| Popis: |
While cities are growing, public spaces are shrinking and declining worldwide. Nevertheless, public spaces have enormous potential, strategically supporting cities’ economic, environmental, and social agendas. Research on the impact of urbanisation in the globalising Middle East is growing. Recent studies have been broadly discussing the speed and intensity of urban growth in this geographical area, specifically in the Arabian Gulf region where an unprecedented urbanisation process has taken place in the last few decades. Nevertheless, while hybrid typologies of public spaces other than the traditional piazza, square, or street are materialising, their form, use, and social value are still poorly understood. Investigating these emerging urban directions raises the question of improving the quality of the built environment to facilitate and promote liveable public spaces that, in turn, promote higher living standards. Accordingly, this work’s fundamental objective is to explore, investigate, and demystify contemporary urban challenges faced by the globalising Middle Eastern cities and their urban spaces, discussing theories and design principles, supported by case studies, that influence and affect the urban growth and transformations of these cities, and it discusses the social value of their public spaces. |
