Smart Technology Impact on Neighborhood Form for a Sustainable Doha

Soud K. Al-Thani, Cynthia P. Skelhorn, Alexandre Amato, Muammer Koc and Sami G. Al-Ghamdi
Additional contact information
Soud K. Al-Thani: Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Education City, Doha, Qatar
Cynthia P. Skelhorn: Sustainability, Qatar Green Building Council, Qatar Foundation, Education City, Doha, Qatar
Alexandre Amato: Sustainability, Qatar Green Building Council, Qatar Foundation, Education City, Doha, Qatar
Muammer Koc: Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Education City, Doha, Qatar
Sami G. Al-Ghamdi: Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Education City, Doha, Qatar

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-17

Abstract: This study focuses on the significance of neighborhoods in a city as the smallest self-sufficient urban units akin to nuclear families in the larger society. Thus, improvements to the neighborhood form can improve livability, maximize walkability, and better the overall life quality of city inhabitants, which, in turn, advance a city’s overall environmental and social sustainability profile. The physical form (arrangement) and density of neighborhoods are primarily shaped by land ownership regulations, transportation, and communication means. The development of smart technology, especially in the fields of transportation and communication, has led to the reconsideration of some of sustainable urban form concepts such as neighborhoods. Low-density cities like Doha, Qatar can become both sustainable and livable, creating the basis for a sustainable city. First, this paper presents a critical review of Doha’s neighborhoods and advanced transport and communication technologies, in addition to the integration of these technologies with the physical form of neighborhoods. Then, the paper discusses the influences of such technologies on the future sustainability of the city of Doha and its neighborhoods. This investigation is based on a Delphi study to address the characteristics of a neighborhood and to identify two paradigms of ‘good’ design practice.

Keywords: smart transportation; sustainable neighborhoods; sustainable cities; urban form (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/12/4764/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/12/4764/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:12:p:4764-:d:190377

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().