Protección anticorrosiva

‘Public space has become an integral part of cities throughout history, so much so that without it, human settlements would be unimaginable’ (Madanipour 2010 p.2).

Public open space is the heart of any city and it has played a substantial role in society. The health crisis in the 18^th and 19^th centuries had a major effect in encouraging European cities to provide good quality built environment. Later, Camillo Sitte (1889) raised interest in urban squares, plazas and streets in European cities (Levy 2008). Later, in the 20^th century, planning concepts were developed in Europe and America such as the Garden City, followed by Le Corbusier’s influential planning concepts which were adopted all over the world. Zoning and planning for traffic were some of the main planning theories from Le Corbusier. A major turning point in the understanding of the importance of open spaces was the publication of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, in 1961, by Jane Jacobs. This raised concerns about the quality of urban spaces such as squares and streets. Whyte (1980-1999) later established the first observational studies of people’s social activities in public spaces in cities by assessing the interaction between public life and public space, including squares and plazas. Henceforth, the understanding of successful public space has grown dramatically, with this being characterised as exhibiting good quality and being well-used by the public. Successful public open spaces have to meet different perceptual, social, functional and visual criteria. Urban planning and design practice are the mechanisms behind providing liveable public open space which entices and encourages the public to choose to spend more of their spare time in it. A liveable space is an attractive and secure environment for people to live, work and play. Liveability refers to the environment from the perspective of the individual and also includes a subjective evaluation of the quality of the place.

Liveable public spaces as are sociable places where different group of community in individual and in group can meet and festive Whyte (1980-1990), Shaftoe (2008) (Madanipour 2010a) and (Gehl, 2007-2010).

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To gather and practise different activities have been the main purposes of public open space throughout history. Yet, social, economic environmental and political changes have affected the function of public open spaces. Researchers have developed different definitions of open space due to the differences in the researcher’s approach, academic background and focus of inquiry which affect their understanding of public space. However, since the early 1960s, there is growing evidence of the environmental, economic and social benefits of public open spaces in cities.

‘Cities are the places where people meet to exchange ideas, trade, or simply relax and enjoy themselves. A city’s public domain – its streets, squares and parks – is the

stage and the catalyst for these activities’ (Rogers, 2010 cited in: Gehl, 2010 p. ix).

Enhancing the physical quality in public open spaces helps to improve their liveability, thus affecting lifestyle and health conditions and contributing to conserving the built environment in the city. Different types of public open spaces have different character and make different contributions to the city. Also, different types of open space have emerged in different societies and cultures. For example, square and plaza are respectively originally English and Spanish terms for a type of space that used to have a similar understanding. Historically both were used as the main central public space of the city, mostly surrounded by buildings related to religious and lay authorities. Due to the expansion of the British and Spanish empires, the use of squares and plazas spread throughout their colonised areas. The term ‘plaza’ started to take on a different sense through its use by American developers in the 20^th century to describe open spaces linked to commercial developments, thus developing a new contemporary concept of open space. From there the converted plaza concept was exported worldwide by the influential American culture. The difference between the two concepts (square and plaza) is vague in terms of their design, they are similar in their usage and in the contribution they make to the city. In the Middle East, public open spaces were provided by users to meet their requirements as a bottom-up process in the Islamic era. The Middle East is one of the regions where squares and plazas were introduced by colonisation

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and reinforced by modernity, being later emphasised by globalisation. Nevertheless, squares and plazas in the Middle-East are not as successful as the traditional local open spaces, nor as much as the Western version.

Not only the type of public open space, but also the processes whereby this is produced have evolved in conjunction with changing socio-economic circumstances.

Such processes have developed fast and radically over the last two centuries in response to industrialisation (and post-industrialisation), urbanisation and globalisation. Transforming production from craft-based methods to machines had developed an industrialisation movement in Europe between 1820 and 1870, this being supported by the establishment of the railway system. Planning in this period was mainly directed by the economic factors to provide developments around the factories and railways. The growth of manufacture rapidly raised the population in European cities as people moved to live in urban areas. Urbanisation is one of the main effects of the industrial revolution. Cities then became overcrowded and lacking sanitation, with increasing problems of accumulation of sewage, high rates of crime, desperate poverty and high rates of disease – as well as decreased access to open space.

The spread of cholera in Europe, which had respect for no one and caused Prince Albert’s death in 1861, motivated the British government to deliver a set of planning acts to improve the quality of the physical environment (Broadbent 1990). This ranged from delivery of major infrastructure in the 19^th century to provide sanitation, to increasing state involvement during the first half of the 20^th century (in the UK and in the rest of Europe) in the provision of housing, improvement of conditions in inner cities and urban expansion. As part of this, the provision of public open space was manifested e.g. in the creation of public parks in the Victorian era, and the proposal of green belts around cities in the early 20^th century. Later, in the post war period following World War II, planning in the West engaged with reconstruction addressing the damages cause by the war. From the 1950s onwards new economic targets were set linked to the concept of ‘development’, with European cities developing planning policies to support their economies in order to compete.

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The planning systems that emerged in the West were also linked to the growth of the welfare system, attempting to provide services for all including housing, education, health and recreation including through provision of public open space. 1987 was a landmark in the development of the concept of sustainability, as formulated in ‘Our Common Future’ by the Bruntland Commission. This further contributed to the development of planning in the West as a comprehensive system with political, economic, environmental and social strategies. Through this process, the West has developed ‘mature’ planning and urban design systems which currently promote liveable public open spaces. Different European countries (and cities) have developed different planning systems according to their economic, environmental, social and political situation.

In many other parts of the world which in recent history have been subject to Western influence through colonisation, post-colonialism, westernisation and globalisation, planning systems have evolved very differently to the case of the West.

Planning in the Middle East in the early Islamic era was ruled by Islamic law (Sharī‘ah). This produced an emergent planning system and resulted in physically irregular cities. However, during the 20^th century Middle-Eastern cities adopted the Western planning systems and urban design concepts. They also introduced the Western concept of public open space in their cities. The great economic boom in 1960s and 1970s in the Middle East has led to rapid urbanisation. This poses major challenges in implementing the adopted Western system and produces various weaknesses in Middle-Eastern cities, with the quality of public open space being one of the problems.

Muscat, the capital city of Oman, is an example of a city from the region where this phenomenon can be seen. The country has taken advantage of the discovery of oil and has become prosperous. Subsequently development has taken place in Muscat City on a vast scale, providing modern infrastructure and urban amenities to meet new lifestyle standards. The 23^rd of July, 1970 is a milestone in Omani contemporary history as the Omani Modern Renaissance movement was established. On that day the Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed became the ruler of the country and started to transform

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it into a modern state. The country’s name was changed from the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman to the Sultanate of Oman. In the 43 years since then Oman has launched a dramatically major development programme upgrading education and health services, providing modern infrastructure, and developing the country's natural resources. The vast development and transformation is visible in Muscat as it is the capital city and it represents the country internationally. As other Middle-Eastern countries, Oman has adopted Western planning and urban design concepts in order to catch up with modernity. Modernity has usually been understood as replacing old with new. Thus, most of the traditional public open spaces have disappeared from the city and instead new spaces have been introduced.

However, squares and plazas in Muscat are not well used, which raises concerns about the influence of planning and urban design in promoting liveable public spaces in Muscat. Different authorities are involved in providing contemporary public open spaces in Muscat. The planning system is still developing. Public open space is not yet looked at as a serious provision by providers. There is still no strategy for providing public open space in Muscat.

This research attempts to conduct the first in-depth study on the quality of public open spaces in Muscat. This thesis will be an opportunity to connect case studies from Muscat to the growing stream of studies on the qualities of liveable public open space and will enrich the material available for international comparisons.