The Souks of Abu Dhabi and the Space in Between.

Over the past six months I have been co authoring with a former colleague from Abu Dhabi University, Dr Magdi Ibraheim, a chapter for an up coming book discussing the souks and marketplaces of the Middle East..

The discussion emerged from a class i taught at Abu Dhabi University on people and urban form. Our chapter discusses the development of marketplaces and malls in the relatively new city of Abu Dhabi, which started to transform into a city in the 1970’s. We discuss how the first modern market place was designed and then replaced in the 2000’s by a dramatic contemporary mall designed by Foster and Partners. We also discuss the development of the nearby Medinat Zayed Mall and it’s relationship to people and how it has change the urban form. We conclude by discussing how the area between the two mall souks could be transformed to create a more walkable city centre.

The academic book was published in 2022.