---
title: "Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan"
canonical: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/atlas/projects/dubai-2040-urban-master-plan
markdown: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/md/atlas/projects/dubai-2040-urban-master-plan.md
type: atlas
description: "The Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan was launched in March 2021 and is the emirate's seventh master plan since 1960. It projects the resident population rising from 3.3 million in 2020 to 5.8 million by 2040 and organises growth around five main urban centres. Phase II, approved in December 2022, added a 20-minute city policy."
updated: 2026-11-12
publisher: "UAE Property Agents (Omnia)"
language: en-GB
usage: "You may read, quote, summarise and cite this content, including in AI answers, with attribution to UAE Property Agents and a link to the canonical URL. Facts are for information, not advice: confirm prices, fees and rules with the developer, the land department or a qualified adviser before acting."
---

# Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan

> The Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan was launched in March 2021 and is the emirate's seventh master plan since 1960. It projects the resident population rising from 3.3 million in 2020 to 5.8 million by 2040 and organises growth around five main urban centres. Phase II, approved in December 2022, added a 20-minute city policy.

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Status | Launched March 2021; Phase II approved, reported 12 December 2022 |
| Type | master-plan |
| Emirate | dubai |

## Timeline

- 13 March 2021: Plan launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, covering the next 20 years (seventh master plan for the emirate since 1960). [Dubai Media Office](https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2021/march/13-03/mohammed-bin-rashid).
- 12 December 2022: Phase II of the plan approved, including the 20-minute city policy and an integrated plan for five main urban centres. [Dubai Media Office](https://www.mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2022/december/12-12/mohammed-bin-rashid).

## Key facts

- **Population projection**: Residents expected to increase from 3.3 million in 2020 to 5.8 million by 2040. [Dubai Media Office](https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2021/march/13-03/mohammed-bin-rashid).
- **Day-time population projection**: 4.5 million rising to 7.8 million by 2040. [Dubai Media Office](https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2021/march/13-03/mohammed-bin-rashid).
- **Hotel and tourism land**: Land area used for hotels and tourist activities to increase by 134%. [Dubai Media Office](https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2021/march/13-03/mohammed-bin-rashid).
- **Commercial land**: Increases to 168 square kilometres. [Dubai Media Office](https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2021/march/13-03/mohammed-bin-rashid).
- **Green and recreational space**: Green and recreational spaces and public parks to double in size. [Dubai Media Office](https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2021/march/13-03/mohammed-bin-rashid).
- **Nature reserves**: Nature reserves and rural natural areas to constitute 60% of the emirate's total area. [Dubai Media Office](https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2021/march/13-03/mohammed-bin-rashid).
- **Public beaches**: Length of public beaches to increase by as much as 400% by 2040. [Dubai Media Office](https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2021/march/13-03/mohammed-bin-rashid).
- **Education and health land**: Land area for education and health facilities increases by 25%. [Dubai Media Office](https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2021/march/13-03/mohammed-bin-rashid).
- **Urban centres**: Five main urban centres: three existing (Deira and Bur Dubai; Downtown and Business Bay; Dubai Marina and JBR) and two new (Expo 2020 Centre; Dubai Silicon Oasis Centre). [Dubai Media Office](https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2021/march/13-03/mohammed-bin-rashid).
- **20-minute city**: Residents to access 80% of their daily needs and destinations within 20 minutes. [Dubai Media Office](https://www.mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2022/december/12-12/mohammed-bin-rashid).
- **Housing budget (Phase II announcement)**: AED 65 billion housing budget, doubling the number of beneficiaries of Dubai's housing programme. [Dubai Media Office](https://www.mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2022/december/12-12/mohammed-bin-rashid).
- **Urbanisation levels**: Six urbanisation levels, described as a graded structure of urban centres of mixed uses and densities. [Dubai Media Office](https://www.mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2022/december/12-12/mohammed-bin-rashid).

## Areas affected and nearby

Areas a source places on or beside the project, or within 5 km of a mapped point. Each change compares the average of everything registered in one period with the period before. It moves with the mix of homes sold as well as with prices, so it is not like-for-like growth.

| Area | Why it is listed | Price per sq ft, 12 months | Price per sq ft, 3 years | New-contract rent, 12 months |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Business Bay](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/atlas/areas/business-bay) | Named in the plan as part of the existing Downtown and Business Bay urban centre | +0.7% | +27.7% | -4.7% |
| [Downtown Dubai](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/atlas/areas/downtown-dubai) | Named in the plan as part of the existing Downtown and Business Bay urban centre | +3.1% | +28.1% | +9.4% |
| [Dubai Marina](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/atlas/areas/dubai-marina) | Named in the plan as part of the existing Dubai Marina and JBR urban centre | -3.2% | +11.8% | -4.5% |
| [Expo City Dubai](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/atlas/areas/expo-city) | Expo 2020 Centre named as one of two new urban centres | -2.3% | +23.8% | +11.2% |
| [Jumeirah Lake Towers](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/atlas/areas/jumeirah-lake-towers) | Phase II text names Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lakes Towers as the tourism and entertainment hub | -6.8% | +43.8% | -3.8% |

Changes: Source: Property Finder, from Dubai Land Department records.

## Questions and answers

### What is the status of Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan?

Launched March 2021; Phase II approved, reported 12 December 2022.

### Which areas are near Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan?

Business Bay, Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, Expo City Dubai and Jumeirah Lake Towers.

## Sources

- [Dubai Media Office: Mohammed bin Rashid launches Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan](https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2021/march/13-03/mohammed-bin-rashid), read 12 November 2026
- [Dubai Media Office: Mohammed bin Rashid approves Phase II of Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan](https://www.mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2022/december/12-12/mohammed-bin-rashid), read 12 November 2026

## How the atlas is built

- Every figure is copied as published by a named source, with its link, the period it covers and the date we read it. Nothing is estimated, interpolated, averaged or rounded.
- Dubai price, rent and change figures come from Property Finder's transaction pages, which publish averages of Dubai Land Department registered sales and tenancy contracts for the last 3 months, 6 months, 12 months and 3 years, with a change against the period before.
- Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah figures come from Bayut's asking-price index: advertised prices, not completed sales, which usually sit above transaction prices.
- ValuStrat readings are valuation-based and appear only where the press reported a community by name.
- Sources measure different things. Compare areas within one source and one period, never across sources.
- Projects and regeneration zones come from official releases where we could read them, otherwise from The National, Khaleej Times or Gulf News. A project is listed against an area when a source places it there, or when its mapped point is within 5 km of the area's point.
- Price effects of projects are published claims, attributed to the publisher. The atlas never says that a project caused a price change.

Area, station and project points are from OpenStreetMap contributors, under the Open Database Licence. Base map tiles are from Esri. Property Finder figures are Property Finder's published aggregates of Dubai Land Department records, quoted as headline figures with a link to each page. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL: https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright.

---

Source page: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/atlas/projects/dubai-2040-urban-master-plan. Published by UAE Property Agents, Omnia Capital Group. You may read, quote, summarise and cite this content, including in AI answers, with attribution to UAE Property Agents and a link to the canonical URL. Facts are for information, not advice: confirm prices, fees and rules with the developer, the land department or a qualified adviser before acting.