Someone once described living in Dubai as akin to existing inside a Louis Vuitton handbag—a way of conveying the city’s sense of overwhelming, almost aggressive opulence. Someone else once told us that 70 percent of the world’s mechanical cranes were there at any given moment, ceaselessly erecting new structures across the towering metropolis on the Arabian Peninsula.

For us, Dubai has become a mythic place, fueled by imaginative anecdotes. But whereas cities of equally legendary ilk, like Paris, are enriched by history, Dubai is instead characterized by aspiration and wealth. This makes the Emirate fertile ground for technological endeavors. But it also obscures the diversity of the people who call it home and can, to some extent, overwhelm their individual stories.