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Labour force by occupation category, Doha, 2013 Data source: MDPS (2013)
Source publication
Since the 1990s, Doha, the capital city of Qatar, has experienced rapid urban growth along with rapid motorization, which together have created new opportunities but also important challenges for the Qatari government. Urban sprawl, lack of planning strategy, harsh weather, and an absence of public transport are some of the reasons that private veh...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... these areas are considered "family-only" zones, where worker housing is not permitted. Thanks to high polarization and lack of public transport, many parts of the city (e.g., green parks, open public spaces, commercial and leisure districts) have become almost inaccessible to low-income residents of Doha, who constitute about 70 % of the population (see Figure 2 for detailed numbers). In addition, in 2013, in an attempt to reduce the number of cars on the road, the Ministry of the Interior issued several proposals, including limits on driving licences for expats. ...
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Citations
... Among the Arab Countries, Qatar has recently been subjected to an unprecedented economic boom, and its capital, Doha, is becoming a new global city. In the other side, the fast urbanization of Doha has negatively affected the preservation of Qatari heritage and Doha's urban center (Salama, 2012;Salama and Wiedman 2013;Azzali, 2015;Boussaa, 2014;Mazzetto and Petruccioli, 2018) damaging the remains of the urban fabric and some traditional buildings. Thus a permanent conflict afflicts the growth direction of Doha as a new global city: on one side the construction of a modern capital, characterized by innovative materials and advanced architectures; on the other side, the safeguarding of Qatari heritage reusing the neglected urban fabric, and the abandoned buildings, to generate new relationship between the past and the future of the country. ...
In the past decades, many Gulf cities have faced accelerated growth that has generated complicated problems of urbanization. Some Arab cities have transformed massive urban development into new global cities despite their relatively short history. Contrasting the direction of the rapid urbanization, there is a growing interest in the conservation and rehabilitation of the local heritage, which has generated a perpetual conflict between the construction of contemporary identity and the promotion of traditional architecture. The new emerging Arab cities, in the struggle for the construction of their new architectural identity, showed a growing interest in the action needed to preserve architectural heritage. The number of conservation projects has increased recognition of the local traditions in construction, rejuvenating the historical value of the Qatari heritage. This paper shows significant examples of conservation and adaptive reuse projects recently completed in Qatar. The intention is to describe several conservation interventions, compare the proposals for reusing the restored artifacts, and compare the preservation methodologies and techniques within the historical, political, and social forces that inform preservation practices. The research presents a possible methodology for classifying the proposals offering a new approach for comparing the interventions that could be applied to other adaptive reuse projects.
... To mitigate some of the worsening effects of its increasing motorization, and with the aim to equip the city with a state-of-the-art mass transport system for the upcoming 2022 World Cup, Doha is undertaking the implementation of a massive metro network (Azzali, 2015;Azzali 2016). Based on three main arguments, implementation time, cost issues, and performance, the article analysed the feasibility of a BRT scheme as an alternative to the 'Doha Metro System'. ...
Motorisation is increasing globally, especially in major cities of Asia and the Gulf region. To illustrate, over the last decades, Doha, the capital city of Qatar, has experienced a fast urban growth along with a wide increase in the need for new transportation options. Recently, the Qatari Government has planned to improve Doha's transport system, by developing projects that include a new metro and light rail scheme. On the other hand, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)'s track record provides a compelling case for more cities to consider it as a transit priority. Within this context, this article critically examines three relevant factors (implementation time, cost effectiveness, and performance) for the successful dissemination of BRTs in relation to the city of Doha. The article argues that the implementation of a BRT scheme is a beneficial and effective alternative to the metro scheme that is under construction in the city.
Since the 1990s, the Gulf region has experienced unprecedented economic development, along with rapid urban growth and motorisation. Together, this has created new social and business opportunities for the local populations but also important challenges for the local governments, especially with regard to sustainable development. Urban sprawl, lack of planning, harsh weather conditions, the absence of pedestrian walkways, and — until now — an absence of public transport are among the main problems that some of the major Gulf cities face. Doha, in particular, has almost quadrupled in terms of population size over the past two decades, growing from around 450,000 people in 1995 to almost 2 million today. This rapid population expansion has led to a vast urban growth, with the construction of new neighbourhoods, shopping malls, and other amenities, and completely reshaped the city.
This article aims to describe the urban planning processes and the construction sector in Qatar’s capital city. It looks at Doha’s planning management and briefly explains some of the links between the oil and gas and the real estate sectors. It highlights the lack of sustainable planning practices, noting that construction in the city is characterised by the proliferation of mega-projects and the role of sports in the planning process. The article then looks at the social and spatial fragmentation of the city and concludes with recommendations for policy changes.
