The peculiarities of urban planning in the Iraqi cities Al-Kūt, Amarah and Najaf

Abstract

This article follows the stages of urban planning in the Iraqi cities Al-Kūt, Amarah and Najaf. These large cities have emerged as populated localities in different historical periods. This has played a certain role in formation of the urban landscape. The author determines the stages of urban development of these cities. Depending on the period of establishment of the populated locality, the author distinguished from six (Najaf) to three (Al-Kūt and Amarah) stages of formation of the functional planning structure. The historical periods of Iraq impacted the formation of urban planning periodization and models of the ongoing urban processes. The article reviews the models of urban processes proposed by Western scholars, and their influence upon the formation of new characteristics of Iraqi urbanism in the modern landscape of the listed cities. The Iraqi cities have certain similarity in functional planning structure; however, each city has own peculiarities that define its uniqueness. The uniqueness of cities is determined by a number of characteristics: the hierarchy of urban structure, architectural image of the city, social harmony through the organization of residential environment, transport and pedestrian accessibility, recreation and tourism sites, human resources, and level of environmental pollution. As a result  of studying Al-Kūt, Amarah and Najaf, it is revealed that Najaf plays a special religious role among Shiite Muslims; it also features archaeological sites attractive for tourists, such as the ancient mosques and churches. Al-Kūt and Amarah also have a rich history, although they have emerged in a later period. Urbanization of Iraq is particularly specific with regards to residential developments in the new urban districts. It manifests in the construction of residential areas by the type of professional activity (for example, a district for teachers, workers, police, etc.)