DIFC — The District Today, and DIFC Zabeel District

The DIFC Courts resolve civil and commercial disputes. They run a Court of First Instance, where a single judge sits, and a Court of Appeal, where at least three do. Criminal matters go elsewhere.

Any business can agree in a contract to send a dispute to them, whether or not it sits in the district.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority is, in its own words, the independent regulator of financial services conducted in or from DIFC.

It supervises banking and credit, asset management, securities, funds, custody and trust, commodities futures, Islamic finance, insurance, an international equities exchange and an international commodities derivatives exchange.

The centre of the original masterplan, built around the Gate Building. The Marble Walk runs through it, lined with retail, cafés and restaurants, and this is where the art is.

The dining and gallery quarter. Award-winning restaurants, art galleries and auction houses across a cluster of low buildings.

The retail spine. Over 200 dining, retail, fashion, wellness and lifestyle concepts, on a fully connected, year-round walkable pathway, indoor and outdoor, running from The Gate Building to Central Park Towers.

The innovation building, and the home of the district's technology ecosystem. Its successor, Innovation Two, takes the first nine floors of DIFC Living: Grade A workspaces for technology firms, digital labs, venture capital and regulators.

DIFC Square and Immersive Tower are the office projects. DIFC Square opened ahead of schedule.

The first phase carries five named elements: HQ Offices, the Art Pavilion with DIFC Academy, the Stable, the AI Campus and the Innovation Hub. The Residences by DIFC sit in the same plan.

A two-kilometre landscape loop that weaves through the district, carrying fitness, leisure, pop-up retail and art installations along its length. Around a fifth of the district is open space: parks, landscaped corridors and pedestrian-only realms, with a pedestrian-only experiential spine shaped by light, sound and storytelling.

Public walkways carry solar-powered lighting. Energy-efficient building design, smart infrastructure and responsibly sourced materials run through the district.

DIFC describes the link between DIFC Gate District and DIFC Zabeel District through the Dubai Future Loop Urban Walkway, a Suspended Transport System and an Air Taxi Network, with direct links to the Museum of the Future and Dubai World Trade Centre.

DIFC names fourteen landmarks that flank the district: Burj Khalifa, Museum of the Future, Dubai Frame, Zabeel Palace, City Walk, Safa Park, Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, BurJuman, Deira Clock Tower, Al Seef, Heritage Village, Dubai Creek Tower, Kite Beach and Jumeirah Beach. The district sits between the towers of Downtown, the creek and the old city, and the beach.

The district's first residential building. Its form is a set of interlocking geometries with a twisted cube at the top of the tower, drawn so that natural light and ventilation, outdoor terraces and green spaces run through it. Residences range from 644 to 2,388 sq ft, with a temperature-controlled infinity pool, a gym, a private cinema, a family lounge, private meeting rooms and a kids' play area, and concierge service.

The second, with 366 residences alongside offices and retail. It stands between Index Tower and DAMAC Park Towers on Al Mustaqbal Street, so the views run east to Dubai Creek Harbour and west across the Sheikh Zayed Road skyline. A grand double-height entrance, a family lounge, a temperature-controlled pool, a kids' pool, a gym, an indoor play area, a multipurpose hall and a co-working space.

The first homes inside DIFC Zabeel District, on Al Mustaqbal Street in the Zabeel neighbourhood. Two towers and 463 residences, from one-bedroom homes to duplex penthouses, joined by a landscaped podium, shared amenities and an arrival courtyard. The view corridors are framed on purpose: out to the Dubai skyline, and in across the Art Pavilion, the AI Campus, the water art feature and the Inner Circle.

A clubhouse with a premium gym and a yoga studio, padel and squash courts, a resort-style pool with cabanas, a family pool, a kids' club, a private cinema, multi-purpose rooms, social lounges and shared working spaces. A water feature marks the arrival. The envelope is restrained, with GRC panels standing in for stone and aluminium windows colour-matched to bronze. Residents step straight onto the Inner Circle.

The district holds 10,018 companies and 50,200 professionals, and two Red Line stations open onto it.

Common law, the DIFC Courts and the DFSA in the same square mile.

The second district takes its first tenants in 2030 and runs to 2040. The homes at the edge of the first district hand over in 2029 and 2030.

This is a business district with restaurants, galleries and a retail spine, on Sheikh Zayed Road. It is not a villa community and it does not pretend to be.