ABSTRACT
This research considers how to improve the urban quality of the city fabric to restore its identity using the hypothesis that environmental and social characteristics of people in certain communities have a great impact on the urban form of a place. This research is based on a number of facts, including that the design process of housing and construction materials used in a fishing village are related to the residents’ main activities and social life. The main problem is represented by the unplanned actions implemented in these communities that ignore the social and environmental factors that should be studied before implementing any changes. The research methods used included surveys, site visits to both the existing village and the new one built by the government, analysis and observations. The main findings of the study revealed that unorganised and haphazard changes to these communities cause them to lose their characteristic local socio-environmental urban form and architecture. It is concluded that sustaining the place would preserve the environment and the social life of people and, consequently, conserve the urban form and spatial characteristics of the place, which in turn gives it its heritage, activity and identity.
