Impact of Globalization on Qatars Identity - Essay Example

Impact of Globalization on Qatar’s Identity Prepared by: Abdulla Al Qahtani, ID: 200303470, Qatar Research Questions Has Qatar adhered to its architectural identity in the midst of of globalization? 2- Does globalization affect the overall looks of the buildings in Qatar? Analysis: Yes: Qatar has still adhered to its identity in the midst of globalization, even as the latterhas slightly impacted on the look of their building structures. Most of the governmental and some of the private buildings in Qatar have been designed with the historical Qatari look. No: Qatar lost its traditions and architectural identity, especially when the government appointed the international consultant companies to plan and develop the city following oil discovery in the country. Hypothesis: Based on the above, the following hypothesis has been set up: Even as Qatar has been affected by globalization, Doha has not been affected much in terms of its structures and overall it has adhered to its identity. Furthermore, numerous buildings in the city are still designed based on their historical relevance. Introduction: The impact of globalization has been spread out across different countries all over the world. The world has become more interconnected than ever. Never before in the history has international connections between world trade, communication, and politics been seen at this rate and pace. The responsibilities of planners have also increased with the arrival of globalization and as research indicates, the planning of cities is no longer limited to physical planning, but it now also includes the social and economic fabric (The Role of Planners in the Globalization Era, 2004). The globalization of economic, social, environment and political matters have not been limited to the national level, but have now also affected the urban and architectural planning of the city. What is globalization? Globalization is a term used by a development and interaction process of international union arising from the networking of world views, products, ideas and other aspects of culture. Advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure are major factors in globalization, generating further interrelationships of economic and cultural activities (Globalization, 2014). Globalization and Geographic Area: In the globalized world, geography does not become less important, instead it has become more relevant. This is because of the fact that globalization enhances possibilities in increasing geographic differentiation and location which then reflect on overall planning. The globalization extends a large group and city regions outside their borders. The internal and external of these cities and their growth present a number of challenges for policy makers in their planning. Qatar prior globalization: Based on the history of urban planning in Qatar, changes in planning can be recognized. In 1935, British petroleum initiated oil exploration in Qatar. High quality oil was discovered in 1940 at Dukhan, on the west side of the State of Qatar. However, the Second World War delayed the exploration of Qatar’s oil resources. The oil export was initiated in 1949 by the Qatar Petroleum Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, with the increase of the oil revenues, a gradual increase of properties alongside the increased in immigration, substantial social progress was observed in Qatar (History of Qatar, 2013). The immigrants came from different places and countries with different cultures and background. There were different economic background of the people, from the low, medium and high class grouping. People’s social attitudes and values relating to immigration indicate major concerns and ideas which also manifest country urban planning. There are different individuals and groups who are participating in government. Most of them are decision makers who can effect planning strategies. Figure 1: Qatar Old map in 1950 If we have a look at Qatar map in the fifties, as shown in the above picture, we would clearly recognize that there are only three main cities. The cities are Doha, (which is the capital of Qatar) Dukhan, and Umm Said which are all industrial cities. Dukhan is an important city for the oil industry and it holds a very important industrial operation in the management of the Qatar petroleum Company. Umm Said is also a city which is managed by Qatar Petroleum which was established in 1949 (Qatar Petroleum, 2013) (History of Qatar, 2013) Building Prior to Globalization: The buildings in Qatar were very classic and with specific designs that accommodate the environment of the region. The spaces around the building have been very limited and has been claimed based on the need and use of residents. The character of buildings in the past was created by the locals responding to the problems posed by the climate, by the need for security, as well as the social and religious requirements of family life. The traditional buildings did their job better than the new ones. Traditional buildings consist of court yards surrounded by rooms to allow the air to penetrate inside the buildings as shown in figures 3 and 4 (Lockerbie, 2013). Figure 2 Figure 3 Traditional buildings were constructed from materials which were close at hand and, in the main, were inexpensive. The materials commonly used in Qatar were desert stones –“hasa”; limestone mortar –“juss”; limewash –“nuwra”; earth –“turaab” which is either comprised of “rawdh” – a cultivatable soil, or sand –“raml” and, in mud form is known as “teen”; and date palm fronds –“sa’af”. Everything else was imported and had to be used carefully if cost was to be kept down. Timber –“khashab”, particularly the heavy teak doors –“abwab” – necessary for security were used and re-used, as were ceiling joists –“shandal” – and window shutters – “dhafaqat” or “safaqa” (Lockerbie, 2013). The buildings of Qatar were typical of the components in urban Islamic cities with their functional, useful, aesthetic and built elements throughout . Building types could be found in traditional households of numerous patterns and size. The forms of the traditional household were also considered based on security, defense, and the need for privacy during meetings and physical sittings (Maimani, Al Nimaa, Khalfani, & Al-Fadala, 2014). The pictures from 4 to 16 below show some of the historical architectural designs in Qatar old buildings (Catnaps, 2014). Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure 15 Figure 16 Qatar Impact on globalization: Globalization has had a major impact in the planning and development of Doha. Having the revenue of oil and investing in urbanization in the country has proven to be the best means for development. Building new developed houses, roads, infrastructures have been considered critical in order to secure planning development. The government has made and has adapted international regulations for urban planning in Qatar. If we compare the house setbacks and look in the past and the present, there are different layouts architectural designs available. Some of the buildings have European looks. Others have mixed culture type looks which reflect multicultural designs. Economic globalization in planning has made a lot of people move to Qatar for better living. They have brought in new ideas which have supported urban plans. Such developments have changed the characteristics of buildings from different aspects. Juliette Jowit mentioned in her article “Planning minister nervous about impact of east European immigration” that the increase of immigrant population would impact on the country itself. We should have been more worried than we were about the pressure on housing and other public services from the last set of entrance countries. We should consider this in our planning, in terms of its impact on an entire generation (Jowit, 2013). It is obvious that immigrants would have an absolute impact on the city from different aspects, and this would affect various architectural aspects from all over the world. Building after Globalization After the independence of Qatar in 1971, numerous western consultants became involved in the initial stages of urban planning in Doha. This was the time where Llewelyn Davis commissioned a master plan for the city. His plan was founded on a ring concept that had a clear definition while also functionally distributing how lands in each of the rings would be used. Founded on this zoning methodology as well as the new land policies that had been instigated, a newer city center was developed and it covered commercial developments as well houses with multiple stories. In the 70s, the older neighborhoods were replaced and more indigenous populations shifted to the more suburban developments in the north-western parts of the city. The government provided free plots measuring 30X30 meters. It also provided interest free loans for building houses (Wiedmann, Salama, & Thierstein, 2012). Globalization has been expanded by the development of modern transport systems. The whole cities and system have become linked by the global market. The beginning of the 21st century brings many challenges to the role of transportation in the global economy (Rodrigue, 2006). When the cities have linked together, the country became more connected and people got closer to each other. Globalization brought a new experience from overseas in the way that buildings have been designed. The courtyards started to disappear and most of the traditional identities were replaced by new globalized buildings. Lots of buildings started to have slightly changed the identity of Qatar after the oil discovery. Some of the buildings havetaken on European looks and others were of mixed culture types and they all reflect multi-cultural designs as we can see on the pictures below. Figure 17 Figure 18 Figure 19 Figure 20 Qatar National Vision 2030: The Qatar National Vision strategy includes four main pillars for sustainable development. The pillars are included the development of economic, human, social and environmental elements (Pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030, 2013). Those four pillars have to be developed as separate but also combined units. Economically, the the lives of Qataris have to be improved in order to ensure a better life and comfortable life and place of residence for the people. This would help businesses grow, increasing a diverse business internally and internationally. We cannot increase the economic development without human development. Human development includes education, health and the workforce. Social development would include welfare and the equality of the social life, including providing equal opportunity for all. The environmental development shall be improved and connected, with economic and social factors securing a sustainable Doha with strong rules for their environment, whether land, sea or air. All of the above pillars shall have to be based on coordinated and sustainable planning for the country. The National Vision objectives in transforming Qatar to a developed country by 2030, has been based on its own progress and in providing a high standard of living for its people and for generations to come (Qatar National Vision 2030, 2014). Integration tradition with modernity is a substantial challenge for any country. An important goal of the Qatar National Vision is “Modernization and preservation of traditions” in order to modernize the state of Qatar while also protecting the country’s culture and Arab identity (Cultural Development Strategy, 2014). Analytical identity preservation from the past with the challenge of Globalization: Qatari civilization went through rapid changes in a short period of time. The transformation from pearl production to oil processing has affected the daily lives of their people. Globalization has had a significant impact on cultural, the lifestyles and practices of the society, economy and technologies which have then influenced the overall urban architecture of the neighborhood. The "global culture" most probably have been shaped and served by such currents, individuals and their life styles which then led to change and transform. Naturally "our homes" have also been influenced by globalization (Ayna, 2014). Accordingly, architecture can be a mirror to society. Since the early twentieth century, architects have wanted to link design characteristics to express theactual analysis of society and its future direction. As long as Qatar is now preserving and constructing the heritage to create a nice land mark of its culture and society, we found that most of the governmental buildings have been designed with a historical look, as we can see in figure 21 to 26. Figure 21: Figure 22: Figure 23: Diplomatic Club in West bay area Qatar Foundation Head Quarters Souq Wakif Police Station Figure 24: Figure 25: Figure 26: Al Ryan Municipality Educational City Civil defense Al Dayen Government Services Complex In April 2010, Al Raya newspaper stated that Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning announced the winning project AL Dayen of public services complex. As shown in picture 23, AL Dayen won the first prize in the Architectural field in Islamic Capitals and Cities Organization at its eighth session of the projects and municipal services. The project buildings is the first project the state allowed their services to citizens and residents to be in one area, serving the geographical scope of the surrounding Simaisma and Um Qarn on the Northern coastal road to an area of 75,000 square meters. The project consists of a group of buildings belonging to several government agencies with a total area of 19,500 square meters, the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Awqaf, and the Ministry of the Interior (Mumtaz, 2010) Image 27: Image 28: Image 29: Barzan Tower in Dafna Four Season Hotel in Dafna Awqaf Tower in Dafna Image 30: Image 31: Image 32: Lebanese Restaurant in Katara Villaggio Mall in Aspire Zone Souq Waqif Conclusion: Changes and developments happening in Qatar in conjunction with globalization show that people in Qatar remain majorly unaffected to change. Qatari people desire for their country to be developed in a modern way, but they also desire the preservation of their culture and identity. Qataris are still devoted to their countrys culture and are proud of their identity. Qatar’s future development in conjunction with traditional and globalization would save Qatar from losing its culture and identity. It would be a landmark by its unique Arabic and Islamic culture. Even though Qatar became one of the globalized countries, Doha was not affected much architecturally and still managed to keep and adhere to its identity. In addition, numerous buildings in the country are still being designed and developed with the taste and traditional Qatari architecture. References: Ayna, A. (2014, December 20). Retrieved from The Impact of Globalization on Architecture: http://conference.osu.eu/globalization/publ2011/17-21_Ayna.pdf Catnaps. (2014, December 19). Retrieved from Gulf Architecture: http://catnaps.org/islamic/gulfarch3.html Cultural Development Strategy. (2014, December 20). Retrieved from Qatar E-Government: http://portal.www.gov.qa/wps/portal/topics/tourism%2C%20culture%20and%20leisure/arts%20and%20culture/cultural%20development%20strategy/!ut/p/a1/xVJNU8IwEP0rvfQmzdIUGrxVnMEP8ODHUHpxQghttElKmlrh15sqFx1BPZlLNpvs2_feBmUoRZmiLyKnVmhFy-6cDR-HMAqTGYkebqdnBC6vLwa Globalization. (2014, December 7). Retrieved from Wikipidia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization History of Qatar. (2013, November 17). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Qatar History of Qatar. (2013, December 9). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar_history Jowit, J. (2013, Feb. 12). Planning minister nervous about impact of east European immigration. Retrieved from The Gurdian: http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/feb/12/nick-boles-immigration-impact-housing Lockerbie, J. (2013, Nov. 23). catnaps. Retrieved from a collection of notes on areas of personal interest: http://catnaps.org/islamic/gulfarch2.html Maimani, A. A., Al Nimaa, A., Khalfani, F., & Al-Fadala, H. (2014, Deceber 19). language for Contemporary Qatari Architecture. Retrieved from Academia: http://www.academia.edu/1492679/Senior_Project_Phase_1_Language_for_Contemporary_Qatari_Architecture Mumtaz, A. (2010, April 28). Al Dayen Complex wins Islamic cities Organization Award. Retrieved from Al Raya Newspaper: http://www.raya.com/news/pages/c9405e06-fcde-4584-ac76-01b09120b4ba Pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030 . (2013, December 9). Retrieved from General Secretariat for Development Planning: http://www.gsdp.gov.qa/portal/page/portal/gsdp_en/qatar_national_vision Qatar National Vision 2030. (2014, December 20). Retrieved from General Secretariate for Development Planning: http://www.gsdp.gov.qa/portal/page/portal/gsdp_en/qatar_national_vision/qnv_2030_document/QNV2030_English_v2.pdf Qatar Petroleum. (2013, November 7). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar_Petroleum Scott, A. J. (2001). Globalization and the Rise of City-regions. European Planning Studies, 813-826. The Role of Planners in the Globalization Era , UMID 19139884 (Bankim Kalra March 14, 2004). Wiedmann, F., Salama, A., & Thierstein, A. (2012). Urban Evolution of The City Of Doha. Munich: Munich University of Technology. Read More