Category

Urban

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Metro
January 27, 2011

Metro Worry

A mass transit system can potentially be a very valuable investment, but the success is dependent on dense development near the stations. A line along the 6th ring road wouldn't be very efficient because there's no real density there. In order for it to be effective,…
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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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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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Metro
October 24, 2010

Kuwait Metro: Progress

Kuwait signed an $8 million contract with Ernst and Young to provide "consultancy services" for the Metro project. It's weird, because E&Y are an auditor, as far as I know, and they're not really the first name one thinks of for master-planning expertise and designing…
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Architecture
October 16, 2010

Desert Architecture

Kuwait is a desert, yet you wouldn't know this by looking at our architecture. What does it mean to design for a desert climate? The most important thing is to understand three basic rules: Understand the movement of the sun Know how different materials react…
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