Scared by, of, in, and for Dubai

For all the mostly positive hype that surrounded the United Arab Emirate of Dubai's ever-expanding landscape mixwhich includes skyscrapers, malls and palm tree-shaped islandsthere is general agreement by commentators that everything in this fast-growing city cannot be as shiningly optimistic as it seems. Thus, although ambition is certainly one trait associated with the Emirate, another trait persistently linked with Dubai's landscapes by a variety of actors is fear. By drawing on qualitative research conducted in Dubai, it is the argument of this paper that (1) fears vary in source, trajectory, and intensity, and cannot be contained just to self/Other relationships and (2) that fear is one of many emotional categories which should be taken into account when writing of landscapes (in and beyond Dubai) and the work they do.