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‘I am Burj Khalifa’: Entrepreneurial Urbanism, Toponymic Commodification and the Worlding of Dubai

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  • Maral Sotoudehnia
  • Reuben Rose‐Redwood

Abstract

This study explores the cultural politics of renaming the world's tallest building, the Burj Dubai/Khalifa, as a practice of entrepreneurial urbanism. The Burj offers a unique case study that brings urban scholarship on ‘worlding’ into conversation with emerging debates over the commodification of naming rights within critical toponymic studies. We draw upon archival materials and semi‐structured interviews to demonstrate in this article how the spatial politics enacted through the construction of the Burj and the tower's subsequent name change have played a significant role in Dubai's efforts to achieve ‘global city’ status. In doing so, we extend our understanding of the performative power of spatial inscription in reshaping the geographical imaginaries of ‘global’ urbanity.

Suggested Citation

  • Maral Sotoudehnia & Reuben Rose‐Redwood, 2019. "‘I am Burj Khalifa’: Entrepreneurial Urbanism, Toponymic Commodification and the Worlding of Dubai," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(6), pages 1014-1027, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijurrs:v:43:y:2019:i:6:p:1014-1027
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.12763
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    Cited by:

    1. Ugo Rossi & June Wang, 2020. "Urban entrepreneurialism 2.0 or the becoming south of the urban world," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(3), pages 483-489, May.

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