Urban Design and Livability: The Regeneration of the Corniche in Doha

Abstract

The 1940s discovery of oil in Qatar caused a change from fishing and pearling based to a multifaceted economy. Through past few decades Qatar has experienced a rapid growth, which has radically influenced the country’s physical, economic, cultural and demographical status. In addition, Qatar has planned to invest large funds over the next five years on the development of the built environment of Doha’s metropolitan area. The aim of this paper is exploring how and the extent to which the public realm and spine of Doha represented by the Corniche (1) encourages the formation of enhanced levels of social and community interactions (i.e., social life) and (2) can be implemented in order to further enhance social interactions and/or livability. The study investigates the extent to which the public realm of the Corniche can be revitalized in order to enhance users’ levels of social interactions. In order to reply to the main question, the system of social activities performed by the users within the selected area is explored and analyzed through data obtained from (A) users’ interviews, survey and (B) visual material. The analysis indicates that (1) the Corniche encourages people to be socially engaged and enhance higher level of social life. (2) Furthermore, the study allows understanding of how this public open space setting should be implemented in order to encourage social activities.