Connectivity of the Public Realm: The Case of Bahrain Fort and King Faisal Corniche in Bahrain

Abstract

In the past few decades, cities and/or urban settlements have been experiencing growing population and environmental degradation. Environmental trends, such as biodiversity loss and global warming are increasing rapidly, as a result of the ecological footprints of cities. Gulf cities, for example, have been rapidly developed since the discovery of oil and under the influence of globalization as they transition from traditional settlements into modern metropolitan cities. With this fast modernization, green and agricultural spaces have been reduced and/or replaced by built-up areas and buildings, alien to the multilayered historical built form, changing the built environment of cities and causing environmental, social, and economic problems. Consequently, the planning of parks and open spaces have been neglected within the formulation of modern master planning of cities, resulting in the formation of areas mostly scattered in empty lots. Parks and open spaces, often disconnected from the existing built form of cities, do not fit into the neighborhood’s scale. Simply planned to fulfill the human need for recreation, these scattered open spaces lack connectivity between them and have weak accessibility/connectivity to their neighborhoods. Namely, this research study (1) investigates the accessibility and connectivity of Bahrain Fort and King Faisal Corniche in Bahrain with the surrounding neighborhoods, (2) reveals the factors affecting the connectivity of the two significant sites and accordingly (3) proposes the strategies to enhance it.