Barrak Al-Babtain 3
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NeighborhoodUrban
January 9, 2011

Qortuba Opportunity

There's an strange place in Qortuba, Block 1. It's a sort of dead space that came as a result of awkward road planning. The space is mostly asphalt now, and has a small two level shopping block and a mosque. The houses adjacent to it…
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NeighborhoodUrban
December 30, 2010

Mixed Use Residential

Last year, I wrote a post about building towers in the middle of residential neighborhoods. Maybe that was a little dreamy but the point was to create a more mixed-use residential neighborhood. I look around where I live and it makes no sense to me…
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Urban
December 23, 2010

Measuring Success

Malls, skyscrapers and suburban living are western ideas that have been introduced into Kuwait. They haven't evolved as a response to our climatic, social or urban concerns. They are foreign ideas, in every sense of the word. Yet when asked, many people feel a strong…
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OtherUrban
December 19, 2010

Average Speed Camera Network

It seems that the pilot project in First Ring Road (seen in the image below) was successful. I'm sure you've all seen the cameras that apparently don't do anything. They are average speed cameras. Don't worry, they haven't been issuing fines yet (though they will…
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Barrak Al-Babtain 7
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Energy
December 15, 2010

Solar Serpents

Stuck in traffic during the hot summer months, nothing feels better than the cold air rushing through the air conditioner. We allow the sun to heat our cars and then use a lot of fuel to cool the inside. This seems rather silly when you…
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Urban
November 26, 2010

Wadi Hanifa Wetlands Project

Wadi Hanifa was once the lifeblood of Riyadh. Decades of development and neglect has turned this natural water source into sewage dump. A few years ago, the Saudis decided to revitalize the Wadi and the results are stunning. What was once an open sewer is now…
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Urban
November 16, 2010

First Ring Road: A Catastrophe?

I really believe that the First Ring Road expansion is a travesty of urban planning. I'm trying really hard to convince myself otherwise, but I just can't seem to find any benefit from the project. The people in charge of it have a website, 1-rr.com, and…
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MetroUrban
October 27, 2010

Bneid alGar

There is a great opportunity for the metro to revive Bneid alGar into a sort of transit oriented corridor. The area is very linear and you can walk the width of it without a problem, meaning that a metro stop at the Fahaheel Expressway side…
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Barrak Al-Babtain 3
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October 26, 2010

Ushahidi

I was just watching Clay Shirky's recent TED talk and he talked about the Ushahidi project, which is a free, open-source platform that allows people to set up websites that can collect and aggregate data sent in by people using their mobile phones with SMS…
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Other
October 24, 2010

What if?

What would happen if it costs 18KD to fill up your SUV? Would your life be ruined? I don't think so. What will happen is that you will adjust your lifestyle to meet this new reality. You might reconsider buying a new SUV, and maybe…
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