Will Dubai's 20-minute city vision melt under extreme summer heat? Is there a plan?

Dubai is pushing forward with its ambitious goal of building “20-minute cities”: neighborhoods where residents can access 80% of their daily needs, such as work, school, shops, and parks, within a 20-minute walk, bike ride, or public transport trip. This urban planning concept is a cornerstone of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan and is already being realized through projects like the Model District in Al Barsha 2. Currently under construction. The goal is to reduce reliance on private vehicles by building compact, mixed-use communities that encourage local living. This means people will be able to live, work, study, and relax all within a 20-minute radius of their homes.

A key metric in the plan is ensuring that 55 percent of Dubai’s residents live within 800 meters of a mass transit station, enabling them to reach 80 percent of their essential destinations with ease. The broader objective is to create smarter urban layouts that promote well-being, cut down on traffic congestion, and make everyday life more convenient for everyone, whether in newly developed areas or eventually in older neighborhoods as well.

However, despite the well-thought-out design, one major challenge stands in the way: Dubai’s extreme summer heat.

How Expo City is Tackling the Heat

At Expo City Dubai , planners are leading the experimentation with adaptive solutions for year-round mobility, especially during the sweltering summer months.

“In the winter, people are encouraged to walk,” explained Ivan Kyselov, Senior Manager of City Operations at Expo City Dubai, during his presentation at Mobility Live , a global event hosted at the venue that brings together experts in smart transport and mobility solutions.

“It’s an experience and we promote it by activating the spaces around the walking routes. If you paint something on the pathway, kids will just simply play and walk these 15 minutes. Adults are the same. So we add an interactive element of architecture and urban development as a pit stop,” he added.

To enhance accessibility and comfort, Expo City Dubai is adopting a flexible, seasonal approach:

• In winter: Encouraging walking through interactive, engaging spaces
  
  
• In summer: Introducing climate-adapted solutions such as:
  
  
  • Climate-responsive urban design such as enclosed cool spaces
    
    
  • Shaded walking routes
    
    
  • Smart mobility hubs for bicycles and e-scooters
    
    
  • Electric vehicles to support inclusive and multi-modal mobility
    
    

Kyselov noted these innovations are essential to maintaining multimodality, inclusivity, and accessibility throughout the year, especially in Dubai’s harsh climate.
Don’t Forget the Old Neighborhoods

While new developments like Expo City are important, experts emphasized the importance of upgrading older districts to align with the 20-minute city model.

Martin Tillman, a transport mobility planning expert, told Mobility Live attendees that regenerating aging urban areas should be a top priority.

“We have to help regenerate the old city,” he said. “It's somewhat easier to go to a new field or site and to say this is how we're going to move forward. It's a little more difficult to go into something that's already existing and work on it because it doesn't have the parking provision or a rail network.”

Tillman believes the effort is worth it:

“The reward is significant,” he said. “Typically the previously planned cities were planned on the basis of better access for pedestrians and for people cycling. They tended to have better shape and were better coded for the day-to-day realities of living here in the Middle East. I think that's crucial and the idea of leaving that to decay is completely wrong.”

Sustaining the Vision: Making 20-Minute Cities Work in the Real World
With the Dubai 2040 Master Plan already underway, and projects like the Al Barsha 2 Model District and Expo City setting examples, the emirate is clearly committed to evolving its urban fabric.

The idea of 20-minute cities offers:

• Reduced traffic congestion
  
  
• Improved quality of life
  
  
• Lower carbon emissions
  
  
• Greater walkability and livability
  
  

But success depends heavily on addressing climate realities, particularly by incorporating climate-controlled zones and adaptive infrastructure to keep residents comfortable and mobile year-round.

If Dubai succeeds, it won’t just have redefined city living in the Gulf, it may also set a new benchmark for sustainable urban planning in hot climates globally.