Comparison

1- Car accessibility towards the mall

Critical Analysis:

I found that it was easy to find Deira City Center as there are signs directing to the mall from

the high way making it easy to follow them and find the mall. Coming from Abu Dhabi, I did

not find it very difficult to find the way as there were Deira signs and once I was in Deira

there were signs to Deira City Center. However, compared to Dubai Mall, the road was much

easier as there are signs all over Dubai that lead you to Dubai Mall and the fact that there is

the famous Burj Khalifa that can be seen from a distance makes it even easier to find Dubai

Mall. However, accessibility to Mercato was very complicated and difficult, contrary to

Deira City Center and Dubai Mall. It is more in the city within areas that are not facing a

main road or a high way. Mercato is really hard to find for people who live in Abu Dhabi

unless they are familiar with the city of Dubai. Although I took Sheikh Zayed Road but I

wouldn’t have been able to find Mercato easily without a GPS especially that there is a

neighborhood around it and many villas.

We can see that Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall are next to each other, making it easy to

spot Dubai Mall from a distance.

Moreover, in terms of other barriers that could hinder accessibility, once I was in the

area around Deira City Center I noticed that there were signals within the small area around it

to regulate traffic which is a good idea during crowded time. On the other hand, these signals

around the mall can create a physical barrier to people who would prefer having less signals

in such a small area around the mall. Deira City Center does have somehow confusing signs

and tends to get crowded around the narrow area between the parking entrances and exits

compared to Dubai Mall that has a smoother flow of car traffic. Mercato on the other hand is

a small mall and traffic in front of it or in the cafes around Mercato would strongly affect the

mall and would make it not easily accessible which puts it in the worst condition compared to

Dubai Mall and Deira City Center especially that it does not face a high way or a main road.

Having a main road means smoother flow but there are many traffic signals in that

road leading to traffic jam and slower movement of cars around that area so in days such as

the National Day and other days where that area where Mercato is located tends to be

crowded, the traffic signals would create a psychological barrier for people who would find it

frustrating to stop at a signal every 2-5 minutes. However, Deira City Center itself is easy to

find as it big and located in an area that is not surrounded by buildings and could be spotted

once you are in the area of Deira which lessens the barriers that people could face around that

area and the accessibility towards the mall. The mall stands alone so it was easy to spot it

from a distance. One thing I noticed was the accessibility to the supercenter, Carrefour, which

is not a very popular way of accessing it. Usually, these supercenters have their own parking

space and entrance for people who wish to enter the mall to shop and leave. In DCC,

Carrefour is in the middle of the mall and you have to go inside the mall to reach it.in

addition, there are Metro Stations next to Dubai Mall and Deira City Center with an

indoor bridge to allow you to directly cross it and be right in the mall which is hassle free

compared to Mercato that doesn’t have a Metro Station nearby at all.

To conclude, Mercato is the worst of all 3 malls and it has signals right in front of it.

It is also complicated as in if you're coming from the back of the mall you would get lost in

circles in the neighborhood behind the mall and it could get very frustrating. Going to

Mercato is the most confusing of all, it is also a small mall and one could easily miss it. The

road to Mercato is more of an inner city road than a main road and it clearly attracts people

who live or work in that area. There were a lot of signals on the way to Mercato and the road

obviously gets too crowded on weekends and holidays making Mercato hard to access as this

road takes to many areas. In general, Dubai Mall is the easiest to access out of the three

malls especially that it is accessible from different areas such Souk Al Bahar other than the

fact that Burj Khalifa is present. Dubai Mall is the best in terms of location and size, road

signs, directions toward the mall and the parking, and visibility from a distance. Deira City

Center comes right in the middle as it has good signs and good accessibility yet it is not as

perfect as Dubai Mall which has a strategic location.