Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council, has endorsed new policies and strategic models to improve urban planning, housing, and digitalisation during a recent executive council meeting.
These initiatives align with the Year of the Family, announced by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Dubai Social Agenda 33, launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Under the theme ‘Family: The Foundation of Our Nation,’ they include a new residential planning model that emphasizes citizen welfare and family empowerment, along with the Digital Resilience Policy and the Executive Council’s 2026 Agenda.
The meeting at Emirates Towers included Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
Sheikh Hamdan highlighted Dubai’s path to integrated development, focusing on its citizens to bolster its status as a global leader in urban and social planning, ensuring sustainable welfare for all.
He stated, “Under Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s guidance, citizen welfare and family empowerment are central to Dubai’s future plans, aiming to make it the most advanced and beautiful city globally. This model aims to create socially interconnected communities, with integrated services enhancing quality of life through homes, parks, schools, and service centers.”
Key tool
Sheikh Hamdan stressed the importance of strengthening resilience and proactive measures to ensure Dubai’s digital and service infrastructure can adapt to changes and challenges. “Our digital infrastructure is among the world’s most advanced. To meet the Dubai Digital Strategy’s goals launched in 2023—digitalising life, boosting the digital economy, and empowering society—we continue to build a robust digital government model, ensuring digital service continuity and efficiency. The Digital Resilience Policy is a key tool for enhancing digital leadership comprehensively,” he said.
He also approved the Executive Council’s 2026 Agenda, targeting the priorities of Dubai Plan 2033 through economic and social initiatives.
Anchored in sustainability
The Executive Council also approved a new planning model for citizens’ residential areas, supporting sustainable living and enhancing quality of life and social stability, in line with the Year of the Family and Dubai Social Agenda 33.
This model introduces innovative planning to meet housing needs at the highest standards, focusing on vibrant, integrated communities that support the Dubai Urban Plan 2040 and emphasize the traditional Fareej’s social cohesion.
The model encourages active mobility with shaded walkways connecting service centers to residential areas, promoting healthy lifestyles through dedicated walking, running, and cycling paths. Parks and squares will become interactive spaces for social and cultural activities, fostering community initiatives and a dynamic environment.
The project aims to make residential areas more attractive, enhancing residents’ comfort and belonging with vibrant environments that promote interaction and satisfaction.
Interconnected green spaces
Plans include 152 parks in Madinat Latifa and Al Yalayis, with a park within a 150-meter walk. Over 33 km of cycling paths will be added, with central parks offering diverse activities. Community majlis and wedding halls will be built.
This supports the 20-Minute City concept, introducing community parks as an interconnected network of green spaces.
Walking and cycling paths
In Madinat Latifa, 11% of the area is allocated to green and open spaces, with 12 km of walking and cycling paths. Comprehensive services include schools, early childhood centers, mosques, health clinics, and commercial hubs. The area will cover 3,000 hectares, accommodating 141,000 people, with 18,500 residences and 77 parks.
In Al Yalayis, a green corridor links residential areas, offering recreational, service, and commercial facilities, fostering an integrated living environment. Facilities will cover 1,108 hectares for 66,000 people, with 8,000 residential plots and 75 parks.
Digital Resilience Policy
The Executive Council approved the Digital Resilience Policy, a proactive framework to strengthen digital resilience, enabling a thriving digital government, economy, and society.
The policy aligns with the Dubai Resilience Strategy and complements the Digital Transformation Strategy, simplifying lives and strengthening the digital economy with advanced technologies like AI.
Compliance ensures digital service continuity, strengthens system protection, safeguards vital digital assets, and improves leadership dashboard metrics.
Comprehensive methodology
The policy is based on a comprehensive methodology to enhance preparedness, response, recovery, and transformation, ensuring smooth digital operations, reducing response time, and optimizing critical infrastructure availability while maintaining public confidence and fostering private sector collaboration. It introduces structured communication, governance frameworks, and key performance indicators to boost resilience.
The policy emphasizes coordinated efforts between public and private sectors to protect critical digital assets, such as data centers, networks, cloud platforms, and user devices. Promoting seamless collaboration and swift incident response, it underscores Dubai’s commitment to maintaining uninterrupted digital services and public trust in the digital realm.
2026 agenda unveiled
The Executive Council reviewed 2025 achievements and approved the 2026 plan, focusing on implementing Dubai Plan 2033 through economic and social agendas, covering sectors like social development, infrastructure, economy, investment, entrepreneurship, security, justice, safety, and public services.
