2. Contents 1. Introduction 2. The United Arab Emirates: Al-Ain City
Neighborhood: new understanding of old term; Principles of neighborhood
organization in gulf countries
2. The United Arab Emirates: Al-Ain City
3. Housing urban development in Al-Ain
Population & household forecasts; Housing growth; Housing need
4. Housing policies for future housing provision
Housing entitlement in UAE; Plot sizes & housing densities; Government
housing; Private plots
5.Current commitments to sites for new citizens housing.
6. Designing residential communities
7. Neighborhood Housing Projects in Al-Ain
Al Dhaher Neighborhood ( Location and target users
Analysis of the outcome project, problems and recommendation
8. Conclusions

3. Introduction
Rapid growth of population and urban centers expansion in gulf region
Affordable Housing And the quality of the residential Environment
Economical measures versus Social progress and potential of growth
Involved parties and the need for a sustainable neighborhoods

4. About Neighborhood Neighborhood: new understanding of old term
Neighborhood has two levels of understanding:
physical planners, designers and geographers (Physical Elements)
-Social planners and sociologists understanding (cultural and social groups)
We shall recognize the Neighborhood in its physical terms in order to get a unified understanding of the term with planners and architects who managed the development projects
Main features of the mid-twentieth century
1.A neighborhood focal point (elementary school)
2.Pedestrians for local movements
3.Peripheral access road
4.No residential islands surrounded by roads.
5.Safe and local residential streets with short loops and cul-de-sac
6.Recreational open spaces for every residential unit
7.Facilities like parks, parking lots, shopping center, playgrounds and recreation courts

5. Neighborhood Organization
Principles of neighborhood organization in gulf countries
In addition to the normal components, these factors need to be considered.
-climatic conditions, environmental contexts, social structure of local communities.
-strong tribal-based social units; high level of privacy externally and internally.
(Saleh, 2002)

6. The United Arab Emirates
Al Ain City
The economic and physical development of Al-Ain is at a point where conservation and sustainability are being revitalized as important goals for urban and regional planning.
Economic development of Al Ain, will focus on growth in tourism, quality health care, higher education and office based services rather than manufacturing industry or agriculture.
New policies have been implemented for residential densities and the substantial involvement of the private sector in housing supply and in a land market
Al-Ain Map
Housing Settlements in UAE 2003, 1966

7. Housing urban development in Al Ain
3.1 Population & household forecasts
By the year 2015, the total number of Citizens in the region is forecast to reach 212,930, an increase of 60 % over the population in 2001.
The number of Citizen Households is forecast to grow much faster than the Citizen population. With a growth from 13,260 in 2001 to 27,490 households in 2015, a total growth of approximately 107 % or an annual growth of almost 5.5%.
3.2 Housing growth
The number of dwellings in Al-Ain City has grown since 1986 by 96% and 420%
96% of all dwellings were located in the urban area whereas in 2001 this had dropped to approximately 65%.
3.3 Housing need, demand and supply
Residential area growth in Al-Ain city
(1986 – 2001)
Dwellings in period ending
Land in Ha
2005
2010
2015
Totals
Total new dwellings & land required for new households & waiting list
1,037
3,928
5,128
10,094
5,937
Total Citizen dwellings & land required for urban renewal
2,811
3,079
1,287
7,177
4,222
Total new & replaced dwellings and land requirements
3,848
7,007
6,415
17,270
10,159
Less 50% urban renewal dwellings replaced in urban area
1,405
1,539
643
3,588
2,111
Total new and replaced dwellings on new land
2,442
5,468
5,772
13,682
8,048
Source; Consultants & 2001 Housing Survey
Urban Area; Citizen land requirements, new housing & urban renewal

8. Housing policies for future housing provision
4.1 Housing entitlement in UAE.
All married male citizens of 20 years and over resident or born in the Eastern Region are entitled to government assistance in the provision of housing for their families. This assistance can take the form of;
a) A government house constructed on a plot of land measuring 45m x 45m together with a contribution of Dhs. 50,000 towards furniture, or
b) A plot 60m x 60m serviced with utilities on which the citizen can construct a private house and for which he may obtain from the government a loan of up to Dhs. 1.2 million (currently repayable over 40 years).
4.2 Plot sizes & housing densities
4.2.1 Government housing
4.2.2 Private plots
The 60m x 60m serviced plot currently adopted as the standard size for private housing
Comparison of plot sizes: 1986 to 2003
governmental housing plots
Mohamed Bin Zayed City, Abu- Dhabi.

9. Current commitments to sites for new citizens housing.
Location and number of planned plots for government houses
Committed government houses and planning private plots

10. Designing residential communities
Neighborhood planning guidelines and criteria
Daily activities in walking distance.
-Reducing length of automobile trips
-Providing streets, squares, and civic areas
-Planning appropriate building concentrations at easy walking distances from transit stops
-Incorporating a full range of housing types and work places into the neighborhood allows for age and economic class integration and strengthens the bonds of  community
These concepts can be applied through:
-visible centre point which is a memorable street intersection containing several services.
-There is an elementary school close enough for children as a walking distance.
-There is a road network connection to provide a variety of traffic congestion. All streets must have shaded side walks.
-Dwellings are located within a min walk of the centre Open spaces are required to be near the dwellings for children to play in.
Typical Residential neighborhood with central services

11. Neighborhood Housing Projects in Al-Ain
Al Dhaher Neighborhood Governmental housing
1. Location and target users,
2. Site selection criteria,
3. Development Structure,
4. The housing Unit Design,
5. Urban Scale Analysis,
6. Existing Situation,
7. Housing unit modifications,
8. Services and Site Plan Modifications ,
9. Landscape & Green Areas,
10. Field survey analysis,
11. Problems & Recommendations

12. Site selection criteria
Al-Ain general map showing Al Dhaher Neighborhood Governmental housing location
1. It is considered a new neighborhood (completed 2002).
2. It has an easy access to the city centre
3. There was enough landscape available to construct the project.
4. the site is considered a good example of neighborhood design in Al-Ain because of the distance to the centre.
Al Dhaher neighborhood housing project,
Al-Ain, UAE

13. Neighborhood Structural Plan
Development structure: Zoning, Entrances, Main roads and plot size distributions: Orange 45x60m, Violet: 45X45m
Site Plan
Zoning & Entrances
Roads Network

14. The housing Unit Design Road Network
Housing units elevations
Typical Plans (All Models)
ground plan & first floor plan
for the typical housing unit
Model Type (A)
Model Type (B)

15. Open space Housing unit modifications
Services and Site Plan Modifications
Additions
Open space
Open Space
spaces have been added to first floor with related additions to the entrance
Access to
open space
Uncompleted services area
Users adding facilities

16. Field survey analysis number of occupants in each family
- 77% of families are in the range of 13 persons and more.
- 17% of families are in the range of 9-12.
- 6% of families are in the range of 3-8.
Neighborhood location
60% agree that the neighborhood is far away from the city center of Al-Ain, as the rest said that it is not that far taking into consideration that they all depend on using cars as a transportation facility.
95% said that there was no problem about identifying the unit because many of the occupants made modifications or additions to elevations and gates
Safety
93.5% of the families agreed that the neighborhood is safe during all times of the day.
Facilities
84.7% of the occupants agreed that the is shortage of educational facilities and services (schools, kindergartens, open spaces for children to play)
Services
66% agreed that there are not enough services in the neighborhood which provides it its privacy and sense of community.

17. Problems & Recommendations
Developing only one design model reduce the sense of belonging to the place in addition to the minimization of the feel of personality in the housing unit.
Undeveloped services in the center result existence of un-inhabited spaces which needs huge investments for development. This space divided the neighborhood into two separated zones that are missing the link between them, which is supposed to be the central activities space.
The lack of roads network grading, as all roads have the same width whether they are main or local roads. This reduces the feel of orientation and direction . It is recommended to change urban treatment between both types, to allow for easy directions.
Local open spaces in the middle of each group of housing is very much isolated and not connected with the prospected users. It should be integrated with the internal spaces of unit's plot, by destruction the high wall fences to smaller perforated ones that allow space continuity
The critical entrance of the neighborhood has been left without proper study, what results in unplanned market location which attracted the attention and the activities outside the neighborhood, leaving the center without built services.
occupant have no involvement during design stage or construction. As the process is to handle the project after completion over to other governmental authorities to distribute the units among the citizens as per the approved list. Accordingly, they start to add to or modify their units to match their needs.

18. Conclusion
1. The misunderstanding of neighborhood community as closed-self contained and nonflexible unit is of essential failure in implementation of long-term planning within fast growing communities.
2. Neighborhoods are those communities that should be identified in both physical and social contexts at the same importance.
3. Gulf countries in general and UAE in particular have their own spatial social structure and environmental context that are unique and need special attention and further studies in order to improve their own model of development
4. The absence of users participation during planning and design process what constituted the appearance of many modifications and unplanned activities and rearrangement of spaces. In addition, usually most of planned services are either inactive or active with limited support from the individuals.
5. Users of any residential community are keen to modify their built environments to match their living style.
6. the town planning departments in local municipalities need restructuring to include social studies and geography sections. It is required to analyze the target groups of each housing project
7. The resulted social investigations and early user-participation program should led to a flexible growth unit that has the potential of expansion to develop a larger districts.
As brief conclusion, the current process of neighborhoods’ planning in Al-Ain city is a very rigid and physically-based and engineering model of planning that is based on economical and non-architectural foundation and lack the psychological factor which is required to have it sustained. In other words, the planning of neighborhood should be identified in terms of people along with place.
It should be a user-participation process rather than planner-controlled process

19. Thank you