ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the contextual background of architecture and urbanism in the Arabian Peninsula while noting some of the unique factors that have helped produce the built environment of its major cities. It discusses the chronological development of urbanism in the Gulf. The chapter explores pre-oil settlements as a product of desert and tribal tradition and maritime activities. It presents the oil-city as a product of oil wealth. The chapter also discusses the post oil-city as a future service hub. The chapter offers a general critique and interpretations on the development of architectural interventions and the emergence of some of the Arabian Peninsula cities as important regional metropolises and hubs. The very particular environmental circumstances of the Arabian Peninsula have made it one of the least populated and least hospitable regions in the world. The new order of nation-states led to the rapid development of governmental institutions that had to regulate and administer the rapid urban growth.
