Under the patronage of
H.H. Sheikh Humaid Bin Rashid Al Nuaimi
Member of Supreme Council, Ruler of Ajman
Municipality & Planning Department - Ajman MPDA
Presents
5th Ajman International Urban Planning
Conference
21 -25 March 2011
Ajman University, Ajman, UAE
City Identity in the 21st Century: Challenges and
Opportunities
The urban growth is described as continuous
and natural phenomena. The last decade of the XX century was marked by
deep economical and political changes provoking some irreversible
transformations in the socio cultural organization and the physical
structure of the cities. These changes reflect the interaction of the
different aspects on which were worked out the different policies of
development and principles of growth and management. These changes have
altered the city’s form and have given rise to questions about the
impact of these changes on the image of the city in terms of size and
cultural values. So the concept of urban space becomes a determinant of
the ability of planners, architects, engineers and administrators to
provide an environment which is adequately structured to avoid chaos and
to maintain an acceptable quality of life.
The orientations and vision of His Highness
Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid al-Nuaimi, The Ruler of Emirate of Ajman is
testifying the geniality of the human intervention in controlling the
urban growth of Ajman which is marked by an extraordinary changes
brought by the urbanization. These changes have a great impact on the
values and particularly on the aesthetics. In parallel with the
socio-economic changes, new technologies have been developed or imported
mainly in the form of new construction techniques, building materials
and the methods of construction management. New structural and
environmental control possibilities have been introduced and increased
with the designation of Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi The
Chairman of Municipality and Planning Department of Ajman..
The development sprawl, the segregation of
land uses, and the reliance on the car and the absence of public
transport are the main issues illustrating the unbalanced development of
Ajman which might have a negative impact in environmental protection,
preservation, waste, sewage and sanitation. For these reasons, the
Municipality of Ajman will organize its Fifth Ajman International Urban
Planning Conference AIUPC. With cooperation with University of
Wolverhampton, UK
In this conference will take part many well
known planners, architects, engineers and academics; as it will be an
opportunity to debate and confront some experiences and theories which
should imperatively end up by developing some recommendations specific
to the case of Ajman. Up till now, Experts, Pioneers in planning, well
known Architects and Engineers from 21 countries have already their
participation.
For the Fifth Ajman
Urban Planning Conference, all those whom confirmed their participation
agreed to take part in the workshops that they will just on the case of
Ajman. These workshops will concentrate on the future development of
Ajman by looking at the different projects which are under development.
The main objectives from these workshops, of two out of four days of the AIUPC, are Ajman’s characteristics of building form and land use. The
debate and the workshops should be focalized on the changes of the built
environment which should be consistent with the existing environment.
That is, new buildings must be seen to fit in with the “normal”
environment so that a homogeneous, unambiguous identity is projected.
The homogeneity will also provide the sense of temporal order and
identity, and which can be maintained if change is orderly and
incremental thus maintaining links with the past. with the following
areas:
1. Cultural Activities and their impacts
on the urban growth.
2. Urban Aesthetics and Architecture.
3. Space and Ecology.
4. Globalization, Virtualization and
Identity.
5. Urban Culture and Urban Codes
6- Urban Management and Infrastructure
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