It’s all a question of framing. You can see the upside or
the downside in most situations. It worries me a little that we prefer frame
human activity as harmful to “the planet” or whatever word you choose
to frame something sacred outside ourselves.
These are pictures from one of my morning walks. I have been living in an
unfashionable suburb of Dubai for 17 years now. I can frame that in a positive
way. I enjoy living amongst the “common people” who keep the city
running. It lacks the glitz of tourist areas and keeps you mindful of the harsh
climate. But all the same, purchasing this flat was a smart move. Like so many
others I came to Dubai to climb out of a financial hole, and switching from
rental to ownership early on has made a huge difference on many levels.
So you can point the camera at the empty plots, the discarded rubble, the feral
cat limping on three legs. You can notice the street-football pitch marked out
on a corner of the pavement because there is a shortage of…