Modern Heritage Research Grants

This project documents the cultural and urban heritage of Karama, one of Dubai’s earliest planned residential neighbourhoods, through oral histories and ethnographic research. Developed in the 1970s, Karama has evolved from a mid‑rise residential district into a vibrant mixed‑use area, shaped by migration, informal adaptation, and community life. Rapid redevelopment pressures now threaten its unique identity. The research focuses on capturing lived experiences that reveal how residents, shop owners, and long‑term community members understand and shape their neighbourhood. Using archival research, semi‑structured interviews, photographic documentation, and on‑site observation, the study will produce a rich record of Karama’s evolving heritage. The output will include a digital archive of narratives, images, and transcripts, along with an oral history report. This project reframes heritage as a living process, preserving not just physical spaces but the collective memory, social life, and cultural continuity embedded in everyday urban experience.