Al Satwa is one of Dubai's oldest established residential districts, first mapped and formally planned in 1978 (having grown from a small settlement in the 1960s), sitting just north of Sheikh Zayed Road between the World Trade Centre area and Jumeirah, and bordered by Al Wasl and Bur Dubai. Historically a dense, low-rise, multicultural neighbourhood, much of traditional Al Satwa has operated under leasehold restrictions limiting land and property ownership to UAE/GCC nationals. The district is now the site of Jumeirah Garden City, a large urban regeneration masterplan led by Meraas Holding that is progressively replacing older low-rise buildings with mid-rise developments of up to ground-plus-eight floors. Unlike the older leasehold core of Al Satwa, Jumeirah Garden City has been designated a freehold zone, with plots sold to individual developers for residential and mixed-use construction — making Al Satwa a district with two distinct ownership regimes existing side by side during its ongoing transformation.