Demystifying Doha: On Architecture and Urbanism in an Emerging City

by Ashraf M. Salama, Florian Wiedmann

Over the past decade or so, the wealth produced by Qatar's oil and gas exports has generated a construction development boom in its capital city of Doha and the surrounding vicinity. Since the late 1990s, the number of inhabitants has grown from less than 400,000 to more than 1.7 million today. In many respects, Doha is portrayed as an important emerging global capital in the Gulf region, which has been positioning and re-inventing itself on the map of international architecture and urbanism, with a global image of building clusters of glass office towers, as well as cultural and educational facilities. While focusing on the architectural and planning aspects of Doha's intensive urbanization, this first comprehensive examination of the city sets this within the socio-political and economic context of the wider Arabian Peninsula. 'Demystifying Doha - On Architecture and Urbanism in an Emerging City' features a comprehensive discussion on contemporary architecture and urbanism of Doha as an emerging regional metropolis. It provides a critical analysis of the evolution of architecture and urbanism as products of the contemporary global condition. Issues that pertain to emerging service hubs, decentralised urban governance, integrated urban development strategies, image-making practices, urban identity, the dialectic relations between the city and its society and sustainable urbanism are all examined to elucidate the urban evolution and the contemporary condition of Doha. 'Demystifying Doha - On Architecture and Urbanism in an Emerging City' concludes by suggesting a framework for future studies of the city as well as for investigating the future of similar cities, setting out an agenda for sustainable urban growth, while invigorating the multiple roles urban planners and architects can play in shaping this future.

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2013

Reviews

[Shikha · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the form of individual research studies, the book presents a narrative of the architectural and urban evolution of the city-state of Qatar, Doha. The first chapter investigates the making of the city, in terms of its drivers that led to its current urban form. Though the credit has to be given to oil money, the main driver to shape the architecture and urbanism of Doha is understood to be its ambition to diversify the economy and make a lasting mark on the world map. Unlike Dubai and other emirates, Doha has been cautious in governing public policies to balance out the dramatic increase in the expatriate population. The next few chapters talk about the architectural developments which made the image of Doha and Qatar, as it is today. This is followed by investigating urban policies which guided urban development. However, shallow action plans for the implementation of policies and the impact of privatization and liberalization policies have not made Doha’s neighbourhoods and infrastructure developments as fragmented islands. The long struggle to prepare and monitor development plans holistically continues. Though the book doesn’t give any solid solutions, the recommended changes in urban policies and governance in the concluding chapter is insightful.
Highly recommended to planners, architects, and urban researchers of the middle east, especially Qatar.