This particular columnist's job is more "architecture critic" than "urban affairs columnist", so it would be more surprising for him not to include architectural snobbery.

I particularly liked his introduction Vegas/Mississauga comparison...

(Not that I've been to Dubai, but feeling it vicariously through 'aqoul and dubaiwalla, one gets a sense of what's going on there. Maybe I should write for newspapers!)

I've been to Cairo, so I know Dubai's driving isn't actually the worst in the region. But the high speeds possible on Dubai roads make them some of the world's most lethal. Average commuting times were also the worst in the Arab world two years ago, but congestion is easing slightly thanks to the departure of thousands of expats.

DW mate, we needn't even take Cairo as our benchmark - which really is the depths in the region. Just looking at Leb Land, Syria, ... well just about any neighour excepting the mini Gulfie states, Dubai driving is not particularly bad. And getting into the Maghreb, why Dubai driving is positively European standard!

Of course the idiocy of driving fast without seat belts does tend to make accidents rather deadly.