Drive-through cities: cars, labor, and exaggerated automobilities in Abu Dhabi

Abstract

This paper examines automobile dependence within the city of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Significant attachment to cars, and a combination of social, cultural, and demographic factors, have created unique expressions of automobility–labeled here as exaggerated automobilities. The paper attempts to understand how and why these new displays of automobility emerge. It also focuses on the drivers’ attitudes of dominance and superiority towards non-drivers–in this case, low-income migrant workers. The paper reviews literature relevant to automobility and labor flows in the UAE. It then documents some of these expressions of automobility through ethnographic observations in the city and a survey of young drivers.