Doha City Structure and Population Density Essay Example for Free

Doha City Structure and Population Density Essay The manner in which a city is planned has a direct bearing on the ability of that city to develop especially as far as economic development brought in by local and foreign investors is concerned (Kogan Page 2004). While every city has its own unique planning and structures, all these plans ought to be carefully done to avoid cases of unplanned development. In a similar manner, the way in which a city is planned will affect the social development of the city because population demographics such as density and distributions are largely the result of the plan of the city. This essay explains the structure of Doha City in Qatar; and offers an examination of its population density and distribution. Discussion The city of Doha is among the largest cities in Asia and among the fastest developing. Being the commercial capital of Qatar, Doha is a critical city whose planning is important both now and in the future (Binder 2006). The city has many structures which are set up in line with the city’s planning regulatory bodies, mainly the Urban Planning and Development Authority. Through the efforts of this body, the city has been able to come up with a structure for the entire city which includes designated places for every kind of building. Generally, structures are constructed in designated locations based on their functions. The city has different zones or parks which have different sizes and types of structures. While the locations are rather not specific, each zone has distinct structures that typify it (Taylor Francis Group 2004). The city center, also known as the central business district, is the home to many government offices and most of the city’s tallest buildings are to be found there. There are few privately-owned buildings here as most of these structures house government ministries and key government agencies and corporations (Reader’s Digest 2003). The city center has the city’s most beautiful gardens and there is a good network of roads. The Doha Corniche is a magnificent waterfront which runs the entire distance of the city’s bay (Yasser 2008). Being an industrial city which relies on oil drilling to drive its economy, the city has an industrial park which is located several miles from the central business district. Their buildings are not as tall. Instead, they are factories which are engaged in different processing activities. Oil drilling is a common component of what is done there (Yasser 2008). The residential areas are further out of the city and are essentially apartment buildings. Each of these zones has a network of road infrastructure that enables free movement of people and goods. The city is also divided in districts which make administrative matters quite easy. Because of the structure of the City of Doha, it has been easier to put land to good use and wastage has been minimized. There is has also been planned use of different infrastructural systems (Yasser 2008). This city plans have also greatly minimized inconveniences. For instance, the freeways have reduced traffic congestion and allowed for freer movement of people. Being a city in a country with a fairly low population which is fast growing, the country’s infrastructure is set to meet the needs of a projected larger population. There is a new Doha zone within Doha which is a new residential area that seeks to have more people getting the housing that they like and that are goods for the city (Roaf 2008). Unlike in Old Doha which was built without the current climatic and population issues being considered, the new hosing projects in New Doha are built with climate, beauty, and population density in mind. Being an economically well off city, most of its residents drive around in their private cars. This is in spite of the presence of an extensive bus system and a taxi system operated by a public transport services company. The absence of a Metro system has made transport to be rather difficult but the many modern freeways in the city have literally made the flow of traffic very easy (Editors of Persus Publishing 2002). The city of Doha has the country’s largest population. Actually, the majority of the people of the country – close to 80%, live in and around the city which has a population of about 998,651 people (UN 2004). This effectively means that it is a city that has to deal with a lot of pressure from the public. The city also has a large influx of immigrants particularly those from South Asian countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines (Oxford Business Group 2009). The city also has many expatriates from Western nations like France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, South Africa, and Australia. Owing to the many foreign nationals present in the city, the local government has allowed even foreign nationals to own property, including real estate in the country. Owing to this influx of people from other nations into the city, it is projected that the population of the city might pass the 1 million mark in another couple of months (Marshall 2007). The fact that the population is growing such rapidly has made the city to rank among those with the most expensive real estates. Most of these expatriates find their way into the city in search for jobs in the country’s booming oil sector. These add to the high population to make Doha a city with a very high population density (Gonzalez 2008). The majority of the people live near the city’s industrial park. Currently, there has been a massive exodus of people from the old Doha residential park into the newer one which has been specifically set up to cater for the new climatic and population needs. The houses there are built to have a combination of the ambience of the past city and the modernity of the present. The city of Doha has a very large expatriate presence, with the foreign nationals far exceeding the locals. This means that the country relies on foreigners for its labor (Dumper 2007). Conclusion Doha is a modern a modern city which is rather different in its population demographics in that a majority of its residents are foreign nationals expatriates who have come to work in the country’s many industries. Another striking feature about the city is that it accounts for over 80% of the total population of the country. With well planned structures, the city is divided into districts which make administrative work easier. The main challenge has been housing because the so-called Old Doha could not really meet the hosing needs of the many people. With the New Doha, where more people are now moving to, there are more housing units which are designed to cater for the needs of the modern city. The population density is very high due to the influx of new immigrants. The city’s planners are, however, confident of being able to meet the needs of the growing population. Word count: 1,162 References Binder, G 2006. Tall buildings of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Images Publishing Dumper, M 2007. Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: a historical encyclopedia. ABC- CLIO Editors of Persus Publishing 2002. Business: the ultimate resource. Perseus Publishing, 2002 Gonzalez, G 2008. Facing human capital challenges of the 21st century: education and labor market initiatives in Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Rand Corporation Kogan Page 2004. Middle East Review. Kogan Page Publishers Marshall, C 2007. World and Its Peoples: The Middle East, Western Asia, and Northern Africa. Marshall Cavendish Oxford Business Group 2009. The Report: Qatar 2009. Oxford Business Group Reader’s Digest 2003. The Oxford Conference: a re-evaluation of education in architecture. WIT Press Roaf, S 2008. The Oxford Conference: a re-evaluation of education in architecture. WIT Press Taylor Francis Group 2004. Europa World Year Book 2, Book 2. Taylor Francis UN 2004. World statistics pocketbook. United Nations Publications Yasser, E 2008. The evolving Arab city: tradition, modernity and urban development. Routledge