Can You Engineer Civic Pride? Dubai Thinks So

Do they do this out of fear of being caught and fined? Certainly, rules—and strict consequences for breaking them—are important for creating and maintaining clean spaces. Singapore, my home of two years in the early 2000s, may be the most striking example of the effectiveness of punishment.

But it is too facile to ascribe cleanliness to enforcement alone. Research shows that, over time, people stop littering even when there’s no risk of being caught and punished, because it feels wrong. That was true in Singapore, and it is true in Dubai. “Maybe for the first few weeks or months, you think about the penalties for breaking the law,” remarked Kanchan. “Then you start thinking, ‘This is my town, it’s a pretty clean town… I’d like it to stay that way.”

Dubai takes its ranking in global indices very seriously, since the quality of life it offers is a major draw for investors, immigrants and tourists as well as an instrument of its soft power. So you won’t be surprised to learn that municipal authorities are testing AI cameras to supervise how people treat public space. Those found to be littering can expect stiff fines. But in addition to the stick, the emirate is also investing in carrots. Last fall, it launched the Dubai Civility Committee, with an ambitious mandate to “promote positive behaviors” among residents. “No matter how good your enforcement mechanisms are, there’s always a chance of a window breaking somewhere,” said Saeed al Nazari, secretary general of the committee. “We want the whole community to be involved in prevention—and, when necessary, in repair.”