URBAN DESIGN AND ITS ROLE IN CONSTRUCTION OF PLACE IDENTITY: TOWARDS A METHODOLOGY FOR THE PROCESS OF URBAN DESIGN SUPPORTS MAKING AND THE FUTURE OF PLACE IDENTITY

Abstract

Recently, the Issue of absent Identity in our contemporary Urbanization has occupied greatimportance particularly in the fields of architecture and urban design, since urbanization outcome ofthe contemporary cities lacks characteristics that provide it with its unique urban identity or placeidentity, that emerges from the natural, built and cultural characteristics of the local community.Urbanization being a reflection for the local community characteristics is the correlation andbelonging function between the community and the city and thus be the place, elsewhere, separationand alienation occur between the community and the city and thus be Placelessness, whichnecessitates the work in this research to reach an integrative design approach in the field of urbandesign that supports giving the urbanization outcome unique place identity, since urban designcarries the first and last responsibility of place making process.The research aims at determining the concept of place identity and its basic elements, in addition tothe concept of urban design, the dimensions of urban design process and its role in construction ofplace identity, to reach an integrated approach in urban design that ensures the emerge of an urbanproduct characterized by belonging to the environment where it is constructed and also respects thecommunity spatial characteristics and its cultural attitudes supporting the future of place identity.This study reached the effectiveness of the urban design in forming the urban identity for the cityand giving it distinguishing , uniqueness and civilized continuity or giving it nonidentity ,disappearance and death , frequently the study managed to formation an overall approach for theurban design process which confirms the duality of the inputs of the concrete ( the built features andnatural features of the environment) abstract ( social cultural features of the environment) to reflexdual outputs concrete ( urban environment belonging to its built natural context) abstract ( urbanenvironment belonging to its social cultural context – meets the needs and hopes its society sooneror later ) it is what supports structure of the place identity and its civilized continuity at light of itsability to keep up the technological scientific development sooner or later.