Urbanism, Meaning and Objectives
Urbanism is defined as "the study of cities; their economic, political, social and cultural environment, and the imprint of all these forces on the built environment" (Encyclopedia). Urbanism is about creating human communities and living together. It is about 'quality of life'. It is dynamic, diverse, moving, consistent, aesthetic, and systematic. Urbanism is beyond limits, the urban designer is an artist, ecologist, archaeologist, socialist, scientist, historian, and philosopher.
The word 'urban' refers to the city life, in contrary to rural. Urbanism is a system established to overcome problems of urban rural areas, and pursue a clear understanding of contemporary living. In the beginning of 20th century, the awareness of urbanism increased in many parts of the world, basis for planning established, and town planning laws and building laws for urban areas were adopted.
Urban design regulations are important to create a new art of city planning that encompasses policies and strategies regarding land use, zoning regulations, urban change, living standards, sustainable use of resources , and economic proficiency, based on the social structure of the city. The essential urban design qualities include; context, accessibility, connectivity, versatility, legibility, compatibility, creativity, choice, and collaboration.
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Urbanism of the Historic Islamic Cities Urbanism of the Historic Islamic Cities
"The most mystical, most religious, most wonderful, they are more ordinary than most things" (Alexander, 1979)
Historic city discourse in the field of urbanism usually associated with the notions of culture (a framework that recognizes social and historical dimensions of urban life), identity (specific characteristics of place), and authenticity. These concepts where invented and adopted as the main focus of a retrospective attitude in the confront with modernity and globalization.
In the case of Islamic historic cities, questions of culture, identity, and authenticity were often misjudged and misunderstood. Orientalism, which is a kind of Western intellectual authority and a style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient within Western culture, has dominated the area. Orientalist's knowledge of Islam was superficial; as a result, some concepts were misunderstood, wrongly chosen or incompletely applied. Orientalism was developed during the colonialism era that represents imbalance of power. However, powerless people had some capacity, this reticulation made the process of sorting and differentiation between authentic and exotic, much more complicated.
The history of traditional Islamic cities regarding urbanism, could be categorized into three phases; the early decades after the expedition of Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w), the following two centuries (Umayyad and Abbasid States), and the colonialism era.
Urbanism of the Historic Islamic Cities
First, it is important to note that Islam, the eternal message, has reformed the lives of Islamic societies, and had great impact on the social life. It is a religion of action and a system of life, conveyed to guide humanity, so that people march in its light and build life and culture according to its teachings.
During the early decades of Islam, cities that witnessed remarkable changes were the cities with majority converters to the new religion. The city of Al-Medina was the first city that witnessed changes. Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w), who was the ruler and the highest authority, established the cornerstone for the city of Medina. The most apparent features and policies to build the city were as follows:
Building a relatively big and central mosque (Masjid), which was a place for administration, and social gathering, in addition to worshipping Encouraging people to build their city with respect to each others' rights and with the sustainable use of available resources The urban form of the past wasn't rejected, it was developed and improved to correspond to the new requirements Collective life was encouraged; people were urged to perform their prayers in the Masjid, and deal with each other as brothers and sisters regardless their roots and social status However, the time the prophet Mohammed (s.a.w) was going through was very harsh; too many challenges and too many people wanted to stop the new faith and to do so many plots to injure and kill him. The battles between Muslims and unbelievers dominated their life activities. As a result, Islamic theory and principles didn't come to be fully practiced in urban life.
Urbanism in the First Two Centuries of Islam
"Islamic culture has always been primarily urban" (Grabar, 1995) In the first two centuries, Islamic civilization attained high level of cultural productivity. Ostentation, which is almost an expression of power (not related to Islam), was the most remarkable feature of architecture, "whatever it's social or personal function, there hardly exists a major monument of Islamic architecture that does not reflect power in some fashion" (Grabar, 1995). In this regard, it is useful to emphasize that urban features of the city are centre to this paper rather than individual buildings details.
The urban fabric of the traditional city consisted of central mosques that were multi-purpose and accessible to all, markets that encompassed other public services, a net of compressed streets of all shapes and sizes, few squares (maidans), and series of detached houses, which often contain courtyards.
The main features of urbanism were as follows There were no strict rules for the buildings' construction, however, Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) endeavoured to deduce Islamic laws and extract the regulations from their sources (Qur'an, the word of Allah, and Sunnah, sayings of Prophet Mohammed), provided systems of decision-making to organize the building process and the urban physical character.
Tyrant rulers were controlling the building process, their decisions were macro. As a result, the urban form (the three dimensional state of the city) was often an expression of their desires, and didn't conduct a pure message of Islam Although ruler's decisions where macro in nature, Islamic laws could affect the road restrictions and legislations, and the citizens aggregate significant impact on building process to some instant. Islamic affairs of the road rights and the relations with neighbours,
Islamic law of 'waqf' which resulted into real-estate perpetuity, the obligations of controlling visual overlooking for the sanctity of the family, and Islamic recommendations of beauty and aesthetic values, are some examples of that impact Traditional Islamic city was shaped by some structural elements,
including; the domes and minarets that dominated the skyline, the street qualities; such as rhythm, repetitiveness, and walkability, the axial composition with clustered houses, and the use of the square forms and courtyards The question of identity and authenticity, in terms of following Islamic theory, became very critical. The structure of the city was immense and astonishing production of coherent cultures, which responded to the rulers' wishes, building requirements and construction capabilities, but relatively engaged with Islamic thoughts Islamic teachings urge people to learn, work hard, be productive, be honest, and contribute to the civilization and the restoration of the globe. These teachings collaborated with the spiritual and love interactions to rise great commitments and devotions to build and develop all aspects of life.
Islamic conquests resulted into a great mixture of civilizations that contributed to the produce of the urban fabric. This patchwork turned the city into a panoramic displays of various cultures, and affected the building process, which made it a dilemma to separate between the genuine Islamic production and the imported one, because of some similarities between cultures, "all cultures were originally and internally coherent, bound together by a spirit and genius"(Grabar, 1995).
Urbanism of the Colonialism Era
The 19th and 20th centuries were an era of accelerated diffusion of Western ideas around the world, with no exception regarding urban design. In this period, many historic Islamic cities came under the control of different non-Islamic forces that have different ideologies and diverse policies of building and urban life. Orientalism was developed during this period, and foreign ideologies dominated. As a result, alien building modes and strange urban forms were imposed, which contributed to the loss of identity.
Urbanism features of this period were as follows Irrespective of the interpretation, colonial urbanization constructed new urban forms as a result of the coincidence between cultural hegemony and political domination. Those forms delivered a segregation system that was both ethnic and social, reflecting the colonial environment.
The urban fabric was still compact, inherited some distinctive features from the previous period. However, discrete rulers and colonizers kept dominating the decision-making process and adding dramatic changes to the coherent fabric of the city.
Sometimes, the aspirations of some of the colonized may coincide with the objectives of the colonizer, which made planning techniques and visible symbols of specific cultures easily integrated into the local context. The local context may assimilate Western style urbanism, resulting into endogenous policy of importation of Western born forms and techniques rather than from an exportation of these via colonial dominance. Introducing new forms and techniques with multiple identities weakened the cultural influence and cultural appreciation of the colonized and enhanced globalization.
The 'urban ills' associated with colonial urbanization urged the need to adopt new planning techniques, which contributed to the development of town planning. New concepts and notions evolved regarding place and space.
This demonstration of the urbanism process in the history of Islamic cities outlines the difficult and complicated task of extracting the concepts and methods that related purely to Islam, and stresses the need to study and analyze basic Islamic doctrine in relation to town planning, in order to establish a firm basis for the policies and regulations necessary to build the future Islamic State of Al-Mahdi (a.s)
2. Globalization and culture in the Current Urbanism Practice of Islamic cities
"Places are constantly in tension between what they are, what they ought to become and what the mediations of global capital and power make of them" (Arefi, 1999)
The process of urbanization and the cultural production have developed in a dialectical relationship, as they have influenced, constructed, shaped and reshaped each other. The urban fabric of most Islamic cities has changed drastically due to the influence of colonial urbanism. The diverse and tangled urban forms emerged from the colonized period, the loss of identity and authenticity due to the ideologies of the rulers which were remote from Islamic ideology, the consecutive foreign and dictator governments, and the gradual diverge of Muslims' thoughts from the basic Islamic beliefs, have evolved into a great rejection of the past and glorification of the new standards and techniques, which promoted the proliferation of inauthentic places and the emergence of placelessness.
Moreover, the invention of the car and the wide spread use of it as a way of transportation, had great impact on the urban fabric. New neighbourhoods were built on the borders of old neighbourhoods without planning strategies for integration, which widened the gap between the old and the new. In addition to that, new roads were cut into the old fabric without any considerations to the urban and social values. "In addition to commodification and devaluation of place, the roots of placelessness lie deep in globalization" (Arefi, 1999).
In the last few decades, sensible and knowledgeable architects led a retrospective revolution for cultural and identity appreciation. As a result, new attitudes like urban infill and urban conservation practice were adopted to enhance authenticity and allow flexibility to integrate the old fabric into the modern city development plans. International standards became less important and local historical identity was enhanced.
However, the contemporary discourse on the authenticity of place "has been largely influenced by modernity and globalization" (Arefi, 1999). Due to this influence on urban conservation process, cultural production has turned into a "source of opportunities and threats" (Ouf, 2001) in urban restructuring.
Cultural production, in the meantime, represents basically visible signs and symbols that express a distinct history, provide art display, and attract tourists and public with the spirit of the past "business of cities" (Sibel, 2001), without comprehensive studies for the basic elements and tools required for a successful urban practice that considers the basic principles of Islam rather than architectural symbols of a specific time.
Local or Global
"The call for proper connections between places goes far beyond a test of architectural ability and talent for urban design. The dilemma lies deep in our social norms and collective consciousness" ( Arefi, 1999)
The subtle arguments of local verses global are significant to the evolution of our understanding of global systemic change. The critique of the social evolutionism literature has dominated the efforts to locate globalization, because globalization, in general, weakens local ties and enhances homogeneity and sameness, based on the tenets of consumerism and capital mobility. On the other hand, social relations strengthen local ties and identity, and promote the process of place development.
The current problematic of place evolved from using criteria such as applicability and importance in selecting Western models, "the input of experts whose work was closely modeled on foreign examples was often not appropriate for the special context" (Nasr, eds., 2003).
The debate about global urbanization, which is based on the significance of cities and the development process, revolving around the process of framing a relationship between globalization and locality impacts, exportation or importation of urbanism techniques, the network structure of globalizing cities, the methodological debates about understanding global networks with urban change and with the synchronization movement of people. Continuous urban change draws conceptual framework for local changes and transformation.
The theoretical synthesis of 'transnational urbanism' presented by the urban theorist,
Michael Peter Smith, is considered as "the most balanced theoretical approach to globalization, seeing it as it works, without any vilification or glorification" (Encyclopedia). The term 'transnational urbanism' refers to a sophisticated and complicated process involving cultures, policies, institutions, actors, and localities. The primary sites of this 'cultural metaphor' are global cities.
This theory deepens our conceptual complication on globalization. It frames stimulating connections between the field of urban studies and the field of transnational studies, suggests methods for reconstructing urban theory to coincide with socio-spatial dynamics and the changing urban international relations. Smith suggests that we need to look beyond the intention of globalization and post-modernity, to recognize locality and the growth of cultural practices from a different point of view.
The theory of 'transnational urbanism' could bring a rational balance to the problematic of globalization and the loss of identity, but with the unbalanced laws that govern the earth and the dominance of man-made laws and the commanding forces, this balance will be restricted and confined to specific societies.
On the contrary, in the case of 'Islamic globalization' and the State of Al -Mahdi (as), when the Divine law controls the earth and brings out unity, justice, and equal opportunities to all societies, 'transnational urbanism' would achieve its fundamental goal of the balance between those conflicting issues.
Islamic Globalization and associated Teachings of Islam
In order to enrich our ideas about 'Islamic globalization', it is important to specify some Islamic teachings that enhance globalization. Islamic message is extensive and global, it was forwarded to all nations on the globe, not only one nation. It was conducted for building and spreading civilization on the earth. It is a broad message that covers the matters of ideology, culture, health, education, social life, and every aspect of our life.
Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w) is the Messenger of Allah (s.w.t) for all people in the globe. Quraan declared that Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w) was appointed as a messenger of goodness, truth and grace for all people living on the earth "And we sent thee not (O' Our Apostle Muhammad) but a mercy unto all the worlds" (Holy Quraan 21:107)
Humanitarian Equality is another feature of Islamic teachings. Islam considers all people on earth equal in their humanitarian rights, without any differentiations between them. The only distinction would be with more fear of Allah (s.w.t) "Verily the most honoured of you with God is the one of you who guardeth (himself) the most against evil" (Holy Quraan 49:13).
Islam considers all Muslims as brothers, despite their origins, languages, and cultures. Love, loyalty, and responsibility are the key elements of the countenance of this brotherhood, and this bond of unity and cooperation attaches Muslims to each other, any where on earth. Islamic doctrine encompasses many collective aspects that encourage social bonds. While respecting the rights of individuals, Islam expresses plenty of regulations for the right of groups. Islam encourages collectivity in all kinds of worshipping, eating, and various aspects of social life.
3. Towards a New Approach
The developments in political, economic, cultural and social spheres restructure urban spaces. These changes could affect the fabrication of urban space and lead to more invention of concepts. Consequently, town planning law and the building law for urban areas will develop and change. Before suggesting some urbanism guidelines for the future Islamic State of Al-Mahdi (a.s), it is useful to analyze parts of the Islamic theory and their Implications on town planning process, in order to propose a conceptual framework for a pure Islamic practice in urbanism.
Islamic theory and its Implication on urbanism
The term 'Islam' means submission and obedience. It can be defined -descriptively- as "following the orders and prohibitions without objection" (Al-Balagh, 1994). The religion of Islam is composed of three key elements; doctrine, legislation (social laws), and morals. Islamic message is complete, can solve all the problems, and encompass all aspects of life, including urbanism, "Never is there anything without a law concerning it or a known Sunnah" (Imam Sadiq/Al-Balagh, 1994).
The basic goal of the Islamic message is to guide people towards the perfection and happiness in their lives. Following are some Islamic beliefs that would affect urbanism and the building process The belief of the Oneness of Allah in himself, His attributes, His actions, and worship, has a perfecting impact on the human spirit, as the ultimate goal of a Muslim is to attain Allah's pleasure.
This spiritual interaction can be reflected on life affairs and translated into an integral system that aims to establish perfect society and perfect urban life The aim of creating humanity is to worship Allah (s.w.t), reform the earth, and achieve longevity with good and sustainable use of the available resources. People are urged to mobilize their energies in the domain of good and constructive work, and avoid being dissipated and lost In Islam, the basic criteria and guide for various life activities is that they should respect their nature and impact on social life.
In other words, they should be clear from crime and evil. Islam strongly challenges injustice, corruption, tyranny, and despotism. This criteria should be considered in the process of framing planning policies, specially land use proposals The incorporation of religious activities with different aspects of life is emphasized in Islamic theory, and could be translated into mixed use developments, and reflected on some facilities -like mosques- in discrete diversity of functions and a lively social life The belief in justice, socio-equality, and distribution equity would strongly affect planning strategies and regulations There is no coercion in Islam.
Freedom of choice is represented in Islamic legislations, in a condition that no damage or harm will occur to anybody as a result of that freedom Noxious ethics such as monopoly, bribery, egoism, subversion, and perversion are prohibited in Islam, and should be prevented in town planning process Worshipping in Islam is not always individually performed. Islam urges Muslims to perform worshiping together, which would promote collectivity and affect urban life Islamic teachings provoke people to demand knowledge, wisdom, and be flexible to change.
Islam has provided unchangeable rules for the constant needs of humanity, but with fluctuating needs, the rules are much more changeable as far as they coincide with Islamic key principles. This would enhance flexibility in dealing with urban change Duties in Islam are within man's ability.
There is never a duty or an obligation that is beyond people's forbearance Islamic recommendations of beauty, adornment, and cleanliness would preserve public health for individuals and for the society, and affect the aesthetic components of urbanism The belief in the eternal life after death and the resurrection notion can create a spiritual motivation and movements in mankind and the design thinking Islamic doctrine stresses the significance and eternity of the soul, which may result in the perpetuity of special buildings -such as tombs- which affects urban rules and regulations.
Urbanism Guidelines for the Islamic State of Al-Mahdi (a.s)
The developments and transformation of the components of urban spaces should be taken into consideration in the process of establishing a package of precepts and urbanism guidelines for the future Islamic State of Al-Mahdi (a.s). Components of such package -in addition to the previous notes- include:
Implementation of town planning law and building law that is based on Islamic doctrine as the main reference, and the main source of legislation rather than specific urban forms that might not be completely related to Islam. The key element for this derivation is the originality of those sources.
Synthesizing with other ideas, practices, professions and with communities, which may lead to further innovation Adoption of transnaitional and trans-cultural planning process, that takes place between nations, and provide a framework for spatial analysis that extend beyond them, and construct strong relations and unity between them, while acknowledging their different requirements.
Implementation of the socially progressive planning policies that enhance the fixed identity (distinctive character and heritage), reflect it on the urban environment, and diminish the negative impacts of flexible identities (imported forms and models) to create a compatible urban fabric Strong institutions that enhance education, training, research and development, to promote productivity Strategic policy developments and management to ensure adequate resources for sustainable development and lead to economic stability Diversity and freedom of choice for people,
considering the great variety of locals (elite or weak members) Strong accessibility and connectivity with different networks, which achieve linkages between different cities and societies, so that people enjoy the freedom and brotherhood atmosphere of the Islamic State.
Conclusion
Globalization, associated with complexity, social, and spatial fragmentation, has had major implications for the nexus between social relations and space. Thus, the question remains as how invading global cities could be channelled and how cultural production, as the only way to create or restore genuine and authentic places, could be the cure to the current problematic of place.
Islamic globalization in the future Islamic State of Al-Mahdi (as), would achieve a balance between positive aspects of globalization, on one hand, and cultural and authentic characteristics of place, on the other hand. Islam is a timeless and livable religion; it doesn't belong to a specific place or specific time. In the process of producing town planning laws that are based on Islam, Islamic doctrine and legislations should be questioned and analyzed, in order to deduce the right rules from their origins. Monuments from the past maybe questioned and analyzed to add to the experience, but not to be considered as the main references.
Islam provides Divine judgment for every occurrence, understands human's physical requirements, and establishes rules and regulations that are based on values sufficient for him. With the respectful vision to the city's own criteria, establishing stabilization between collectivity and particularism, accommodation with various and innovative urban concepts, flexibility in dealing with the continuous changes in the urban environment, and in the shade of the Divine and prudent rules, Islamic globalization is capable of providing a superior and extraordinary experience to urbanism.
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