Includes bibliographical references and index.

Bustle -- Landscapes for production -- Hardened edges -- Taking measures : 1960 Dubai Town Plan -- Piecemeal : Al Maktoum Hospital -- Crispness : National Bank of Dubai -- Health city : Rashid Hospital -- Future flyovers : 1971 Dubai Development Plan -- All in all : Dubai World Trade Center.

"Dubai is famous for its staggering skyline and dizzying architectural wonders. In the 1950s, though, the city was little more than a small fishing settlement. Showpiece City narrates how Dubai was modernized over the course of twenty-five years by British colonial authorities and Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Dubai's cityscape, chaotic and hyper-modern though it may seem, is based on the careful planning of British architect John Harris. Todd Reisz tells the story of how Dubai was planned and transformed from the 1950s to the 1970s under the auspices of global capitalism"--