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Mega-Events and Urban Planning: Doha As a Case Study

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Mega-Events and Urban Planning: Doha As a Case Study Original Article Mega-events and urban planning: Doha as a case study Simona Azzali Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, College of Engineering, Qatar University, P. O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Hosting mega-events can not only catalyse urban development, but also lead to an improvement of local planning systems and building planning capacity. Events can create knowledge transfer from one city to another, and be used as tools for experimenting new prototypes and urban templates but on a smaller scale. Within this context, this research aims at identifying strategies for leveraging mega-events to improve local planning capacity. Relevant best practices in the use of events as planning enhancers are derived from the literature, and then applied to a case study, the city of Doha. In fact, the capital of Qatar has all the characteristics for benefiting from events. Firstly, it is a city that has already and will host in the imminent future many international events. Secondly, Doha is managing with difficulties its rapid urban development, and needs to improve its planning system. Results show there is a potential for benefiting from events in two ways: they can assist knowledge transfer from international consultancy to local agencies, and vice versa. In addition, events can act as the glue for overcoming the fragmentation of Doha’s planning system, by facilitating the implementation of 2030 Qatar National Vision, the country’s comprehensive blueprint. URBAN DESIGN International (2017) 22, 3–12. doi:10.1057/s41289-016-0011-y; published online 9 August 2016 Keywords: Doha; Gulf Region; mega-events; urban policy; urban planning Introduction. Events, Urban Planning, economic growth triggered by events, along with and Hosting Cities: A Controversial the development of the tourism industry. Mega- Relationship? events are considered a tempting opportunity in urban policy as tools for enhancing the quality of The interest in mega-events is not new. Looking at the environment. They generate a ‘spectacle’ that the examples of the past, from the Ancient can catalyse investment worldwide, creating city Olympics to the Roman Games, one realizes that branding through place marketing strategies, and mega-events are rooted in our history. However, accelerating urban regeneration and development nowadays, this interest is assuming a tremendous (Essex and Chalkey, 2004). But in which ways do dimension. In the last three decades, international mega-events affect urban policy? How are mega- mega-events themselves have grown in terms of events and event planning related to urban policy number of athletes, spectators, dimensions of the and urban planning systems? Can event planning sports facilities, money, and processes involved. improve urban planning practices and processes? Along with this growth, the interest in hosting Results seem to be controversial. events has also risen, and an increasing number of However, in spite of the controversial results, cities are now competing and bidding. All major the interest in hosting events is growing rapidly, cities have planned or are planning to host a mega- and Gulf countries, like Qatar, United Arab event, but what is the rationale for it? One of the Emirates, Bahrain, are no exceptions. To illustrate, main reasons claimed is that events can play as the Doha, the capital city of Qatar, defines itself a catalyst for urban development, leading to regen- ‘Home to Sports’ (QTA, 2014), and, with the eration and modernization of the built and natural ambition to transform the city into a sporting hub, environment. Another reason is the supposed is utilizing sports events as a tool for developing ª 2016 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1357-5317 URBAN DESIGN International Vol. 22, 1, 3–12 www.palgrave.com/journals Azzali tourism attractiveness, and implementing a strat- heterogeneous. The aim of this research is to egy of economy diversification from the oil-based critically analyse the planning processes underlie model (QSDP, 2009). Doha is not only a young, them, and try to understand their potential for rich, and booming city characterized by rapid improving urban planning systems. If hosting urbanization and fast growth, but also fragmenta- events always had a big impact on cities in terms tion and sprawl (Rizzo, 2013; Salama and Wied- of urban development, economic and social mann, 2013). Within this context, can event impact, it was only from the 60 s, specifically hosting be beneficial to Doha’s urban planning from the Olympics held in Rome in 1960 that event system? How can events be exploited for improv- planning has been consciously used as an urban ing its planning capacity? What are the risks and policymaking tool for the general redevelopment the opportunities? of the city (Death, 2011; Essex and Chalkey, 2004). With this preamble, the study intends to inves- Since then, the attention to events as tools of urban tigate the relationship between mega-events and policy has been rising faster and faster, and many urban planning, and how event planning can be international events have included some urban exploited for improving the planning capacity of planning strategies. However, what is the main hosting cities. The research focuses on the effect of potential and what are the recurrent successful mega-events on planning regulations, deriving models when considering events and their effects from the literature a set of strategies for the on urban planning systems? Events can help in improvement of local planning systems by lever- building planning capacity, in different ways. aging the host of mega-events. The best practices Firstly, local municipalities and public bodies can identified are then applied to a case study: the city learn from previous experiences, through knowl- of Doha. In fact, only little attention has been given edge transfer from previous events. This city-to- to Gulf cities that intend to host, or hosted city learning is facilitated by the organizing recently, mega-events, and which are facing now committees which usually give access bidding for the first time the opportunities and the chal- cities to databases containing best practices, tech- lenges offered by mega-events. nical documents, images and photographs devel- The research is structured as follows: it identifies oped by the experts involved in the previous first the most relevant best practices associated with editions, and those allow and encourage an event hosting and urban planning processes (Sec- emulation of the successful models (Lauermann, tion ‘‘Events: A Potential for Urban Planning Sys- 2013). To illustrate, cities bidding to stage Olympic tems?’’). Content analysis was utilized to derive Games can access the IOC’s knowledge manage- major trends from the literature. Then, the context ment system, by paying a candidature acceptance of Doha is investigated. First the role of events in fee. The programme was realized few years before Qatar’s master plan is explored (Section ‘‘Mega- the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and it provides an events and sportification in Doha: from the 2006 integrated database of services and documenta- Asian Games to the 2022 World Cup’’), and Doha’s tion, for helping organizers in the event prepara- planning system is analysed, with the aim of tion, while at the same time facilitating the identifying its main features and issues (Sec- knowledge transfer from hosting cities. This shar- tion ‘‘Doha and its planning system’’). Finally, ing of experiences makes the programme such an Section ‘‘Event Planning as an Occasion for Improv- integral part of event planning (IOC, 2014). In ing Planning Capacity in Doha?’’ – focuses on addition, hosting cities usually attract elite plan- understanding how the best practices identified can ning companies and construction firms that in be applied for building planning capacity in the city normal condition would not be available, and of Doha. Conclusions end the research in the final knowledge transfer can be achieved directly from section. Findings can be applied by extension to the them. Global agencies and world-class organiza- Gulf countries, which share many similarities in tions involved in the event create an exceptional their urban form and planning practice. network of expertise, which can not only lead to the transfer of urban planning templates, proto- types, and modules, but also standards and Events: A Potential for Urban Planning techniques (Roche, 2000; Liao and Pitts, 2006; Systems? Lauermann, 2013). This emulation should not be a ‘mere reproduction’ from previous models but Events are organized and hosted for many differ- should be adapted according to the local necessi- ent purposes, and outcomes can also be extremely ties. This is even more important when 4 ª 2016 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1357-5317 URBAN DESIGN International Vol. 22, 1, 3–12 Mega-events and urban planning considering emerging countries, because major Lillehammer Winter Olympic Games are consid- events have been held mainly in developed/ ered the first international sports event to take up western cities, and little expertise is available on the sustainability challenge and sought to host the specificities of the new emerging cities. Finally, sustainable games introducing an environmental the knowledge transfer should not be limited to a impact assessment (Death, 2011). Since then, host- top-down adaptation of pre-existing planning ing cities has exploited the Games for experiment- knowledge: hosting cities are not only more and ing new forms of sustainability, or environmental more interested in building their capacity from friendly technologies. One example is the city of networks of world-class international agencies, Vancouver, which used the 2010 Olympics for but they also intend to contribute back (Lauer- developing its knowledge and capacity in the mann, 2013), by implementing new best practices sustainability field, and achieving its plan to be (planning legacies) for future planning coalitions, ‘the Greenest City in the World’ by 2020 (City of and gaining in this way authority in the design, Vancouver, 2010).
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