The Quality of Urban Life (QOUL) of New-Salata Neighborhood in Qatar

Abstract

During the second half of the 20th century Qatar has beheld its first urbanization period, which was caused by the increase of oil’s production. At present, national development strategies have led to an extensive urban transformation process. The rapid urban growth of Qatar presents a challenge to policy makers and planners for involving environmental-behavior researchers in the process. Namely, studies focusing on the ‘Quality of Urban Life’ (QOUL) provide such opportunities by analyzing the settings and people’s satisfaction of existing neighborhoods. The aim of this research study is to assess the QOUL of neighbourhoods in Qatar through an analysis of the built environment and residents’ satisfaction. Namely, QOUL of New-Salata’s neighborhood in Doha was explored through residents’ perception of the (A) physical environment, (B) the social and (C) perceptual factor. The relevant data was collected through site visits, field observation, walk through assessments and in-depth interviews with residents. The findings reveal that (1) residents spend most of their spare-time in the public park and/or sport fields offered by local clubs; (2) the neighborhood doesn’t provide sufficient recreational spaces or pedestrian pathways; (3) residents are highly satisfied with the neighborhood’s sense of security, privacy and belonging; (4) residents are not satisfied about the areas provided for physical exercises and/or leisure activities. Therefore, the suggested recommendations for implementing the settings of the neighborhood are based on the (A) provision of areas and facilities encouraging physical activities and (B) implementation of green spaces and/or public realm. In turn, the findings provide a tool to policy makers, urban planners and designers for the enhancement of the QOUL of neighborhoods in Qatar.