Urban Developments of Doha - Term Paper Example

Topic: Urban developments of Doha Introduction Anyone visiting Qatar almost eighty years ago would have seenlittle more than a small community of people who engaged in pearl fishing and this trade had been affected negatively when Japanese pearls were introduced into the market. The economy of Qatar, which was a British protectorate with some of the harshest climatic conditions in the globe, seemed to be collapsing imminently. Nonetheless, oil was discovered at the beginning of 1940 and this was the beginning of a breakneck journey in the direction of industrialization for the country that increased the pace when natural gas was also recovered (Beydoun & Baum, 2012). Presently, Qatar, whose total areas in almost a half the total area of Wales, possesses the third biggest gas reserves in the entire globe and nearly twenty five billion barrels of oil (Cordesman, 2004). This history has made Doha, Qatar’s capital city become unrecognizable from how it appeared before the wars and in the 70s after the country attained autonomy, the entire coastline was intensely remodeled to create a broad semicircular bay that allowed the residents of Doha to observe the new commercial center of the city that was raised on land that had undergone reclamation. The main aim of this paper is to identify the urbanization as well as urban development that have been experienced in Doha as well as the effects of these developments on the urban growth of this city. Urban developments of Doha from 1900 – 1950 (pearl economy) In the eighteenth century, the Al Maadhid tribe together with its most prominent family clan migrated from the central parts of Arabia and settled on the northern coast of Qatar (Rahman, 2005). As a result of tribal confrontations with the Al Khalifa tribes, the Al Maadhid tribe decided to resettle on the east coast of the peninsula in 1847 and when the growth of the trade in pearls resulted in continuous conflict, the British colonist became worried about the safety of maritime trading routes and thus signed a contract with the Al Thani that acknowledged them as the official rulers of Qatar. In the initial decades of the twentieth century, the number of inhabitants in Al Bidaa grew to almost twelve thousand as a result of the successful trade in pearls. Nonetheless, this population decreased in the thirties when the whole population of the country decreased from twenty seven thousand to around sixteen thousand as a result of the collapse of pearl fishing due to the introduction of cultured pearls that came from Japan. Doha, basically means a big tree standing at the coast or the semicircular shape of the coastline. The population of Doha during the first half of the twentieth century was mainly comprised of the Al Maadhid tribe along with groups of Persian immigrants who constructed boats together with East African slaves who worked as fishermen and in the pearl industry. Every social group that existed in this setting lived in their own segregated areas and the key areas of social integration were at the harbor, the market or the places of worship. The residential districts of the L Maadhid were predominantly within the smaller settlements to the East as well as the West of Al Bidaa, the Persians as well as other immigrants of Arabic origin who lived in close proximity to the market and area around the harbor that is presently known as Al Jasrah. The social and economic significance of the market along with the area around the harbor meant that each neighborhood was linked directly through roads but this network of roads did not develop from conscious planning but was the result of the collective building efforts of the different families. The main responsibility of the leader in regard to administering settlement progress was to direct the sites where the places of worship and the bastion could be built. Most of the concerns relating to construction were addressed at lower levels in the tribal clans and therefore it can be concluded that the settlement that took place in Doha was guided by bottom-up decision-making. The old-style urban setting associated with Doha continued to be the same up to mid twentieth century when the contemporary expansion started. Both its architecture and vernacular framework resulted from direct human interaction and participation in the process of building. Climate as well as culture influenced a built environment that demonstrated the manner in which the spaces were used in a functional way along with how the same spaces symbolized the internal world of the society that depended on the natural setting and affiliations of their tribes. The functional perspective could be seen in the structural characteristics of the local buildings that were meant to adapt to the climate of the desert. Even though the settlement was developed as a small fishing village in the beginning of the nineteenth century and therefore has a relatively short history, the urban and architectural forms associated with it are far much older. Knowledge that has been inherited has informed the building of this space without sticking to any plan or regulations from a particular authority. Regardless of the fact that the tribal ruler allocated land, the land was mainly free to use and develop. This informed the gradual settlements pattern that changed on the basis of the main cell which was a courtyard building. Eventually, it multiplied into collections that formed localities linked to the main pillar of the settlement that included the areas of worship and the markets. The settlement in Doha before the discovery of oil may be attributed to the collective efforts of the people that lived there as well as the habits that they had developed over time. Urban developments of Doha from 1950 -1970 (gas and start of globalization) Even though the discovery oil had already taken place in Dukhan in the western side of the country, the first time the oil was produced was after the Second World War when the modern urbanization of Qatar began (Ljungstrøm, 2013). The initial revenues associated with oil were directed at the development of the country’s infrastructure like the construction of road networks that link the Dukhan field to the capital city as well as the first airport which was located in the eastern side of the city. Based on the locality of the dwelling of the Al Thani family, Doha developed to be a nucleus of the contemporary growth of Qatar. Between the 50s and the 70s, the population of Doha increased from about fourteen thousand inhabitants to more than eighty three thousand people with foreigners constituting over sixty five percent of the total population. More than ninety percent of the city’s working population was foreign in the seventies since the local people were not educated as well as the introduction of subsidies that transformed the country into a classic welfare that greatly depended on reliant on the fossil resources of the state. Between the 50s and 60s, the settlement patterns were influenced by the development of contemporary infrastructure like roads and the supply of fresh water as well as electricity to the population. The modern government that had been distributed between several buildings in the city was still in its infancy and regardless of the introduction of the initial housing law in 1964, planning and regulations continued to have restricted effects on the general development. However, the main impact was seen in the form of imported goods like cars as well as air conditioning and increased migration rates. The roads were eventually broadened in the central areas so that access by car would be made possible while the courtyard buildings were replaced by more modern buildings that had been constructed using cement stones. Newer housing areas were developed in an uncoordinated structure around the boundaries of the former city so that they could be able to deal with the expatriate labor together with the Qataris who were moving from other areas of the country to the capital city. The advancement of Doha was in every direction but was predominantly focused in the west since the highway to Al Dukhan was there as well as in the direction of the airport. In the initial period of the urbanist transformation of the capital, expansions were mainly uncoordinated but incentives that include reclaiming areas at Doha or the constructing the Al-Corniche Road were the factors that informed the urban expansions that took place later. Settlement patterns of a rectangular shape as well as contemporary cement buildings created a fragmented belt that surrounded the old center together with its harbor, which was eventually replaced by more contemporary urbanization. Therefore, the traditional metropolitan space in Doha experienced a quick culmination that was a result of the initial investments in contemporary substructures and the increased power to purchase of the inhabitants. As a result of this, vehicles as well as air conditioning allowed the advent of new urban structures that had low built densities, extensive road networks as well as architecture that was built using bricks. Although there was an initial public administration in existence during the 50s that grew during the 60s when the first ever municipality was created in 1963, it was after the country was declared independent in 1971 that are effective central administration was established. This administration incorporated several ministries that were meant to control the urbanization of Qatar with the most vital being the ministry of municipal affairs which had its own planning section created in 1974 and other ministries were later created to address the expansion of the substructure like the ministry of public works. Money that was derived from the oil industry was effectively invested in the urbanization process by the central government therefore leading to increased rates of development in the 70s and 80s when the prices of oil escalated. The creation of the municipality lead to a number of regulations which were supposed to be implemented in the capital city together with the rest of the peninsula. The required plot sizewas thirty metres by thirty metres in case vacant land was being subdivided while the coverage for a plot was not supposed to exceed sixty percent. The types of housing that were allowed in the density ranges allowed in the areas of residence included villas, Patios, Row houses, Duplexes as well as Blocks of Flats. The categorization of the residential zones was dependent on gross density and classified in a range between very low density to high density that had an average of thirty units in each hectare. The non-residential uses that were allowed in the residential areas includedcommercial, mosques, majlis, playgrounds for children, social centres, centres for recreation as well as public parks. There was a need to develop a hierarchy of facilities that responded to the needs of the people living in the capital and by extension the peninsula. For example, the roads were supposed to address traffic loads that varied from the needs of the inter-city arterial highway all the way to the local distributors and those that led to individual houses. Urban developments of Doha from 1970 to present (effect of globalization) In this period, numerous western consultants became involved in the initial stage of urban planning that was taking place in Doha and in 1974 Llewelyn Davis was hired by the town planning authority to come up with the initial master plan for the city of 1990 (Clapson, 2013). His plan was founded on a ring concept that had a clear definition while functionally distributing how the land in each of the rings would be used. This simple structure was the foundation for the creation of a framework that was characterized by a ring road in the 70s and for ensuing land apportionment together with the sprawl that was taking place in Doha’s environs. Founded on this zoning methodology as well as the new land policies that had been instigated, a newer city center was developed and it comprised of commercial developments as well houses with multiple storeys. In the 70s, the older neighborhoods were replaced and more indigenous population shifted to the more suburban developments in the north-western parts of the city. This was necessitated by land policies that included free replacement of the properties that had allocations of plots that measured 30*30 meters as well as providing loans that did not attract any interest for building houses. Financial compensation was also provided in some cases which in most instances was more than the cost or real estate at that particular time. Land speculation also increased in the 70s especially in the areas within the centre of the city as well as those adjacent to it. Before 1991, the planning department was tasked with subdividing the land into parcels while public housing initiatives were regulated by the ministry of labour and social affairs together with the public works ministry. These intertwined responsibilities resulted in problems in coordination that were further worsened by the fact that the high-profile projects were normally supervised by Emiri Diwan and were therefore not part of the main legalization process that was taking place within the various ministries. After the introduction of centralized as well as planning by the central authority eliminated the preceding practice of neighbourhoods that governed themselves, the amount of involvement by the indigenous people in the progress of the area was significantly decreased. However, protests and resistance was used in the mediation of the introduction of state welfare mechanisms as well as the resulting considerable rise in the standards of living. In a span of only three decades, the local population found itself in a newer city that allowed and increased consumption on a degree that had never been experienced in history. In the process of mordernization, Doha embraced building codes especially for the tall highrise buildings and this specified that towers should vary between fifteen and fifty-six floors and that the setbacks ithe surround the tower should be six metres from all the sides. The ouside appearance of the building will depend on the material that has been used and the form of glazing employed. Glazing is also regulated and it is stated that it should not be in excess of sixrt percent and the glazing is supposed to be double glazed to about 1.2 centimetres. The parking capacity of these tall buildings is deteremined by the use of the building, for example, if the building will serve as commercial and business offices, there should be atleast one car park for every twenty five square metres. For the buildings that will serve commercial and residential purposes, there should be a parking structure for every three apartments. Conclusion From the late 90s, Doha has gone through urbanization and a building boom which has entailed a vast expansion of the existing city in almost all the directions (Elsheshtawy, 2008). These developments that have been seen recently represent the biggest urban and real estate explosion that has ever been experienced in the city. Contrasting from most of the metropolises in the globe, the growth of Doha has continued to be linked to the worldwide geopolitics as well as the predominant setup of the economy. Therefore, the Qatari state gives an interesting demonstration of a country that in the recent past witnessed spectacular urban development that is worth being investigated. Certainly, in the past three decades revenue that is associated with oil has allowed the country to start a national development initiative that has been almost unparalleled. References Beydoun, N., & Baum, J. (2012). The glass palace. New York: Algora Pub. Clapson, M. (2013). Anglo-American crossroads. London: Bloomsbury. Cordesman, A. (2004). Energy developments in the Middle East. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. Elsheshtawy, Y. (2008). The evolving Arab city. London: Routledge. Ljungstrøm, T. (2013). Living parallel lives in Qatar. Kbh.: Books on Demand. Rahman, H. (2005). The emergence of Qatar. London: K. Paul. Read More