Promoting the Social Cohesion in the Traditional Cities

Abstract

There are two dominant concepts about traditional cities, first, the physical traditional environments reflect the lifestyle form of their individuals and vice versa. that means, in one respect, the urban traditional form explains and supports the unity of the society’s nature which is manifested in social cohesion. Second, those cities with their societies are able to preserve themselves over time, in spite of forces of change. So, the paper is interested in exploring the mutual relationship between the physical built environment and social cohesion in traditional cities as the socio-spatial Phenomenon. Its problem is that some development projects for traditional cities do not care about social cohesion and do not deal with these cities as one of the socio-spatial types. The paper's question is, how can additions and development projects enhance and promote social cohesion in Traditional cities? The hypothesis of the paper is that social cohesion results from seven factors that pressure individuals to be under a relatively clear and defined social Order, these are (Customs, kinship, values and ethics, law, interests and conflicts, responsibilities, and rights) and that there is correlative compatibility between the phenomenon of social cohesion and the features of the physical Built environment for traditional cities. The project of developing the traditional city of Kadhimiya in Baghdad was taken as a case study, The paper concluded that all urban environments have seven factors, but their arrangement is what determines the socio-spatial Type. The results of the project’s assessment weren't suitable to promote the traditional socio-spatial type, but it was promoting the modern type according to the arrangement of its seven factors. So, there is a special arrangement for traditional cities that must be taken into account in any addition or urban development.

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