towards a sustainable & smart arab city paradigm · 2020-03-04 · towards a sustainable &...

TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE &SMART ARAB CITY PARADIGMHUSSEIN MAHRANLEED AP BD+C, PMP

hmahran@naga.ae

/in/hmahran/

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HUSSEIN MAHRANLEED AP BD+C, PMP

HEAD OF PMO PORTFOLIOat NAGA ARCHITECTS, DUBAI

hmahran@naga.ae

/in/hmahran/

Towards A Sustainable &Smart Arab City Paradigm

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Presentation Notes

Good evening, thank you for attending this session and thanks to dmg for having me today, it’s always a pleasure being in Riyadh. I’m Hussein Mahran, an architect and a project management and sustainability professional, I work for NAGA architects in Dubai

http://naga.ae/

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TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE &SMART ARAB CITY PARADIGM

Are our cities following the proper paradigms?

How liveable are our Arab cities?

What should we do to reserve resources for the upcoming generations?

How could intelligent connectivity solutions improve the efficiency of our cities?

How can authorities and people participate in making Arab cities liveable?

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This session will discuss the following questions

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WERE ARE WE?

• Are we on the right track?• Are our cities following the proper paradigms?

TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE &SMART ARAB CITY PARADIGM Where Are We? Liveability Sustainability Smartness What Should We Do?

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So where are we? Are we on the right track? Are our cities following the proper paradigms? Well, I don’t think so!

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ALEX

AND

RIA

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I grew up in Alexandria Egypt, the authentic Alexandria, it’s an adorable Mediterranean city, When I was young, I used to walk a lot, most of my movement around the city was either on foot or by tram, I used to walk to school, grocery store, friends houses, the beach

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and for the farther destinations like the stadium or the cinemas I used to take the tram, therefore moving around such a large city for a teenager like me had not only been easy but also safe and affordable. But as the city grows and expands it’s still adorable but it becomes much less walkable, I don’t think that my son today can move around the city as safely and easily as I did when I was the same age

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Cairo

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If you look at our Arab cities today, let’s take Cairo for example

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Baghdad

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Sharjah

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Khartoum

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Beirut

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We don’t seem to be following the proper paradigm, our cities are getting more congested, less walkable, less liveable

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2007

The World’sUrban Vs. Rural Population

1960-2017RuralPopulation

UrbanPopulation

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One reason for this is The migration from rural areas to cities which is a global trend, somewhere in 2007, and for the very first time in the history of humanity, the world’s urban population equalized the rural population, and since then it kept steadily increasing as you can see

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Post WWII Urban Sprawl Phenomenon

• Loss of Agricultural Lands• Disturbance of

Ecosystems and Wildlife Habitat

• Alterations in Hydrology• Increased Air and Water

Pollution• Increased Energy

Consumption and CO2 Emissions

• Increased Infrastructure Costs

• Degradation of Inner Cities

• Loss of Unique Identity

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Another reason is that we’re still following the American Post WWII Urban Sprawl Phenomenon, what you see here is a typical american suburb that looks like the ideal paradigm for expansion, but it‘s not, because the consequences of building a suburb like that are:

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Dead End:Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism

Benjamin Ross2014

The Failure of Planning: Permitting Sprawl in San Diego Suburbs, 1970-1999

Richard Hogan2002

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Americans themselves are now opposing the paradigm they invented in the middle of the 20th century, many books have criticized that paradigm and advocated the new trend to restrain the urban sprawl

https://www.amazon.ae/Dead-End-Suburban-American-Urbanism/dp/0199360146/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=dead+end+suburban+sprawl&qid=1578981876&s=books&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.ae/Failure-Planning-Permitting-Suburbs-1970-1999/dp/0814251048/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=american+suburbs+urban+planning&qid=1578981645&s=books&sr=1-11

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Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group: BIG

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So the new approach in housing projects is heading to dense complexes, one of the most remarkable examples is Mountain Dwellings by Biarke Ingles in Copenhagen, he managed to combine the luxury of the suburban backyard with the social benefit of urban density using this intelligent design section creating an urban mountain instead of an urban sprawl

https://big.dk/

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bsTOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE &SMART ARAB CITY PARADIGM Where Are We? Liveability Sustainability Smartness What Should We Do?

An extraordinary opportunity to shape the city’s future and provide a global model for inclusive urban growth.

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Another remarkable project that consider liveability in a huge city like Toronto Canada is the quayside neighborhood which is owned by Alphabet, the holding company of Google, they are rebuilding Toronto’s eastern waterfront and they present the project as

https://www.sidewalklabs.com/

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humanly scaled outdoor spaces

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Here are some renders showing how liveable and sustainable the place will be

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Smart and sustainable public transit

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Social activities and exposure to nature

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walkability and close proximity to several uses

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If you look at the older districts in cities all around the world, you’ll easily recognize design for people, not for vehicles, you’ll find urban spaces that are respecting human scale

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Allowing for human activities, enabling people to socialize and interact with each other

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LIVEABILITY

• How liveable are our Arab cities?• What should be done to increase liveability?

Where Are We? Liveability Sustainability Smartness What Should We Do?TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE &SMART ARAB CITY PARADIGM

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So let’s start with liveability, How liveable are our Arab cities? What should be done to increase liveability?

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Stability Healthcare Culture & Environment Education Infrastructure

(weight: 25% of total) (weight: 20% of total) (weight: 25% of total) (weight: 10% of total) (weight: 20% of total)

Prevalence of petty crime Availability of private healthcare Humidity/temperature rating Availability of private education Quality of road network

Prevalence of violent crime Quality of private healthcare Discomfort of climate to travelers Quality of private education Quality of public transport

Threat of terror Availability of public healthcare Level of corruption Public education indicators Quality of international links

Threat of military conflict Quality of public healthcare Social or religious restrictions Availability of good quality housing

Threat of civil unrest/conflict Availability of over-the-counter drugs Level of censorship Quality of energy provision

General healthcare Sporting availability Quality of water provision

Cultural availability Quality of telecommunications

Food & drink

Consumer goods & services of product availability

Liveability Index – Rating Criteria

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In the liveability index by the economist, these are the main elements of the rating criteria And based on that the world’s top 5 cities are

25V I E N N A

#1THE WORLD’S MOST

LIVEABLE CITY

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Last summer I was in Vienna, and the one thing I enjoyed the most, was not the marvelous architecture or the breathtaking landscape, it was the ability to walk, to spend hours walking safely and to be able to appreciate the beauty of the city while walking

26M E L B O U R N E

LIVEABLE CITY

27S Y D N E Y

LIVEABLE CITY

28O S A K A

LIVEABLE CITY

29C A L G A R Y

LIVEABLE CITY

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And these are the top 10 cities with the breakdown of rating points

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Infrastructure

Quality of Road NetworkQuality of Transportation Network

Pedestrians

Public Transit

Cyclists

Vehicles

Priorities of road design

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So if we take infrastructure as one of the main elements of liveability, Quality of Road Network and Quality of Transportation Network We need to set the priorities for road design, are we designing for people or for vehicles?

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Street Design Elements

1 Pedestrians

2 Transit Users

3 Bicyclists

4 Motor Vehicles

5 Medians

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Here we start with a city boulevard with commercial frontage, that’s about 60m wide and you can find the transit lanes, parking lanes and the generous pedestrian realm Then A standard city avenue, a standard city access lane and a standard city street

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1 Pedestrians

2 Transit Users

3 Bicyclists

4 Motor Vehicles

5 Medians

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Here is the same concept but for smaller scale towns, still the pedestrian realm is generous

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1 Pedestrians

2 Transit Users

3 Bicyclists

4 Motor Vehicles

5 Medians

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And here you see the streets of a residential neighborhood where the pedestrian realm is even larger to provide more safety for residents

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1 Pedestrians

2 Transit Users

3 Bicyclists

4 Motor Vehicles

5 Medians

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And here’s an industrial area where vehicles are given more space compared to residential areas

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1 Pedestrians

2 Transit Users

3 Bicyclists

4 Motor Vehicles

5 Medians

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And here’s a city transit avenue that accommodates a tram line, you can notice here how the vehicles space has been minimized and more space has been given to pedestrians

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Pedestrian RealmDesign Criteria

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Now let’s review the design criteria of the pedestrian realm 1st is proper sizing based on use

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2nd is accessibility for all, considering people of determination

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3rd is the safe connection between pedestrian zones for a safe and uninterrupted walking path

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4th is the clear and informative signage and crossing signals

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5th is attractiveness, including vegetation and street furniture

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6th is security, including street lighting and active commercial frontage

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7th is quality surfaces that reduce the risk of slippage and prevent rainwater run-off

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Finally efficient drainage using gravity and slopes and benefitting from the rainwater for vegetation

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Lane Narrowing

Narrow lanes reduce speedsand minimize crashes on citystreets by way of reducing theright-of-way and making driverswary of traffic and adjacentusers. Use the additionalspace for pedestrian space,cycle facilities, or greeninfrastructure.

Traffic CalmingTechniques

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Another important concept is the traffic calming techniques that are used to restrain vehicles from speeding inside residential and pedestrian areas There are many techniques, one of which is simply narrowing the lanes

https://globaldesigningcities.org/

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Corner Radii

Narrowing corner radii reducevehicle turning speeds as wellas pedestrian crossingdistances. Minimizing the sizeof a corner radius is critical tocreating safe and compactintersections.

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Another technique is narrowing corner radii to force vehicles to slow down

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Gateway Treatments

Gateway treatments alertdrivers that they are entering aslower area. This treatmentmay include signage, entryportals, speed tables, raisedcrossings, and curbextensions.

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A 3rd technique is gateway treatment to alert drivers that they are entering a slower area

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Chicanes and Lane Shifts

Chicanes and lane shifts usealternating parking, curbextensions, or edge islands toform an S-shaped path oftravel which lowers vehiclespeeds.

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Then there’s lane shifts by creating an S shape

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Mini Roundabouts

Mini roundabouts are roundislands at intersections thatserve to both reduce speedsand organize traffic, routingvehicles around the islandrather than directly across theintersection.

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And mini roundabouts at intersections

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Speed Tables

Speed tables are similar tospeed humps, but have a flattop, typically 6–9 m long. Whenspeed tables are combinedwith pedestrian crossings, atthe intersection or mid-block,they are called raisedcrossings.

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And speed tables that are also beneficial as pedestrian crossings

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Pavement Materials and Appearance

Pavement appearance can bealtered through uniquetreatments that add visualinterest, such as colored orpattern-stamped asphalt,concrete, or concrete pavers,which can be used to makeother traffic calming techniquesmore noticeable to drivers.Pedestrian crossings andintersections can be painted tohighlight crossing areas.

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And finally the paving materials and colors, such as stamped concrete, cobble stone or concrete pavers

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Before

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Here’s an example of a regular city street that can be found in almost any city

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After

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And here’s how it could turn into a liveable space where people can walk, cycle, or just hang out without interruption

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After

Israels Plads,Copenhagen

Before

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And here’s a real-life example from Denmark, this is how israels plads in Copenhagen looked like

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After

Israels Plads,Copenhagen

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And here how it looks like today, and here’s a short video of how people are enjoying it, this is what you get when you design for people

Israels Plads, Copenhagen, Denmark (2018)

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Crime Prevention ThroughEnvironmental Design

CPTED

• Sight lines

• Lighting

• Concealed or Isolated Routes

• Entrapment Areas

• Isolation

• Land Use Mix

• Activity Generators

• Ownership, Maintenance,• and Management

• Signs and Information

• Overall Design

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Now just a quick introduction on the new trend named CPTED or Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, where the proper urban design helps reduce crime rates, the main elements here are

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SUSTAINABILITY

• What should we do to reserve adequate resources for the upcoming generations?

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Well now let’s talk about sustainability, What should we do to reserve adequate resources for the upcoming generations?

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Triple Bottom Line

PEOPLE PLANET PROFIT

SocialResponsibility

Environmental Stewardship

EconomicProsperity

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Sustainability is all about the triple bottom lime or the 3Ps, people, planet and profit, or social responsibility, environmental stewardship and economic prosperity

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Let’s quickly review the sustainable cities index that was titled “citizen centric cities” and based on the 3 pillars, people planet profit These are the top world’s sustainable cities, London Stockholm Edinburgh Singapore Vienna etc.

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PEOPLE Pillar IndicatorsEducation

Health

Demographics

Income inequality

Affordability

Work-life balance

Crime

Access to public transport services

Transport applications and digital capabilities

Cultural offerings

Cost of broadband

Digital public services

Wi-Fi availability

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And here’s the breakdown based on each pillar, if we take people pillar these are the main indicators and Edinburgh tops the ranking

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PLANET Pillar Indicators

Environmental exposure

Green spaces

Energy

Air pollution

Greenhouse gas emissions

Waste management

Drinking water and sanitation

Bicycle infrastructure

Electric vehicle incentives

Negative emissions technologies

Natural disaster monitoring

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While in planet pillar these are the indicators and Stockholm is on top

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PROFIT Pillar Indicators

Transport infrastructure

Economic development

Ease of doing business

Tourism

Connectivity

Employment

University technology research

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And concerning profit pillar these are the indicators and Singapore is number 1

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MostadamSaudi Arabia’s Green Building Rating System

International rating systems are inspired by international or country-specific standards. These can’t feasibly be applied in the GCC area. So one of the main reasons Mostadam was developed was to focus on applying sustainability principles that are influenced by local climate, cultural context and environmental characteristics.

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Actually there’s a significant breakthrough towards sustainability in the Arab World, there’s Estidama rating system in Abu Dhabi, Saafat in Dubai, and recently KSA introduced its green building rating system named “Mostadam”, and I had the privilege to contribute in developing and testing this code and I can tell that it’s influenced by local climate, cultural context and environmental characteristics of our region.

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Sustainable City

Dubai

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Now let’s look into 2 case studies of smaller scale sustainable cities in our arab world The 1st is sustainable city in Dubai

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Courtesy of Diamond Developers

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Masdar City

Abu Dhabi

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The other example is Masdar city in abu dhabi

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Courtesy of Masdar City

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SMARTNESS

• How could IoT and intelligent connectivity solutions improve the efficiency of our cities?

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Now about smartness, How could IoT and intelligent connectivity solutions improve the efficiency of our cities?

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Smart Cities Index1

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Where Are We? Liveability Sustainability Smartness What Should We Do?

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Let’s take a quick look on the world’s smartest cities as per the IMD Business School in Switzerland

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And here’s the full ranking of the cities included in he survey, our arab cities are not in very good ranks

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RIYADH, KSA

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This is a sample report on cities showing evaluation criteria, I’ve selected Riyadh so you can find its score in health & safety, mobility, activities, opportunities and governance

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RIYADH, KSA

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And here’s 2 very important surveys, the 1st is about the highest priority indicators for people in the city, so for the people of Riyadh these are road congestion, affordable housing, air pollution public transport and green spaces The other survey is about the attitude of the people towards the requirements of a smart city, for example are you willing to concede personal date in order to improve traffic congestion, are you comfortable with face recognition technologies to lower crime, etc.

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COPENHAGEN

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Here are some success stories in cities that have adopted smart technologies, for example Copenhagen achieved significant energy savings of 76% by modernizing street lighting to intelligent LEDs

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CHICAGO

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Chicago saved more than100M dollars by reducing energy use and it expecting a completely smart street lighting system to be operational soon

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GLASGOW

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Glasgow is creating an integrated smart city management platform to reduce energy consumption and increase road safety and health benefits

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INTERNETOF

THINGS

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the term IoT or internet of things encompasses objects that "talk" to each other while connected to the internet, By combining these connected devices with automated systems, it is possible to gather information, analyse it and create an action

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INTERNETOF

THINGS

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And this opens endless doors for city authorities to monitor and manage energy, water, climate change, lighting, traffic, communication with citizens, security cameras, smoke detectors, face recognition, etc.

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ImproveResilience & Reach Sustainability Goals

EaseCongestion, Enhance Road Safety & Save Lives

BoostCity & Neighborhood Safety

Connect& Inform the Public

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Here are some benefits that can be achieved by applying IoT and smart systems in a city

TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE & SMART ARAB CITY PARADIGM

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Courtesy of Itron

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This is a short demo of a smart street lighting management platform that’s based on the concept of IoT

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WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

• What should be done. how can authorities, communities and individuals participate in making Arab cities sustainable and livable?

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Finally, what should be done. how can authorities, communities and individuals participate in making Arab cities sustainable and livable?

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Let’s take a look on a case study of a project that we at NAGA architects are currently busy with, it’s about humanizing a small city somewhere in the arab region, the city’s name is confidential as the project is still in the making, but it acts as a paradigm of lots of arab cities, huge amount of asphalt, no options to get around but by car

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no consideration to the people whatsoever, it’s a city designed for vehicles

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So for example let’s take this intersection in the city’s main road, and notice the very light traffic, bearing in mind that the photo wasn’t taken on a holiday or a weekend

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Here’s how it looks from above, it’s just buildings surrounded by asphalt, human beings are completely out of the scene

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Courtesy of NAGA Architects

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This is what we proposed, a decent, wide and safe pedestrian realm, proper crossings for people

https://www.naga.ae/

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Consideration for pedestrians, cyclists and people with determination, and a greenery buffer between the road and the walkway

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This is a small intersection in the same road, same issue

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A small roundabout would be a good solution considering the low traffic rate

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This is what the curbside currently look like, there's barely any space for people to walk although it’s a commercial street

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And this is what we are proposing, and the benefits here are not only environmental and social, but also economical, let’s watch a short animation of our proposal

Presentation Title

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Authorities

Communities

Individuals

public transit

healthy lifestyle

socially active

wise consumption

Regulations

Incentives

Revise Street Design

Infrastructure

educating the public

non-profit initiatives

equality & diversity

social activities

SUSTAINABLESMART

ARAB CITY

Presenter

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So, there are 3 axes of responsibility here, authorities that should formalize regulations that support sustainability, introduce incentives for businesses and households that adapt with sustainability goals, revise the urban planning guidelines for more liveable streets, and develop smarter and more reliable infrastructure Then communities that should promote diversity and equality, introduce non-profit initiatives inline with the main goals, educate the public about the need and the benefit of sustainability values and support social activities in the city, finally there’s you and me, the individuals, we should use the public transit more often, we should follow a healthy lifestyle, we should be socially active in the community and we should be very wise and savvy in consuming resources, with all that we can achive a sustainable and smart arab city

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• Urban Sprawl, By Dr. Stephen R. Overmann, Southeast Missouri State University

• What if everything you know about the suburbs is wrong?, By The Architect’s Newspaper, November 30, 2017

• Global Street Design Guide, By Global Designing Cities Initiative

• Sidewalk Toronto, By Sidewalk Labs

• The Global Liveability Index, By The Economist Intelligence Unit

• Abu Dhabi Urban Street Design Manual, By Abu Dhabi’s Department of Urban Planning & Municipalities

• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, By International CPTED Association

• Citizen Centric Cities 2018 - Sustainable Cities Index, By Arcadis

• The Sustainable City, By Diamond Developers

• Masdar City, By Masdar City Abu Dhabi - Urban Planning & Smart Cities

• What is the Internet of Things?, By WIRED UK

• Smart City Index 2019, By IMD Business School

• Smart Communities, Sustainable Future, by Itron

• Urban Environment Design Guidelines, By Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Municipal & Rural Affairs

• NAGA Architects, Engineers, Designers, Planners

REFERENCES

International CPTEDAssociation

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Here are the references, thank you for your attention and here’s my contact information for any further discussion, and my business cards are here too

http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/1027/1052055/Regional_Updates/updateXX.htm#agrument

https://archpaper.com/2017/11/what-if-everything-you-know-about-the-suburbs-is-wrong-infinite-suburbia/#gallery-0-slide-0

https://globaldesigningcities.org/publication/global-street-design-guide/

https://www.sidewalktoronto.ca/documents/

https://www.eiu.com/topic/liveability

https://nelsonnygaard.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Abu-Dhabi-StreetDesignManual.pdf

https://cpted.net/

https://www.arcadis.com/en/global/our-perspectives/sustainable-cities-index-2018/citizen-centric-cities/

https://www.thesustainablecity.ae/

https://masdar.ae/en/masdar-city

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/internet-of-things-what-is-explained-iot

https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/reports/imd-smart-city-index-2019/