full edition :Privacy As an Image For The Islamic Societies City -By: Shafiq Bara

By Shafiq Bara

a Palestinian architect

Urban Analysis Course final research

V.U.B – Brussels –Belgium 9/1/2009

Note: “ Islamic society cities are the interpretations of Muslim societies way of life not the utopian way of Islamic religion “.

Part 1

Introduction :

The modern Fabrics of the western Cities today which was the result of The Modern school of urban Planning from 1960 and onward made a big Difference in the way that ordinary people Perceive their Own Cities , The Big free standing buildings (Shaped by the Internal Spaces Needed For its Use& empty from any Local Cultural Marks from outside and inside ) that form the Modern urban Fabric , were seen after a little while (by many Urban & Architectural schools ) as un sufficient and doesn't Respond to the human needs ,

In their try to find solutions Urban Scientists went back to study the Urban Morphology Of the Traditional Urban Fabrics that for a long time(before The Industrial Revolution ) was a Natural Respond to the Deepest Human Needs ,

The Modern Islamic society Cities By its Own Has Many Problems that Aroused By the effect of the new urban Regulations that was imposed during the colonial period and after ,Many Basic Cultural Aspects And needs of the Local Communities were not considered for many reasons Especially those how affect the matrix of control for the governments and Militants ,

One of the Most Islamic Cultural Aspects That were Affected by the new Urban Strategies is (Privacy ) , for a long time Privacy was the main Aspect for design in the Islamic societies , In each Islamic society city ( whatever Its Origin ) all the urban Fabric were Built and Manipulated in order to achieve Privacy .

The research will analyze The evolution and change In the Traditional Islamic Urban Space , In their seek for Privacy, Using the Kevin Lynch Methods In analyzing The Human settlements Morphology , which could help in further research in figuring solutions for the Problems that face the new Islamic society cities , especially the lack of privacy.

What is the City?

Cities are much more than their Physical Components , The City " Is above all Things a theater" as Mumford Argues , he sees the Urban experience as an integral component in development of human culture & human personality , as he say : " the physical design of cities and their economic functions are secondary to their relationship to the natural environment &to the Spiritual values of human community " [1],

The Traditional Islamic society Cities have many similarities with cities of other societies in providing there citizens with the basic needs for shelter , economy & safety , but their physical interpretation remained throw history very deferent ,

What gives The traditional Islamic architecture and urban planning its originality that it’s the result of a production processes of " The character and mentality of Muslims, there Unique philosophical and symbolic dimension, and the shapes used to form those cities " as Mr. Oleg Grabar argues, [2] And that what gives those cities a universal since of unity despite the diversity of the geographical , cultural & environmental aspects between the Islamic societies,

Privacy was One of the main aspects of design in all the Islamic societies, the meaning of privacy may defer from one society to another but for Muslims it was derived from individuality , giving a space for individuals , and it is against public , [3]or " the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively", as argued in Wikipedia.[4]

A Special identity for the Islamic society cities had been formed for the tradional cities, this Identity was seen during the colonial period as a threat and danger for the control matrix that they applied , the Colonization authorities used Baron Haussmann's theory and project of Restructuring the City of Paris , and in the name of security (as in the case of Jaffa And Jenin were total parts of the traditional fabric were destroyed and new paths opened by the UK mandate in 1936 ) or under the name of modernization by applying new laws and rules for the building and design process as happened in most of the modern Arab Islamic society cities ( Like the Laws of building in Historical Palestine under the British Mandate in 1920 , 1936, 1947)[5].

Shape ( 1): Paris Medieval Core , 1771 Vaugondy map , and

what it looked after 1856 Haussmann's Project , Source : National Library of France

Major changes happened on the Urban fabric of those cities , a huge Urban sprawl motivated by the revolution of transportation and the Rapid increase of population , destroying the cultural and social fabric , and creating many problems that affected the City Image in the Eyes of the communities that live in , and the Aspect of Privacy was also badly affected

Shape ( 2) :Satellite Photo for Dimashq- Syria , were you can see the deference between the traditional and the new fabric ,Source : Google Earth.

The search for solution:

Muslim societies tried to form some Individual solutions to these emerging Urban problems , new styles of houses and new extensive use for architectural elements like high external walls and gates , but there was no try to find solutions on the total scale of the urban fabric , in what appears like " a socially constructed counter-sites embodying a form of resistance to the increasingly surveyed , segregated& simulated socio_ spatial order " Urban planning as Mr. Foucault Argue .[6]

Similar Problems occurred in the western Cities ( American & European ) as they went throw almost the same process, in the name of modernity and better Life throw a process of Urban renewal , those Problems aroused to public Discussions after the 1960 by the arising of the Postmodern movement in reaction to the great destruction that the modern movement did in the western cities , were total parts of traditional fabric were destroyed ( Like the new Area Of Brussels Trade Center , the city center of Boston and many other cities ) .

Shape (3) : Destroying the old fabric in Boston in the name of Urban renewal in 1950, Source : Eric Bowers , How Should a City Grow? ,Urban Photo web site , 16\10\2006 , http://www.urbanphoto.net

Shape (4) : Panoramic View for Brussels City Center , Where We can see the old and the new Urban fabric , Source : http://www.skyscrapercity.com

"a city that allowed itself to be nearly destroyed by the automobile" Mr. Bowers Argue in reaction to the urban growth and urban renewal projects back in 1950 Boston[7] ,many schools of thought and theories emerged trying to suggest a better solution – postmodernist , traditionalist , " theorist such as Foucault, bourdieu , de Certeau Deleuze and others ,

Even they had deferent opinions they all have in common "a collective Desire to promote new forms of conceiving social space in an attempt to account for an eclectic occupation and engagement with an increasingly segregated , oppressively functionalist & electronically monitored everyday reality "[8] .

Going back to tradional Urban Space:

A return to the tradional urban space in a reaction to " Both modernist approaches & to contemporary development patterns, recent urban design has seen a new interest in the relationship between built space & urban space. This has led to attempts to organize the parts ,so that the whole (the public realm) is greater than the sum of its individual buildings and developments. It has also prioritized the need (both functional and aesthetic) to focus on the creation of defined, positive space ,

Such approaches have often taken reference from the traditional urban space of blocks formed by the connected mass of individual 'back­ground' buildings defining, or defined by, 'positive' spaces. As well as being a reaction to the Modernist attitude to the past, this also demonstrated a new interest in, and concern for, the continuity of places, together with a willingness to examine and learn from precedent.

This realm could be used to figure out some solutions to the issues that faces the Islamic society cities these days , but to do so we must figure out how the traditional spaces works in solving these issues , and for that we need a scientific approach to figure out the components of this fabrics .

Looking For suitable Approach :

Many approaches can be used like the " Mental Map " theory of Kevin Lynch in his book " The Image of The City" he "separated Meaning from Form , exploring image ability in terms of Physical qualities relating to identity and structure , through this theory he aimed to identify aspects of environment that left a strong image in observers minds , aggregation of individual images would define a public or city image"[9] .

Lynch derived five key physical elements :

1- Paths : the channels along which observers move ( streets , Transit Lines , Canals , etc).

2- Edges : linear elements that are either not used or considered as paths & often form boundaries between areas or linear breaks in continuity ( like Shores , railroad cuts , edges of development ,walls ) .

3- Districts : the Medium to large parts of a city which observers mentally " enter " and /or which have the identifying physical character of thematic continuities in terms of texture , space , form , detail , symbol , uses , inhabitants , maintenance, topography etc.

4- Nodes : are point references " the strategic spots in a city into which an observer can enter , and which are the intensive foci to and from which he is travelling .

5- Land Marks : are point references external to the observer , some towers , spires, hills , they are typically seen from many angels and distances over the top of smaller elements , other sculpture , signs ,trees , are local and visible in restricted localities and from certain approaches ,

M. Carmona argue that " the Lynch's elements exist in isolation , all combine to provide the overall image { districts are structured with nodes , defined by edges , penetrated by paths & sprinkled with landmarks , elements regularly overlap and pierce one another, sets of images often over lap and interrelate in a series of levels reflecting the scale of the area , thus the observes move as necessary from images at streets level to those of the neighborhood, the city & beyond". [10]

The Tradional Islamic society Cities :

to understand the Islamic society cities we should look back at the early Islamic society cities , their roots and how the designers dealt with the urban fabric ,

D. Nizar alsayad sees that the Islamic society Cities has three deferent types in the term of rise , The Military Cities like Al Basra in Iraq, Royal Cities Like Fes In Morocco & Previous Settlements like the Roman City Of Damascus – Syria and Nablus - Palestine ,[11]but even they had deferent role and roots they evolved throw history to be very similar to each other in their physical interpretation , which Could be analyzed by of Kevin Lynch Method :

* Paths :

The street plan tends to be the most enduring element in creating the High level of Privacy in Islamic society Cities , as it is the most stable theme of the city throw history , M Carmona Urges : " the street stability derives from its being a capital asset not lightly set aside , from ownership structures , and in particular ,from the difficulties of organizing and implementing large scale change , changes do happen , however through destruction by war or natural disaster or throw comprehensive redevelopment programs in the modern period ".[12]

The Pattern of roads in the Islamic society Cities tends to be an organic one , were the Main road is in the middle of the Urban fabric , it could be linear Road as in Damascus and Nablus or going in curves as in Fes for example , this road is the widest one on the city , the markets and shops in the both sides of it , and most of the time goes throw the hall city from Gate to Gate dividing it into two parts , the only rich external walls by architectural elements in the city , were you can see some arches and some small high decorated windows most of time have some kind of colestra on it.

Shape(5): part of the Old Market street in Nablus ,Source: http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/BIC_Photo3.jpg

Smaller roads go from the main road throw the districts around it and it become smaller and smaller as it go on till it reach a dead end most of the times , smaller alleys subdivide from it here and there creating connections for the gates of a small group of houses , most of the time the walls are empty and the type of playing with the sun light that create a sequence of dark areas and well lighted ones will give you the feeling that you entered a private space that you shouldn't continue in ,unless you know the exact place you are going to .

M. Carmona argue " that in countries & regions with a long history of incremental urbanization , most urban grids are deformed, they are often described as organic , their layout having been or appearing to have been generated naturally rather than being consciously manmade".[13]

But if you take a look on the way those networks has evolved in the Islamic society cities you will notices that they were designed consciously to provide the society need especially for privacy , One of the great examples for that process is the transformation on the network of roads that happened in the city of Damascus in the Umayyad period ,we can see the roman geometric network of roads changing to organic Islamic one , even we can still hardly notice the effects of this grid system till now in cities like Nablus and Damascus.

Shape (6): the roman Urban fabric of Damascus, source : D. Nizar al sayad , Cities & Architecture In The First Islamic Era , page : 26

Shape (7) : the changes that occurred on the fabric during the Islamic period , source : D. Nizar Alsayad , Cities & Architecture In The First Islamic Era , page : 31

Shape(8) : the formation in main roman street ( cardo) that happened in Damascus at the Islamic era, source : D. Nizar Alsayad , Cities & Architecture In The First Islamic Era , page : 31

* Edges :

most of the traditional Islamic cites have an external defensive wall that surround it from each side and the entrance to those cites happen throw several gates around the city , some cities ( like the case of Nablus ) don’t have a real wall due to geographical reasons ( lying between 2 mounts ) but still the buildings overlay and form a kind of external wall .

The second edge is the main market street that we mentioned above , that cuts the city into 2 parts , sometimes there is smaller roads that connect this road with the city gates and makes subdivisions to the city into districts ,

Shape(9) : part of the old city of Fes were we can still see the wall And market street the most powerful edges , source: http://www.fez-riads.com/West-working-copy-end-August-08.gif

*Districts:

M. Carmona urges that " the districts will be recognizable as such only to someone familiar with the city"[14] , the districts in the Islamic society cities is harder to recognize than any other cities , as most of these districts are mono functional ( Houses ) there access were limited even for the people who live inside the city ,

the Islamic governors did not interfere in the way the districts are built inside , they only look at the main roads and the basic features Like the Mosque , the Royal Palace, the Markets, and they only interfere when a problem occur between the neighbors, and that is very clear in the historical story for the Planning of al Basra city in the south of Iraq , told by D. Nizar Alsayad ,

Were the governor at that time started the Planning by defining the spaces of the Mosque , the governor House, the market and defining the main roads and the border of each district , after that he gave each district to a certain tribe to build her houses inside ,

shape(10) : Aerial photo back in 1918 for the tradional city of Nablus before the new laws implemented, Source: www.nablus.gov.ps/nabphoto/details.php?image

*Nodes :

the nodes in the Islamic society cities are smaller that the western tradional ones ,as there is no public spaces inside the districts ( the gardens are very private court yards that lies insides the closed domain of the house and for the family use ) , the only public spaces in the Islamic society cities are in the front of the mosques or part of their spaces , especially the main mosque in the city which is most of the ti the main node of the city , and most of the times located in the center of the market road ,

The second kind of nodes are the Khans how play a big role in the commercial life of the city , and most of the time it is located on the edges of the city near the main market road so the strangers how use it never go inside the residential districts , The gates of the city play also Avery significant role as nodes for entrance to the city , that controls the visitors to the heart of the city .

Shape (11): Nablus Gate in the wall of old Jerusalem, Source : http://humus101.com/EN/2007/06/22/a-holy-experience-in-ancient-jerusalem/

*Land Marks :

the land marks doesn’t play a big role in side the traditional Islamic society cities , even they contain many land marks like the Mosque Minarets , Dooms and even the Royal or Governor Palace , but all these land marks are local and limited for the city inhabitants , as the architectural form of buildings forbid the eye contact with these elements except from special places like the main market road , but those elements play a good role in identifying the city for the people visiting the city a long distance before they reach it .

Shape (12):Minarets on the Horizon , H. Fenn, an old Paint for Nablus city , 1870, source : www.printsoldandrare.com

Shape (13) : One of the dooms ,as it appears inside the old fabric of Nablus , Source: http://lh4.ggpht.com/_jrehk22SaZU/Rx-exh2a1vI/AAAAAAAAAXU/cpuuqgln600/s512/West%20Bank%20354.jpg

References :

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[1] Lewis Mumford , What is a City? , Architectural Record, 1937

[2] Grabar Oleg , The Formation of Islamic Art ,yale uni press,1987,page 6-18

[3] Albustani, karam , the helper in Arabic language , 1984

[4] Unknown author , the Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy

[5] D. Moslim Abu Helo , The challenges of development in the province of Jerusalem- In the absence of national housing policies and strategies, Research , Al-Quds university, 14/1/2008

[6] Sophie Watson &Katherine Gibson, Postmodern Cities & Spaces, Blackwell, 1996, page: 36

[7] Eric Bowers , How Should a City Grow? ,Urban Photo web site , 16\10\2006 , http://www.urbanphoto.net

[8] Sophie Watson &Katherine Gibson, Postmodern Cities & Spaces, Blackwell, 1996, page: 36

[9] M. Carmona & others , Public Places – Urban Spaces , architectural press, UK, 2003 , page: 89

[10] M. Carmona & others , Public Places – Urban Spaces , architectural press, UK, 2003 , page: 90,92.

[11] D. Nizar Alsayad , Cities & Architecture In The First Islamic Era ,Bahrain ,1996 , pages: 12-37

[12] M. Carmona & others , Public Places – Urban Spaces , architectural press, UK, 2003 , page: 61.

[13]M. Carmona & others , Public Places – Urban Spaces , architectural press, UK, 2003 , page: 65.

[14]M. Carmona & others , Public Places – Urban Spaces , architectural press, UK, 2003 , page: 90.

[15] M. Carmona & others , Public Places – Urban Spaces , architectural press, UK, 2003 , page: 61.

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shafiq bara