Introduction
Education is one of the fastest-growing industries in the UAE today by virtue of governmental spending and the crucial position granted to it in the country’s national vision 2021. Nestled within the emirate of Sharjah, University City, one of the prime hotspots for education, is home to some of the top universities in the UAE including the American University of Sharjah (AUS) and the University of Sharjah (UoS). In close proximity to University City, Aljada lies within the nexus of Sharjah as the latest talk in the real estate world. With live, work play, and relax as the motto for the development, this new development claims to be complete in terms of the facilities it provides to its new urban community whilst introducing the Nest as the first Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) complex in Sharjah.
This research provides an overview of Aljada as mixed-use development, introducing its urban components and examining the various liveability and sustainability strategies posited by it. In this way, it determines whether the aforementioned help improve the quality of life of the residents in Aljada. It then takes a deeper look at the Nest as a PBSA, in accordance with criteria that are crucial to the needs and requirements of students such as cost, location, transportation, flexibility, safety, apartment size, sense of community, and facilities. Finally, it delves into the inner workings of the student housing market; the types of student housing markets, and the supply and demand pertaining to each in context, the investigation into the market model of the Nest, and the definition of affordability in relation to student housing.
Methodology
The case study was dependent both on primary and secondary sources due to limited secondary sources. Therefore, conversing with key actors of the development became crucial. Sources used in this study include interviews, emails, books, and articles that aided in the examination and analysis of AlJada from various perspectives.
Primary sources comprised a total of two interviews; the first interview was held on June 24th, 2020 at the Sales Centre in AlJada in Sharjah with Mr. Ahmed Elbelasi, Sales Executive of Arada, where he elaborated primarily on the payment plan of the Nest. The second interview was held on June 29th, 2020 with Mr. Elie Mrad, Head of Design and Architecture of Arada, at the Head Office of Arada in Dubai, where Mr Elie elucidated the planning strategy of AlJada with emphasis on the Nest. With the assistance of Mr. Elie, valuable hard copies were received, which compensated for the missing data online. Furthermore, a constant exchange of emails with the administrators at Arada helped provide us with valuable material that enhanced the analysis of AlJada.
Secondary sources comprised books, newspaper articles, marketing catalogues, and research reports in order to collect and analyze data of AlJada. These sources were collected using different databases, such as the AUS library database, ProQuest, and google scholar, alongside multiple websites. In addition, some research data was analyzed using the coursebook Urban Planning and The Housing Market by Nicole Gurran and Glen Bramley.
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