Urban Form and Sense of Community: Exploring Catalysts for Community Sustainability within Al-Wakrah Neighborhood in Qatar

Abstract

Urban planners seek to create a sense of community by effectively interfacing urban form and community development. In Qatar, community change has become a matter of public concern amid intense development activities. The recent exposure to modernization-related urban growth in Qatar, in preparation for temporary mega events and in pursuit of the national vision, has increased Qatari society’s acquaintance with hypermodern lifestyles and diverse community interactions within urban amenities and forms. A declining sense of community amongst tension between recovery and adaptation on several spatial and progressive scales of modern growth is commonly associated with social problems that delay development and diminish a community’s well-being. Integration of community with the urban context strengthens the community while improving urban outcomes in newly developing areas. In New urbanism, this occurs by translating social and physical concepts of community and resilience into operational measures and outcomes allowing consideration of the demographic and social factors that connect with the broader context of developments and settlements, relating findings to urban development, community resilience, and the body of sustainability-related literature to aid future research. Concepts of community sustainability are examined qualitatively in the context of urban forms within the Al-Wakrah neighborhood. Site visits, photography, observation of selected nodes, and interviews with community members investigate urban characteristics as catalysts for sustainable community development. These findings can inform physical and social community planning decisions without jeopardizing the vital arteries of the past or the formation of a structure for city and community.