الملخص الإنجليزي
Abstract:
Urban identity is a broad concept that includes cultural, historical, economic and social characteristics, and it has both material and non-material dimensions. Individuals are affected by the characteristics of the environment through their senses or without awareness, and accordingly build a network of relationships with their surroundings and others. Thus, identity is defined as something specific to each urban environment. Recently, many cities, especially the cities of the Gulf states, faced problems with the new urban trend towards high-rise construction, driven by the forces of globalization and modernity. This rapid urbanization in the cities of the Gulf states, encouraged by sudden oil wealth, has brought about a fundamental change in planning and organization that has given the economy priority over social ties. The rapid development of cities in the Gulf states has led to their citizens losing the ability to identify and maintain familiarity with the place, resulting in feelings of alienation.
In light of the loss of identity in new environments, this study discusses the concept of urban identity, and the experiences of people in contrasting urban environments within the city of Manama, the capital of kingdom of Bahrain. The aim behind this is to identify identity-forming factors in urban environments.
Manama, in particular, is a multicultural city that contains the old traditional environment that derives its shape from social values and local culture. Contrasted with this is the modern environment with high-rise construction, which imported its designs from Western methods, thus nullifying social ties and norms.
Investigating these contrasting environments contributes to an understanding of how the environment expresses itself and individuals through evaluating people’s spatial experience. The thesis is concerned with understanding the tangible and intangible factors of identity in the urban environment that some decision makers do not attach importance to in the design. This thesis uses qualitative approaches because it needs to understand people's experiences and their relationship to their urban environment. The study is conducted through primary research using various methods, such as interviews, focus groups and children's drawings. It is expected that the discussion will lead to a broader and deeper understanding of the concept of urban identity, and to develop a conceptual framework for tangible and intangible urban identity factors that will help assess current urban environments, and be taken into consideration in future environment designs. The findings will also lead to a number of recommendations and models for improving the current environment in respect of what it means for local identity as a part of that environment.
