Despite the growing importance of the Persian Gulf region to global commerce, geopolitics, and the emergence of global cities, so far the port cities of the region have not been studied in a systematic, in-depth, and analytical manner. The proposed manuscript, entitled Gateways to the World, is meant to fill this gaping hole in the scholarship on the Middle East in general and the Persian Gulf region in particular. This is a multi-disciplinary study that looks at the historical development and evolution of Gulf cities, the emergence of national boundaries between them and the role the cities played in the drawing and consolidation of these boundaries, the over-sized global aspirations of some and the resource neglect and starvation of others, their role on bestowing identity on their residents, and their larger consequences and ramifications for processes of centralizing domestic power, showcasing architectural—and therefore national—grandeur, and the epistemology of Persian Gulf studies. Glittering skylines, high urbanization rates, and massive development projects in the Gulf have increasingly attracted the attention of urban development scholars and practitioners. Within the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, an average of 88 percent of the total population live in cities, while on average only 56 percent of Yemen, Iraq, and Iran’s population live in urbanized spaces. The tempo and spatial ethos of urbanization in the Gulf differ markedly from patterns of traditional urbanism in other developing countries. Within a matter of decades, Gulf port cities have rapidly evolved from regional centers of cultural and economic exchange to globalizing cities deeply embedded within the global economy. Exponentially evident features of Gulf cities such as international hotel chains, shopping centers, and entertainment complexes have classified these cities as centers of consumption. Other urban trends, such as exhibition and conference centers, media and knowledge cities, and branch campuses of Western universities have integrated Gulf cities within numerous global networks. From the advent of oil discovery until present day, forces of economic globalization and migration, national conceptualizations of citizenship, and various political and economic structures have collectively underpinned the politics of urban planning and development. While oil urbanization and modernization direct much of the scholarship on Gulf cities, understanding the evolution of the urban landscape against a social and cultural backdrop is limited within the academic literature. For instance, within the states of the GCC, the citizen-state-expatriates nexus has largely geared the vision and planning of urban real-estate mega-projects. These projects reflect the increasing role of expatriates as consumers and users of urban space, rather than as mere sources of manpower utilized to build the city. Other state initiatives, such as the construction of cultural heritage mega-projects in various Gulf cities, reveal the state’s attempts to reclaim parts of the city for its local citizens in the midst of a growing expatriate urban population. Spatial and temporal segregation are evident in highly privatized, zoned, and segregated spaces in Gulf cities. As part of the state’s drive to create knowledge economies, international higher education institutions convey broader social dynamics such as social stratification, national identity, and citizenship in relation to the creation of knowledge economies. Residential areas, ranging from traditional neighborhoods to gated compounds, inform us about the socio-spatial process of transnationalism within Gulf cities, as well as the inhabitants’ sense of identification with their respective residential communities. In addition to issues of class, nationality, and identity, gender and mobility within the city are vital to understanding urbanizing Gulf societies in relation to the demographic imbalance. The political economy of urban development is an emerging area of inquiry in the scholarship of Gulf cities. For instance, the spectacular architectural design of cultural heritage mega-projects is indicative of increasing cosmopolitanism of urbanized Gulf cities and their aim to cater to global audiences. A particular area of interest is the extent to which the state engages with international consultants, local planners and architects in constructing cosmopolitan heritage projects that solidify both national and transnational identity. Other sites in the city, such as the presence and use of public space in the urban landscape, can help in understanding processes of social interaction and the form and function of authority in the city. Some spaces, such as the Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain, have become symbolic sites of political contestation. Other seemingly less securitized sites and features of Gulf cities, such as Souqs (traditional marketplace), seek to reinvent traditional forms of urbanism by reconciling culture and the creation of public space. In addition to the development projects and planned spatial configurations of Persian Gulf cities, political and economic dislocation has also given rise to informal settlements. Greater academic focus on these unplanned areas may provide insight into the city’s more inclusive areas, how transnational connections are formed by their users, and the ability of city dwellers to participate in shaping the form and function of their city’s space. Gateways to the World: The Rise and Fall of Port Cities in the Persian Gulf takes a systematic, multi-disciplinary approach. It begins with a broader look at how the emergence and significance of cities along the Persian Gulf waterway should be contextualized. It then moves to historical examinations of the emergence of national borders and boundaries, how they became “port cities” of various kinds, what are the semantics of studying them, and what the glittering skylines and cityscapes and their remaining traditional neighborhoods mean for the international political economy and for the identity of their residents. This book presents a comprehensive, and much-needed, study of the nature and variety, the importance, and the domestic and international consequences of port cities along the Persian Gulf.

Salama, A. M. (2016). The Emerging Urban Landscape in the Southern Persian Gulf. In M. Kamrava (ed.), Gateways to the World: Port Cities in the Persian Gulf. Hurst Publishers: London. ISBN # 9781849045636. ________________________ This chapter examines the state of contemporary urban environments in the Gulf, and aims to explore the phenomenon of global flows and their impact on regional urbanism and architecture. The key characteristics of contemporary urbanism are identified through a critical analysis of three main aspects. These include the development of “bespoke” infrastructure to accommodate “global flows;” the decentralizing of urban governance and decision-making to entice investment in the urban environment; and the resulting chaotic but emotionally detached urban scene characterized by exclusive development projects, high-rise agglomerations, and social segregation. As architectural innovation is an integral component of the urban landscape of emerging cities in the Gulf, I classify contemporary endeavors into two categories: the overt and subliminal agenda to construct an iconic and cultural architectural identity coupled with the resultant evolution of “multiple modernities” as reflected in a strikingly vibrant plurality of trends. Case examples demonstrate the rush to brand art and culture into a comprehensive and admired identity supported by a rigid agenda to encourage and sustain educational and environmental awareness. Based on the results of in-depth discussion and analysis of these issues the chapter concludes with key challenges relevant to the competitive nature of various emerging cities in the Persian Gulf.

This chapter invites the reader to re-think historical parallels of the ways in which Gulf cities have been read, described, and pictured. It does so by comparing the ways in which Kuwait (since the mid-20th C.) and Dubai (since the early 21st C.) have been discussed, described, and visually represented in influential English-language newspapers and magazines, particularly publications that reflect certain hegemonic attributions and Orientalist tropes that have shaped the perception of the Gulf. Given that architectural, infrastructural, and urban developments have always been crucial benchmarks, in my research I have identified four key aspects of the historical and contemporary “branding” of places in the region: (1) superlatives and world comparisons; (2) Orientalist tropes of Gulf spectacles; (3) planning with and for a view from above; and (4) the visual promotion of iconic architecture. Foregrounding this comparison is the understanding that the historical development of both cities has been shaped by the oil economy.

In this path-breaking and multi-layered account of one of the least explored societies in the Middle East, Nelida Fuccaro examines the political and social life of the Gulf city and its coastline, as exemplified by Manama in Bahrain. Written as an ethnography of space, politics and community, it addresses the changing relationship between urban development, politics and society before and after the discovery of oil. By using a variety of local sources and oral histories, Fuccaro questions the role played by the British Empire and oil in state-making. Instead, she draws attention to urban residents, elites and institutions as active participants in state and nation building. She also examines how the city has continued to provide a source of political, social and sectarian identity since the early nineteenth century, challenging the view that the advent of oil and modernity represented a radical break in the urban past of the region.

The Persian Gulf region has become home to some of the world’s fastest growing, most impressive cities, many of them with global aspirations. Gateways to the World presents an in-depth, systematic, and multi-disciplinary approach to the study of these cities. It begins with a broader look at how the emergence and significance of cities along the Persian Gulf waterway should be contextualized. It then moves to historical examinations of the emergence of national borders and boundaries, how they became ‘port cities’ of various kinds, what are the semantics of studying them, and what the glittering skylines and cityscapes and their remaining traditional neighborhoods mean for the international political economy and for the identity of their residents. This book presents a comprehensive study of the nature and variety, the importance, and the domestic and international consequences of port cities along the Persian Gulf.

Excerpt: "UAE and the Gulf: Architecture and Urbanism Now" may ultimately lead to the perpetuation of stereotypes as it focuses for the most part on spectacular and iconic developments. The discussion is thin and offers no information that cannot be gleaned from a cursory look at online material. "Under Construction" however, entails a much more substantive discussion that truly enriches our understanding of urbanism in the region. Despite some shortcomings, it is an excellent read and a welcome addition to the urban and architectural scholarship in the Gulf."

The decades between the 1950s and the 1980s represented a period of nation building in Kuwait. The 1950s Development Program (DP) marks the beginning of this period of rapid modernisation. The DP was a cultural, social, political, and an economic program, introduced by the state to distribute oil wealth among Kuwaiti citizens. However, it resulted in a deeply divided social structure and a stratified urban fabric. The DP also included urban and infrastructural changes, the modernisation of the old town, restrictive housing programs, and neighbourhood planning based on ethnicity and socioeconomic status. These 'modern' transformations represented an overarching state ideology aimed at increasing control of residents' everyday lives. These latent goals were ignored, at first, because of the economic and social opportunities provided by the DP. Thus, the multi-scaled networks established due to DP projects ensured state hegemony within a heterogeneous community and a politically volatile region. On the one hand, this thirty-year period was one of exhilarating and innovative creative activity that crushed crippling historical class dependencies and gender inequalities; on the other, it was a period of severed relationships between residents and the city's natural and built environment. This paper examines the processes and networks of the DP and illustrates how shifts in power can be mapped on the Kuwaiti landscape. The study expands on arguments developed by the author in previously published research, including a 2008 PhD dissertation entitled "Towards a Critique of an Architectural Nahdha: A Kuwaiti Example." The study relies on the primary sources obtained from Kuwait Municipality's archive and indexed in the final chapter of the dissertation; those include architectural and urban projects, drafts of master plans, sociological studies, and correspondence letters between invited architects, planners and state officials. In addition, the author revisits and expands on previously published themes such as the role of invited architects in relation to local actors and the multiple representations of Kuwaiti modernity. These arguments rely on primary sources that provide first-hand testimony of this period of development.