ABSTRACT
Immediately the gleaming urban configurations in the Arabian Peninsula come to mind: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and others. The lack of contextual restraints in the Arabian Peninsula fits perfectly with such urbanity as it, seemingly, operates within a tabula rasa like environment. In the urban centres of the Arabian Peninsula there is a migrant city that slips through the cracks of the formal city. The primary aim is to create a visual and sensory landscape of the Arab Gulf city and also to elaborate on how it resonates with residents and visitors. The Arab Gulf city – from an urban and architectural perspective – is both exceptional and ordinary: exceptional in the degree to which temporariness and transience pervade its spaces and is a matter of policy. Regarding the Arab Gulf City most of what has been published recently came from the social sciences. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
