CONTINUITY AND SPATIAL CHANGE IN ARAB-ISLAMIC CITIES

At a time when increasing demands for urban spatial development are promulgated by economic, political, and social factors, it is important to investigate the implications of rapid environmental change on human well-being, and to devise urban design policies by which change can be accomodated in an orderly and life enhancing manner. This study advocates spatial continuity as a basic principle in urban design. A changing urban environment which yet maintains the spirit of the traditional spatial structure provides people with a sense of stability, and increases their adaptivity for changes necessary at economic, political, and social levels. The currently changing Arab-Islamic city is the focus of the present research. The argument is that the Arab World has been subjected to sudden spatial changes which have had tremendous negative impact on the continuity of its distinctive socio-religious, cultural, and ecological conditions. The urge to achieve great change in an extremely short time has led to hasty decisions and the adoption of urban design concepts which are often unsuitable for local conditions. Another consequence has been rejection of the traditional urban forms and the values embodied therein. In order to establish a clear understanding of the causes and consequences of the break in the continuum of the traditional spatial order, the study addressed the following issues: (a) the development and organization of the traditional Arab-Islamic city examined within its socio-religious and ecological context; (b) The impact of the current economic, political, and ideological forces on the evolution of Arab cities; and (c) analysis of the spatial change of selected Arab Cities in order to explain how necessary physical change has been accomodated and why continuity with the past has been ignored. The study concludes with an assessment of the prospect of urban design and environmental change in Arab Cities.