Emirati researcher Alamira Reem Bani Hashim explains how evolving political priorities and social realities in the UAE have shaped Abu Dhabi’s development over decades, before and after the discovery of oil. Reem holds a PhD in Urban Development and recently published “Planning Abu Dhabi”, a book on Abu Dhabi’s urban history over the last century. This episode is part 1 of our interview – recorded in public at the French language institute Alliance Française of Abu Dhabi.