MUSCAT -- The urban development in the Sultanate has changed rapidly in the past forty years. Today around 78 per cent of the population lives in urban settlements. "The high consumption of land, nature and oil is alarming," said Professor Dr Sonja Nebel, Professor of Urban Planning and Urban Design at the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech).
Professor Sonja Nebel's proposal for a research study titled 'Towards Sustainable Urbanisation Patterns in Oman' has received a research grant from The Research Council (TRC) last month. One of the main objectives of the project is to increase public awareness about sustainable urban development in the Sultanate. "The urbanisation trend started in the late 70s, it is ongoing. You cannot stop the trend, but you can control and guide it".
The three-year study will investigate urbanisation patterns in the urban fringe of the capital area of Muscat and in the inner mountain regions of Oman, where rural-to-urban transformation is contributing at the same time to the resource consuming development in the country. The project aims at detecting driving forces that push the urbanisation ahead, presumably such as the construction of new roads, changing life-style patterns, existing planning standards and more.
According to the researcher, solutions to the urban development are to be found probably in a more compact city with higher densities, mixed land use, smaller plots, and public transportation. The objectives of the research project are furthermore to contribute to the current scientific national and international discourse on urbanisation, to contribute to the empirical data and to give recommendations to guide and control land-use and to enhance sustainable development in Oman.
In addition, the research will offer recommendations for physical planning standards and building codes that are in particular focusing on climate responsive urban design. To receive the required data the research team will combine a desk study and a field work study. The research which is carried out in close co-operation with Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) will enhance capacity development and integrate research and teaching.
Since some of the GUtech BSc Urban Planning and Architectural Design students will be involved and workshops will be carried out, the research project will be linked with teaching at GUtech. "In November we will have a capacity development workshop that will include practical fieldwork together with SQU, the University of Technology in Berlin," said Professor Sonja Nebel.
Sonja Nebel graduated in Architecture and Urban Design at RWTH Aachen University and from where she received her PhD (doctorate). Prior to joining GUtech in 2008, Professor Sonja was teaching urban design, urban planning and urban management at RWTH Aachen University, University of Damascus and TU Berlin. Her research activities are focused on a cross-cultural comparison on changing urbanization and housing patterns.
She did extensive field work in Zambia, Bolivia, Thailand, China and in MENA countries. Another focus of her professional activities is in the field of urban conservation and urban renewal. She is a consultant mainly within the German Development Cooperation in Arab countries.
By Staff Reporter
© Oman Daily Observer 2010
