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Purpose – Commemorating the 15th year anniversary of discourse, knowledge dissemination in architecture and urbanism through the contributions published in Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, since March 2007, this article aims to capture, unpack and categorize the key content of published research outputs during the last five years into knowledge spaces. Design/methodology/approach – While referring to key statistics of various recognized databases in order to highlight the journal growth, development and performance, the approach to the analysis is inspired by Crysler's Writing Spaces: Discourses of Architecture, Urbanism and the Built Environment. This is established through a preliminary conceptual content analysis that enables the development of specific content categories representing knowledge spaces based on the overall contributions to the journal since its inception in 2007 and then mapping the recent contributions, developed over the past five years (2017–2021), to these knowledge spaces. The thrust of the analysis is to instigate a structured understanding of Archnet-IJAR role in the development and dissemination of knowledge in architecture and urbanism. Findings – The examination of the content and the analysis reveal two broad categories of knowledge spaces: established and evolving. Established knowledge spaces are recognized in terms of theorizing architectural and urban production; the public realm and assessment of designed environments; housing, the informal and the vernacular; urban heritage and historic environments; and architectural and urban politics. Evolving knowledge spaces were acknowledged in terms of architectural education and design pedagogy; collaborative planning and community design; architectural and urban sustainability and resilience; health, wellbeing and engaging with nature; and COVID-19 spatial and pedagogical implications. Characterized by clear definition and at the same time transparent borders, the identified knowledge spaces have the ...

With more than 60% of the world population living in urban areas, cities are becoming at the centre of attention in academic institutions and government organizations. However, there appears to be a continuous fragmentation in the types of knowledge developed where issues or concerns are always addressed in isolation and many factors critical to a comprehensive understanding of cities towards creating better urban environments are oversimplified at best or ignored at worst. Therefore, the thrust of this paper is to demonstrate the thought processes involved in instigating frameworks, raising questions, and establishing objectives for responsive city research. It aims to present two triadic agendas that untangle the essential components of city research; the first is the Lefebvrian triadic conception on the production of space and the second is the triadic perspective of lifestyles theories for understanding housing developments, typologies, and choices. Contextually, while the theoretical underpinnings of these agendas are developed based on a body of knowledge generated in the context of the Western world, their conceptualisation is adapted to grasp and examine key unique particularities of selected emerging (and globalised) Arab cities in the Gulf region. Calling for the need for a trans-disciplinary thinking paradigm for city research, the two agendas adopt an integrationist approach that is amenable to understanding the urban realities of these cities.

With more than 60% of the world population living in urban areas, cities are becoming at the centre of attention in academic institutions and government organizations. However, there appears to be a continuous fragmentation in the types of knowledge developed where issues or concerns are always addressed in isolation and many factors critical to a comprehensive understanding of cities towards creating better urban environments are oversimplified at best or ignored at worst. Therefore, the thrust of this paper is to demonstrate the thought processes involved in instigating frameworks, raising questions, and establishing objectives for responsive city research. It aims to present two triadic agendas that untangle the essential components of city research; the first is the Lefebvrian triadic conception on the production of space and the second is the triadic perspective of lifestyles theories for understanding housing developments, typologies, and choices. Contextually, while the theoretical underpinnings of these agendas are developed based on a body of knowledge generated in the context of the Western world, their conceptualisation is adapted to grasp and examine key unique particularities of selected emerging (and globalised) Arab cities in the Gulf region. Calling for the need for a trans-disciplinary thinking paradigm for city research, the two agendas adopt an integrationist approach that is amenable to understanding the urban realities of these cities.

With more than 60% of the world population living in urban areas, cities are becoming at the centre of attention in academic institutions and government organizations. However, there appears to be a continuous fragmentation in the types of knowledge developed where issues or concerns are always addressed in isolation and many factors critical to a comprehensive understanding of cities towards creating better urban environments are oversimplified at best or ignored at worst. Therefore, the thrust of this paper is to demonstrate the thought processes involved in instigating frameworks, raising questions, and establishing objectives for responsive city research. It aims to present two triadic agendas that untangle the essential components of city research; the first is the Lefebvrian triadic conception on the production of space and the second is the triadic perspective of lifestyles theories for understanding housing developments, typologies, and choices. Contextually, while the theoretical underpinnings of these agendas are developed based on a body of knowledge generated in the context of the Western world, their conceptualisation is adapted to grasp and examine key unique particularities of selected emerging (and globalised) Arab cities in the Gulf region. Calling for the need for a trans-disciplinary thinking paradigm for city research, the two agendas adopt an integrationist approach that is amenable to understanding the urban realities of these cities.

Image making is a continuous worldwide practice of architects and designers whose concern is to create meaningful environments. Such a practice results in expressions that either reflect the regional context or mirror the wider global culture. This paper aims at interrogating image making practices in the city of Doha, which has experienced rapid urban transformations, associated with building large scale work and learning environments, mixed use developments, and cultural and sport facilities. Contextualizing current debate on Doha's architecture and urbanism, a critical analysis of geo-cultural politics and on the notion of the 'scapes of flows' is undertaken. Based on contextual, critical, and perceptual approaches image-making practices in the city were discerned. Different types of efforts were categorized and critically analyzed underlying the contextual and critical approaches. The analysis reveals that efforts range from utilizing symbolism in contemporary imaging, to manifesting tradition-modernity in search for image identity, to addressing the global condition towards image making. The perceptual approach established empirical evidence by investigating users' reactions to three notable office buildings that their design attempts to evoke a unique image. This was supported by statements made by CEOs of architectural firms and development companies that reflected a promise towards image making in the architecture of Doha. A concluding critique is introduced to elucidate that while there are incessant attempts at image making, the practice of 'cutting and pasting' dominates in the absence of critical consciousness. Such a critique calls for avoiding 'case by case decision making' the urban governance in the city still adopts while engaging effective place making strategies.

Over the past decade or so, the wealth produced by Qatar's oil and gas exports has generated a construction development boom in its capital city of Doha and the surrounding vicinity. Since the late 1990s, the number of inhabitants has grown from less than 400,000 to more than 1.7 million today. In many respects, Doha is portrayed as an important emerging global capital in the Gulf region, which has been positioning and re-inventing itself on the map of international architecture and urbanism, with a global image of building clusters of glass office towers, as well as cultural and educational.

Recent figures of displaced people in the world have reached more than 60 million suggesting that there has been an exponential increase in the rate of forced and voluntary mobility between cities. This has inevitably caused socially and politically constructed 'borders' to change. This paper examines the different levels of manifestation of migration using two case studies from Scotland and Sweden, to demonstrate different mobility patterns, serving to provide a wider comparison of urban responses to the different magnitudes of influx of migrants and their highly diverse distributions. Within the context of the two cases the paper examines socio-spatial practices of migrant communities and assesses the impact of displaced populations on the urban areas they occupy and vice versa. It also highlights the role of urban practitioners in questioning durable solutions that address the challenges introduced by spatial segregation on infrastructure and local communities. Key contribution of this study aims to shift stereotypical architectural conception towards more resolved contextual solutions that address current socio-cultural needs in urban areas that host displaced communities. Coupled with a greater understanding of the historical trends and future challenges of mass migration, this could be developed into a methodology for further research into proposing socially sustainable solutions that deal with the complex nature of displacement and its socio-spatial impact on urban environments.