Journal of Transport and Land Use

Making religious buildings more accessible: The case of mosques in Abu Dhabi’s and Dubai’s neighborhoods

Khaled Alawadi

Khalifa University

Nour Alkhaja

Khalifa University

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3537-7919

Mariam Alazab Alhadhrami

Khalifa University

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6351-512X

Sara Omar Mustafa

Khalifa University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2023.2277

Keywords: Accessibility, urban form, neighborhood, urban network analysis, mosques

---

Abstract

More than a house of worship, religious buildings have a critical and authoritative role in the social and political life of people. Yet, such places of divine and spirit have received limited attention in transportation and urban planning research. This research evaluates accessibility to one kind of religious institution: mosques. The article studies the ease of access to mosques at walkable distances of 400 m and 800 m radii in twelve selected neighborhoods in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Analysis uses the gravity metric under two network scenarios: streets only, and the combined network of streets and alleys. Gravity values demonstrate three types of accessibility to mosques: plots without access, plots with minimum access to one mosque, and plots with choice access to more than one mosque. Findings show neighborhoods have experienced an erratic decrease in accessibility to mosques. In both cities, percentages of plots with an overall accessibility to mosques, (sum of both minimum and choice), were higher in the pre- and-early-suburban phases. With the inclusion of alleyways, the overall accessibility percentages increased in many cases. The study reveals that good pedestrian accessibility results from an effective interplay between street design, plot densities, network intersection density, strategic placement of alleys, and mosques’ ratio and spatial distribution.

---

References

Abdullah, I. C., Yusof, F., Kamaruddin, S. M., & Rasam, A. R. (2013). Travel behavior and land-use planning: The planning of mosque in Shah Alam, Selangor. Procedia — Social and Behavioral Sciences, 105, 723–733.

Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. (2020). Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 urban structure framework plan. Government of Abu Dhabi. Retrieved from https://jawdah.qcc.abudhabi.ae/en/Registration/QCCServices/Services/STD/ISGL/ISGL -LIST/DP-301.pdf

Agrawal, S. (2009). New ethnic places of worship and planning challenges. Plan Canada, 48, 64–67.

Al-Hemaidi, W. K. (2001). The metamorphosis of the urban fabric in Arab muslim city: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 16(2), 179–201.

Al-Krenawi, A. (2016). The role of the mosque and its relevance to social work. International Social Work, 59(3), 359–367.

Al-Shareef, F., & Aljoufie, M. (2020). Identification of the proper criteria set for neighborhood walkability using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process model: A case study in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 12(21), 9286.

Arranz-Lopez, A., Soria-Lara, J. A., & Pueyo-Campos, A. (2019). Social and spatial equity effects of non motorized accessibility to retail. Cities, 86, 71–82.

Ayhan, I., & Cubukcu, K. M. (2010). Explaining historical urban development using the locations of mosques: A GIS/spatial statistics-based approach. Applied Geography, 30(2), 229–238.

Baker, N., & Holt, R. (2004). Urban growth and the medieval church: Gloucester and Worcester. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

BenAicha, H. (1986). Mosques as libraries in Islamic Civilization, 700–1400 AD. Journal of Library History, 20(4), 253–260.

Bennison, A. K. (2007). Power and the city in the Islamic west from the Umayyads to the Almohads. In Cities in the pre modern Islamic world. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Bianca, S. (2000). Urban form in the Arab world: Past and present (Vol. 46). London: Thames and Hudson.

Brownson, R. C., Hoehner, C. M., Day, K., Forsyth, A., & Sallis, J. F. (2009). Measuring the built environment for physical activity: State of the science. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 36(4), S99–S123.

Carl, P. (2000). Urban density and block metabolism. Architecture, city, environment. Proceedings of PLEA, 2000, 343–347.

Cervero, R., & Kockelman, K. (1997). Travel demand and the 3Ds: Density, diversity, and design. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 2(3), 199–219.

Chang, Z., Chen, J., Li, W., & Li, X. (2019). Public transportation and the spatial inequality of urban park accessibility: New evidence from Hong Kong. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 76, 111–122.

Crucitti, P. Latora, V., & Porta, S. (2006). Centrality in networks of urban streets. Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, 16(1), 015113.

Department of Municipalities and Transport. (2021). Abu Dhabi mosque development regulations. Abu Dhabi: Department of Municipalities and Transport.

Dubai Development Authority. (2019). Master planning guidelines. Dubai Development Authority. Retrieved from https://dda.gov.ae/Guidelines/MasterPlanning-Guidelines.pdf

Ewing, R. (1995). Beyond density, mode choice, and single-purpose trips. Transportation Quarterly, 49(4), 15–25.

Frank, L. D., & Pivo, G. (1994). Impacts of mixed use and density on utilization of three modes of travel: Single-occupant vehicle, transit, and walking. Transportation Research Record, 1466, 44–52.

Giles-Corti, B., Broomhall, M. H., Knuiman, M., Collins, C., Douglas, K., Ng, K., ... & Donovan, R. J. (2005). Increasing walking: How important is distance to, attractiveness, and size of public open space? American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28(2),169–176.

Hancock, M., & Srinivas, S. (2008). Spaces of modernity: Religion and the urban in Asia and Africa. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 32(3), 617–630.

Handy, S. L. (1996). Urban form and pedestrian choices: Study of Austin neighborhoods. Transportation Research Record, 1552(1), 135–144.

Handy, S. L., & Clifton, K. J. (2001). Evaluating neighborhood accessibility: Possibilities and practicalities. Journal of Transportation and Statistics, 4(2/3), 67–78.

Handy, S. L., & Niemeier, D. A. (1997). Measuring accessibility: An exploration of issues and alternatives. Environment and Planning A, 29(7), 1175–1194.

Handy, S. L., Boarnet, M. G., Ewing, R., & Killingsworth, R. E. (2002). How the built environment affects physical activity: Views from urban planning. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 23(2), 64–73.

Hansen, W. G. (1959). How accessibility shapes land use. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 25(2), 73–76.

Harb, D. (2015). Walkability potential in the built environment of Doha City. In 12th International Post-Graduate Research Conference, 2015 Proceedings, 94–108.

Hillier, B., & Iida, S. (2005, September). Network and psychological effects in urban movement. In International Conference on Spatial Information Theory, 475–490.

Hillier, B., Leaman, A., Stansall, P., & Bedford, M. (1976). Space syntax. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 3(2), 147–185.

Hillier, B., Penn, A., Hanson, J., Grajewski, T., & Xu, J. (1993). Natural movement: Or configuration and attraction in urban pedestrian movement. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 20(1), 29-66.

Jabareen, Y. R. (2006). Sustainable urban forms: Their typologies, models, and concepts. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 26(1), 38–52.

Jamei, E., Ahmadi, K., Chau, H. W., Seyedmahmoudian, M., Horan, B., & Stojcevski, A. (2021). Urban design and walkability: Lessons learnt from Iranian traditional cities. Sustainability, 13(10), 5731.

Jenks, M. (2005). Future forms and design for sustainable cities. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Kahera, A., Abdulmalik, L., & Anz, C. (2009). Design criteria for mosques and Islamic centers. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Kowalewski, M., & Królikowska, A. M. (2016, December). Politics of sacred spaces. Nation, memory and urban sacrum. In Transforming urban sacred places in Poland and Germany (pp. 13-40). Baden-Baden, Germany: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co.

Kwan, M. P. (1998). Space‐time and integral measures of individual accessibility: A comparative analysis using a point‐based framework. Geographical Analysis, 30(3), 191–216.

Levinson, D. M. (1998). Accessibility and the journey to work. Journal of Transport Geography, 6(1), 11–21.

Lynch, K. (1981). A theory of good urban form. American Institute of Planners, 24(4), 201–214.

Marshall, S., Gil, J., Kropf, K., Tomko, M., & Figueiredo, L. (2018). Street network studies: From networks to models and their representations. Networks and Spatial Economics, 18(3), 735–749.

Mazumdar, S., & Mazumdar, S. (2004). Religion and place attachment: A study of sacred places. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24(3), 385–397.

Mitchell, R. B., & Rapkin, C. (1954). Urban traffic. New York: Columbia University Press.

Moudon, A. V. (1997). Urban morphology as an emerging interdisciplinary field. Urban Morphology, 1(1), 3–10.

Moudon, A. V., Lee, C., Cheadle, A. D., Garvin, C., Johnson, D., Schmid, T. L., ... & Lin, L. (2006). Operational definitions of walkable neighborhood: Theoretical and empirical insights. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 3(S1), S99–S117.

Myint, S. W. (2008). An exploration of spatial dispersion, pattern, and association of socio-economic functional units in an urban system. Applied Geography, 28(3), 168–188.

Owen, N., Humpel, N., Leslie, E., Bauman, A., & Sallis, J. F. (2004). Understanding environmental influences on walking: Review and research agenda. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 27(1), 67–76.

Páez, A., Mercado, R. G., Farber, S., Morency, C., & Roorda, M. (2010). Relative accessibility deprivation indicators for urban settings: Definitions and application to food deserts in Montreal. Urban Studies, 47(7), 1415–1438.

Penn, A. (2003). Space syntax and spatial cognition: Or why the axial line? Environment and Behavior, 35(1), 30–65.

Porta, S., Crucitti, P., & Latora, V. (2006). The network analysis of urban streets: A primal approach. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 33(5), 705–725.

Qamhaieh, A., & Chakravarty, S. (2020). Drive-through cities: Cars, labor, and exaggerated automobilities in Abu Dhabi. Mobilities, 15(6), 792–809.

Radwan, A. H. (2021). The mosque as a public space in the Islamic city: An analytical study of architectural and urban design of contemporary examples. Journal of Architecture, Arts and Humanistic Science, 6(30), 18.

Rahman, M. T., & Nahiduzzaman, K. (2019). Examining the walking accessibility, willingness, and travel conditions of residents in Saudi cities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(4), 545.

Rajamani, J., Bhat, C. R., Handy, S., Knaap, G., & Song, Y. (2003). Assessing impact of urban form measures on nonwork trip mode choice after controlling for demographic and level-of-service effects. Transportation Research Record, 1831(1), 158–165.

Randall, T. A., & Baetz, B. W. (2001). Evaluating pedestrian connectivity for suburban sustainability. Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 127(1), 1–15.

Rodríguez, D. A., Khattak, A. J., & Evenson, K. R. (2006). Can new urbanism encourage physical activity? Comparing a new urbanist neighborhood with conventional suburbs. Journal of the American Planning Association, 72(1), 43–54.

Saelens, B. E., Sallis, J. F., & Frank, L. D. (2003). Environmental correlates of walking and cycling: Findings from the transportation, urban design, and planning literatures. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 25(2), 80–91.

Sevtsuk, A. (2010). Path and place: A study of urban geometry and retail activity in Cambridge and Somerville, MA (Doctoral dissertation), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.

Sevtsuk, A. (2014). Location and agglomeration: The distribution of retail and food businesses in dense urban environments. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 34(4), 374–393.

Sevtsuk, A. (2018). Urban network analysis for rhinoceros 3D: Tools for modeling pedestrian and bicycle trips in cities. Cambridge, MA: City Form Lab.

Sevtsuk, A., & Mekonnen, M. (2012). Urban network analysis. Revue Internationale de Géomatique, 287, 305.

Sevtsuk, A., Kalvo, R., & Ekmekci, O. (2016). Pedestrian accessibility in grid layouts: The role of block, plot and street dimensions. Urban Morphology, 20(2), 89–106.

Sharifi, A., & Murayama, A. (2013). Changes in the traditional urban form and the social sustainability of contemporary cities: A case study of Iranian cities. Habitat International, 38, 126-134.

Shay, E., Spoon, S. C., Khattak, A. J., & Center, S. T. (2003). Walkable environments and walking activity (Final report for seed grant). Knoxville, TN: Southeastern Transportation Center, University of Tennessee.

Silva, M., Oliveira, V., & Leal, V. (2017). Urban form and energy demand: A review of energy-relevant urban attributes. Journal of Planning Literature, 32(4), 346–365.

Southworth, M., & Owens, P. M. (1993). The evolving metropolis: Studies of community, neighborhood, and street form at the urban edge. Journal of the American Planning Association, 59(3), 271–287.

Spinney, J. E., Miliward, H., & Scott, D. (2012). Walking for transport versus recreation: A comparison of participants, timing, and locations. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 9(2), 47.

Talen, E. (2003). Neighborhoods as service providers: A methodology for evaluating pedestrian access. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 30(2), 181–200.

Talen, E., & Anselin, L. (1998). Assessing spatial equity: An evaluation of measures of accessibility to public playgrounds. Environment and Planning A, 30(4), 595–613.

Wheeler, S. M. (2015). Built landscapes of metropolitan regions: An international typology. Journal of the American Planning Association, 81(3), 167–190.

Williams, T. (2007). The city of Sultan Kala, Merv, Turkmenistan: Communities, neighborhoods and urban planning from the eighth to the thirteenth century. In A. K. Bennison & A. Gascoigne (Eds.), Cities in the pre modern Islamic world: The urban impact of religion, state and society (pp. 42–62). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Witten, K., Pearce, J., & Day, P. (2011). Neighborhood destination accessibility index: A GIS tool for measuring infrastructure support for neighbourhood physical activity. Environment and Planning A, 43(1), 205–223.

Wittowsky, D., Hoekveld, J., Welsch, J., & Steier, M. (2020). Residential housing prices: Impact of housing characteristics, accessibility and neighboring apartments–a case study of Dortmund, Germany. Urban, Planning and Transport Research, 8(1), 44–70.

Xiao, Y., Orford, S., & Webster, C. J. (2016). Urban configuration, accessibility, and property prices: A case study of Cardiff, Wales. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 43(1), 108–129.