housing projects for
newly married citizens and those who want to move from their older dwellings.
Public housing projects continue to pause a dilemma because of their high cost
and inadequate architectural designs.
3- Investment in Housing
The government encourages investment in housing and supports the
construction of housing units by providing citizens with loans through banks
and special governmental committees. This situation produced high standard
and expensive housing stock. Most of these luxury dwellings are rented by
government employees and other well paid workers. The average rent of a 2-
bedrooms apartment is 25,000 Dirhams per year.
Housing Trends of Marginalized Populations in Al Ain city
Little attention has been given to the housing needs of low-income, non-
citizen groups. Non-citizens are either assigned housing dwellings or given
housing allowance by their employers. Those who are given housing allowance
try to rent cheap houses to save the difference between the housing allowance
and the actual rent. The rent of a 2-bedroom apartment in Al Ain is
approximately 25,000 Dirhams per year, while the average income of foreign
workers is 36,000 UAE Dirhams per year.
The largest group of marginalized populations is composed of daily
manual and low-paid workers who cannot find appropriate and affordable
housing suitable for their income. Most of them are not assigned housing by
their employers. They solve their housing problem using one of the following
approaches:

6. Dr. Yasser Mahgoub 6
1- Sharing accommodation: Many foreign workers live in shared
apartments and houses, sometimes 10 to 15 persons in one room. This
solution allows the workers to pay very small rent. This situation created
inadequate housing conditions as well as health and social hazards. The
government has recently enforced a housing law restricting the number
of persons in a housing unit.
2- Daily migration: Some workers reside in close by cities and towns,
where they find affordable housing, and migrate daily to the commercial
and industrial districts. For example, in Dubai city many workers reside
in neighboring Sharjah city where they find cheaper housing. In Al Ain
city many workers live in neighboring Buraimi city in the Sultanate of
Oman.
3- Illegal settlements and slums: Large number of workers reside in illegal
settlements and slums which provide cheap living conditions and social
support especially for bachelors and single men.
Case Studies
Case Study I: Daily Migration
This group of marginalized populations is composed of clerical workers.
They are residing in nearby Buraimi city in the Sultanate of Oman because of
the availability of cheap housing dwellings. Many residents of Buraimi city are
working in Al Ain city crossing the borders several times daily. This daily
migration from one country to another is pausing a serious problem for the
government of the UAE because of the absence of control check points between
the two countries. Unwanted persons reside in Buraimi and cross the borders
looking for work in Al Ain city. Also, Al Ain city is loosing economic

7. Dr. Yasser Mahgoub 7
resources spent by those workers in Buraimi area on housing, services,
shopping, and other daily expenses.
There are no official statistics available on the UAE workers living in
Buraimi city.2
The estimated number of persons working in Al Ain city and
residing in Buraimi exceeds 20,000 persons. They live in dwellings owned by
Omani citizens, who converted their large dwelling units into small units
suitable for the needs of the workers. The units range from studios, one-
bedroom and two-bedroom units provided with bathrooms and kitchens.
According to the residents of Buraimi, the average rent of two-bedrooms unit is
500 Dirhams per month, which is less than the cost of similar units in Al Ain
city. Other daily expenses such as food, electricity, gas, and water are also
cheaper in Buraimi. To maintain contact with Al Ain city, the residents of
Buraimi use mobile phones rented from Al Ain telephone company because
they cannot acquire telephones in Oman.
This case is difficult to handle because of dependency of the two cities on
each other for services, goods and work force. Also, any formal measures could
have political implications between two neighboring countries.

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Figure (4.) Buraimi housing units.
Figure (5.) Buraimi housing units.

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Figure (6.) Buraimi housing units.
Figure (7.) Buraimi housing units.
Case Study II: Slums’ Dwellers
The second group of marginalized populations is composed of manual
workers who live on Al Ain city skirts in informal settlements and slums. The
informal housing slums occupied by daily foreign workers are causing social
and health hazards to the rest of the city. The slums are located behind a
mountain separating them from the rest of the town. Wood and steel shacks are

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located along narrow unpaved streets. The streets are too narrow for police or
ambulance cars to go through them. The residents have their own social
network and conflict solving councils.3
Many of the residents are illegal
immigrants and hide in the slums for protection. Incidents of social conflicts
occurred between residing groups were very alarming to the rest of the
community.
The only survey of the area was completed in 1991 by the Municipality of
Al Ain city. The information was collected to support the design scheme of new
housing schemes for the workers.4
The survey concluded that 91% of the
workers were Pakistani, 6.5% were Afghani, and 2.3% were Bangladeshi. The
community members were mostly Muslims from poor Asian countries. The
survey also showed that 54% of the workers were government workers, 77%
were service workers, and 11% were taxi drivers. The alarming statistic was the
number of persons in one room which reached 9 persons per room. The average
number of persons in a dwelling unit was 16 persons per unit. Some dwelling
units were occupied by more than 100 persons. According to the 1991 statistics,
58.5% of the houses were built of wood, 13% of steel sheets, and 27% of brick.
61% of the units were built by the residents themselves, and 34% were built by
the municipality. 66% of the units had kitchens and 62% had bathrooms. 86%
of the units were built before 1985. 98.9 % of the units were rent-free. The
survey indicated the absence of medical, social, infrastructure and community
services. It also indicated the absence of police and other governmental
agencies.
A serious incident occurred in 1992 when the news spread in the area that
a mosque was burnt in India. This started a series of demonstrations and attacks
on Indian-owned businesses in the Industrial area. The army and police forces
intervened and the situation took three days to control. This incident alarmed

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the government of the seriousness of the situation and the need to develop
adequate solutions. A number of security and immigration measures were
imposed.
Figure (8.) Workers’ slums against the mountains.
Figure (9.) Dwellings inside the slums.

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Figure (10.) Unpaved streets inside the slums.
Figure (11.) Dwellings inside the slums.
Prospects for housing marginalized populations in Al Ain city
Al Ain governmental agencies are trying to solve these housing problems
by building affordable housing units for non-citizens families and bachelors.
The first attempt to understand the needs of marginalized populations was made
during the late Eighties when the Municipality started a survey of the workers

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in the industrial area. The aim was to understand the housing conditions and
needs of this marginalized group.
The Abu Dhabi Consultative Council has recently called for the
provision of low-cost, low-rental housing developments in the form
of apartment blocks for families and bachelors on an Emirate wide
basis. This announcement coincides with the intention of the Al Ain
Town planning Department to make such accommodation available
on the market and shall, undoubtedly assist in accelerating the
implementation of this project. ..... The attainment of such an
aspiration is perceived as being the mechanism to solving the
housing problems of many low-income families, bachelors and
laborers who are currently forced to share accommodation in large
numbers. This situation is considered to be the detriment of the
expatriate population in particular and the society in general.5
There are many difficulties confronting the development of appropriate
housing schemes for marginalized groups in Al Ain city:
1- Building codes currently applied in Al Ain city do not allow the
construction of affordable housing for marginalized groups. They are
designed to meet the needs of citizens and high income groups. They
produce luxury housing schemes which address the needs of high-income
groups.6
2- Housing types suitable for marginalized people are fundamentally
different than those suitable for other social groups in the society. The
first priority for these groups is to save money and send as much as they
can to support their families. The housing needs of marginalized
populations can only be met by governmental programs addressed to
meet their needs.

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3- Social attitudes towards foreigners keep marginalized groups
unrecognized by governmental housing schemes.
4- Centralization vs. Decentralization is a dilemma confronting
governmental agencies in the development of housing schemes. Neither
aggregation nor segregation of social groups is an acceptable housing
strategy from the government point of view.
5- Political boundaries do not always reflect social and cultural boundaries.
This situation is evident in the case of daily migration between the
neighboring countries. The solution to this problem require international
cooperation because of the hazard paused by this daily movement from
one country to another.
Conclusions: The right to adequate housing
During Habitat II conference in Istanbul, “enormous progress was made in
the evaluation and understanding of the notion of the right to housing, with
gains made in agreement on the affirmative role of Government to help make
housing habitable, affordable and accessible.”7
Gulf countries, with their high
income and low populations, depend on less fortunate developing countries for
supply of workers and work force. This situation will not change in the near
future because of the limited number of citizens and their dislike of manual
jobs. In order to keep a healthy interaction between community groups, housing
schemes developed by the government should recognize the needs of all
members of the society: permanent and temporary alike.
In Al Ain city, recent attempts are made to recognize the needs of
marginalized groups. A housing project to house laborers of the slums areas is
awaiting financial decisions. A competition to develop housing schemes for
migrating groups is under review.

15. Dr. Yasser Mahgoub 15
Comprising all social groups in governmental housing programs is a must.
Social, health and political hazards are inevitable if marginalized groups are not
included in the housing schemes and left to solve their housing problems by
means of informal housing. The needs of large number of foreigners should be
recognized in order to provide healthy and appropriate housing environment for
them to live and produce.

16. Dr. Yasser Mahgoub 16
Footnotes
1
- Due to the sensitivity of these numbers, no official statistics is available
regarding the ratio between citizens and foreigners residing in this country.
2
- A survey of those workers housing conditions cannot be made by UAE
government agencies because of the existence of those units in Oman.
3
- Abdelatif, M., Informal workers housing in industrial areas in the United Arab
Emirates, Paper presented to Ministry of Housing and Public Works, UAE, 1992.
4
- Town Planning Department, Al Ain Municipality, Survey of service
workers settlements in Al Ain city, January 1991.
5
- Al Ain Town Planning Department, Al Ain Municipality, Low-Cost
Housing Development in Al Ain, 1996.
6
- Nassib, Abdallah, Informal housing in Al Ain city, Al Ain Town
Planning Department, 1984.
7
- Report on HABITAT II: City Summit to Forge the Future of Human
Settlements in an Urbanizing World, June 1996.