Suburban collector road in Shakhbout City, Abu Dhabi, as a car-centric boundary between the desert and the urban. Photo: Apostolos Kyriazis.
Road infrastructure has been essential to the rapid urban development of GCC cities. While it can be used to create opportunities for more sustainable urban lifestyles, it has often taken priority over urban planning, creating barriers to connectivity within cities, and promoting car dependency.
While literature on the topic exists, the different factors that have led to this trajectory of urban development across GCC cities is under-researched. With Abu Dhabi as example, this project contextualises the city's urban development and investigates the impact of road infrastructure on urban life. It analyses the integration of roads in urban planning processes, as well as the effect of existing road infrastructure on mobility and the environment.
This project looks at existing and alternative design approaches that could help with the possible integration of new mobility services in the city, and aims to engage with international and local initiatives to understand local perspectives and draft recommendations for policymakers and relevant institutions.
This project forms part of the Academic Collaboration with Arab Universities Programme, funded by the Emirates Foundation.
Project Output
Research Team
Alexandra Gomes | Principal Investigator
Alexandra is a Research Officer at LSE Cities.
Dr Apostolos Kyriazis | Co-Principal Investigator
Apostolos is Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urbanism, Department of Architecture and Design, Abu Dhabi University.
Peter Schwinger | Consultant
Peter is a transport economist and planning consultant.
Nour Al Ali | Research Assistant
Nour is an architecture student at Abu Dhabi University.
Haya Omar Al-Baiti | Research Assistant
Haya is an architecture student at Abu Dhabi University.
Juman Sebai | Research Assistant
Juman is a third year architecture student at Abu Dhabi University, with an interest in urban planning.
Hiba Syed | Research Assistant
Hiba is a student at Abu Dhabi University, with a focus in architecture and urbanism.
Sepehr Zhand | Research Assistant
Sepehr is a PhD candidate at the Space Syntax Laboratory, UCL, where he investigates how development policies intensify informal growth through applying machine learning.