Ali A. Alraouf
A TALE OF TWO SOUQS: THE PARADOX OF GULF URBAN DIVERSITY.
open house international Vol.37 No.2, June 2012 A tale of two souqs: The paradox of gulf urban diversity.
Ali A. Alraouf Abstract The paper discusses current trends and future developments in the study of people-urban environment relations, with an emphasis on the concept of diversity within the Gulf cities. This is explored in relation to: theoretical approaches, urban public spaces, people's lifestyles, social groups and inclusive urban environments. Contemporary Gulf cities are providing unique examples for research on urban diversity.Its demographic structure is distinctive for a minimum of 50% expatriates in overall population. Gulf cities are obliged to cope with such a compelling fact. The challenge is to move away from indifference and bring about better acceptance of others. On the relationship; city spaces and culture, the paper argues that traditional markets must be envisioned as spaces for cultural expressions. Traditional markets are a rich display of products and talents and a great opportunity to share and meet with people from same culture and others.Using comparative analysis approach juxtapositioning the selected cases, the paper confronts questions like what does Gulf urban diversity mean in the present. In addition, is diversity in urban spaces only a challenge to be dealt with or is there also economic potential that can be taken advantage of? How do we ensure that Gulf cities are indeed spaces of tolerance? How to give visibility to the spaces of marginalized groups, as these spaces are often ignored or worse, eliminated? How to preserve or regain spaces in the city for the expression of traditional cultures of those migrating from other regions or countries? The paper explores the socioeconomic and cultural mechanisms that can encourage inclusive pluralism in the Gulf cities’ open spaces. K e y w o r d s : : Urban diversity, public spaces, traditional markets - souqs, multi-culture gulf cities, heritage revivalism.
INTRODUCTION Managing diversities in urban contexts, where more than half of the world’s population currently lives, represents an aim for sustainable urban development. As Bonaiuto (2011) argues drawing on a diversity of epistemological, theoretical, and methodological approaches is key to understanding people-environment relations and for promoting the quality of urban life. Urban diversity is an outcome of contemporary debates about justice, space, and the city (Lefebvre, 2003 and Harvey,2009). Soja (2010) argues that justice has geography within which equitable distribution of resources, services and access can form a basic human right. Fainstein (2010) suggests that evaluation criteria for urban development should be prolonged to include social justice. Diversity has already been influencing the urban space and its economic development since the mid of the 20th century in Gulf cities. The impact of foreign labors influx clearly exists in Gulf cities 72
fabric. In present-time Gulf cities, diversity has repeatedly been pictured as a problem. Sometimes called ‘the other City’, in terms of an uncivilized, underdeveloped group, the working class which consists to a large extent of Indians and other minorities was heavily stigmatized. The media images of working class quarters as no-go areas or ‘bombs about to explode’ was linked to ‘ideological fantasies’ of a unified Gulf city, excluding ‘the other’. Cultural Diversity in Cities: The Various Identities The right to the city approach (UN Habitat, 2009) recognizes diversity in economic, social and cultural life. This is centered on the principle that cities are the dynamic engine of cultural change, social life and linguistic and religious differences, gender and heterogeneity. Few cities translate this understanding into urban policies and programs that tackle the deep-rooted causes of social intolerance, economic exclusion and spatial segregation. Landry and Wood (2007) assert that multicultural cities are open; and are equitable regarding ethnic