Approach to understanding the traditional urban form of the Arab city

-Extracted from Chapter three of my on-going PhD Research-

Current changes in the economic and social conditions throughout the Middle East are more radical now than ever. The Arab Gulf Region is undergoing transition from traditional economies and societies to one of modern development which has yet to find any real stability (Bianca, 2000). This is most clear and most evident in the field of urban design and planning, for it is the largest and most visible of the urban form. Many who have visited or are currently residing in one of the GCC countries can point to the many changes brought about through more globalised social activities (Fandy 2000), the growth of urban centres, the dramatic change in the form of the built environment, the dominance of the automobile in the cities’ transportation networks and the increase in squatter communities and increasing patterns of urban sprawl (Elmusa, 1997 and Tabutin, Schoumaker, Rogers, Mandelbaum, Dutreuilh, 2005;).

Much contemporary planning work taking place in the GCC Countries in recent years has been in the form of new town planning or master planned communities. However, many issues that arise from the growth of these traditional Arab communities can be attributed to economic and urban policy makers, planners and designers tasked with the design of these cities without proper knowledge of the region, nor its traditional urban form values (Sheshtawy, 2004 and 2010; Ben-Hamouche, 2009). The lack of trained town planners and architects can be legitimately considered a contributing cause of the basic ‘mistakes’ committed in the planning and expansion of most Arab metropolises (Berger, 1974; Shiber, 1974; Bianca, 2000; Sheshtawy 2004 and 2010). Local planners and architects, while knowing the local habits and conditions better than the foreign experts, are not adequately trained to translate their valuable knowledge into urban design and planning. The foreign consultants, though perhaps well trained, are not well versed in local characteristics to effectively produce sound policies and planning solutions.

Therefore, it is vital to understand the characteristics of the traditional urban form in the Arab Gulf region to identify the influence of Arab culture on the production of traditional urban form and on the transformation process. Then, the impacts of the Western urban form models that have contributed to creating the modern antithesis of the urban Arab city should be identified.

I will present this part in my next posts.