Doha, the capital of the State of Qatar, has seen rapid growth in recent years, resulting in challenges that can be addressed through sustainable urban design strategies. Such approaches, including Transit-Oriented Development, aim to provide compact urban forms with mixed-use development enabling easy access to the city’s transit services. In light of such objectives, and with the 2022 World Cup being hosted in Qatar, the government has invested heavily in its public transportation system and in implementing Transit-Oriented Development. This work presents an analysis of the current status of Transit-Oriented Development in the knowledge hub in Doha known as Education City. A case study methodology was used, which included site observation, photographic documentation, mapping, and statistical analysis based on recent census data. The analysis shows that the use of public transportation throughout the site is relatively low, largely due to the region’s hot climate and the local mobility culture, in which there is a general preference for private vehicle use. The culmination of this investigation is a master plan for the study area, which foresees further enhancement of the area while still holding to the aims of Transit-Oriented Development. To this end, key recommendations for modifying the prevailing mobility culture are suggested, such as increasing the availability of multimodal transportation in order to improve public transportation functionality and modifying certain aspects of the public transportation system so that it is convenient and comfortable, even during periods of very hot weather. The findings of this study highlight the potential of urban design to change people’s behavior and increase awareness of multimodal transport options.

In the past decade, the capital city of Doha of the State of Qatar has experienced rapid urban expansion and other changes due to globalization, which has caused (i) the loss of a compact urban pattern, (ii) landscape fragmentation, and (iii) deficiency of green spaces. Therefore, as envisioned by Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV-2030), the State of Qatar plans to invest substantial funds into the urban regeneration of the built environment, along with the development of large areas of public parks as a means of promoting more sustainable urban development and enhancing city residents’ well-being. Accessibility contributes to the usability of public facilities on the part of the neighborhood community, thus enhancing city dwellers’ well-being. Nonetheless, the authors argue, the urban network along Doha’s Corniche promenade, the dominant open public space and the spine of the city, lacks connectivity at various scales of space. Therefore, this research study aimed to assess the existing conditions of Doha’s Corniche and recommend strategies for implementing its integration into the newly emerging city’s urban fabric. The findings, revealed through a network-analysis investigation based on graph theory, allowed us to generate a framework for shaping open public spaces, promoting higher living standards through a green network system planned at the city scale. The proposed framework addresses social-ecological challenges of distinctive open public spaces and helps define an approach for (i) tailoring the accessibility of open public spaces to their surroundings, and (ii) enhancing city dwellers’ well-being.

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is an urban planning approach that facilitates the achievement of sustainable development goals from an urban planning and transportation perspective. Developed countries are moving rapidly to integrate TOD principles into the urban fabric. On the other hand, developing countries face challenges in attempting to implement TOD and introduce new transportation modes. The present research study analyzes the concept of TOD from a systematic perspective, providing an in-depth analysis of the interrelation of the three subsystems of TOD: sustainable transportation, built environment, and socio-economic development. The authors posit that the appropriate application of TOD requires not only that one evaluate the existing conditions of the urban fabric, but also that one assess the typical causality characteristics of the TOD index, as well as investigate the dynamicity of these interacting factors as they change over time. This approach should allow policymakers to better understand the interrelations among the built environment, transportation, and socio-economic aspects of TOD, ultimately enabling them to provide appropriate and focused policies. In this research study, a conceptual system dynamics model for TOD is developed, taking into consideration the needs of a sustainable built environment, a sustainable transportation system, and a sustainable economy. The main findings therefore relate causality effects among multiple variables, including transportation, urban and socio-economic subsystems. The model developed in this study was developed in the State of Qatar, a small country in the Arabian Gulf, but has broader implications as it could be implemented in other countries with conditions similar to those prevailing in Qatar.

This study investigates anticipatory vowel-to-vowel coarticulation in Arabic, and seeks to determine the degree to which it is affected by the pharyngealization and length of intervening consonants. Speakers of Egyptian Arabic were recorded saying sentences containing nonsense sequences of the form /baɁabaCV:/, where C was chosen from {/t/, /tˤ/, /t:/, /tˤ:/} and V was a long vowel /i:/, /a:/ or /u:/. Analysis of the first and second formants of the recorded vowels revealed that (a) vowel-to-vowel coarticulatory effects could sometimes extend to a distance of three vowels before the context vowel; (b) the consonant-to-vowel effects associated with pharyngealization were consistently seen at similar distances, while also decreasing in magnitude at greater distances from the triggering consonant; and (c) effects related to intervening consonant length were idiosyncratic, and in particular did not lead to consistent blocking of vowel-to-vowel effects. In contrast, one speaker showed significant vowel-to-vowel effects at all three measured distances that were effectively blocked in the pharyngealized consonant condition.

Over the last two decades, transit-oriented development (TOD) has been widely implemented as an integrated strategy to enhance urban livability. Doha, the capital of the State of Qatar, has faced urban challenges such as excessive reliance on private vehicles, absence of a well-established public transportation system, and issues with integration of last-mile connectivity. This research study explores Al Sadd, a mixed-use neighborhood in Doha, in order to investigate key factors to be addressed for enhancing urban livability within this neighborhood. These factors were analyzed through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods incorporating: (1) a literature review focusing on sustainability, smart growth, and transit-oriented development; (2) data collection and analysis utilizing oral and visual data from the Qatari Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), Qatar Rail, and private engineering and consulting companies; and (3) analytical and applied study through site analysis, observation, photographs, and field notes. A regeneration master plan for the study area proposes the creation of avenues for urban interaction through the introduction of community open spaces, pedestrian-friendly streets, and other measures promoting city compactness. The outcome of this research study illustrates how the enactment of a TOD model can lead to smart growth and eco-friendly urban living by emphasizing TOD principles which promote a pedestrian-oriented neighborhood.

In recent decades, Doha, the capital of Qatar, has experienced a large-scale transformation due to globalization and rapid economic growth. Recently, these changes have led to a focus on infrastructural development and the launch of the city’s metro project, whose success will depend heavily on Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). TOD focuses on the “3Ds” principles—design, density, and diversity—aiming to create walkable neighborhoods and well-integrated public transportation, with diverse mixed land uses and high-density, sustainable growth. In combining the concepts of livability, sustainable urbanism, and urban sociology, TOD leads to the creation of vibrant and active neighborhoods. The present research project focuses on TOD around Doha’s West Bay metro station, using the city’s central business district as a case study. The aim of this research project is to investigate the existing site conditions of the West Bay area, evaluate them with respect to TOD principles, and then propose a master plan for improved development. The final product of the research project is a proposal with design guidelines that are aimed at increasing the ridership of the West Bay metro station and creating a more attractive and dynamic neighborhood.