Planning Middle Eastern Cities: An Urban Kaleidoscope(Planning, History and Environment Series)

Cairo, Baghdad, Algiers and Dubai cannot be easily lumped together as a single group. Cities in the Arab world are too diverse and hybrid, ranging from those rich in tradition, to 'forgotten’ cities, to newly emerging Gulf cities. The authors here, Arab scholars and architects local to the cities they describe, provide an authentic voice with an understanding no outsider could achieve. They explore issues of identity, hybridity, colonization and globalization in the context of the struggles and solutions offered by each city from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Their focus is on how the built environment has changed over time and under different influences.

Table of Contents:
1. The Middle East City: Moving Beyond the Narrative of Loss  2. The Merits of Cities' Locations  3. The Spatial Development and Urban Transformation of Colonial and Postcolonial Algiers  4. Globalization and the Search for Modern Local Architecture: Learning from Baghdad  5. Sana'a: Transformation of the Old City and the Impacts of the Modern Era  6. Lake Tunis, or the Concept of the Third Centre  7. Cairo's Urban Déjà Vu: Globalization and Urban Fantasies  8. Redrawing Boundaries: Dubai, an Emerging Global City 

About the Author :
Yasser Elsheshtawy is Associate Professor of Architecture at the UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.

Review :
This volume provides a nonspecialist audience with a thorough overview of issues and approaches to contemporary Middle Eastern urbanism. - Sophia Shwayri, Traditional Dewlling and Settlements Review, Spring 2005 'Will inspire further critical investigation on the sites and cities of the Middle East that have until now been marginalized in the debates regarding globalization and urban change.' - Journal of Architectural Education This book is a very informative and lively read that certainly adds fresh perspectives to the study of Arab cities! This collection could be an interesting text for undergraduate and graduate courses in Middle East and urban/cultural studies. International Journal of Middle East Studies A thorough overview of issues and approaches to contemporary Middle Eastern urbanism. Traditional Dwelling and Settlements Review The essays collected by Elsheshtawy raise as many questions as they answer, but this is also a strength of the book, which provides insights into places often grounded in an idealized past, both in their architecture and their architectural history. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians This is a laudable collective effort with an excellent choice of case-studies which make a compelling argument in favour of the 'urban kaleidoscope'. This certainly provides food for thought for architects, planners, urban specialists and historians working on and in the Middle East - Urban History Journal