Developing an Image of a Place:

The Case with Ajman Waterfront U.A.E

Julaihi Wahid, Basim Saleh, Jihad Awad, Nashwa Shiqwarah

Architecture Department, College of Engineering Ajman University, Al Jurf, Ajman United Arab Emirates

Keywords: City Image, Architecture, Community Development, Place Making, Urban Design.

Abstract: The physical development in one particular setting has a strong impact on the community. If the development

respects the ethnic cultural assets through architectural expressions as the theme of the project, the product of

the development will accentuate the newly developed areas. Considering place making as a new approach in

the physical development - urban designers are seeking ways to achieve an integration between the physical

elements with the environment. The phenomenology of a certain place is not entirely dependent on how good

the physical aspects of the design is, however, the way the community lives and how they assimilate with the

environment is the most important. The living environment of the community influenced significantly by the

quality of the attributes of the place. In fact, place making in urban areas highlights the local assets and

inspire the local community to foster the spirit of the place in their setting. Thus, the physical features

introduce the identity of the place design and make known the local image of the place. The present of the

activities are not only to sustain the economic well-being of the people, nonetheless to enhance the quality of

the environment. This paper attempts to explore the elements of place making in the busy urban areas where

the local culture not only exploited for tourist showbiz but to sustain the everyday life of the people in one

setting. By taking an example of the city of Ajman, United Arab Emirates as a case study the author explores

the theory of urban design and the integration of urban features in developing the image of the place. The

findings show that the Ajman waterfront is potential to become an urban attraction along the coastal corridor

as part of the urban recreational area of the city core. The development at the waterfront and the existing

business area will give a strong image to the city of Ajman.

1 INTRODUCTION

Human experience is an important factor for giving

life to the city by encouraging us to understand the

collective urban phenomena and developed the living

environment.

Place making is a new approach in physical

development in creating a place in the environment.

The phenomenology of a certain place is not entirely

dependent on the physical aspects of the design or

how beautiful the architecture is, however, the way

the community lives and how their integration with

the environment is the most important. The concern

for the living environment of the community now lies

on the community themselves especially in the

developing nation. Thus, it is their duty to work

together with the municipal or the policy maker in

developing their living environment. Today, the

quality of the environment not based on the physical

development, however, the activities of the

community helped to create a “place”. This is because

human experience is an important factor for giving

life to the city and encourages us to understand the

urban phenomena collectively and developed the

living environment. From this perspective, the

discussion will focus on the importance of a safe,

comfortable and urban area that can provide 'life' to

integrate activities that can generate the economy and

develop the city. Few scholars discussed the urban

phenomena. These include Relph, (1986) with the

concept of 'place and placelessness', Lynch, (1981) -

'urban image', Jacobs, (1961) - 'eye on the street',

Shirvani (1985) – ‘design principles’, Seamon, (1979)

- 'space and phenomenology', Trancik, (1987) - 'lost

space'. Several other scholars focusing on complexity

of urban functions and human settlements that

evolved in line with the development of local

conditions. From this perspective, the discussion will

focus on the importance of a safe, comfortable and

Wahid, J., Saleh, B., Awad, J. and Shiqwarah, N.

Developing an Image of a Place: The Case with Ajman Waterfront U.A.E.

DOI: 10.5220/0010040802170221

In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Computer, Environment, Agriculture, Social Science, Health Science, Engineering and Technology (ICEST 2018), pages 217-221

ISBN: 978-989-758-496-1

217

urban area that can provide 'life' to integrate activities

into economic development and to develop the city.

The city's structural element contains roads,

buildings and unused spaces. The spaces left by the

building and the physical structure are the pathways

for vehicles and humans. Inner space (micro)

relationship with external space (macro) provides a

continuous integration. However, not all these spaces

can meet the needs of people or users within the city.

Some of these spaces were left idle due to no

integration which Trancik (1987) termed as 'lost

space'. These spaces include plazas, alleys, roads,

terrain, parks and undeveloped areas. Most of these

unspecified spaces became an unused area. The urban

environmental features designed and integrated

according to the local culture. It will benefit the user

and accentuating the quality of urban environment.

This area will also be a crowd attraction if it enhanced

by the soft and vibrant landscape so that integration

with the environment can create a certain image to the

city area. However, not all physical enhancements

can give a 'life' to a city area. This assessment will

explore through phenomenological methods.

2 PLACETHEORY AND

PHENOMENOLGY

The word ‘place' brings a diverse meaning to

geographers, architects, city and environmental

designers. The role of the place as a space is the

medium of elements in human interaction with the

built environment. The design of the place usually

reflects the human nature to adapt itself to the

environment. Human attempt to create a living space

with a four walls or even more complex than that

explains the role of humans with the environment. It

starts with the design of the interior space to meet the

needs of the daily activities until it covers the outer

space. All spaces functioned as a place to meet human

needs. On the other hand, a large urban area or a city

will provide a more complex picture if the activities,

design identity of a place as well as sustaining the

neighborhood as the objective of the development.

Phenomenology is a clear rational thought and

explained the adventure of an event that is difficult to

explain by words. This includes a person's experience

and a response to something that happens. The

phenomenological emphasis depends on the number

of person's observations and it determined by the

wisdom of someone who values it. This approach has

been dwelled by Relph (1986) and Seamon (1979) in

their study of the place. Generally, the success and

failure of a place is determined by this phenomenon.

Actually, there are few things difficult to explain

objectively in urban design, including activities in a

particular area or place. The existence of an activity

that can revive the city not caused by the impulse of

a physical thing but it is a link of activities as well as

physical factors that can attract activity appreciation.

There are two types of activities, namely primary and

secondary activity, which is a major factor in

determining the success of a place (Jacobs 1961).

Primary activity classified as human-driven activity

or human behavior is the cause of human grouping in

a place. While secondary activity is a side activity that

can serve the human grouping resulting from the

primary activity.

Architects and planners are responsible for

designing places. This designed place is space-based.

In architecture practise we recognize a place based on

space function, as Heidegger (1958 in Relph 1986:

19) claimed that: “Every individual lives in a world

filled with important places: for Man - he should

know his Place '. The inner city is difficult to explain

objectively, but we understand it based on the

dynamics of human activity. Among the pioneers

who often raise questions about the phenomenon of

places are Jacobs, Trancik, Relph, White and

Seamon. All of these pioneers gave different views

but their attention leads us to understand human roles

and their interactions with these places.

For example, Jacobs (1961), considered a path or

lane as the nerve of the city. The dynamics of roads

and streets evidenced as a generator of secondary and

primary use networks. A used lane and path is the

result of human existence and present in the urban

areas thus, the road in the city must have a clear

definition of public and private space. The on-going

roads provide a continuity to the user and activities as

well as concentration of people in the area. Hence,

the intended usage is the disposition of human

activities found in the city street. Additionally,

Seamon, (1979) stressed that a successful path is an

established urban space which is active and safe

features of the city. These features are only proven by

intertwine of human activity.

3 PHYSICAL ELEMENTS AND

CHARACTER OF URBAN

OBJECT

Generally, the space and `place' has physical

properties, although it is considered' intangible' but its

existence gave us a physical character. As

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compounded by Relph, (1986) that the indoor or

exterior space either building or landscape can

describe an image of a place. With this features the

place is recognizable. However, a place is not

recognized by physical features alone, it is the human

activity resulted by the culture gives life to this place.

This combination of activity and physical features is

very meaningful for a particular area that give a sense

of place to it (Schultz, 1979).

A sense of phenomenon is hard to understand

unless the relationship of the ‘intangible’ nature of

man with physical characteristics of the elements is

considered. On the other hand, the interaction

between humans and the environment will adjust with

the environmental organization according to their

behavior. To get close to the nature of the place,

Lukerman (1964 in Relph 1986) featured six specific

components in relation to its characteristic features:

1. The place has these locations described by the

feature or context of the place.

2. The place has natural and cultural elements

integration

3. The place depicts the integral integration of the

elements and physical elements

4. The place is part of macro place

5. The place may change and the effects of the change

explained through activity or physical element

6. The place has meaning and it influenced by human

beliefs

Physical elements in an area have a profound effect

not only improving the atmosphere but also providing

a quality when this element works for human usage.

This element is also an object or feature that becomes

an unforgettable image in someone’s cognitive

memory. In the urban design discipline, Lynch (1981)

uses the visual analytical method to evaluate the

element to facilitate the understanding of the subject

through cognitive understanding objectively. Among

these elements are paths, boundaries, nodes,

landmarks, and edges. Each of these elements has

certain features and that determine image ability of a

place. This element is not happen but the physical and

function as desired by the user is intertwine with the

principle of urban design. The besieged space

resulting from the formation of squares, building

walls, sculptured objects and landscape give a certain

characteristic based on the texture, mass, and rhythm

of the urban setting. The combination and formation

of these elements will result creation of distinctive

urban place.

4 METHODOLOGY

This research was carried out at the promenade of

Ajman Waterfront, United Arab Emirates and it

focuses on identifying the attributes and

characteristics that influence the place attachment.

The research applied mixed method techniques due to

its multi-dimensional aspects in urban design

discipline (Cresswell, 1994). Generally, the mix-

method strategy is suitable in explaining the

phenomenon for this study.

A random field survey conducted on site of 50

respondents during a three days exercise of different

time of the week to collect various sources of data

from several respondents. The question related to the

accessibility, familiarity, diversity, vitality, diversity,

uniqueness, safety and security and comfort were

asked. The result of the survey was determined

according to the frequency and mean percentage.

Ajman is also the center of trades and business and

booming, hence, the expatriates came from all over

the world. The respondents came from various

background and nationalities. The result from the

interview of different nationalities will support the

sources and methods triangulated. Lynch, (1988)

mentioned that triangulation method is suitable for

uncover each layer of phenomenon and to enhance

the scope and range of the research. This technique is

suitable because the relationship between people and

place were rather diverse and interrelated. Thus, the

dependent variable, such as physical elements,

activities and images used to discover the strong

attributes and characteristics that influencing user

attachment to the place.

The physical characteristics of the case study area

recorded and observed by using attributes of elements

as in Table 1.0. Observation from the urban character

assessment helped to compliment the other methods

to produce a more complete representation of the

actual scenario. It is useful to obtain a direct

experience with the study area, recording information

and to identify the aspects that are rarely seen and

useful in uncovering the matters that may be

uncomfortable to be discuss by the respondents

(Lynch 1988). Hence, the researchers observe and

document the activity pattern. With help of

photographs and drawings the checklist are enrich.

The urban character defined the criteria such as

accessibility, familiarity, vitality, diversity comfort,

transaction, uniqueness, safety and security. Indicator

for each attribute constructed for the evaluation cross-

examined with the literature.

Developing an Image of a Place: The Case with Ajman Waterfront U.A.E

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4.1 The Case of Ajman Waterfront

Area

Ajman, the smallest emirates only 25 minutes away

from Dubai blessed with a long coastal line is facing

the Persian Gulf (Figure 1.0). It is developing

physically due to urban sprawl from Dubai. It is

determined to become a tourist destination, where the

28-kilometre waterfront development intended to be

the global landmark along with other showpieces

designed buildings.

Figure 1.0: Map of Ajman Waterfront

(Source: Ajman Municipality 2017) The Urban Planning

Department wishes to put the development on the tourist

map and makes it a more desirable destination to work and

live.

By taking the advantage of the natural resources

the development are taking shape along the sea

corridor by integrating commercial and entertainment

areas covering an area of 240,000 square meters. The

sea was a source of livelihood for the locals since the

early century. Thus, the boulevard development with

hotels, restaurants and cafes integrated with the

cultural heritage and other local elements for Emirati

identity. It is the intention of the Municipality to

assure the development intended for sustainable,

social and economic continuity for the community.

Table 1.0: Elements and Attributes Based on Place

Components

People and Activity

Pattern/Form o

Physical and Space

Image and Meaning

Attributes Elements Attributes Elements Attributes Elements

Movement Site

Culture

relationship

Comfort Usage Permeabilit

Building Sense Landmar

Access Activit

Legibilit

Open space Authentic Sense of place

Relationship

Connectivity,

access

Continuity Street Perception Moment

Diversity Local tradition Beauty Urban scape

Social

relationship

Globalization

Legibility

Urban space

life

Personal

Visual

relationship

Legibility Culture value

Livabilit

Behavio

Scale Landmar

Safet

Social value

Choice Public usage Image Material Securit

Friendl

Interest Privat usage

Tree &

vegetatio

Stability

Historical

value

Transaction

Comunity

usage

Decoration Sound & scent

Mix-usage Art

Sense of

elonging

Public facilities Conservatio

Pride

Temporal

event

Information Attraction

Beaut

Attachment

Sign & symbol

(Source: Wahid and Karsono 2017 after Karsono 2014)

The above table were used to refer to the element

present at Ajman waterfront. In the analysis the

application of the attributes is matched according to

the physical and non-physical element observed on

the site. These findings indicate how security and

safety are concerned highly in any urban context.

4.2 Analysis of Space Function of a

Place

Urban design shows the role of space within a city

based on a number of specific factors. Essentially, the

design of the city starts from the design of the

building. The form and massing produced by this

building gives a positive space within the urban area.

Ultimately, space built to function as intended, no

matter when space deliberately give a certain image.

Accessibility to the site is significant where 85% of

the respondents came to visit the waterfront every

week although the remaining figures are not engaged

in this area. 70 % of the respondents agreed that the

area is well secured and safe to promenade during the

day or night although the pathways closed to the street

are under construction. Jacobs (1961) clearly

explained that the “eye on the streets” are people who

helped to safeguard the street itself. Based on

Schultz's idea, places identified through the

arrangement of things or events experienced or felt by

humans. Among the factors that give an image to a

place are the perceptions, experiences of a person and

the physical features that are present. It shows that 90

% of the respondents familiarize with the elements on

PERSIAN GULF

WATERFRON

BOULEVARD

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220

site as a reference and significant landmark. The user

could remember each landmark for each sector of the

place (Tuan 1977). These images also have an

insightful meaning when one wants to evaluate a

place or try to remember somewhere (Lynch, 1988).

The pattern and form of the physical space is shown

with the attributes and elements in Table 1.0. The

space formed from the interior or the exterior is the

space needed to create a place. Along the boulevard

of Ajman Waterfront, the continuous activities linked

to the shops and café creates image and meaning. The

continuation of this space creates an active

atmosphere for a place. Predominantly, the

integration of urban physical elements, intangible

space and human activities in a specific area will

develop character (Lukerman, 1964 in Relph 1986).

This is evident at the Ajman waterfront where the

attribute for image and meaning unable to be

explained verbally instead it is comprehended

spiritually and visually.

Primarily, the place is a designed for specific

human activities rather than local physical features.

85 % agrees that the integration of designed objects

creates a pattern of form and space for the urban

users. Physical features are just one criterion that can

attract the attention of aesthetic users. The production

of a living place is a listing of the human activity as

well as the physical criteria of the city. The

phenomenon of a gathering area in a traditional

market or bazaar can lead to a 'spirit of a place' that is

something which the city designers expect (Schultz

1979). The combination of the new and existing

development enhanced the liveliness of the

waterfront. As a result, human activities can be

exuberant place that create a mood of festivities in

urban areas.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The urban space of the case study area is determined

by the time-space and weather factors. The number of

visitors increased in the early month of November

until April each year. During this season, the trees

accentuate the architectural elements on site. Since

there are some activities of construction on the site,

the continuity of pedestrian to the boulevard

discontinued between the waterfront and the shops

across the street due to the construction process still

on the way. At present a friendly pathways needed for

the continuous urban linkage in the long term for the

success of the place (Trancik, 1986). The linkage

should not stop at the waterfront itself, besides, the

business activities on the south side has to connect to

the area. It observed that the rich urban features of

the study area is an attraction to sustain the activity.

Hence, the frequent maintenance from the

municipality is important. In fact, it signify the image

representation and develop the meaning to the user.

The linear linkage along the boulevard with the daily

life integrated with the local culture of the people

within the city. As Schulz (1979) asserted these

elements help to create a sense of place to the people

who use the place and make them return after some

times.

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