The Civic Link

American University of Sharjah, College of Architecture, art and Design, Sharjah

Project idea

The Sharjah Department of Planning and Survey and Sharjah Urban Planning Council have recently started independent initiatives to explore and propose ways by which deteriorated neighborhoods can be enhanced. The mandate is to maintain the existing housing stock (structurally intact ones) and propose enhancements to the public realm and social infrastructure of those areas based on the needs and specificity of each neighborhood. One of the mandates is to find ways to attract local Emirati families back to these neighborhoods without necessarily displacing the existing population.

Project description

The Civic Link will be a catalyst for community social sustainability by providing the inhabitants essential training that facilitates a continuous cycle of skill sharing. By virtue of its peripheral location and the integration of an urban footbridge the Civic Link offers a prototype for an urban device that encourages a symbiotic relationship with the surrounding neighborhoods.

Technical information

- We eliminated the randomness and deterioration experienced by the old city areas through providing a healthy and safe environment for the population, which increases the belonging of the population to the surrounding society and the growing cooperation and integration among them.
- We proposed to facilitate public security by providing a paved road network of good condition that increases the connectivity of the areas to the city’s strategic functions and access to emergency services. Furthermore we proposed to upgrade public lightning to appropriate levels
- We raised the level of the physical structure and the optimal utilization of land and facilities.
- We renewed and/or maintained the residential balance in the area through the replacement/renovation of old buildings and the design of new sustainable residential typologies.
- We designed new buildings with new functions that will improve the livability of Al Nasserya and attract inhabitants of surrounding areas.

Co-authors

Prof Cristiano Luchetti