Middle East

Suisman Urban Design was hired to design a theoretical Palestinian State, in the hopes that the plan might encourage the peace process. The plan was released in 2005, and has been gaining traction and admiration ever since.

The eccentric megaprojects keep coming in Dubai, leaving some to question the environmental wisdom of so much development in a notoriously water-poor desert.

In Abu Dhabi, medians and 'leftover spaces' are attracting unanticipated users playing soccer, exercising or just hanging out. Planners are grappling with why people use these spaces and the public parks they've designed are less successful.

Big-name architects -- including Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid -- have reportedly been tapped to be part of a team of designers tasked with redesigning the Islamic holy city of Mecca and its mosque.

For about a month, commuter rail has been rolling in Baghdad. Where once there was danger, now there are commuters.

Native of the bustling United Arab Emirates are cheering the global economic slowdown, crediting it for curbing development in its cities that had been blamed for destroying much of their local heritage.

Plunging oil prices are hitting three oil-producing countries the hardest: Venezuela, Iran, and Russia. This article looks at each of them and evaluates how they will fare if oil prices do not rise, including their relationships to the U.S.

In the mid-1900s architect Le Corbusier designed a grand sports complex for Baghdad as part of the city's bid for the 1960 Olympics. That bid failed and the project was never built. Now, original drawings and designs are on display.

With too much focus on "architectural bling" and a hyperactive development pattern, Dubai is in danger of becoming a modern planning disaster, according to architect Thom Mayne.

Cityscape, Dubai's annual real estate showcase, paints a rosy picture of the booming city. But even Mideast moguls aren't immune from the global financial crisis.

In this editorial, Ibne Ahmad of Rawalpindi, Pakistan claims that cars are significantly impacting the quality of life there, and that pedestrians and public space need to be reclaimed for the sake of equality.

Dubai is increasingly attracting architects and planners as a blank slate, and it's becoming a vibrant testing ground for ideas new and extreme.

The military presence in Afghanistan is expanding at a rapid pace, creating a military sprawl.

Property values are up in Iraq's capital, but realtors there point out that sectarian divisions are the main reason why certain areas have become desirable.

In this article from Progressive Planning, Tom Angotti looks at Gaza and the land use regulations that have imposed an "urban apartheid".

Rami Khouri of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs notes the unprecedented phenomenon of the "instant" cities of the Persian Gulf which, for all their wealth, lack civil societies.

Osama bin Laden's brother has announced plans to build the world's longest suspension bridge, connecting Africa and Arabia, and building two state-of-the-art cities at each end -- a project that is expected to cost upwards of $200 billion.

The world's first moving building, a 80-storey tower with revolving floors giving an shifting shape, will be built in Dubai, its architect says.

'Ottoman villas' are going up, and the world's largest Roma settlement is moving out - to suburban apartments.

This article from The National takes a tour of Abu Dhabi with architect and planner Riyad Albuhlaiga, who points out the best parts of the city -- and the parts that must be improved to make Abu Dhabi a truly great city.