Content uploaded by Khaled Galal Ahmed
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Khaled Galal Ahmed on Oct 11, 2022
Content may be subject to copyright.
)XWXUH&LWLHV
DQG(QYLURQPHQW
The Other Side of the Urban
Densification ‘Coin’: Impacts
on Social Sustainability
in Redeveloped Urban
Sprawled Communities in
United Arab Emirates
LUBNA SHEKFA
KHALED GALAL AHMED
TECHNICAL ARTICLE
ABSTRACT
Urban sprawl has been a persistent sustainability impediment caused by its associated
low urban density that led to heavy reliance on private cars. To overcome this problem,
urban densification, as a sustainable planning approach, has been widely advocated.
Al Ain, one of the most affected cities by urban sprawl in the United Arab Emirates,
has recently adopted an urban densification process through its Al Ain Plan 2030 and
started applying it by 2010 in a pioneering redevelopment project in Bida Bin Ammar
neighborhood. This research aims at studying the impacts of the applied urban
densification measures and tools on social sustainability in this neighborhood. The
research adopts a qualitative case study method utilizing field observations as the
main source of primary data collection, while the analysis of CAD drawings, census
data, land-use plans, and Google Earth maps forms a secondary source of data for
this study. Based on the results of the study, it is concluded that urban densification
through its two applied measures, the Intensification and the Infill Development,
have enhanced social sustainability in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood but with various
degrees of success for each of the social sustainability principle and indicators. While
mixed use and accessibility principles have been partially enhanced in the study area,
density, mobility, social capital, quality of life, sense of belonging, and safety and
security have been weakly enhanced. Accordingly, a proposed set of guidelines have
been initiated to inform decision-makers in the city, and maybe in other cities in the
UAE and the Arabian Gulf region, to help them revise the applied urban densification
process in a way that helps achieve more socially sustainable urban communities.
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Khaled Galal Ahmed
United Arab Emirates
University, AE
kgahmed@uaeu.ac.ae
KEYWORDS:
Urban Densification; Urban
Sprawl; Social Sustainability;
Urban Community; Urban
Redevelopment; United Arab
Emirates
TO CITE THIS ARTICLE:
Shekfa, L and Galal Ahmed,
K. 2022. The Other Side of
the Urban Densification
‘Coin’: Impacts on Social
Sustainability in Redeveloped
Urban Sprawled Communities
in United Arab Emirates.
Future Cities and Environment,
8(1): 11, 1–19. DOI: https://doi.
org/10.5334/fce.155
*Author affiliations can be found in the back matter of this article
2Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
1. INTRODUCTION
A balanced sustainable development is ideally supported
over equally considered triple pillars of environment,
society, and economy (Klarin, 2018). While environmental
aspects are dominating the scholarly work about
sustainable development, social aspects of sustainability
have not received similar attention yet (Pitarch-Garrido,
2018; Zainol et al, 2018). Socially sustainable built
environment is characterized with promoting wellbeing
through achieving the real needs of people in their living
spaces and workplaces. Social sustainability integrates
the physical realm with the social infrastructure required
to support social life and social amenities in one design
(ADEC Innovations, 2020). Social sustainability aims
also at improving the safety and security of individuals
regardless of their origin, culture, color, or socio-economic
status (Eizenberg and Jabareen, 2017). Bramley and
Power (2009) stated two recognizable measures of
social sustainability on the urban community level.
First is an equitable access to various local services, job
opportunities, and housing types. Second is the design
considerations of the neighborhood itself to promote
people interaction, community participation, sense of
belonging, safety, and security. When carefully tackled,
these integrated physical and social considerations in
the built environment can certainly achieve a socially
sustainable neighborhood (Karuppannan and Sivam,
2011).
On the other hand, urban sprawl is perceived as
unsustainable growth with inefficient utilization
of resources causing adverse impacts on social
sustainability of local urban communities (Bhatta et al,
2010). Going against the measures of the compact urban
form including high density, centralized development,
and spatial mix of functions (Chin, 2002), urban sprawl
is characterized by low density and car-dependent
development, which spreads out over a large area of
land and creates large distances between homes and
community facilities. This leads to poor accessibility
especially for elderly residents who have limited
mobility and it therefore detrimentally affects the level
of social interaction and social capital on the local
community level (Everything Connects, 2014; Brueckner
and Largey, 2008; Rinkesh, 2016; Pendola, 2017). The
resulting car-dependent urban forms of urban sprawl
development have destructive effects on human health
including higher rates of obesity, high blood pressure,
hypertension, and chronic diseases (Everything Connects,
2014). Accordingly, current growth management policies
all over the world are struggling to encounter these
socially unsustainable consequences by adopting more
compact urban forms and defining physical limits to
urban development through growth boundaries and
land preservation (Bhatta et al, 2010).
Urban densification has been proposed as an efficient
strategy for combating urban sprawl and its socially and
environmentally unsustainable urban forms. Through
the application of various densification measures and
their associated tools, urban densification contributes to
achieving more socially sustainable and environmentally
friendly urban development. The applied measures of
urban densification usually improve accessibility to social
and commercial facilities and make neighborhoods
safer through natural urban surveillance (Weinschenk,
2017; HaskoningDHV, 2013; Attia, 2015). While urban
densification is usually implemented in places that have
good access to infrastructure, social services, and public
transportation, the application of urban densification
would also differ from one urban context to another
as per the applied standards and regulations. For
example, in the United States low density is defined as
the development of two to four houses per acre while
in the United Kingdom low density compromises eight
to twelve houses per acre (Chin, 2002). Increasing
density in an urban sprawled area is by no means a
straightforward process due to the conflict between the
private and public interests concerning the preferred
density of urban living. Many people might prefer to live
in less dense urban areas, which goes against the notion
of sustainable urban development. On the other hand,
while increasing density, a balance between economic,
environmental, and social aspects should be preserved.
For example, low-income people could be affected by
densification because they may be pushed away from
the central areas, with lower opportunities to access
inner-city jobs. This gentrification process also decreases
the social mix within the urban community (URBACT,
2019).
Locally in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), urban sprawl
has been a common and chronic urban development
problem in many cities especially in Al Ain city, that
might be considered as a model for an urban sprawl
city. In accordance with the global trend to utilize urban
densification as a solution for urban sprawl problems,
the Plan Al Ain 2030 (ADUPC, 2009) was developed
as an Urban Structure Framework Plan that provides
conceptual solutions to shape the growth of Al Ain city
over the next quarter of this century. The recommended
policies for urban densification have been embedded
in this long-term urban redevelopment Plan that has
started in 2010.
Located approximately 150 kilometers east of
Abu Dhabi city, the capital city of the UAE, and 150
kilometers south of Dubai city, Al Ain is the fourth
largest city in the UAE with an estimated metropolitan
population of approximately 600,000 residents in 2021
(Population Stat, 2021). The Plan Al Ain 2030 (ADUPC,
2009) shows areas appropriate for urban densification
development while respecting the environmental and
3Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
social considerations of the city (Figure 1a). The urban
densification process in the Plan Al Ain 2030 relies on two
urban strategies, first, redeveloping brownfield sites and
second, developing more limitedly some new greenfield
sites in a way that meet urban growth demand but does
not harm the sensitive ecosystem of the city. In this Plan,
urban infill development, as a main measure for urban
densification, is prioritized in low density neighborhoods
that are usually distinguished with existing abounded
houses and obsolete uses. As shown in the Land-use
Plan in Figure 1a, by 2030 Asharej district will join the
Central District in accommodating the bulk of the
population of Al Ain city. Starting 2010, Bida Bin Ammar
neighborhood in Asharej district has been the pioneering
model of neighborhoods with urban sprawl forms that
have experienced urban densification transformation as
per the Plan Al Ain 2030 (Figure 1b).
The Plan has preserved the currently applied urban
regulation of keeping the maximum height of residential
buildings at 2 floors and at 5 floors for other types of
public and service buildings. This meant to preserve
Al Ain city’s character as a human-scale city (ADUPC,
2009). It has been expected that urban densification is
the right strategy for improving the attainment of social
sustainability in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood, but during
the more than a decade after the start of implementing
the urban densification process in the neighborhood
no assessment has been undertaken for the impact of
this process on sustainability aspects, especially social
sustainability as the focus of this research. Accordingly,
the research studied the pioneering application of urban
densification measures and their related tools in this
neighborhood, since its launch in 2010 until early 2020,
with the aim to assess the impacts of these applied
urban densification measures on social sustainability
in the neighbourhood. Ultimately, it is hoped that the
results of this study will help suggest some strategies to
enhance the application of urban densification processes,
not only in this neighborhood, but also in many other
urban sprawled contexts in the UAE as needed.
2. RESEARCH METHOD
To achieve its defined aim the research first undertook
a relevant literature review for the principles and
indicators of social sustainability on the urban
community level, as well as the measures and tools
Figure 1 a) Land-use Framework Plan for Al Ain City in 2030, and b) Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood in Asharej District (Google Earth
and ADUPC, 2009).
4Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
of urban densification process. Second, it investigated
how the urban densification measures and tools have
been applied in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood as the
pioneering case study. Third, it assessed the impacts
of the applied urban densification measure and tools
on the attainment of social sustainability principles on
the neighborhood level. Finally, this assessment helped
to suggest a revised application of urban densification
processes and recommend some actions to enhance the
impact of urban densification implementation on social
sustainability.
To undertake the defined research investigations, a
qualitative case study method was adopted in Bida Bin
Ammar neighborhood. Originally developed in 2000
as a public housing neighborhood for Emirati citizens
with only single-family housing type, Bida Bin Ammar
neighborhood occupies an area of 211.30 hectares. It is
bounded by two main roads, Shakhboot Bin Sultan Street
from the north, and Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street from
the south (Figure 2a). As stated in Al Ain region 2030
demographic forecasts, the total population in 2010
for both the Emirati and expatriate residents in Bida
Bin Ammar neighborhood reached 2,973 person, while
the expected total population in 2030 is 4,797 person
(ADUPC, 2009). Along the 10 years of urban densification
process from 2010 to early 2020, the neighborhood
has largely been transformed from a mono-use public
Emirati housing neighborhood to a mixed-use market-
housing neighborhood.
To ease the investigation and analysis processes,
the case study neighborhood was divided into its
five homogenous urban form Zones (A, B, C, D, and E)
(Figure 2). Each zone was explored and then analyzed
according to the established study framework for both
the applied urban densification measures and tools, then
the impacts of this application on a set of defined social
sustainability principals and indicators. The 10-year
time span of the urban densification process was traced
through the ‘historical imagery’ tool in Google Earth,
which helped link the collected data with the observed
spatial changes. Afterwards, the obtained results from
the case study analysis were analyzed and interpreted in
response to the defined research objectives.
While the collected and analyzed secondary data
included literature, official statistics, and governmental
documents, especially those obtained from Al Ain city
municipality, the primary data was collected through
field observations and map analysis. Field observations
were conducted in the period between late 2019 and
early 2020, by taking hand notes and photographs about
the applied urban densification tools and their observed
impacts on social sustainability of the studied area.
Despite the reliance on the qualitative and descriptive
investigation of urban densification tools as well as the
assessment of their impacts on social sustainability, it
is worth mentioning that there are some limitations of
the research outcomes related to some unavoidable
subjective interpretation of findings by the researchers,
as experts in the field of the study. Furthermore, social
sustainability itself is hard to be precisely defined, so,
some principles and/or indicators might be missing
from the reviewed literature in the coming section. The
emergence and spread of COVID 19 pandemic made
interviewing the professionals and the community
members not possible due to the applied lockdown
procedures at the time of conducting the field work.
In the following two sections the theoretical
framework of the ‘Principles and Indicators of Socially
Sustainable Urban Communities’ and the ‘Urban
Densification Measures and Tools’, are briefly discussed.
This theoretical framework guided the field work in the
case study and helped facilitate the assessment of the
applied urban densification tools on social sustainability
in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood.
Figure 2 Timeline of the urban densification process in Bida Bin Ammar Neighborhood (Google Earth).
5Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
3. PRINCIPLES AND INDICATORS
OF SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE URBAN
COMMUNITIES
Through reviewing relevant literature, eight main
principles of socially sustainable communities were
identified including Appropriate Population Density,
Accessibility, Diverse Modes of Mobility, Mixed Land-
use and Housing Types, Quality of Life Considerations,
Design for the Sense of Belonging, Safety and Security
Measures, and Community Participation. For each of
these principles a set of indicators were briefly defined as
follows: First is Appropriate Population Density. It is usually
expressed in the ratio of population to a given area of
land. Appropriate population density enhances social
sustainability in urban areas because it provides viability
and economic feasibility to local facilities and social
services. Appropriate population density also supports
public transport and local jobs (Dave, 2011; Grosvenor
and O’Neill, 2014; HaskoningDHV, 2013; Clarke and
Callaghan, 2007). Generally, a gross population density
of 40 to 50 persons per hectare (pph) is considered
appropriate for supporting the provision of these services
and facilities (Barton, 2000).
Second is Mixed Land-use and Housing Types. An
appropriate mix of different land uses in an area
including a variety of residents’ activities like living,
shopping, and leisure, enhances social sustainability
because it promotes walkability and social inclusion,
while the presence of people in the streets in mixed-use
areas provide more sense of safety and security (Pendola,
2017). Also, the provision of job opportunities enhances
the social well-being for residents as it secures them
regular income (Chan and Lee, 2008). In addition, mixed-
use communities provide more dwelling diversity in
types, such as apartment buildings, stacked apartments,
attached/detached single-family housing, etc., as well
as diversity in tenure types including tenancy, owner-
occupancy, public housing, etc. (Bahadure and Kotharkar,
2012; Kruger, 2017).
Third is Accessibility. It has positive impacts on social
sustainability as it means accessible social infrastructure
and community facilities that meet the residents’ needs
in a social equity manner irrespective of age, gender,
or income. Accessibility reduces the travel distance,
which makes the place more vivid. It also promotes
a healthier lifestyle by encouraging people to walk
or cycle instead of using their private cars. The local
catchment areas for pedestrian access to the nearest
daily services and facilities, such as retail shops, clinic,
primary school, offices, bank, open spaces, and local
job opportunities should be considered in designing
sustainable communities. Generally, this catchment area
is determined by an average threshold walking time (5
or 10 minutes) or an average distance (around 400–800
m) depending on both the type of user and the type of
use (Chan and Lee, 2008). Barton (2000) assumes that
at least 80% of the houses in a certain neighborhood
should achieve the catchment distance standards
through easy access to the destinations. Furthermore, to
reduce the reliance on private car use and the amount of
car parking lots within neighborhoods, a proper access
to public transport nodes, usually bus stops, is required
(Jeekel, 2017).
Fourth is Diverse Modes of Mobility. Ease of access
to local services, employment, and leisure activities,
requires that walking, cycling, and public transport be
considered as different available options for mobility
in local communities, besides private cars (European
Federation for Transport and Environment, 2003).
For encouraging walkability and cycling, as the most
sustainable modes of mobility, several design principles
need to be considered, such as traffic-calmed streets,
permeability of pathways and cycling lanes networks,
variety of streetscape, effective urban surveillance,
and the creation of activity hubs along the mobility
networks. While pedestrians and cyclists can share
the same route, more safety measures should be
considered in this case to avoid the conflict with the
more vulnerable pedestrians. Minimum widths of 1.2 m
and 1.5 m are recommended for dedicated pedestrian
and cycle lanes, respectively. Such well-designed local
mobility networks would reduce social exclusion as
they provide public realms for social connectedness
and shared activities (Han et al, 2016; Shirazi and
Falahat, 2012).
Fifth is Quality of Life Considerations. Quality of life is
an important principle of social sustainability because
it makes urban areas more attractive for people to live,
work, study, and spend leisure time. Besides the positive
impact of reducing vehicular gas emissions, quality of
life could also be achieved through the application of
energy-efficiency strategies in buildings and adopting
appropriate waste recycling systems. The preservation
of green spaces, the enhancement of local habitat
diversity, and the provision of local food production,
where people can grow their fruits and vegetables
in their homes’ and neighborhoods’ gardens, are all
essential indicators for realizing the quality of life in
urban communities (Popovic and Kraslawski, 2018;
Zainol et al, 2018).
Sixth is Design for the Sense of Belonging. The sense of
belonging is a significant principle of socially sustainable
communities because it helps people to be attached to
their community and hence feel more socially secure.
It is associated with the presence of social interaction
and social capital among neighborhood residents (Yoo
and Lee, 2016). As mentioned by Menconi et al (2018)
the sense of belonging is a variable of perception
that comes from the combination of features that
6Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
community members identify in the place in which
they live. It consists of several parameters such as the
period of residence, the physical dimensions, and the
activities that take place within the local community
over a lifetime. To achieve the sense of belonging in a
neighborhood design, Chan and Lee (2008) recommend
that the heritage of the place should be preserved.
Local characteristics such as daily activities, customs,
and ways of living should be respected and conserved
through urban design to enhance the feeling of
residents that they are part of their local communities.
Additionally, the design should be responsive to the local
natural and cultural contexts, including climate, home
terrain, landmarks, architectural style, landscape, urban
morphology, and local building materials. Accordingly,
each neighborhood will have its own character with
a personalized image that would help residents and
visitors find their way around, with key nodes marked by
distinctive public spaces, buildings, vistas, and public art
(Barton, 2000).
Seventh is Safety and Security Measures. Security is
an essential component that needs to be achieved in
any neighborhood to be socially sustainable. Residents
need to know what is going around their houses and to
have the spaces under their surveillance to feel secured.
Effective ‘natural’ surveillance of streets and walkways
is essential for achieving security in neighborhoods as
it reduces the fear of crime within the neighborhood
during daytime and after dark. Furthermore, the fear of
accidents is the biggest barrier to walking and cycling,
especially for children. The street is considered crowded
in a way that hinders safe pedestrian crossing if vehicles
are present at a particular location for more than the
time needed for a pedestrian to cross the street at a
walking speed of 1.39 m/s (Atanda and Öztürk, 2018).
Eighth is Community Participation. It is widely believed
that residents’ participation in both the design process
of their urban community and its management are
important aspects of social sustainability because
they make the design meet the real local needs of the
residents and allow the people to adapt and manage
their built environment according to their changing
needs (Karuppannan and Sivam, 2011; Galal Ahmed and
Parry, 2001).
Finally, Table 1 concludes the above-defined set
of principles and indicators of a socially sustainable
community that, as explained later, were used in
assessing the impact of the application of urban
densification measures on social sustainability in the
case study of Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood.
NO. PRINCIPLES INDICATORS
1Appropriate Population Density 1 Gross population density of 40–50 pph.
2 Mixed Land-use and Housing
Types
1 Provision of various facilities and amenities satisfying the local needs.
2 Availability of various job opportunities.
3 Presence of mixed housing types and tenure.
3 Accessibility 1 Appropriate local catchment distance to local services and transportation nodes (bus stops).
4 Diverse Modes of Mobility 1 Well-designed networks of pedestrian walkways and cycling routes.
2 Presence of fast, efficient, and affordable public transport (buses).
3 Provision of a vehicular network with traffic-calmed streets and less private car permeability.
5 Quality of Life Considerations 1 Attractive places for living, working, shopping, and entertainment.
2 Pollutant-free environment.
3 Presence of locally based energy supply and waste management systems.
4Enhancement of local habitat diversity, preservation of green land, and local food production.
6 Design for Sense of Belonging 1 Personalization of the neighborhood design based on site context.
2 Responsiveness to local culture in terms of materials, built form, architectural style,
landscape, and urban morphology.
7 Safety and Security Measures 1 Provision of measures for reducing the fear of crime within the neighborhood during daytime
and after dark.
2 Provision of measures enabling effective ‘natural’ surveillance of streets and walkways.
3 Provision of measures reducing the chance of vehicular and pedestrian accidents.
8 Community Participation 1 Residents’ participation in the design and management of their neighborhoods.
Table 1 A Summary of the Principles and Indicators of a Socially Sustainable Community.
7Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
4. APPLIED URBAN DENSIFICATION
MEASURES IN BIDA BIN AMMAR
NEIGHBORHOOD
Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood has experienced an urban
densification process since 2009 following the strategies
adopted in the Plan Al Ain 2030. ‘Intensification’ and
‘Infill Development’ have been the two main applied
measures of this urban densification process, each with
some dedicated application tools, as explained below.
4.1 APPLICATION OF INTENSIFICATION
The first tool for applying Intensification process is
‘property subdivision’ in which a plot of land or a building
is divided into two or more parcels while the land use
is kept the same (Neptis Foundation, 2013; Quality
Planning, 2017; Manitoba Indigenous and Municipal
Relation, 2016). Besides the widely applied standard
subdivision, property subdivision is usually conducted
through various processes including minor subdivision
and bare land condominium subdivision which produces
separate units encompassing buildings that are not
entirely covering these units (Manitoba Indigenous and
Municipal Relation, 2016; Gudes et al, 2018). The second
tool for applying Intensification is ‘property consolidation’
in which two or more properties are combined to form
one property (Kruger, 2017; Bartoszczuk and Delnicki,
2018). The third tool is ‘vertical extension’ which is
considered as a challenge if violating the applied
regulations of the maximum height, the street aspect
ratio, and/or the façade architectural style (Artés et al,
2017). The fourth tool is the horizontal extension through
increasing the ‘bulk rights’. In this case, extra area(s) is
added to a certain building or a house. It could be also
done through developing an entire second attached
or detached housing units within the same plot (Attia,
2015). The applied regulations should be followed while
horizontally expanding including the Floor-Area-Ratio
(FAR) and setbacks (NYC, 2020; Kolarik, 2020; Washington
County, 2020; Brian, 2020).
For the case study neighborhood, the Intensification
through the tool of ‘subdivision of property’ was not
applied in any of its defined five urban Zones. The
‘consolidation of properties’ as the second tool for
implementing Intensification was observed in a number
of cases in the Zones A, B and D of the neighborhood. In
these cases, two single-family housing plots, each with
as less as 30% plot coverage ratio, were joined to form a
new large plot developed as an apartment building with
a 100% plot coverage ratio. In the neighborhood, many
of these apartment buildings contained 16 apartments
instead of the previous two single family houses. These
apartments are accommodating 80 persons in average
instead of around 14 persons in the case of the single-
family houses, on the same plot. Moreover, the ‘vertical
extension’ as the third tool of Intensification has not
been officially permitted and consequently was not
applied in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood. This is because
the existing houses are already 2 floors-high and hence,
there is no room for increasing the number of floors
vertically.
In Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood, ‘horizontal
extension’ by increasing bulk rights as a tool of
Intensification was applied through converting some
balconies into internal habitable spaces to be used for
increasing an internal space or even adding a complete
‘small’ room, depending on the area of the sealed
balcony. The application of this tool was observed in all
Zones of the neighborhood with different concentrations
except in Zone C where it was not noticed. In another
form of application of this tool, the mass of a single-
family house was extended in the front, rear, and/or side
setback spaces of the house plot. This tool was observed
in some houses in all Zones except Zone B. On the other
hand, some additional attached/detached dwellings
were constructed in some front and/or back yards of the
plots of the single-family houses, in a form of horizontal
extension, in all Zones except Zone C.
All-in-all, based on the above analysis, it could
be claimed that ‘Intensification’ urban densification
measure has been ‘weakly’ applied in the whole Bida Bin
Ammar neighborhood.
4.2 APPLICATION OF INFILL DEVELOPMENT
The second urban densification measure is ‘Infill
Development’, which is usually performed through,
first, ‘developing vacant lots’ within already constructed
neighborhoods to make use of the existing infrastructure
while introducing additional service and facilities needed
for the exiting local communities (The Institute for Public
Policy and Economic Development, 2013; Alfirević and
Simonović-Alfirević, 2015; Kamal, 2014). The ‘demolition
and reconstruction’ is the second tool for applying ‘Infill
Development’ measure especially in neighborhoods
with old and dilapidated buildings. Through this tool,
modern houses and buildings replace the outdated ones
(Attia, 2015; Xu et al, 2019). Being costly and harmful
for the existing community networks, the demolition
and reconstruction’ might not be a much-favored Infill
Development tool (Trabucco and Fava, 2013). While
applying the Infill Development tools, the architectural
and urban design characteristics of the exiting
community should be preserved (Aliyu, 2018).
In Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood, Infill Development
was remarkably applied in all its five Zones as shown
in Figure 3. The ‘development of vacant parcels’ was a
frequently applied tool in all Zones. In Zone A, several
multi-story (G+4) mixed-use buildings were developed
with their ground floors utilized for retail and commercial
activities, the first floors were allocated for office uses
and health facilities, and the last two floors were
residential apartments. In addition, some brownfield
8Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
sites have been redeveloped on the full plots as
residential and other activities buildings in all Zones. A
two floors-high apartment building and a police station
were constructed on brownfield sites in Zone A. While in
Zone B, apartment buildings, a limited number of single-
family houses, and a restaurant were constructed on
brownfield sites. In both Zones C and E, some apartment
buildings have been constructed on the brownfield sites
with a 100% plot cover ratio (Figure 3).
The second applied tool for the Infill Development
urban densification measure in Bida Bin Ammar
neighborhood was the ‘Demolition and Reconstruction’.
According to this process, several old single-family houses
and some limited numbers of old service buildings were
demolished and replaced, in many cases, with apartment
buildings and with 100% plot cover ratios. Besides these
similar initiated actions in all Zones, some exceptions
have been observed. For example, in Zone B, a single-
family house built on a large plot was demolished and
a ‘small’ gated community was built on the plot. Also, a
large parcel of a private farm with its ancillary buildings
in Zone C was demolished and a gated community
was constructed along with some single-family houses.
While in Zone D, an old facilities building was demolished,
and a new hospital was constructed on its site.
In conclusion, Infill Development has been an actively
applied urban densification measure in Bida Bin Ammar
neighborhood, resulting in added mixed use facilities
and more housing units (apartments) in the five defined
Zones of the case study neighborhood. In the following
section, the results of the assessment of the impacts of
the two applied urban densification measures and their
tools in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood on the attainment
of the social sustainability principles are presented.
5. RESULTS: ASSESSMENT OF THE
IMPACTS OF THE APPLIED URBAN
DENSIFICATION MEASURES AND
TOOLS ON SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
5.1 IMPACTS ON APPROPRIATE POPULATION
DENSITY
Indicator 1: Gross population density of 40–50 pph:
According to Al Ain region 2030 demographic forecasts,
the total population in 2010 for both Emirati and foreign
people in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood in Asharej
district was 2973 persons, where after applying the
urban densification as per the Plan Al Ain 2030 the
expected total population will be 4797 persons in 2030.
As the area of Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood is about
211.30 hectare, the gross population density of the
neighborhood in 2010 was equal to 14.07 pph, and in
2030 is expected to reach to only 22.70 pph. This makes
the gross density in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood
considerably low, even after the application of the urban
densification plan.
5.2 IMPACTS ON MIXED LAND-USE AND
HOUSING TYPES
Indicator 1: Provision of various facilities and amenities
satisfying the local needs: The transformed land use
analysis of the neighborhood in early 2020 contained a
mixture of various community facilities such as residential
and community facilities (mosques, retail, restaurants,
a school, nurseries, a hospital, medical clinics, health
clubs, and a police station). Most of the newly introduced
community facilities are concentrated in the mixed-use
buildings that were only developed in Zone A. It has
Figure 3 Transformation through Infill Development from 2010 to 2019 in all Zones (Google Earth).
9Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
been noticed that some single-family houses, especially
in Zone E, had their function changed into commercial
and service activities such as kindergartens, and offices.
As the provision of these various facilities and amenities
could satisfy most of the different local needs, therefore
this indicator is considered significantly achieved in the
neighborhood.
Indicator 2: Availability of various job opportunities: By
analyzing the early 2020 transformed land-use map of
Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood, it could be realized that
job opportunities were introduced through the newly
introduced various community facilities such as retail,
restaurants, school, nurseries, hospital, medical clinics,
health clubs, and the police station. Office facilities were
mainly introduced in Zone A on a limited scale, where
they occupied the first floors of the mixed-use buildings
in this Zone. Houses that have been transformed into
commercial and office activities also added some job
opportunities in the neighborhood. Therefore, availability
of job opportunities in Bida Bin Ammar could be
considered moderately achieved.
Indicator 3: Presence of mixed housing types and tenure:
the applied Intensification and Infill Development tools
helped provide mixed housing types in the neighborhood
including various sizes apartments in walk-up buildings,
town houses, single-family houses, residential
compounds, etc. But, on the other hand, the prevailing
housing tenure type is only tenancy, where most of the
introduced housing units are built for investment by
Emirati individuals or real estate companies.
5.3 IMPACTS ON ACCESSIBILITY
Indicator 1: Appropriate local catchment distance to local
services and transportation nodes (bus stops): Catchment
distances to local services (5 to 10 minutes walking within
a distance of 400–800 m) were measured through the
developed CAD drawings of the neighborhood. Figure 4
demonstrates an example for the CAD map analysis of
the catchment distances for four types of facilities in
Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood: retail shops (400–800 m),
clinics and health centers (800–1000 m), mosques (400–
800 m), and the play field (800–1000 m). Through the
analysis of the catchment of all the introduced and the
existing local services and facilities in the neighborhood,
it has been realized that most of these services are not
evenly distributed in the neighborhood, except mosques,
and thus their appropriate catchment distances are
not achieved for all houses, albeit in various degrees.
For example, the school and the nurseries are located
northwest of Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood, and
their appropriate catchment distances (400–600 m
for the school and 200–300 for the nursery) only cover
Figure 4 Average catchment distances to a) Local retail shops (400–800 m). b) Clinics and Health Centers (800–1000 m), c) Mosques
(400–800 m), and d) Play Field (800–1000 m).
10Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
around 25% of the development area. Only mosques
were found well-distributed, where they cover the
whole neighborhood within the designated catchment
distance of 400–800 m (Figure 4c). The only play field in
the neighborhood is located to the north (Figure 4d) and
with a designated catch distance of 800–1000 m that
managed to cover most of the neighborhood.
On the other hand, the public transportation nodes
(bus stops) for one bus service line were partially
distributed on only three of the outer main roads of the
neighborhood. This makes them mostly outside the
average walkable distance (300–400 m) from more than
half of the houses in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood.
5.4 IMPACTS ON THE DIVERSE MODES OF
MOBILITY
Indicator 1: Well-designed networks of pedestrian
walkways and cycling routes: From the field observations,
it was noticed that there is still a dominant reliance
on private car use in the neighborhood without the
proper provision of safe, shaded, pleasant, and well-
maintained pedestrian walkways and footpaths. There
are no dedicated lanes for cycling except very limitedly
in the southern part facing the main road under the
newly introduced mixed-use buildings in Zone A. While
introducing mixed use residential buildings in Zone A,
on the one hand, enhanced natural surveillance in the
adjacent streets, it, on the other hand, sometimes caused
interruption for pedestrian movement. For example,
Figure 5 shows a restaurant located in a mixed-use
building in Zone A blocking the pedestrian walkway by
its outside seating area. In addition, delivery motorcycles
in front of restaurants and cafeterias in the same Zone
made walking not safe (Figure 5a). Similar situations
were noticed in Zone B as well.
Allocated pedestrian walkways or sikkas are playing an
important role in developing a well-connected pedestrian
network to link houses with various local destinations in
all Zones of the neighborhood. Unfortunately, despite
the presence of these sikkas, they are not maintained as
most of them have dusty unfinished floorings and are
usually banked with high and dull fences. Some of these
sikkas are even used as car parking spots! (Figure 6).
Indicator 2: Presence of fast, efficient, and affordable
public transport (buses): As indicated by Al Ain City Bus
Service Network Map and the field visits there are only
three bus stops in the outer main roads, one to the south,
one to the east, and one to the north. Only one bus line
passes on these bus stops. They are apart from each other
by more than 800 m, so as mentioned above, they are not
Figure 5 Enhanced natural surveillance but the outside seating areas of the restaurants and café shops hinder walkability, and delivery
motorcycles decrease safety of pedestrians.
Figure 6 Two of the pedestrian walkways (sikkas) with their lack of maintenance making them unpleasant walkability network connectors
in all Zones of the neighborhoods.
11Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
easily accessible by many houses in the neighborhood.
Therefore, despite the affordable bus ticket price, air-
conditioned busses, and the reasonable bus speed, the
availability of efficient public transportation nodes within
a walkable distance (300–400 m) is not achieved in Bida
Bin Ammar neighborhood.
Indicator 3: Provision of a vehicular network with
traffic-calmed streets and less private car permeability:
From the analysis of the CAD drawings of Bida Bin Ammar
neighborhood, it was realized that the street network is
spatially organized to have internal roads and cul-de-
sacs that are less permeable for private cars (Figure 7a).
This internal local street network linking the housing plots
and services is generally equipped with street calming
measures such as street humps and speed limits signals
(40 km/hr) to create a safer pedestrian environment.
From the field observations, it was recorded that street
calming in Zone A includes the provision of pedestrian
crossing signs, flat car bumps, car bumps signs, and
fixed steel bollards (to prevent cars from parking above
the sidewalks). All these measures helped reduce the
speed of private cars and thus has given priority to
pedestrians to safely cross the streets. Similar measures
were considerably missing in the other four Zones in
Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood (Figure 7b). Overall, the
street network only relies on T or cross intersections
(roundabouts) without light signals.
5.5 IMPACTS ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE
CONSIDERATIONS
Indicator 1: Attractive places for living, working, shopping,
and entertainment: The newly introduced facilities and
job opportunities in Bida Bin Ammar neighbourhood,
especially in Zone A, managed to attract a lot of business
in both retail shops, branches of major banks, and
several other office and commercial activities. This had
enhanced the attractiveness of the neighborhood for
the people to live and work there. However, based on
the field observations and the analysis of the developed
land-use map of the neighborhood, there is lack of open
spaces, public realms, and entertainment facilities, which
could be the main attraction of a new destination in the
neighborhood that boosts a high-quality lifestyle.
Indicator 2: Pollutant-free environment: The lack of
the friendly means of mobility and commuting in the
neighborhood, including walking and cycling networks,
as well as the lack of an efficient public transportation
system, compromised the chance to widely abandon
using private cars and hence did not help reduce emitted
gas pollutants from the private cars.
Indicator 3: Presence of locally based energy supply
and waste management systems: Through the field
observations in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood, it is
realized that there is an absence of locally based energy
supply systems and waste management systems
including local recycling of organic and solid waste and
refuse.
Indicator 4: Enhancement of local habitat diversity,
preservation of green land, and local food production:
There is a lack of green spaces and public realms in the
neighborhood. Therefore, the enhancement of local
habitat diversity is limited. However, some private farms
have been preserved especially in Zone C (Figure 3). On
the houses level, no local food production is considered
Figure 7 The street network of Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood and an example of the street flat humps and signs in Zone A.
12Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
either within the houses plots or in the shared urban
space, with some few expectations in the inner Zones.
5.6 IMPACTS ON THE DESIGN FOR THE SENSE
OF BELONGING
Indicator 1: Personalization of neighborhood design based
on site context: The only distinctive characteristic of the
site context is the presence of farms in the middle of
the neighborhood at Zone C. Unfortunately, this local
character has not been reflected in the transformed
urban form of the neighborhood.
Indicator 2: Responsiveness to local culture in terms of
materials, built form, architectural style, landscape, and
urban morphology: By analyzing the study area of the
neighborhood, it is realized that there is a shortage of
distinctive public open spaces that could accommodate
local public arts. Also, there is a lack of landmarks, which
could help residents and visitors find their way easily
around and let them experience the place conveniently
on foot. These issues resulted in absence of local
distinctive urban spaces. But, on the other hand, a
mostly unified ‘local’ architectural style, as expressed
in the architectural motives and colors, appeared in
the newly constructed mixed-use buildings in Zone A
(Figure 8). This has created some distinctiveness and
therefore expected to enhance the sense of belonging
among the residents.
Furthermore, all the mixed-use buildings in Zone A are
designed to form a continuous arcade in the ground floor
with the aim to work as a continuous shaded pedestrian
walkway. Unfortunately, many cafes, and restaurants
are using these arcades spaces as external seating areas
where chairs and tables are practically blocking the
pedestrian mobility (Figure 9).
5.7 IMPACTS ON SAFETY AND SECURITY
MEASURES
Indicator 1: Provision of measures for reducing the fear
of crime within the neighborhood during daytime and
after dark: While there is a sense of security in the whole
city of Al Ain and in the neighborhood, as supported
by statistics (Numbeo, 2021), still, it was observed in
almost the whole neighborhood, that there are no proper
streetlights except in the external main roads (Figure 10).
This could certainly increase the fear of crime.
Indicator 2: Provision of measures enabling effective
‘natural’ surveillance of streets and walkways: As
mentioned earlier, the newly developed mixed-use
buildings in Zone A and some other introduced activities
in the other four Zones created active street frontages,
which in return significantly enhanced the natural
surveillance in the public realm. Also, in many introduced
houses and buildings, windows are facing the streets not
the sikkas. The less active Zones (B, C, D) lack effective
natural surveillance for the streets and walkways.
Moreover, except in Zone A, there is a lack of active street
frontages where fences of the residential plots and the
farms in Zone B are considerably high and dull (Figure 11).
Indicator 3: Provision of measures reducing the chance
of vehicle/pedestrian accidents: As previously discussed,
traffic calming is partially considered in the transformed
neighborhood and many internal streets are not having
street lighting posts. Besides these measures, it was
noticed in Zone A that it is not fully safe to walk in the
Figure 8 Examples of local architectural style of mixed-use buildings in Zone A.
13Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
Figure 9 Arcades in the mixed-use buildings in Zone A in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood.
Figure 10 The poor provision of street lighting at night in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood.
Figure 11 The lack of natural urban surveillance of the streets and sikkas in some internal locations in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood.
14Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
area adjacent to the newly built mixed-use buildings
because the street is significantly crowded. Many drivers
temporarily park their cars to buy take-away food
and beverage from the cafes and restaurants. It was
observed also that the car drivers usually do not get out
of their cars. Rather, they order food and beverage while
they are stayed in the cars and waiting for the order to
be delivered to them. They sometimes park their cars
in a second row of the existing parallel parking which
eventually block the traffic in the street and lead to the
lack of safety in it (Figure 12).
5.8 IMPACTS ON COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
Indicator 1: Residents’ participation in the design and
management of their neighborhoods: Based on the
casual communications with Al Ain city municipality
representatives, they confirmed that community
participation in the urban densification development
of the whole Asharej district including Bida Bin Ammar
neighborhood was absent and the whole urban
densification process was designed and led by the
assigned professionals. This also applies to public
participation in the design and management of the
transformation process in the neighborhood. The only
exception was allowing the owners of single-family
housing to expand their houses horizontally by increasing
the bulk rights after getting a permission from Al Ain
Municipality.
6. DISCUSSION
The two main applied measures of the urban
densification process as per the Plan Al Ain 2030 in
Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood, the ‘Intensification’
and the ‘Infill Development’, with their application
tools, have significantly impacted social sustainability
in the neighborhood. The contribution of each of the
two urban densification measures in attaining the
principles of the socially sustainable community could be
perceived as follows. First, the Intensification, as a main
applied urban densification measure, has significantly
contributed to increasing the built-up area in Bida Bin
Ammar neighborhood especially for houses. The main
utilized Intensification tools were the consolidation
and horizontal extension via the increase of bulk rights
and the attached/detached second dwelling. The
consolidation of housing plots yielded the construction
of new two-floors high apartment buildings instead
of single-family houses. This resulted in the noticeable
increase in the population density. The Intensification
through increasing the population density has enhanced
social interaction in the community which supports
social sustainability as claimed by Yoo and Lee (2016).
But on the other hand, the Intensification process has
only focused on residential uses by developing more
housing units rather than contributing to developing
other mixed-use facilities. This also did not help enhance
the accessibility principle.
In addition, the Intensification through consolidation
by the construction of apartment buildings on the whole
plot area, has increased the affordability of modern
housing units (as rented dwellings) resulting in the
enhancement of the Quality of Life, which is making the
neighborhood a more attractive living place contributing
to its quality of life as claimed by Popovic and Kraslawski
(2018). This has also contributed to the provision of a
mixture of housing types in the neighborhood, which
as argued Perrin and Grant (2014) and Everything
Connects (2014) would promote urban sustainability and
resilience. The introduced variety of mixed housing in all
defined urban Zones in the neighborhood has helped
attract socially mixed stratum of residents and hence
created healthy social interaction and integration in the
community. Furthermore, the Intensification process
has, in most cases, positively impacted the local identity
and the sense of belonging in the neighborhood. Some
features of local architectural style (colors, fenestration
patterns, etc.) and introduced urban form suitable for the
climate conditions (Arcades) have conserved the local
Figure 12 The overcrowded street in Zone A in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood.
15Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
character of the community and considerable enhanced
the sense of belonging as a main social sustainability
principle. On the negative side, in some cases the
Intensification process through the consolidation and
horizontal extension via the increase of bulk rights and
the attached/detached second dwelling, have adversly
affected the sense of safety and security. This is chiefly
because it advesly affected natural surveillance on
streets and walkways, due to the high fences of the plots
and the sealed balconies added to the houses’ inner
spaces.
Finally, the application of the Intensification tools in
the case study area reflected very limited community
participation through only allowing the owners to
apply consolidation, horizontal expansion and/or
adding attached/detached second dwelling, in their
housing plots after getting the official permits from the
municipality. Furthermore, the only form of tenure in the
transformed neighborhood is tenancy, which gives no
opportunity of the ownership of properties by the non-
Emirati residents. Moreover, public housing development
was not considered in any Zone of the neighborhood
which made social mix even harder to achieve.
Second, the Infill Development was the dominantly
applied measure of urban densification in vacant parcels
in Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood since 2010. The Infill
Development has significantly contributed to increasing
density in the neighborhood due to its application in
all five studied urban Zones. The Infill Development
was intensively applied through ‘demolition and
reconstruction’ in all Zones reflecting apparent tendency
to convert single-family houses occupying a limited area
of the plot, to a 100% built-up area of new apartment
buildings. This goes in line with Al Ain Plan 2030 that
recommended the Infill Development as a primary
measure for urban densification, albeit not achieving the
benchmark target of the appropriate population density,
as discussed earlier. Moreover, Infill through developing
vacant parcels and the ‘demolition and reconstruction’
processes has allowed the provision of various services
for residents and hence contributed to enhancing the
attainment of the accessibility principle. This, as pointed
out by many scholars including Chan and Lee (2008) and
Pitarch-Garrido (2018), would certainly cater for social
sustainability on the local community level.
The increased density and the introduced mixed-
use services and job opportunities through the Infill
Development tools have enhanced residents’ interaction,
hence, as Garrigos-Simon et al (2018) highlighted,
this would contribute to a more socially sustainable
community. Likewise, these introduced amentias
have made the study area a more attractive place for
people to reside in. Moreover, the Infill Development
have enhanced the sense of belonging in the study
area, because the development of vacant parcels
has considered the reflection of local Emirati culture
through using traditional colors and architectural styles.
This, as Barton (2000) argued, has a significant impact
on social sustainability through respecting the unique
characteristics of the neighborhood.
On the other hand, the application of the ‘demolition
and reconstruction’ tool, that resulted in the
development of several mixed-use buildings, was only
applied in Zone A. This had obviously a negative impact
on the neighborhood because concentrating most of the
introduced services and job opportunities in one Zone
have caused crowdedness in the streets and urban spaces
with several associated problems adversely impacting
social sustainability such as the lack of the sense of safety
and the fear of accidents. The concentrated mixed-use
buildings in one Zone have maintained to a large extent
the reliance on the car instead of encouraging the people
to walk in the other four Zones of the neighborhood.
Accordingly, the avoidance of the concentration of
mixed-use services and activities should be added to the
discourse about urban densification and the claim that
mixed-use development makes neighborhoods safer
(Pendola, 2017). Besides that, the remarkable dominant
reliance on private car use in the neighborhood after
applying the urban densification process over10 years
might be also attributed to the lack of appropriate
pedestrian walkways and cycling routes in all Zones
except Zone A. The existing sikkas are not practically
used because they are not maintained as safe, shaded,
and pleasant pedestrians’ footpaths.
7. CONCLUSIONS
As part of the Plan 2030 of Al Ain city, urban densification
implementation through the utilization of the tools of
Intensification and Infill Development, has been pioneered
in Bida Bin Ammar urban sprawled neighborhood since
2010, while similar urban densification processes have
recently started in many other neighborhoods in the
city. Determining to what extent have the implemented
urban densification measures and tools succeeded
in enhancing the realization of social sustainability
principles in this neighborhood was the main aim of the
research.
For the transformed Bida Bin Ammar neighborhood, it
was expected that the resulting denser urban form would
enhance the attainment of social sustainability principles.
But the research investigations revealed that the urban
densification process has achieved variant degrees of
success in enhancing social sustainability. While many
indicators of social sustainability principles have been
enhanced, they have not been fully achieved, such as
appropriate population density. Other principles have
had paradoxical effects such as mixed-use developed
16Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
that was mainly concentrated in one Zone, and so on.
These research findings have led to a developed set of
guidelines which local authorities might consider when
applying the urban densification measures and tools
in urban sprawled neighborhoods in Al Ain city and
maybe other Emirati cities, which share almost the same
characteristics of urban sprawl.
This set of guidelines include first, raising further
the gross population density in the transformed
neighborhoods by introducing more walk-up residential
buildings while considering a balanced distribution of the
introduced activities in all the neighborhoods’ defined
urban Zones. Second, café shops and restaurants are
noticeably attracting many young Emirati consumers
who mostly prefer ‘drive-through’ way of collecting pre-
ordered food, and having beverages delivered to their
temporarily parked cars. So, these activities should be
distributed evenly in the redeveloped neighborhood
land-use plan to avoid creating a district-level, or maybe
even a city-level activity hub that far exceeds the carrying
capacity of the targeted neighborhood especially
when locating them by the main streets. Avoiding the
concentration of such popular activities in just one or
two locations in the neighborhood would encourage
walkability and reduce the reliance on the private car in
the neighborhood. Also, drive-through lanes should be
carefully designed.
Third, sikkas and public realm in general should be
well-maintained to encourage environment-friendly
modes of mobility (walkability and cycling) and to limit
the reliance on car use in the neighborhood. Fourth,
Intensification applications through the consolidation
and the horizontal extension via the increase of bulk
rights and the attached/detached second dwelling
should be controlled to avoid adverse impact on the
sense of safety and security due to the associated
decrease in natural surveillance on streets and walkways
associated with high fences of the housing plots and the
sealed balconies. Such control should preserve a proper
height of the plots’ fences and windows as well as
achieving a consistent architectural style for the added
masses. It is also recommended to have active street
frontages in all Zones to enhance the safety and security
in the redeveloped neighborhood.
Fifth, to diversify types of housing tenure in the
neighborhoods under urban densification, public housing
units should be provided side by side with the market
housing dwellings that are now by law exclusively
owned or could be owned by Emirati citizens and real
estate companies. Sixth, community participation should
be incorporated with the defined urban densification
redevelopment strategies and application processes.
Residents of the neighborhood should be given the
chance to genuinely participate in the whole urban
densification process of their neighbourhoods from design
to implementation and urban management. This would
help meet their needs and achieve a redevelopment that
is more socially sustainable.
Finally, the research-initiated framework and its
findings could be perceived as a contribution that
might help bridge the gap in the body of literature
about urban densification as a vehicle for sustainable
urban development in this part of the world, i.e., the
Arabian Gulf region, which is distinguished with their
urban sprawling neighbourhoods and cities. Most of
the literature are dedicated to either highlighting the
theoretical background of urban densification (see
for example: The Swedish National Board of Housing,
Building and Planning, 2017; Kruger, 2017) or analyzing
case studies in other parts of the world (see for
example: Permana et al, 2015; Attia, 2015; Mfusi, 2016;
Weinschenk, 2017). In particular, by highlighting the
dichotomy of urban densification as a social sustainability
enhancement strategy, the research findings are
envisaged to contribute to the on-going debate about
urban densification as a strategy for enhancing social
sustainability in urban sprawled neighborhoods, not
only in UAE, but also in other countries in the region, as
recommended by Yoo and Lee (2016) who raised the
global need to discuss the planning policies in light of
the lack of awareness about spatial elements that can
affect social sustainability.
For further research, it is important to explore the
attitudes and opinions of the different stakeholders,
especially residents, about the social impact of the
implications of urban densification measures and tools.
Interviewing the decision-makers and planners in local
municipalities and administering questionnaires directed
to the residents of the redeveloped/under redevelopment
neighborhoods seem the appropriate methods in this
further research. This would rectify the limitation of this
study especially in assessing some social sustainability
principles such as the sense of belonging. Another field
of further research is to explore the effect of the behavior
of the residents and retail facilities’ owners on social
sustainability in the neighborhood and to recommend
strategies to encourage positive attitudes and control
the negative ones.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank the UAEU’s Research
Office for funding this project through the Grant
no. G00003450.
COMPETING INTERESTS
The authors have no competing interests to declare.
17Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS
Lubna Shekfa
United Arab Emirates University, AE
Khaled Galal Ahmed orcid.org/0000-0003-3762-6966
United Arab Emirates University, AE
REFERENCES
ADEC Innovations. 2020. What is social sustainability?
Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://www.esg.
adec-innovations.com/about-us/faqs/what-is-social-
sustainability/.
ADUPC (Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council). 2009. Plan Al Ain
2030: Urban structure framework plan. Abu Dhabi: Abu
Dhabi Urban Planning Council.
Alfirević, Đ and Simonović-Alfirević, S. 2015. Infill architecture:
design approaches for in-between buildings and’bond’as
integrative element. Arhitektura i urbanizam, 41: 24–39.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5937/a-u0-8293
Aliyu, M. 2018. Strategies for the development of integrated
infill buildings in historic contexts. Journal of Advanced
Research in Construction & Urban Architecture, 3(4): 26–33.
Artés, J, Wadel, G and Martí, N. 2017. Vertical extension and
improving of existing buildings. The Open Construction
and Building Technology Journal, 11(1). DOI: https://doi.
org/10.2174/1874836801711010083
Atanda, J and Öztürk, A. 2018. Social sustainable assessment
tool development approach. Preprints. DOI: https://doi.
org/10.20944/preprints201801.0121.v1
Attia, S. 2015. “Overview and recommendation on urban
densification potential in Liège, Belgium. High-quality retrofit
and redensification with timber construction systems”.
International Conference on High-Quality Retrofit and
Redensification with Timber Construction Systems, 62–69.
Bahadure, S and Kotharkar, R. 2012. Social sustainability
and mixed land use, case study of neighborhoods in
Nagpur, India. Bonfring International Journal of Industrial
Engineering and Management Science, 2(4): 76–83. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.9756/BIJIEMS.1744
Barton, H. 2000. Sustainable communities: the potential for
eco-neighborhoods. London: Earthscan.
Bartoszczuk, W and Delnicki, M. 2018. Spatial policy of
selected communes in vicinity of Warsaw in scope of land
consolidation areas and secondary land property divisions.
Geomatics and Environmental Engineering, 12. DOI: https://
doi.org/10.7494/geom.2018.12.4.5
Bhatta, B, Saraswati, S and Bandyopadhyay, D. 2010. Urban
sprawl measurement from remote sensing data. Applied
Geography, 30(4): 731–740. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
apgeog.2010.02.002
Bramley, G and Power, S. 2009. Urban form and social
sustainability: the role of density and housing type.
Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 36(1):
30–48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1068/b33129
Brian, M. 2020. What is an accessory dwelling unit (granny
flat) – ADU costs & benefits. Retrieved September 12,
2020, from https://www.moneycrashers.com/accessory-
dwelling-unit-granny-flat-costs/.
Brueckner, J and Largey, A. 2008. Social interaction and urban
sprawl. Journal of Urban Economics, 64(1): 18–34. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2007.08.002
Chan, E and Lee, G. 2008. Critical factors for improving social
sustainability of urban renewal projects. Social Indicators
Research, 85(2): 243–256. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/
s11205-007-9089-3
Chin, N. 2002. Unearthing the roots of urban sprawl: a critical
analysis of form, function and methodology. London, UK:
Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (UCL).
Clarke, G and Callaghan, V. 2007. Ubiquitous computing,
informatization, urban structures and density. Built
Environment, 33(2): 196–212. DOI: https://doi.
org/10.2148/benv.33.2.196
Dave, S. 2011. Neighborhood density and social sustainability
in cities of developing countries. Sustainable Development,
19(3): 189–205. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.433
Eizenberg, E and Jabareen, Y. 2017. Social sustainability: a
new conceptual framework. Sustainability, 9(1). DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3390/su9010068
European Federation for Transport and Environment. 2003.
Transport and sustainability: The social pillar. Retrieved
November 2020, from Transport Environment: https://
www.transportenvironment.org/sites/te/files/media/
SocialIssues-8-03.pdf.
Everything Connects. 2014. Urban Sprawl, Retrieved June 23,
2018, from https://www.everythingconnects.org/urban-
sprawl.html.
Galal Ahmed, K and Malcolm, P. 2001. Towards a Relevant
Framework for Participatory Decision-Making Processes
in Low-Income Neighborhoods in Cairo, Egypt: An
approach for socio-culturally responsive public housing
product. In the proceedings of the 1st International
Postgraduate Research Conference on The Built and
Human Environment, the University of Salford, 15–16
March 2001, 426–437.
Garrigos-Simon, F, Botella-Carrubi, M and Gonzalez-Cruz, T.
2018. Social capital, human capital, and sustainability:
a bibliometric and visualization analysis. Sustainability,
10(12). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124751
Google Earth. 2022. Google Earth Map. California: Google LLC.
Grosvenor, M and O’Neill, P. 2014. The density debate in
urban research: an alternative approach to representing
urban structure and form. Geographical Research,
52(4): 442–458. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-
5871.12084
Gudes, O, Glackin, S and Pettit, C. 2018. Designing precincts in
the densifying city–The role of planning support systems.
International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote
Sensing & Spatial Information Sciences. DOI: https://doi.
org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-4-W11-3-2018
18Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
Han, J, Liang, H, Hara, K, Uwasu, M and Dong, L. 2016.
Quality of life in China’s largest city, Shanghai: A 20-year
subjective and objective composite assessment. Journal
of Cleaner Production, 173: 135–142. DOI: https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.10.097
HaskoningDHV, R. 2013. eThekwini City Density Strategy.
Durban: Royal HaskoningDHV.
Jeekel, H. 2017. Social sustainability and smart mobility:
exploring the relationship. Transportation Research
Procedia, 25: 4296–4310. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
trpro.2017.05.254
Kamal, A. 2014. “Suitability for infill development: a multi-
criteria and spatial determination approach”. In ARCC
Conference Repository. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17831/
rep:arcc%25y286
Karuppannan, S and Sivam, A. 2011. Social sustainability
and neighborhood design: an investigation of
residents’ satisfaction in Delhi. Local Environment, 16(9):
849–870. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2011.6
07159
Klarin, T. 2018. The concept of sustainable development:
From its beginning to the contemporary issues. Zagreb
International Review of Economics and Business, 21(1):
67–94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/zireb-2018-0005
Kolarik, M. 2020. Horizontal versus vertical home extension:
Sydney home renovation. Retrieved November 09, 2020,
from https://www.mkhomedesign.com.au/horizontal-vs-
vertical-home-extension/.
Kruger, R. 2017. The extent of urban densification in
Stellenbosch (Doctoral dissertation). Stellenbosch:
Stellenbosch University.
Manitoba Indigenous and Municipal Relation. 2016. Planning
resource guide – Subdivision in Manitoba. Retrieved April
19, 2020, from https://www.gov.mb.ca/mr/land_use_dev/
pubs/guide_subpr.pdf.
Menconi, E, Artemi, S, Borghi, P and Grohmann, D. 2018. Role
of local action groups in improving the sense of belonging
of local communities with their territories. Sustainability,
10(12). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124681
Mfusi, N. 2016. Discovering and exploring existing perceptions
of densification: the case of Orange Grove and
Soweto. Johannesburg, South Africa: University of the
Witwatersrand.
Neptis Foundation. 2013. Intensification: what it is and
what it promises. Retrieved November 08, 2020, from
https://www.neptis.org/publications/implementing-
residential-intensification-targets/chapters/
intensification-what-it-and.
NYC. 2020. Glossary of Zoning Terms. Retrieved September 09,
2020, from https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/zoning/
glossary.page.
Pendola, R. 2017. Pros & cons of urban sprawl. Retrieved May
15, 2018, from https://homeguides.sfgate.com/pros-cons-
urban-sprawl-1717.html.
Permana, A, Er, E, Aziz, N and Ho, C. 2015. Three sustainability
advantages of urban densification in a concentric
urban form: evidence from bandung city, Indonesia.
International Journal of Built Environment and
Sustainability, 2(3). DOI: https://doi.org/10.11113/ijbes.
v2.n3.77
Perrin, L and Grant, J. 2014. Perspectives on mixing housing
types in the suburbs. Town Planning Review, 85(3): 363–
386. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.2014.22
Pitarch-Garrido, M. 2018. Social sustainability in metropolitan
areas: accessibility and equity in the case of the
metropolitan area of Valencia (Spain). Sustainability, 10(2).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020371
Population Stat. 2021. Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates Population.
Retrieved May 20, 2021, from https://populationstat.com/
united-arab-emirates/al-ain.
Popovic, T and Kraslawski, A. 2018. Quantitative indicators
of social sustainability and determination of their
interdependencies. Example analysis for a wastewater
treatment plant. Periodica Polytechnica Chemical
Engineering, 62(2): 224–235. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3311/
PPch.10526
Quality Planning. 2017. Introduction to Subdivision. Retrieved
September 20, 2020, from https://www.qualityplanning.
org.nz/index.php/node/771.
Rinkesh. 2016. Causes and effects of urban sprawl. Retrieved
October 10, 2018, from https://www.conserve-energy-
future.com/causes-and-effects-of-urban-sprawl.php.
Shirazi, M and Falahat, S. 2012. Compact urban form,
question or solution? Examining the compact city in the
Middle Eastern context: challenges and opportunities.
International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development,
4(2): 246–259. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19463138.20
12.694817
The Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development.
2013. Infill development. Retrieved September 18,
2020, from http://www.nepahousing.org/wp-content/
uploads/2017/07/infill.pdf.
The Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and
Planning. 2017. Urban Density Done Right: Ideas on
densification of cities and other communities. Retrieved
September 20, 2020, from https://www.boverket.se/en/
start/publications/publications/2017/urban-density-done-
right/.
Trabucco, D and Fava, P. 2013. Confronting the question of
demolition or renovation. Council on Tall Buildings and
Urban Habitat, 4: 38–43.
URBACT. 2019. Densification beyond the city centre: urban
transformation against sprawl. Retrieved September 1,
2019, from https://urbact.eu/densification-beyond-city-
centre-urban-transformation-against-sprawl.
Washington County. 2020. Accessory dwelling units. Retrieved
September 12, 2020, from https://www.co.washington.
or.us/LUT/Divisions/LongRangePlanning/PlanningPrograms/
CommunityPlanning/Housing/accessory-dwelling-units-
adu-s.cfm.
Weinschenk, C. 2017. Urban densification a key to the
future. Retrieved May 12, 2018, from https://www.
19Shekfa and Galal Ahmed Future Cities and Environment DOI: 10.5334/fce.155
TO CITE THIS ARTICLE:
Shekfa, L and Galal Ahmed, K. 2022. The Other Side of the Urban Densification ‘Coin’: Impacts on Social Sustainability in Redeveloped
Urban Sprawled Communities in United Arab Emirates. Future Cities and Environment, 8(1): 11, 1–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/
fce.155
Submitted: 27 March 2022 Accepted: 12 September 2022 Published: 10 October 2022
COPYRIGHT:
© 2022 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Future Cities and Environment is a peer-reviewed open access journal published by Ubiquity Press.
environmentalleader.com/2017/02/urban-densification-
key-future//.
Xu, K, Shen, G, Liu, G and Martek, I. 2019. Demolition of
existing buildings in urban renewal projects: a decision
support system in the China context. Sustainability, 11(2).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11020491
Yoo, C and Lee, S. 2016. Neighborhood built environments
affecting social capital and social sustainability in Seoul,
Korea. Sustainability, 8(12). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/
su8121346
Zainol, H, Isa, H, Sakip, S and Azmi, A. 2018. Social
sustainable accessibility for people with disabilities
at public transport stations through sustainable
development goals in Malaysia. Environment-Behaviour
Proceedings Journal, 3(9): 89–94. DOI: https://doi.
org/10.21834/e-bpj.v3i9.1499
