The New Arab Urban: Test Beds, Work-arounds, and the Limits of Enacted Cities

Authors

  • Authors

  • Harvey Molotch
  • Davide Ponzini

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31430/almuntaqa.2.1.0009

Abstract

Cities of the Arabian Peninsula have been depicted stereotypically as exceptional and futuristic: the world's tallest building in Dubai; Saudi Arabia's hyper cities being built from scratch; fantastic infrastructures for Qatar's 2022 World Cup. Against such celebrations, Orientalist claims stress socio-political backwardness and inequalities, as well as cultural dependency on the West. As opposed to using the Gulf to issue judgements, urban scholars can use instances of extreme urbanization to discern trends that - for better or worse - are ascendant in other world regions as well. In particular, one can see how urban projects circulate transnationally, how physical and social structures lead to institutional work-arounds and how hybridization operates in situ . We can also learn - given the extant great capacities for capitalization and mandate - the evident limits of efforts to artificially enact urban environments and societies.

References

  1. This study was originally published in Issue 28, April 2019 of the quarterly peer-reviewed social science’s journal Omran. The article is also an adapted version of the introductory and conclusion chapters of the book: Molotch H., Ponzini D. (2019) Eds. The New Arab Urban: Gulf Cities of Wealth, Ambition, and Distress, New York University Press. The book is one of the results of the broader Learning from Gulf Cities Initiative, also co-directed by Molotch and Ponzini.
  2. Harvey Molotch is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was Chair of Sociology between 1984 and 1988. He is also Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University. Before coming to NYU, he was Visiting Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics. He has conducted research on city growth, urban security, industrial design, and sociology of the environment. His books include Urban Fortunes (with John Logan), Where Stuff Comes From , and a volume on urban security, Against Security. He is the editor (with Davide Ponzini) Davide Ponzini is Associate Professor of Urban Planning at Politecnico di Milano and was Visiting Professor at TU Munich in 2017. He has also been a visiting scholar at Yale, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, and Sciences Po. His research focuses on planning theory, urban and cultural policy, contemporary architecture, and the urban environment. Among recent publications, he is co-author (with Pier Carlo Palermo) of the book Place-Making and Urban Development: New Challenges for Planning and Design and (with the photographer Michele Nastasi) Starchitecture: Scenes, Actors, and Spectacles in Contemporary Cities. He is of the book The New Arab Urban: Gulf Cities of Wealth, Ambition, and Distress. the editor (with Harvey Molotch) of the book The New Arab Urban: Gulf Cities of Wealth, Ambition, and Distress.
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  1. Abderrahim El Maslouhi (2024) Legal Frameworks and Educational Strategies for Sustainable Development. Advances in Human Services and Public Health, 85 https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-2987-0.ch006

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