Qatar University College of Engineering Gender
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QATAR UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING GENDER AND PUBLIC SPACES: INVESTIGATING ACCESS AND PRACTICE OF FEMALES IN PUBLIC PARKS IN DOHA BY NUSSYBA ABDELGADIR HASSAN ERIBI A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Engineering in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Science in Urban Planning and Design January 2017 © 2017. Nussyba Abdelgadir Hassan Eribi. All Rights Reserved COMMITTEE PAGE The members of the Committee approve the Thesis of Nussyba Abdelgadir Hassan Eribi defended on 29/12/2016. Attilio Petruccioli Thesis/Dissertation Supervisor Anna Katharina Grichting Solder Committee Member Djamel Ouahrani Committee Member Sara Protasoni Committee Member Approved: Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Dean, College of Engineering ii ABSTRACT ERIBI, NUSSYBA, ADBELGADIR., Masters: January: 2017, Masters of Science in Urban Planning and Design Title: Gender and Public spaces: Investigating access and practice of females in public parks in Doha Supervisor of Thesis: Attilio, Petruccioli. Abstract: The definition of a public space promotes free access to all citizens. Unlike men, women had many concerns about feeling free to go out at any time in accessing and being in public spaces. This reduces, rather than enhances, women's access to public spaces. Thus, public spaces themselves become gendered. Women may find it difficult to participate in public spaces. Many factors limit women from accessing public spaces. The significance of this thesis is to investigate and try to answer these questions: how do women use public parks? Do women have full/fair access to public parks? What are consequences of multiculturalism on women’s access to public parks? Is there a need for segregated parks for women? Moreover, it is important to understand and identify the factors that limit women’s access to public parks, as well as defining the elements that give women comfort in public parks. Therefore, this will help to enhance and improve the public parks environment in Doha, which will promote free access to all citizens. The thesis iii will focus on studying public parks in Doha. The thesis depends on the data collected from both secondary and primary resources. Thus, to reach a conclusion regarding this problem, a detailed literature review was done to help understand the background of the problem and to identify what the variables are that will help in understanding and formulating the thesis framework. The thesis employs the use of quantitative and qualitative research methods, given its investigative nature. After identifying the variables from the literature review, a questionnaire was formulated. Moreover, the literature review will give certain and clear techniques to be used in observation. Different parks in Doha city are observed to come up with maps that documented the behavior of users in parks. The outcomes of this thesis are behavioral maps, graphs, charts, photos, and recommendations . iv DEDICATION I hereby declare that the thesis is based on my original work except for quotations and citations which have been dully acknowledged. I also declare that it has not been previously or currently published or submitted for any other degree at Qatar University or any other institutions. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to use this opportunity to thank everyone who helped and supported me during my journey in writing my Master's thesis. I am grateful for their advice and guidance. I would like to express my appreciation to my adviser Prof. Attilio Petruccioli. Thanks for being patience and for your guidance assisted. The most special thanks go to my parents, sister, and brothers. Thanks for their support, patience and prayers, which help me to achieve my goal. So, I dedicate this study to them. Without their love and inspiration this thesis would not have been written. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ ix List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xi 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem statement ................................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Research Background ............................................................................................................. 4 1.3.1 Background ..................................................................................................................... 4 1.3.2 Research question ........................................................................................................... 4 1.3.3 Research objectives and goals ........................................................................................ 5 1.4 Organization of the Thesis ..................................................................................................... 6 2 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................... 7 2.1 Public space ............................................................................................................................ 7 2.2 Multiculturalism comparison between France, United States, and Qatar ............................ 9 2.2.1 Multiculturalism in France .............................................................................................. 9 2.2.2 Multiculturalism in the United States ........................................................................... 11 2.2.3 Multiculturalism in Qatar .............................................................................................. 13 2.3 Women in public spaces ...................................................................................................... 18 2.4 Parks ..................................................................................................................................... 25 2.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 31 3 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY & METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION .................................... 34 3.1 Methodological Approach ................................................................................................... 34 3.2 Data Collection Tools ........................................................................................................... 37 vii 3.2.1 Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 37 3.2.2 Questionnaire ............................................................................................................... 37 3.2.3 Structured interviews.................................................................................................... 38 3.2.4 Observations ................................................................................................................. 41 3.3 Gathered Data and Maps for the Site Analysis .................................................................... 47 3.4 Ethics and Protecting participants ....................................................................................... 48 3.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 49 4 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA COLLECTION ........................................................................................... 50 4.1 Data Collection Tools ........................................................................................................... 50 4.1.1 Questionnaire ............................................................................................................... 50 4.1.2 Interviews ...................................................................................................................... 59 4.1.3 Observation ................................................................................................................... 71 4.2 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ..................................................................................... 150 4.3 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 153 5 CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION ........................................................ 156 5.1 Recommendations and implications .................................................................................. 156 5.1.1 Conceptual implementation in Dafna (old Sheraton) park ......................................... 161 5.2 Research Limitations and Delimitations ............................................................................ 165 5.3 Suggestions for Future Research ....................................................................................... 166 5.4 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................