Places of Memories

Introduction by Agatino Rizzo

During the last 50 years Doha has experienced dramatic transformations which have led to the creation of new typology of places (the mall, the promenade, the golf course, the croisette, etc.) and the destruction of others (the Majlis, the old souk with annex harbor, etc.).

These transformations have impacted deeply into the life of Qatari and long term Qatar residents. Also, 1964 and 1984 public housing policies have contributed to the displacement of people from the old, dense (some said “overcrowded”) city centre to today Doha’s sprawled suburbs (Al Rayaan, Umn Salil, etc.). It means that once knit extended families living side by side in Doha is today spread over a wide area which we may call Doha Metropolitan Area.

Gateway City

Introduction by Agatino Rizzo

Qatar is characterized by an extreme tendency to urban primacy, that is the concentration of the majority of country's population in one city (the capital city). This tendency has led to, amongst others, a shortage of affordable housing, land value inflation, and localised environmental impacts.

A polycentric approach to urban planning in Qatar could be sought by considering the implementation of a new-town/urban-densification program along the future railway fro Doha-Education City to Bahrain, thus directing growth to interior of the country. Along this railway axis vast government owned land could serve the critical provision of affordable housing which would be directly connected to rail-based commuting transport, thus reducing both Qatar’s CO emissions and traffic congestion in the capital region. New “Food”, “Logistics”, “Energy”, ”Tourist”, and “R&D” cities could be created along this high speed/high capacity transit axis.