In the tiny Persian Gulf state of Qatar, big things are happening in education. The Qatar… In the tiny Persian Gulf state of Qatar, big things are happening in education. The Qatar Foundation, an organization headed up by Sheikha Mouza Bint Nasser Al-Misnad, the wife of Qatar’s ruler, has solicited help from a number of American universities – including Carnegie Mellon, Cornell and Virginia Commonwealth – to develop an “Education City.”

The project, which is envisioned as an ultramodern complex of college campuses, will be constructed in the desert near Doha, Qatar’s capital. The Qatar Foundation will cover the construction costs provided CMU sends faculty members and offers degrees. The project is ambitious and the goal of bringing such a complex to Qatar is admirable, but before the members of the Qatar foundation spend too much money on the revolutionary new town, they should take some time to study an Education City already in existence – Oakland, Pa.

In theory, an ultramodern city consisting almost entirely of educational institutions would be some kind of paradise – a heaven on earth. But Oakland doesn’t quite fit the vision. It has three colleges – Pitt, CMU and Carlow – but zero perpetual motion machines. The streets are lined with coffee shops and cafes that feature everything from poetry readings to cigarette-fueled discussion, but no drinks that reverse the effects of aging. We can’t even cure the common cold.

But if Oakland has failed to become the super city of tomorrow, it has succeeded in becoming a microcosm of raw humanity. Greasy restaurants, bars, beggars, beer distributors, porches with ratty sofas, overturned trash cans, cracked sidewalks, and a tattoo parlor or two could all make the brochure. No one’s complaining – Oakland is home. But it might be a shocking result to a Utopian experiment – if the Qatar Foundation envisions a sparkling city with hover boards and plants that never die, they may be in for a rude awakening. A more accurate forecast might just be CMU’s campus under three inches of sand – fewer stained buildings, but about the same number of devices that convert polluted water into Sierra Mist.

On the other hand, it’s entirely possibly that Qatar’s Education City may end up being everything they hope for. As long as the money’s there, give it a whirl. But don’t be surprised if the buses continue to run late and kegs outnumber successfully completed Rubik’s cubes.