Society. Spaces. Screens

Abstract

The city of Abu Dhabi is a city that was historically planned for the automobile. Booming in an era of car dominance and cheap oil, and due to the harsh climatic conditions, the city was planned following modernist city planning ideals. As a result, Abu Dhabi is divided into large ‘superblocks’ surrounded by major highways and arterial roads, with little consideration for pedestrians. While the city boasts a high standard of living and an impressive quality of life, much more is needed to improve pedestrian access and active lifestyles within these residential blocks. This paper, based on a graduate thesis in urban design, proposes design interventions within a selected superblock within Abu Dhabi. The thesis attempts to answer the question, ‘Can these superblocks be humanized through urban design interventions?’. Through prosed design interventions, the paper focuses on reclaiming public spaces back from the car in favor of communal, green, and child-friendly spaces- effectively ending decades of automobile hegemony – through pedestrian-supporting infrastructure. Methodologically, the paper adopts a multi-method approach and employs GIS spatial analysis, surveys, field observations, and case studies. The findings of this paper could be beneficial for policymakers and help shed light on directions for ‘humanizing’ these superblocks in Abu Dhabi and the wider GCC region.