ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to frame, from an urban design perspective, generic issues facing sites of worship and their host cities in terms of the pressures imposed by pilgrimage, accessibility and real estate speculation. Taking into consideration the specificity of sites and their regional significance, questions are asked at three complementary levels. Spatially, how to accommodate the increasing number of pilgrims and still protect the integrity of the historic and social fabrics? Symbolically, how to address and define both the tangible and intangible aspects of sacred heritage? Politically and economically, how to mediate between the agendas of various stakeholders, mainly the religious and political authorities? As an attendant concern, the chapter asks whether sites of worship belong to the global or local community. In this regard, is their development a concern primarily for their host country or for the Muslim world as a whole?
