“Shaping Urban Future: Contemporary Visions and Main Challenges”

As a continuation of the new strategy of ISOCARP to extend expertise to global destinations, a team of experts and scholars headed by ISOCARP President just concluded a week of capacity building and knowledge share workshop in Doha, Qatar. The Team leader was ISOCARP President, Prof. Pietro Elisei, and had the participation of Board Members, Dr. Sabina Dimitriu and Prof. Ali A. Alraouf.

Twenty eight architects, urban designers, and city planners working in Qatar attended the workshop. While the majority of participants were Qataris, participants from Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, and Palestine were also part of the co-learning experience.

The title of the event was:  “Shaping Urban Future: Contemporary Visions and Main Challenges” and was designed to include a number of interactive lectures and presentations followed by an extensive technical workshop.

The topics presented by Prof. Pietro, Dr. Sabina, and Prof. Ali included:

  • The Holistic Concept of Urban and City Resilience.
  • Planning, For The Future.
  • Innovating Urban Governance: Challenges, Tools and Ideas from Urban Regeneration Contemporary Practices.
  • Healthy cities, a contradiction in terms or a possible synthesis through good urban policy and planning design?
  • Contemporary Cities in the Post COVID-19 Era.
  • Sustainable Neighborhoods.
  • Towards Livable Residential Communities in Qatar.
  • From Highways to People’s Places: Streets as Healthy and Vibrant Urbanity.
  • Towards Inclusive, Integrated and Resilient Public Spaces.
  • The Narrative of Gulf Cities Enhancing Healthy Living.
  • The Urban Regeneration of Msheireb, Heart of Doha: The Holistic Narrative.

The participants were divided into three groups to contribute collectively to the technical workshop. They were asked to revisit some of the newly planned residential neighborhoods in Doha and provide a new vision based on the knowledge acquired and new concepts introduced. The group’s work was presented in front of the Urban Planning Department Director, his deputy and they decided to go further with the work presented and move it to a more detailed phase. They expressed their admiration for the content and the process.

The Final ceremony was attended by the Undersecretary for Urban Planning in Qatar, Head of departments, and selected leaders in the Qatari planning authority. Participation certificates were handed to all participants. Certificates of appreciation were handed to Prof. Pietro, Dr. Sabina, and Prof. Ali.

The participants’ feedback was extremely positive and they asked for a continuous program where ISOCARP experts can maintain such activities in Doha on a regular basis.