Exploration of Sustainable Urban Qualities of Al Sadd Area in Doha

Abstract

This research focuses on the contributions made to social sustainability, firstly by the functionality of urban spaces in Qatar, as defined by their physical form, and secondly by the socio-cultural attributes of those areas. The urban area addressed in this research is Al Sadd area, located in Doha, Qatar. Data is collected from both primary and secondary sources; the research methodologies were questionnaires, which targeted fifty users of the Al Sadd area, and initial ‘walk through observations’ of several areas of the Al Sadd neighborhood. The objective of this research is to explore urban qualities within the region, the meanings, who construct them, what are the parameters which are guiding those areas and what makes them sustainable. This exploration would allow understanding the context in which those urban areas are constructed and what makes them sustainable in the long term. The main findings related to the social sustainability of Al Sadd were: (1) population characteristics of the area and their needs are not properly addressed in the neighborhood design, where most of them are immigrant workers, (2) the architecture of the area lacks a distinguishing character, that sets it apart from other neighborhoods, and lastly (3) the urban design and lack of well defined open spaces, does not help in fostering social interaction between different groups.