Gulf News   June 14, 2009  By Aftab Kazmi

Al Ain: Experts have underlined a greater attention to pedestrians, saying the city's walkways must be improved rather than focusing on cars dominating the roads.

The suggestion is among several key factors identified by the team working on a city image management system for Al Ain Municipality. The city administration recently opted for a strategy to preserve Al Ain's assets whilst planning for growth and improving liveability.

Speaking at a workshop, Mike Day, an expert from a leading international consultancy firm, said: "It is a city with great history and authenticity, aspects that Al Ain has in common with many of the world's great cities."

The event, called the discovery workshop, was part of a series of such procedures to obtain a deep understanding of the city for future planning.

Held recently, the two-day workshop, which is also the first stage of the project, was attended by senior municipality officials and major stakeholders from both government and private enterprise.

The team also undertook a tour of the city during the workshop where they reviewed traffic flow, signage, and key family recreation and leisure facilities. The consultancy team, aided by workshop participants, identified many assets of Al Ain such as its green oases, historical forts, the Aflaj irrigation system, and the ancient Hili and Jebel Hafeet ruins.

"Every avenue we have explored - in tourism, education, health, sport, natural beauty and cultural heritage, Al Ain has shown itself to have a rich diversity of offerings and unique stories to tell," said Day. "It's full of wonderful surprises that make it a most desirable place to live, visit, study or work," he added.

The 3,000-year old Aflaj irrigation system, the foundation of the current city structure based around the oases, was considered to be of international significance akin to the great Roman aqueducts and highway system of Europe. It presents a unique opportunity for Al Ain to pursue a Unesco World Heritage designation that will put the city on the international tourism map.

Hessa Al Ma'armari, Acting Director of the Town Planning Department at Al Ain Municipality, said the workshop was part of an extensive process to ensure Al Ain always remains a beautiful city and the cultural jewel of the UAE as its growth plans are brought to fruition.

The Al Ain 2030 Report recently issued by Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) has predicted that Al Ain will grow from its current 348,000 population to one million over the next 20 years.