As the most iconic structure of Islam, the cuboid Ka’bah in Mecca is one of striking simplicity. Covered in black material it’s a bold yet uncomplicated structure, with bare walls and a simple interior consisting of lamps and three supporting arches. Over time, however, this simplicity has been undermined by the proliferation of luxury hotels, […]
Middle East cities started “compact” and dense but now suffer from the same problems as the west. Tehran’s recent Smog Holidays show’s us something is wrong in Middle East cities. “Is compact urban growth good for air quality?” The research conducted by Brian Stone, Adam C. Mednick, Tracey Holloway, and Scott N. Spak in 2007 […]
Eva Ramos relies on 15 years of sustainability experience to lead Abu Dhabi down a greener path. With so much media criticism leveled at businesses and governments for their failure to incorporate more sustainable practices, it’s helpful to ensure that a path to achieving sustainability is clear. And so far, it isn’t. Ever tried changing […]
Commuter traffic and wasteful buildings are Tel Aviv’s biggest polluting culprits, according to City Architect of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Yoav David. As one of the events surrounding the EUREKA Israel Chairmanship this week, Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv, Asaf Zamir, and Tel Aviv City Architect Yoav David spoke to visiting European representatives about the city’s efforts […]
Pizza Hut or Pizza “Hot” – Iranians are getting fatter. Maybe because they are ignoring public transport. The statistics show that obesity is growing among Iranian families. According to Dr. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, Minister of Health, only 20 percent of the Iranians do regular sport activities and about 60% of them are overweight. She also has […]
Though urban density is better for the environment, we don’t have to give up all the benefits of country living (such as locally-grown food) Though we laud the farmers who rough it on the land, grow food that we can buy, and live an interconnected life, city life is more sustainable. But not just any […]
Tehran has bikes routes in place, but people aren’t using them because they’re needed in dense urban cores. We all know about the importance of cycling for health and for creating sustainable cities and communities (like Vauban the German car-less city) that encourage carbon-free transport. Traditionally Iranian cities have had a rich culture of bicycling […]
Lack of urban planning around its natural landscape keeps air pollution locked into the city of Tehran, Iran – one of the most polluted cities in the world. Tehran is one of the most polluted cities of the world –– with higher levels of sulfur dioxide than India and Bangladesh. Air pollution in the Iranian city […]
Oscar Edmundo Diaz and Robert Upton Are Expected to Share Urban Planning Pearls With Israel [image via Technion-Israel Institute of Technology] Before globalization, ideas and technology ambled across the oceans and progress piddled along. Now cooperation happens in seconds. Microseconds even. And though not all ideas are equally useful, there’s no question that when great […]
The Urjuan City Development is a Symbol of Qatar’s Rapid Economic Growth In February we wrote about the memorandum signed by Qatar and Iran, which solidifies their mutual commitment to preserve the environment. We also wrote about an exciting conservation effort to protect Qatar’s animal and plant populations. With the third highest natural gas reserve […]
When you live in a city and pass the same developed areas day after day, you can forget that the concrete jungle is unnatural. Sure, it may feel natural to you after a while, but you would undoubtedly also enjoy some greenery. Some botanical specimens to offset the amounts of carbon dioxide released by the […]
The Dubai municipality seeks to increase the emirate’s green areas by 4% by the end of next year, including new public parks and additional landscaping, ArabianBusiness.com reported today. According to municipality officials, there is currently the equivalent of 13.18 square meters of green space per capita in Dubai. The aim is to nearly double this figure and […]
According to the blog 360East, Amman is about to adopt a Bus Rapit Transit system and make plans for installing light rail, two important steps to break Amman’s 30-year love affair with the private car. Having lived in Amman in summer 2006, I can attest that buses are a mess. They are very cheap but […]
One of the most pressing needs in countries with little open space is to make urban life desirable enough that city folk won’t want to flee to the suburbs. But in Beer Sheva, a strange phenomenon is underfoot – suburbanization inside the city that drags commerce away from the historic district. A story I wrote […]
In Constructing a Sense of Place: Architecture and the Zionist Discourse (Ashgate, 2004), architect and planner Haim Yacobi has compiled a fascinating collection of essays on how the Israeli landscape was born. The book begins with the 1934 Levant Fair, for which the flying camel logo (right) was developed to represent the growing Jewish community […]