أرشيف الوسم: Qatar

The world is rapidly changing, and this change is creating and shaping new individuals as well as societies. Accordingly, concepts and values change as well; few of them resemble what was inherited from our past. The home acts as the nucleus for life in society, and the sum of the homes comprise of communities that share similar values. Then, these communities forge districts, cities, and the state itself.

Residential districts are crucial because their design directly influences the creation of personalities. As daily scenes are observed, they generate memories and confirm the values and customs of society at large. Further, the resulting environment produces the individuals through the lifestyle that it dictates.

The concept of the neighboring is deeply rooted in the Arabic and Islamic culture. Yet, under the modern state and its rule, neighborhoods lost their central position in society. We no longer see similar practices instilled in us by past generations. Gradually, we lost the meaning of (neighboring) due to various modern givens, such as:

• – In the past, people selected their home’s location naturally. People organized smoothly according to economic or professional divisions. Current situations prevent people from selecting their neighbors; the decision usually is dictated by economic factors or simply the chance of the location of social housing projects.
• – Previously, neighborhoods were divided flexibly. Fathers could simply deduct part of their estate to their sons, an estate could infringe on the public road if additional room was needed, or two buildings could be linked by a bridge, etc. However, modern planning organizes cities, limiting their freedom of use and division. Plot sizes and shapes, plot divisions, building, and expansion fell under strict laws and regulations. This led to people moving to newly established areas and contributed to the division of communities.
• – The constant relocation of people and the widespread of temporary housing (rent) weakened belonging and gave priority to the commercial relation over social ties.

In turn, the spirit of the residential neighborhood deteriorated, and people began to act differently. As a result, the nature of their relation to neighbors altered drastically:

• – Overcrowding and the scarcity of adequate housing led to increased competition among neighbors and lowered the spirit of compassion.
• – The lack of sense of citizenship caused a constant infringement on the public realm, and the rise of vandalism reflects the devaluing of public space.
• – Hierarchical decision making in conjunction with the vague process by which the state made decisions as well as the lack of partnership between official bodies and the people enhanced individualism and negligence.

The concept of neighboring is crucial. Intimate and close-net neighborhoods contribute to the happiness of citizens and their sense of belonging. Thus, Planners should maintain the concept of neighboring at the center of their thinking process. We must study public spaces carefully and find places that bring people together.

We need to utilize the locations of mosques, squares, playgrounds, and retail shops intelligently, as these are attractive meeting points for neighbors. Sidewalks must be designed carefully and take into consideration a building’s scale/orientation and building regulations must be compatible with people’s needs and lifestyle. We will succeed once our designs suit our lifestyle and create places that call for unity rather than competition and provide instead of subtract.

Today’s city planners oppose urban sprawl and the construction of new cities. Planners tend to encourage the development of existing urban conditions based on sound urban and environmental principals through increasing densities, mixed land-uses, improving infrastructure and environmentally friendly public transport alternatives.

The state of Kuwait is moving toward the establishment of the Silk City and islands project under the banner of the New Kuwait Project. The government has taken numerous steps toward this goal, including the establishment of a dedicated agency and signing a framework agreement with the government of China. Due to the unique natural setting of the land planned for development, it’s important to shed a light on a similar experiment that China carried eleven years ago, the city of Tianjin.

In 2008, China and Singapore’s government signed a framework agreement to create an environmentally friendly city in Tianjin on 30 KM² of land to accommodate 35,000 residents. The project attracted more than 600 companies and more than 7 billion USD in investments.

The master plan of Tianjin’s city was based on 22 mandatory indicators and four guiding indicators. Further, all indicators were quantitative to allow monitoring and ensure adherence.

The master plan was aimed to create an environmentally friendly city that applies the garden city principals. Subsequently, the plan sought to mitigate the dependency on private cars through well-distributed land uses, the provision of high-quality public transport systems and pedestrian walkways and bicycle lanes — in addition to strict building codes and energy use.

It’s also worth noting that the location of the city was heavily polluted due to 40 years of dumping wastewater as well as industrial waste. Inovative technology was used to clean the site. China received three patents as a result of research and technology invented for this project.

Today, eleven years after the start of its construction, the city is successful and considered a world-class smart city. It houses 100,000 residents and created more than 30,000 jobs.

Such outstanding experiments and success merits attention, and we Kuwaitis can learn many lessons such as:

 – Collaboration with advanced nations can strengthen relations, transfer technologies and produce successful results.

– In this age, regional collaboration among nations became inevitable, common and successful.

– New Cities must be designed as smart, environmental cities. This is a necessity and no longer a luxury.

– Megaprojects provide opportunities to conduct scientific research and experiments with new technologies, which provides a clear path to improve the quality of research and academic institutions in the country.

– New cities create a platform for the propagation of a new social spirit, correcting the negative lifestyles that the general public is accustom to.

Thus, if we must create new urban areas and urbanize some of the most valuable Kuwaiti islands, we should implement high standards for design. These high standards will ensure that the land will be developed to better serve society at large and not used in the creation of sites for cheap real-estate investment, delusive speculations and empty concrete masses.

“What defines the character of a city is its public space, not its private space.” — Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director, UN Habitat

In Kuwait, it is an unfortunate reality that public spaces suffer from neglect. Along this line, a wide gap exists between the level of care between public and private spaces.

Kuwait is rich, spending generously on public buildings and infrastructure. Furthermore, Kuwait’s people are highly-cultured and properly maintain their homes and private properties. These residents also possess elevated tastes and can distinguish between what is aesthetically pleasing and what falls short. This is present in the way residents display personal presentation and private image.

On the other hand, neglect for spaces that fall outside the realm of personal properties is evident. People tend to neglect, sabotage, and even infringe on public spaces. Due to the consequences of this phenomenon, it deserves investigation and deep analysis.

Public spaces consist of all open spaces to the general public in a given city — such as roads, sidewalks, plazas, squares, beached and others.

Public spaces have significant roles in the economic value of surrounding properties. These areas also play a social role, providing opportunities for meetings, gatherings, and entertainment. In addition, public spaces have environmental and health values, as they offer spaces for sports, vegetation that beautifies the city, lower temperatures, and enhances air quality.

How to improve the level of care for our public spaces:

Awareness of the concept of public ownership

Awareness of the concept of public ownership will generate a profound impact on how residents and communities interact with their public spaces. Higher opinion about the performance of the government and the integrity of official practices strengthens awareness about public ownership.

Laws and regulations

Our laws and regulations that govern public places are insufficient. They are not enough to force public institutions to properly care for public spaces. In both past and present, these institutions are shown to be inadequate in the prevention of vandalism and violations directed toward public spaces.

Vision and standards:

Currently, public places are neglected in Kuwait. The state lacks a vision that reflects the same passion and consideration that residents display regarding private spaces. Kuwait does not have adequate codes and standards that govern the design, execution as well as the maintenance of public places. This has a direct impact on the low quality of our public realm.

Public participation

The involvement of the private sector and the general public in the planning, design, and execution of public places within the city enhances the quality of public spaces. Once we encourage public participation in the decision making process, we will develop a feeling of shared ownership. And every citizen and institution will, in turn, take proper care of it.

Supervise and interaction

Many good public realm projects are executed in Kuwait — however soon after — they are let for decay and vandalism. Active supervision perpetuates interaction, and media coverage for public places projects will have a positive impact on the preservation and proper maintenance.

When celebrating our national days, we need to take this opportunity to call for the public to care for public spaces and properties. Moreover, paying more attention to all things that improve the quality of our cities and neighborhoods fortifies the public’s connection to these spaces and inspires further involvement. To close the gap between our concern for public and private spaces; we must understand and correct the divide resulting from a lack of interest and awareness.

قد يتساءل البعض عن أهمية مشروع الصوابر، ولماذا ينادي البعض للمحافظة عليه وإيقاف عملية هدمه؟! لقد قاد مجموعة من الناشطين والمعماريين البارزين جهوداً حثيثة لثني الحكومة عن المضي في قرار الهدم، ومنهم: م. ديما الغنيم، و م. دلال الحشاش، و د. أسيل الرقم، و د. محمد الجسار و د. حسن أشكناني وغيرهم، وفي هذا المقال أحاول أن أسرد بعض الأسباب التي أراها جديرةً بإقناع صاحب القرار والرأي العام بالمحافظة على المشروع وإعادة تأهيله:

1- إنَّ الجميل والمفيد يتغير مع مرور الزمن؛ لذا فإنَّ ما نراه قبيحاً اليوم، قد يكون بنظر أجيال المستقبل جميلاً، وكذلك ما يبدو لنا عديم الفائدة، قد تتمكن الأجيال القادمة من استغلاله بأساليبَ أمثل.

2- إنَّ مشروع الصوابر يُعبِّر عن روحِ فترةٍ زمنيةٍ مهمةٍ، ويحمل جزءاً من تاريخ الكويت؛ فهو مَعْلمٌ معماريٌّ وحضاريٌّ وثقافيٌّ يُعبِّر عن سماتٍ ومعاييرَ لحِقبةِ الثمانينات في دولة الكويت، وما صاحبها من نهضةٍ ونموٍّ.

3- كذلك – بغض النظر عن مدى جودة التصميم، وعن آرائنا حول نجاح المشروع أو فشله- فقد آوى المشروع عدداً كبيراً من الأسر، و قضى فيه مجموعةٌ من الناس فتراتٍ من حياتهم، وعلى هذا فإنَّ المبنى والمكان يحمل ذكريات ومعانيَ، فللأمكنة قيمةٌ لما تحمله من ذكريات للأحداث والأوقات، والمدن بشكل عامٍّ تكون قيمتها من مجموع هذه الأماكن التي تحمل المعاني و الذكريات.

4- مشروع الصوابر ذو معمارية عالية، حيث أنه مَعْلمٌ قام بتصميمه أحد المعماريين البارزين وهو المعماري الكندي آرثر إريكسون، وسواءً اتفقنا أم اختلفنا حول مدى نجاح التصميم أو فشله، إلا أنَّه يعد تجربةً معماريةً حاولت التجاوب مع البيئة الكويتية، والمتطلبات الاجتماعية الخاصة؛ لذا من الضروري أنْ يبقى المشروع شاهداً للأجيال والمهتمين؛ بهدف دراسة هذه التجربة وتقييمها.

5- لقد بُذِلَ جهدٌ كبيرٌ في صناعة هذه المشاريع العملاقة، ولابد أنْ ندرك أنَّ هذه الجهود البشرية، والأوقات، والخبرات، التي استغرقتها فترات التخطيط، والتصميم، والإنشاء، والتوزيع، وغيرها، هي جهودٌ ذات قيمة، وإنَّ التوجه السريع لهدم المشروع سيؤدي إلى هدر هذه الجهود.

6- لقد أدرك العالم اليوم -أكثر مما مضى- أهمية المحافظة على المباني القديمة، وإعادة تأهيلها عوضاً عن هدمها؛ لما في ذلك من دور في حماية البيئة من خلال تقليل الهَدْر في المواد والموارد، والدول المتقدمة تحرص على مراعاة البيئة، والمساهمة في اتخاذ القرارات التي تعزز من مصداقيتها في حمايتها.

7- قبل الشروع في هدم المشروع، يجب النظر إلى الجوانب الاقتصادية والمالية كذلك، ودراسة ما إذا كان إعادة تأهيل المشروع لاستعمالات أخرى مجدياً وأكثر جاذبية، فبالنسبة للمستثمر فإنَّ هذا يُعد من أهم المعايير، فلماذا لا تتم دراسة البدائل المتاحة، وتحليلها مالياً، ثمَّ دعوة المستثمرين والمطورين للتنافس بوضع بدائل وحلول؛ ليتم اتخاذ القرار بناءً على معطيات صحيحة؟!

8- عمرانياً مشروع الصوابر يملك فرصاً تؤهله ليكون إضافةَ نوعيةَ لمدينة الكويت، فهو قادرٌ على أنْ يكون مشروعاً مثالياً متعددَ الأنشطة، بحيث يجمع بين السكن، والعمل، والترفيه، ويوفر مساحات تجارية للأعمال الصغيرة، والمبدعين، ومن يبحث عن أسلوب حياة مختلف، بينما مدينة الكويت ينقصها التنوع، ومتخمةً بتكرار النماذج التجارية العادية التي لا تضيف شيئاً لجودة البيئة العمرانية في الكويت.

ختاماً، إنَّ أخطر شيءٍ هو التَّسرُّع في اتخاذ القرارات الكبيرة، فلنحذرْ من الثقة الزائدة بأنَّ ما سنقوم به في المستقبل سيكون أفضل مما هو قائم، فلنتريثْ قليلاً ولندرسْ بتأنٍ فلدينا كثيراً من الكفاءات المهنية ومن المطورين الحذقين القادرين على صناعة الفرص والاستفادة منها  بأسلوبٍ مستدامٍ.