Typology of Urban Housing and Politics in Baghdad: From State-subsidized Housing to Privatized Gated Communities

A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ARCHITECTURE

In the School of Architecture and Interior Design Of the college of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning

2018

By Samah A. Abrahem

Bachelor of Architecture, Al-Nahrain University 2006 Master of Science in Architecture, Al-Nahrain University 2008

Dissertation Committee: Aarati Kanekar, PhD (Chair) Rebecca Williamson, PhD Patrick Snadon, PhD Abstract

This dissertation aims to critically analyze the causes and consequences of the transformation of urban housing typologies from state-subsidized housing to privatized gated communities in Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq. Methodologically, it will examine and compare the typologies of urban housing in Baghdad under different political regimes, from the initiation of urban housing programs during the mid-1950s until the present day. Therefore, the analysis of urban housing typologies is chronologically divided into four phases based on shifts in political regimes that have ruled Iraq: the monarchy (1921-1958), the communist-allied Qassim regime

(1958-1963), the Ba’ath socialist regime (1963-2003), and a federal democratic regime (2003- present). In order to provide a deep look into the characteristics of urban housing, a case study has been selected from each political phase. The analysis will emphasize their physical characteristics, spatial organization, safety, and socio-economic characteristics. Additionally, the analysis will go beyond the architecture and spatial characteristics of urban housing projects to include housing provision approaches, policies, and financial programs during each of the four political phases in order to trace and decode the context of urban housing projects.

Through the exploration of these phases, this dissertation will examine the impact of the various economic systems in Iraq that have influenced urban housing provision approaches as well as urban housing typologies. It will explore the connection between socialism and the rise of state- built urban housing in Baghdad during the second half of the 20th century, and the connection between neoliberalism and the rise of market-provided, gated communities after 2003. Although both the socialist and the neoliberalist approaches of housing provisions in Iraq have been addressed in scholarly work, the urban housing typologies that have resulted from these approaches are understudied. This research aims to fill this gap in the body of knowledge. The

ii significance of this research therefore lies in its comparison of urban housing typologies in

Baghdad, and the identification of ways in which the various trajectories of the political economy in Iraq have transformed the conceptual and physical design values of urban housing. This dissertation argues that the urban housing typologies in Baghdad have been a reflection of, and a spatial translation of, political and economic aspirations and that a shift in these aspirations has resulted in the transformation of those typologies.

iii © 2018 Samah A. Abrahem

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

iv DEDICATED

To my Family

Without whom none of my success would be possible.

v Acknowledgments

I would like to thank all those who have helped me throughout my PhD scholarship years, and made this dissertation possible. I would like to start by expressing gratitude to the Higher

Committee for Education Development in Iraq (HCED) for awarding me a PhD scholarship which enabled me to pursue this research and advance my career in architecture.

I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the faculty at the University of Cincinnati, the Department of Architecture, and particularly, my Dissertation Committee. To my advisor

Professor Aarati Kanekar, who guided me patiently during my research, thank you for your constructive comments and encouragement; they have had a vital influence on bringing this research in its present form. To professor Patrick Snadon, thank you for your creative comments which directed me to look at the research topic from various perspectives. To Professor Rebecca

Williamson, thank you for your important comments and recommendations during my research, and thank you for all your support, understanding, and encouragement during my PhD scholarship years.

My completion of this dissertation could not have been accomplished without the constant support of my family members. I do realize how dangerous and life threatening it can be to move around in Baghdad and take pictures of buildings, and I also know how hard it is to obtain copies of documents from government-related institutions. Therefore, I am particularly grateful to my siblings in Baghdad who assisted and supplied information and documents relating to this research.

Thank you for all your support and encouragement, and for your help in getting important original documents and literature on urban housing in Iraq from the libraries of Baghdad University, Al-

Nahrain University, University of Technology, governmental institutions and ministries.

vi Gratitude also extends to the library of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the librarians and administrative staff at the University of Cincinnati Design, Art, Architecture and

Planning (DAAP) library for assisting me in obtaining the original studies of housing development in Baghdad during the 20th century. I also like to thank the Baghdad Investment Commission

(BIC), and Ayadigroup Company for Real Estate, and the mayoralty of Baghdad (Amanat

Baghdad), and the Ministry of Construction and Housing for their assistance in providing original materials, information, archival date, maps, and drawings related to the case studies in this research.

Last, but not least, special thanks to my husband, Arkan for moral support, encouragement, and understanding. Without his support during my program at the University of Cincinnati, I would have not been able to stand studying and living abroad for several years away from the rest of my family.

vii Table of Contents Abstract ii Dedication v Acknowledgments vi Table of Contents viii

Chapter1: Research Framework 1

1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Research Question 3 1.3 Hypothesis/ Proposition 4 1.4 Methodology 4 1.5 Terminology 9 1.6 Theoretical Approach 13 1.6.1 Rhetoric of Fear: GCs as a Postmodern Response to Fear 14 1.6.2 Consumerism Rhetoric: GCs as a Neoliberal Space 20 1.7 Limitations 23 1.7.1 Challenges Faced the Practical Part of the Dissertation 24 1.7.2 Challenges Faced the Theoretical Part of the Dissertation 25 1.8 Organization of the Dissertation 26

Chapter2: Literature Review: 29

2.1 Chapter Preview 29 2.2 Literature on Urban Housing Typology and Politics in Baghdad 29 2.3 Literature on Urban Housing and Neoliberalism in Baghdad 31 2.4 Literature on Urban Housing and Socialism in Baghdad 37 2.5 Literature on Urban Housing Architecture in Baghdad: Traditionalism and Nationalism 38 2.6 Literature on Gated Communities in Baghdad 40 2.7 Literature on the Typologies of Gated Communities 46 2.8 Literature on Socio-spatial Impact of Privatized GCs as Compared to State-built Housing 50 2.8.1 Fear versus Safety 50 2.8.2 Homogeneity versus Heterogeneity 53 2.8.3 Privatized versus Public 55 2.8.4 Integration versus Fragmentation 58 2.8.5 Community or Less of a Community 61 2.9 Chapter Preview 65

Chapter 3: Early Signs of Urban Housing in Baghdad (1955-1973) 67

3.1 Chapter Preview 67 3.2 Doxiadis NHPI 1955 to 1958: A Program of Nationalism and Modernization 68 3.2.1 Experimental Housing Program in Baghdad and the Ekistics Design Values 74 3.2.2 The Case of Western Baghdad Development Housing (WBDH): Sector no.10 75 3.2.2.1 Spatial and Physical Characteristics 75 3.2.2.2 Physical Appearance and Design Values 80 3.2.2.3 Socio-economic characteristics 94 3.2.2.4 Spatial Translation of Residential Safety 95

viii 3.3 NHPI 1958 to 1963: Urban Housing as a Support of a New Political Era 97 3.4 The Case of Dhubat State-built Housing 102 3.4.1 Spatial Characteristics and Physical Appearance 103 3.4.2 Socio-economic Characteristics 106 3.4.3 Spatial Translation of Residential Safety 107 3.5 Polservice Housing Program 109 3.5.1 Residential development in Baghdad Master Plan (1965-1967) 109 3.5.2 Proposed Housing Typologies 114 3.5.3 Polservice Comprehensive Development Plan of Baghdad 2000: Housing Programs 116 Revised (1972-1973) 3.5.4 Zoning of Residential Areas: Community and Neighborhood Concepts 121 3.5.5 Proposed Housing Typology and Socio-economic Consideration 123 3.5.5.1 Single-family Housing 126 3.5.5.2 Multi-family Housing 131 3.5.6 Assessment of Proposed Townscape development: Projecting a Modernized Image 132 3.6 Chapter Review 137

Chapter 4: State-built Housing and the Socialist Approach to Housing Provision (1973-2003) 139

4.1 Chapter Preview 139 4.2 Urban Housing Programs under a Socialist Economy 140 4.3 State-built Housing Implementation (1970s-80s): Typology, Characteristics, and Criticism 144 4.3.1 Hybridity of State-built Housing: Caught between Modernization and traditionalism 148 4.3.1.1 The Role of a Political Modernization Agenda in Achieving Hybridity 155 4.3.1.2 The Role of Local and International Firms in Achieving Hybridity 156 4.3.1.3 Design Approaches towards Achieving Hybridity 158 4.3.2 Socio-Spatial Integration 166 4.4 The Turn of the Century: Urban Housing as an Urban Blight 172 4.5 The Case of Saydiya State-built Housing 172 4.5.1 Spatial Characteristics 173 4.5.2 Physical Appearance and Design Values: A Modern Design for Modern Iraq 180 4.5.3 Socio-economic Characteristics 184 4.5.4 Spatial Translation of Residential Safety 185 4.6 Chapter Review 192

Chapter 5: Gated Communities and the Neoliberal Approach to Housing Provision (2003- 194 2017)

5.1 Chapter Preview 194 5.2 Urban Housing and the Shift from Socialism to Neoliberalism in Iraq 195 5.3 Urban Housing Typologies Constructed between 2003-2017 212 5.3.1 Non-gated, Low-cost State-built Housing 212 5.3.2 Gated Communities 217 5.3.2.1 Typologies of Gated Communities according to Funding Source 218 5.3.2.2 Typologies of Gated Communities according to Design Characteristics 224 5.3.2.3 Typologies of Gated Communities according to Narratives behind Gating 233 5.3.2.3.1 A Narrative of Fear: Security-Zone Communities 234 5.3.2.3.2 A Narrative of Consumerism: Prestige Communities 241 5.4 The Case of Al-Ayadi Gated Community (AGC): A City within a City 243

ix 5.4.1 Spatial Characteristics 244 5.4.2 Physical Appearance and Design Values: Commodified Traditionalism and Disneyism 253 5.4.3 Socio-economic Characteristics: Homogeneity, Re-tribalization, and Sense of Otherness 269 5.4.4 Spatial Translation of Residential Safety 272 5.5 Chapter Review 278

Chapter 6: Conclusions 282

6.1 Main Findings: 282 6.1.1 Urban Housing and Politics: Architectural Images Serving Different Political Agendas 285 6.1.2 Urban Housing and Economic Orientation: Socialism and Neo-liberalism 288 6.2 Directions for Future Research 295

Bibliography 298

Appendices 311

List of Figures

Figure 3.1: Showing a proposed layout plan of standardized village.

Figure 3.2: Showing the high percentages of sarifa settlements during early 1950s.

Figure 3.3: Showing a densely-populated sarifa settlement in Baghdad during early 1950s.

Figure 3.4: Proposed Western Baghdad Development, Sector No. 10.

Figure 3.5: Showing plans of implemented housing units in Sector No. 10 of WBDHP between 1956 and 1958.

Figure 3.6: Proposed urban housing type D and Type C for WBDH by DA in 1955.

Figure 3.7: Showing housing typology q 601, proposed by DA for sector 7 in WBDH, Baghdad, Iraq.

Figure 3.8: Showing the standardized design of the various spaces needed in a school in sector 10 and the spaces left for future expansion.

Figure 3.9: Showing a standardized wing and school plan proposed by DA.

Figure 3.10: Implemented DA standardized urban housing.

Figure 3.11: Showing a traditional courtyard design given to a modern market in Sector No. 10.

Figure 3.12: Showing interconnected standardized courtyard: a market-place in WGDHP composed of group of internal squares with all types of central community functions.

Figure 3.13: Showing the two-directional growth of Baghdad in 1955.

x Figure 3.14: Showing the proposed master plan of Baghdad, DA 1958: the application of Ekistics design values on the level of the city plan based on the repetition of a residential sector in two- directional along the river Tigris.

Figure 3.15: Final Layout of human and non-human scales in WBDHP 1955.

Figure 3.16: (above, left to right) showing pedestrian access and vehicular access in sector 10 of WBDHP and their connectivity with the surrounding circulation network.

Figure 3.17: Showing the district plan of Eastern Baghdad housing project, also known as Altoura housing project or Alsadir city implemented during Qasim’s era (1958-1963).

Figure 3.18: Showing site layout of Dhubat (officers) neighborhood in Yarmouk, Baghdad.

Figure 3.19: Showing standardized housing plans of Dhubat neighborhood in Baghdad.

Figure 3.20: Showing land use in Dhubat neighborhood.

Figure 3.21: Housing type in Dhubat neighborhood, Baghdad.

Figure 3.22: Showing Dhubat neighborhood in terms of circulation connectivity.

Figure 3.23: Showing the detailed drawing of Karrada city in the outline of detailed plans report included with Polservice Baghdad Master plan 1967.

Figure 3.24: Showing existing land use in 1973.

Figure 3.25: Proposed land use for the target year of 2000 by Polservice study 1973.

Figure 3.26: Showing the zoning concept of Polservice in residential areas in Baghdad.

Figure 3.27: Showing divisions of socio-economic groups according to Polservice study in summer 1975.

Figure 3.28: Showing proposed housing units by Polservice in Baghdad.

Figure 3.29: Showing single-family housing type A proposed by Polservice.

Figure 3.30: Showing single-family housing type B proposed by Polservice.

Figure 3.31: Proposed townscape of the city of Baghdad for the year 2000 showing locations of high-rise buildings including residential apartment complexes.

Figure 3.32: Showing urban housing development in Baghdad in relation to political shifts (1955-1973).

Figure 4.1: Proposed housing typology for Mahmudiyah by Tadeusz Myszkowski (Miastoprojekt, Kraków), as part of the General Housing Program for Iraq for the years of 1976 to 1980.

Figure 4.2: Showing plans and elevations of one of the first multi-family housing projects constructed during early 1970s in Baghdad.

Figure 4.3: Showing locations and approximate number of inhabitants of urban housing projects implemented during 1970s and 1980s.

xi Figures 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 (clockwise): Haifa complex, Salhiya complex, Qadsiya complex, and Abu Nuwas complex respectively) showing the variety of styles and hybridity of architecture which combines principles of the international style with limited traditional vocabularies which primarily includes pointed arches, geometric Islamic art patterns, Shanasheel, and arcades.

Figure 4.8: Al-Thoura1 complex, showing the lack of traditional referencing.

Figures 4.9, 4.10: (above left to right) showing direct referencing (Disneyism) to traditional courtyard houses in Hamada Market Housing Project in Baghdad, Iraq, constructed in 1982, and designed by Al-Idrisi for Engineering Consultancy; an affiliation of the Ministry of Housing.

Figure 4.11: Showing the typology of urban Housing constructed in Baghdad during the second half of the 20th century.

Figure 4.12: Showing locations of implemented urban housing projects in Baghdad in relation to the proposed locations of high-rise buildings set by Polservice

Figure 4.13: Showing the stylistic typologies of urban housing architecture in Baghdad in regard to the employment of traditional vocabularies.

Figure 4.14: Showing urban housing projects constructed in Baghdad in regard to permeability.

Figure 4.15: Showing the 8 parts of Haifa housing project and the location of complex no.8.

Figure 4.16: Showing permeable boundaries of Haifa housing complex through the employment of arcades which, according to Ma`ath page 167, mimics the traditional arcades in Al-Rasheed street and Ghazi street/ kifah.

Figure 4.17: Showing the type of boundaries and access points to Complex No.8 in Haifa project.

Figure 4.18: Showing the gate of Complex no.8 in Haifa housing project.

Figure 4.19: Showing land-use layout of Saydiya housing project.

Figure 4.20: Showing 2-bedroom apartment unit type A. Following the notion of residential privacy in traditional residential architecture, the unit layout designed by TAC shows the isolation of the private spaces from the living room and the entrance lobby.

Figure 4.21: Showing 3-bedroom apartment unit type B. The unit layout shows similar isolation of private spaces to that in apartment unit type A.

Figure 4.22: Showing 3-bedroom apartment unit type C. The unit layout similar space divisions to that of both type A, and type B.

Figure 4.23: Showing the type of circulation routs and their connection with the surrounding network in Saydiya project.

Figure 4.24: Showing the boundaries and access points at Saydiya housing project. The permeable fence, shown in dotted line, was added after 2005.

Figure 4.25: Showing the spatial implications of the integrated design of Saydiya complex in terms of elementary schools.

xii Figure 4.26: Showing the spatial implications of the integrated design of Saydiya complex in terms of high schools.

Figure 4.27: Showing the spatial implications of the integrated design of Saydiya complex in terms of providing walkable distance to social amenities for inhabitants of Saydiya complex and the residential areas in the north side of the complex.

Figure 4.28: Showing vocabularies of Islamic architecture employed in the mosque building at Saydiya complex. Figure 4.29: Showing vocabularies of Islamic architecture employed in the Market open spaces at Saidiya complex.

Figure 4.30: Showing parts of the civic center within the site of Saydiya housing project. The façade employs arched openings similar to those found in traditional residential architecture in Baghdad

Figure 4.31: Showing a limited employment of traditional vocabularies in the architecture of educational facilities in Saydiya project. These include the arches on the front façade and the eight-pointed star on the fence in reference to geometric patterns of Islamic art.

Figure 4.32: Shows the relationship between politics and urban housing production between 1973 to 2003.

Figure 5.1: Showing the reasons presented by the Ministry of Planning for the necessity of transformation to a decentralized system in housing production.

Figure 5.2: Housing financing by the National General Budget in Iraq has decreased to 1%.

Figure 5.3: Housing production: public sector Vs. private sector 2004-2016.

Figure 5.4: Showing standardized row housing units of Al-Saydiya state -provided housing.

Figure 5.5: The front façade of Al-Saydiya housing unit showing state -provided housing for low-income and middle-income households.

Figure 5.6 and 5.7: (left) Showing the absence of physical boundaries and openness of access points of Al-Jihad low-cost housing project, constructed by the public sector in 2011. (right) Showing the elevation of a housing unit in Al-Jihad low cost housing project.

Figure 5.8: Showing low-cost housing project of Shams contemporary village

Figure 5.9: The spatial organization of Sab`abkar gated community, Baghdad, Iraq

Figure 5.10: Showing the fence of Sab`abkar gated community, Baghdad, Iraq.2012.

Figure 5.11: Showing type B. Zuhur Baghdad, a gated community of high-rise apartment blocks of, constructed by private-sector investment company: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida Co.

Figure 5.12: Showing current typologies of urban housing projects constructed in Baghdad between 2000 – 2017.

xiii Figure 5.13 Showing current typologies of urban housing in Baghdad in terms of permeability. Is Shows that all gated communities, except for Sab’abkar, are constructed by the private sector, and that this typology represents the current trend in housing development in Baghdad.

Figure 5.14: Showing the limited employment of traditional vocabularies in Sab`abar project.

Figure 5.15 and 5.16: (left to right) showing arches and decorative patterns of Moorish architecture in the interior and exterior architecture of Al-Fahim Housing project, constructed by Al-Fahim construction company

Figure 5.17: Showing current stylistic typologies of urban housing projects constructed between 2000- 2017 in Baghdad in terms of employment of traditional vocabularies.

Figure 5.18: Bird's eye view of the master plan of Basmaya city showing the mosque in the central area surrounded by traditional courtyard-like buildings to mimic the traditional Islamic city

Figure 5.19: Central Park in Basmaya city. The open space of the mosque as the main and central open space in the city in reference to what is known as the Islamic city.

Figure 5.20 and 5.21: (left to right) showing the difference between the traditional unit and the modern unit in Basmaya new city project

Figure 5.22 and 5.23: (left to right) Sab`abkar housing unit (2008), Al-Ayadi housing (2017) respectively. These figures are showing the separation of public spaces of entrance and living room from the private spaces of the housing unit.

Figure 5.24 and 5.25 (above, left to right) Saydiya project (1985), Haifa project (1981) respectively. These figures are showing the separation of public spaces of entrance and living room from the private spaces of the housing unit.

Figure 5.26: The green zone in Baghdad

Figure 5.27: Showing the concrete walls of the Green-zone in Baghdad Figure 5.28: Showing houses of Al-Qudhat gated community

Figure 5.29 and 5.30: (left to right) showing inner streets of Jadriya neighborhood in Baghdad in 2002 and the same area in 2017. Notice the barricades and checkpoints points that were added in 2004.

Figure 5.31: Showing the site layout of AHP

Figure 5.32: The typical floor plan of 165 m2 housing units

Figure 5.33: The typical floor plan of 135 m2 housing units.

Figure 5.34, 5.35: Showing housing design layout of apartment unit 165 m2 (left) and unit 135 m2 (right).

Figure 5.36: Showing housing design layout of apartment unit 195 m2

xiv Figure 5.37 and 5.38 (left to right): Showing circulation network and the types of physical boundaries and access points of Al-Ayadi housing project

Figure 5.39: Showing maximum access distances in meters from a dwelling in urban housing to the various community facilities.

Figure 5.40: Showing the socio-spatial impact of the impermeable boundaries of AHP in regard to health facilities.

Figure 5.41: Showing the socio-spatial impact of the impermeable boundaries of AHP in regard to elementary schools

Figure 5.42: Showing the socio-spatial impact of the impermeable boundaries of AHP in regard to high schools.

Figure 5.43: Showing yellow brickwork as a main exterior material for the facades of the residential buildings at Al-Ayadi Project

Figure 5.44: Showing traditional pointed arches and Islamic geometric and vegetal decorative patterns constructed in yellow brick on the market facades.

Figure 5.45: Showing the employment of the traditionally-inspired openings vocabularies made in wood at AHP.

Figure 5.46 and 5.47: Showing the eight-pointed star on the ceilings of the main entrances of some of the residential buildings at AHP, and similar geometric pattern on the front façade of the market building.

Figure 5.48: Showing the eight-pointed star used as a pattern on the floor of the main entrance at some of the residential buildings at AHP.

Figure 5.49: Traditional pointed arch employed as an entrance at the front elevation of Al-Ayadi project.

Figure 5.50: Showing ttraditional pointed arch employed as a decorative element at the front and side facades.

Figure 5.51: Showing the logo of the investment company on the main doors of a residential building.

Figure 5.52: Showing the logo of the investment company on the main doors of the housing complex.

Figure 5.53: Showing the current number of urban housing projects in Baghdad in addition to their locations and the approximate number of inhabitants.

Figure 5:54: The relation between urban housing and politics (2003- 2017)

Figure 6.1: Typologies of urban housing in Baghdad

Figure 6.2: Showing the relationship between urban housing and the economic and political shifts in Baghdad.

xv List of Tables

Table 1.1: Spatial and physical characteristics.

Table 1.2: Socio-economic characteristics.

Table 1.3: Approaches to residential safety.

Table 3.1: Percentages and areas of the physical components of Sector 10 in WBDHP.

Table 3.2: Housing unit typologies in Sector 10 of WBDHP.

Table 4.1 Urban housing projects administered by the mayoralty of Baghdad.

Table 4.2 Urban housing projects administered by the General Organization for Housing.

Table 4.3 Applying the principles of CPTED theory: Saydiya urban housing.

Table 5.1: Comparing the three main financial sources for urban housing projects.

Table 5.2: Urban housing projects in Baghdad since 2004.

Table 5.3: Showing the mechanism of purchasing a housing unit in AHP.

Table 5.4: Mesopotamian city theme: References and influences.

Table 5.5: Applying the principles of CPTED theory.

Table 5.6: A comparison between four case studies.

Table 6.1: Urban housing typologies and their characteristics.

Table 6.2: Urban Housing in Baghdad in relation to Economic Orientation.

xvi Chapter 1 Research Framework

1.1 Introduction

Urban housing is a design concept and a form of residential development. It first appeared in Baghdad as publicly funded and administered housing projects in the form of single-family houses for low-income families. National interest in urban housing programs in Iraq dates back to mid-1950s, when Iraq started to adopt housing programs in order to deal with a massive housing shortage that was due to several factors, such as: a need to replace the deteriorating existing stock of housing, a high rate of annual population growth caused mostly by rural immigration to the city, and issues related to unplanned settlements. This growth was accompanied by the ambitions of young families in Baghdad to live autonomously due to changes in living standards. This increasing demand for new housing has led the government to search for innovative solutions.

Various foreign corporations were invited by the Iraqi government to analyze the inner- city structure of Baghdad and design a comprehensive development plan. This began with a plan by German planners, Brecks in 1936, followed by the British planning corporation Minoprio &

Spencely & P.W. MacFarlane in 1956.1 In 1958, a new master plan for Baghdad was proposed by

Doxiadis Associates (DA) with an emphasis on residential development. While the first two plans had no visible impact on residential development in Baghdad, the DA residential proposals introduced the first state-built housing project in Iraq, known as Western Baghdad Development housing (WBDH), in the form of single-family houses in harmony with the existing traditional residential structure of Baghdad.

1 - Minoprio & Spencely & P.W. MacFarlane in 1956 had an impact on designating locations of monumental buildings in Baghdad such as Baghdad gymnasium which was commissioned to Le Corbusier, and the University of Baghdad which was commissioned to Walter Gropius.

1 According to a research study prepared by Baghdad Governorate in 2006, none of the development plans during the 20th century had as much of an impact on residential development in Baghdad as that of a plan by Polservice Consulting Engineers in 1965.2 It was the first development plan to promote urban housing in the form of multi-family units as a strategy to absorb the rapidly increasing population in Baghdad. It is important to mention that by the time

Polservice presented its proposals, single-family housing was the prevailing residential form. At that time, less than 1% of Baghdad’s population lived in dispersed multi-family housing.3

Following Polservice’s proposals, the typology of urban housing in Baghdad was officially changed to multi-family housing based on legislation (No. 116) in 1974. Supported by the increase in oil revenues of the early 1970s, many multi-family housing projects were constructed between the late 1970s and 1980s.

Nonetheless, attempts to solve housing problems in Baghdad fell short of what was expected. Housing problems continued to surface and re-emerged as a major issue during the early years of the 21st century. A recent survey by the national CSO indicates that the housing shortage in Iraq is approximately 2 million housing units with nearly 600,000 of these units needed in

Baghdad alone.4 In order to cope with this deficit, the new government that gradually emerged in

Iraq after 2003 opened the housing sector to investment, changed investment laws in 2006 to attract national and foreign investors, and initiated several housing programs and plans such as the Million

Housing Units Plan (MHUP) in 2010. These changes made way for a strong return of multi-family housing projects into the cityscape of Baghdad. Yet, compared to those constructed during the

2 - The Mayoralty of Baghdad, “Baghdad Comprehensive Master Plan 2030,” (2006): 8 3 - Polservice Consulting Engineers, Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000 (Warsaw, Poland, 1973), 116. 4 - The National Center of Statistical Organization (CSO), “2015 Report,” (2015): 28, http://www.cosit.gov.iq/ar/expenditure-indicators.

2 second half of the 20th century, the typology of current urban housing projects has largely been dominated by the employment of militarized features including walls and gates that physically and socially isolate urban housing projects from the surrounding urban fabric. This typology is widely known as a gated community, in which facilities and amenities are restricted to those living behind the gates. Although such a typology did appear during the 1980s, it was not the dominant design typology for urban housing, and its included amenities were not restricted to the gated community inhabitants.

Interestingly, since 2003, this typology has been primarily produced by the private sector, whereas the role of the public sector has been to produce low-cost housing for low-income earners.

Here, it can be argued that the year 2003 represents a shifting point, not only in politics from the

Ba’athist regime to a federal democratic system, and in economy from socialism to neoliberalism, but also in the urban housing typology from state-subsidized housing to privatized gated communities. Therefore, this research will investigate the impact of the transition in politics and the economy in Iraq on the typologies of urban housing projects through an analysis of the physical and socio-spatial characteristics of urban housing projects, as well as a critical examination of the context that surrounded their emergence. Additionally, this research will consider the possible socio-spatial impact of the housing typologies that emerged after 2003 compared to those constructed during the second half of the 20th century.

1.2 Research Question

The main question of this research is: What are the causes and consequences of the transformation of urban housing typologies from state-subsidized housing to privatized gated communities in the capital city, Baghdad?

3 Sub-questions emerging from the main question include:

- What role did shifts in politico-economic orientations in Iraq play in the transformation of

urban housing typologies?

- How does the recent transition from a centralized socialist system to a decentralized

neoliberalist system after 2003 influence housing provision approaches, programs, policies,

and typology?

- What are the socio-spatial characteristics of recent market-provided gated communities as

compared with state-provided housing constructed during the second half of the 20th century

in Iraq? Also, what are their possible long-term socio-spatial implications?

1.3 Hypothesis/ Proposition

This research hypothesizes that urban housing in Baghdad, since its initiation in 1955 up to the present, has not necessarily been a social project; rather, it has been a product, a symptom, and a spatial translation of political aspirations, and that shifts in those aspirations have produced a transformation of urban housing dynamics, actors, and typologies.

1.4 Methodology

In order to critically analyze, differentiate, and contextualize recent urban housing typologies and define their characteristics in comparison with their precedents and in connection with the political and economic context in Baghdad, four case studies have been selected, each from a distinct political phase:

 Sector no.10 from Western Baghdad Development housing project (WBDH):

Constructed between 1955-1957, during the monarchy system, this project is one

of the first urban housing projects to emerge in Baghdad after the initiation of urban

housing programs.

4  Dhubat (Officers) urban housing: Constructed between 1959-1962, during the era

of Abdul Kareem Qasim, this project was constructed exclusively for military

personnel and it thus, represents the transformation in the socio-economic

characteristics of the residents of state-built housing programs.

 Saidiya housing project, also known as the Salaam neighborhood: Constructed

between 1980-1985, during the socialist Ba’ath regime era, this project represents

the shift in state-built housing typology from single family houses to multi-family

apartment blocks.

 Ayadi gated community: Constructed between 2013-2018, during the current

federal democratic era, this project represents the shift in urban housing typology

from non-gated, state-built housing to privatized gated communities.

Relying on vocabularies and theories obtained from a literature review on state-built housing and gated communities in Baghdad in connection to politics and economy, the analysis is divided into the following architectural characteristics:

 The first of these characteristics is the physical planning of the housing complex

and its appearance and design style. According to the literature review, the design

of gated communities and neoliberal residential spaces are characterized by their

employment of marketing strategies. Those strategies usually employ the

commodification of history and tradition through nostalgic designs. Thus, the

analysis of architectural characteristics of recent housing development in

comparison to its precedents will identify vocabularies with traditional and

historical referencing.

5  The second architectural characteristic is the spatial organization of the site and the

residential unit pattern. It includes analysis of the allocation and function of

buildings within the site layout and road network connectivity. The first part of this

analysis will help to identify socio-spatial characteristics and impact of the design

typology of urban housing. It will explore spatial paradoxes and terminologies that

are defined and discussed in the literature review, such as isolation versus

connectivity, and privatized spaces versus public spaces (See table 1.1).

 The third architectural characteristic to be considered is residential security. This

emphasizes the spatial translation of safety. As this research is concerned with the

typology of GCs in comparison with non-gated, state-built housing projects in

Baghdad, this characteristic involves the employment of Crime Prevention through

Environmental Design (CPTED) theory (to be discussed in the literature review)

that aids in identifying design strategies related to the security of urban housing

inhabitants. It deals with concepts such as escapism, privatism, and spatial isolation.

In addition to architectural characteristics, socio-economic characteristics will be

explored. This part of the analysis deals with the main actors involved in the process

of providing and using urban housing projects. These include the provision

approach, financing sources, governance (i.e., public, private, shared), and the level

of inhabitants on the ladder of income as defined by the Central Statistical

Organization of Iraq (CSO). These characteristics deal with concepts that are

identified and defined in the literature review; examples include socialism versus

neoliberalism, heterogeneity versus homogeneity, re-tribalization, and social

segregation.

6 Table 1.1: Spatial and physical characteristics Source: Author

Spatial and physical characteristics Components Characteristics Layout Site layout Grid Pattern Clusters Unit layout Modern Traditional Interstitial area Access Gated Non-gated Street Integrated network Separated Physical Residential Single-family Semi-detached components buildings Detached Multi-family Low-rise 3-4 stories Med-rise 5-8 stories High-rise above 8 stories Amenities Shared (public) Privatized Open spaces Shared (public) Privatized Physical Modern (absence of traditional referencing) Appearance Nostalgic Hybrid Disneyfied

Table 1.2: Socio-economic characteristics Source: Author Socio-economic characteristics Sources of Provision Public sector-provided Private sector-provided (Investment) Private-Public provided Inhabitants economic groups Low-income groups Middle-income groups High-income groups Management and governance Public-provided management (Housing association) Private-provided management

7 Table 1.3: Approaches to residential safety Source: Author based on CPTED theory

Defensibility: Approaches to residential safety Surveillance Natural surveillance Visibility straight lines Activity Open spaces generates Ground floors Lighting Parking Building access Open spaces Public routes Formal Surveillance Guards Security cameras Territoriality Physical boundaries Walls Gates Symbolic boundaries Landscape elements Separate routes Hierarchy of spaces Access control Limited access points (guarded) Multiple access points (non-guarded) Maintenance Provision Public sector-provided Private sector-provided Private-public provided Availability Continuous Occasional

To test the validity of the above hypotheses, and in order to analyze both the physical and social components of the case studies highlighted in this dissertation, the methodological approach in this research will employ various sources and techniques. These include primary textual sources

(e.g., legal documents) as well as visual sources (e.g., architectural drawings, images, and television interviews) for gated communities in Baghdad in an effort to uncover basic information, such as: when these gated communities were constructed, who the main players (financers, residents) were/are, who designers and builders were, what the spatial organization components are, what type of architectural styles have been used, and what types of private/public governance structure control such communities.

8 For further depth and insight for this study, this research will utilize spatial analysis techniques of the geographic information system (GIS). It also will include unstructured and informal interviews with housing management staff of the chosen case studies in order to shed some light on the intent behind the design of those communities.

1.5 Terminology

Throughout the dissertation, certain terminologies will be employed to explore urban housing typologies in Baghdad. Therefore, it is essential to begin by introducing the meanings and definitions of those terminologies. The first of these terms is typology in residential architecture.

In her article entitled “Type and typology in architectural discourse” published in 2007, Yasemin

D. Guney argues that “[t]ypology is the comparative study of physical or other characteristics of the built environment into distinct types.”5 To Guney, a discussion of type and typology enhances our ability to see the differences as well as the similarities among architectural artifacts by recognizing the invisible connections between them.6 Nonetheless, Sohan Saraf and Sandra Ahlen claim that:

‘housing’ does not only refer to a house as a physical structure, but encompasses all the different elements that constitute a human settlement. Urban environments that display high quality private space, communal space and access to facilities, contribute positively to the living conditions of residents. The physical, social, psychological and cultural environments contribute to the creation of a ‘sense of place’. A high quality urban environment brings about a positive sense of place, which in turn contributes to high levels of resident satisfaction, ownership and identity. Building and site design, in particular, contribute significantly to the ‘sense of place’ and quality of a housing development. More specifically, building costs, service provision and service costs, the nature of the unit, the configuration of the open space system and residents’ perception of and satisfaction with their housing environment, are all determined by housing typology.7

5 - Guney, Yasemin I, “Type and Typology in Architectural Discourse,” BAU FBE Dergisi Cilt:9, Sayı:1, (2007): 3. 6 - Ibid. 7 - Saraf S. and Ahlen S. “A range of Housing Typologies,” in: On Building Typology (University of Technology Sydney NextGen Housing Research, 2010): 2.

9 Therefore, housing typology in this dissertation encompasses a number of elements which include physical components, spatial organization and design layout, socio-economic characteristics, and means of residential safety. Furthermore, in order to examine housing typologies in connection to politics and the economy in Iraq, the term socialism, as compared to neoliberalism and privatization in regard to housing provisions, will also be explored in this dissertation. Neoliberalism is a set of economic beliefs and policies and an ideological form of capitalist globalization which gained prominence during the late 1970s and early 1980s.8

According to Bridge et al., “neoliberal doctrines were deployed to justify, inter alia, the deregulation of state control over industry, assaults on organized labor, the reduction of corporate taxes, the privatization of public services and assets, the dismantling of social assistance programs, the enhancement of international capital mobility, and the intensification of interlocality competition.” 9 In urban terms, the privatization process of public services will reduce the role of the public sector in the provision of public services and the meeting of basic needs such as housing, education, health, and industry.10 In regard to residential development in Iraq, Ahmad’s

“Investment in Housing Sector and its Finance” in 2010, Hamid’s “Investment in Housing Sector and its Finance” in 2011, Majdi’s “The Role of Housing Finance Policies in Reducing the Housing

Crisis in Iraq” in 2013, and Rahi’s “The Role of Bank Credit in Financing Housing Market in Iraq” in 2015, argue that adopting neoliberal housing strategies means that the public sector is no longer the main provider for housing. Instead, the private sector has become central to housing production.

8 - Gary Bridge, Sophie Watson, Nik Theodore, Jamie Peck and Neil Brenner, “Neoliberal Urbanism: Cities and the Rule of Markets,” in The New Blackwell Companion to the City, 2011), 28. 9 - Ibid. 10 - Walid Jabur, “Human Security and Sustainable Human Development,” Journal of College of Education 6, no.19 (2009): 189. See also Jabbar Jamal-Aldeen, “The Future Prospects of Liberalism, the Iraqi Economist,” 201. 10 Unlike housing provisions under a neoliberal system, in a socialist system, housing provisions are the responsibility of the state. In political terms, socialism is associated with the ruling of one political party.11 In economic terms, socialism means state ownership and control of public services, resources, and means of production instead of handing them to the market to control. In Iraq, the socialist regime under the Ba’athist socialist party, which controlled the political system from early 1968 to 2003, viewed housing as a political priority, a social service expenditure, a constitutional right, and a responsibility of the state. The government’s monopoly over housing provisions meant a highly centralized administrative and financial system for housing production, allocation, and delivery.

With socialism in Iraq comes the term ‘state-subsidized housing,’ which is also discussed in this dissertation. This term designates single family housing and apartment blocks that are exclusively constructed, delivered, and financed by the government at subsidized prices in order to provide affordable housing to mixed-income earners, with an emphasis on low-income families.

In addition to subsidized housing, the term gated community is also applied in this dissertation to the typology of walled or fenced residential developments that are constructed by either the public sector or the private sector. Several other names are used in scholarly writings to describe a similar typology, such as master-planned community (MPC), defensive urbanism, and planned–unit development (PUD).

In terms of definition, a strong similarity can be drawn from scholars such as Blakely and

Snyder, Atkinson and Blandy, and Le Goix, and Atkinson and Flint, regarding the definition of gated communities. In general, a GC is defined as a residential area in which public spaces — streets, sidewalks, parks, beaches, rivers, trails, playgrounds, and even amenities and services —

11 - S. Tsenkova, “The Legacy of Socialist Housing Systems,” Kufa Studies Center Journal 1, no.15 (2009): 26. 11 are privatized through designated parameters that restrict access such as gates, walls and fences that are intended to prevent penetration by nonresidents.12 In Behind the Gates, Setha Low in 2003 defines a gated community as: “a residential development surrounded by walls, fences, or earth banks covered with bushes and shrubs, and a secured entrance. In some cases, protection is provided by inaccessible land such as a nature reserve and, in a few cases, by a guarded bridge.”13

In general, a gated community can be defined as fenced or walled residential development with limited and secured access points that are restricted to residents of that community.

The definition of a GC goes beyond that simple description of its physical components to include the meanings and concepts generated by those components. For instance, from a philosophical view, the metaphoric use of a wall as an architectural element is not only a physical element, as it can represent protection against the ‘other’ which in turn gives an identity to those living within its boundaries, while engendering a sense of alterity towards outsiders and thus maintains a certain social order and creates a sense of exclusion that is both social and physical.14

Walls, as Peter Marcuse argues in his article “Walls of Fear and Walls of Support” in 1997, have various meanings related to the way and why walls are installed. The literal meaning of walls indicates elemental security.15 But in a GC, its meaning goes beyond the simple physical meaning to include a social meaning that inspires, reflects, and reinforces “hierarchies of wealth and power, divisions among people, races, ethnic groups, and religions, and hostilities, tensions, and fear.”16

This is because, Marcus argues, all walls are boundaries and “all boundaries suggest divisions among individuals and activities, within or among societies, or between groups and people.”17

12 - Blakely & Snyder, Fortress America (Washington: D.C.: Brookings Institute Press, 1997), 2. 13 - Low, Behind the Gates (Routledge: New York, 2003), 12. 14 - Neil Leach, Rethinking Architecture (London: Routledge, 1997), xviii. 15 - Peter Marcus, “Walls of Fear and Walls of Support,” in Architecture of Fear, (Princeton Architectural Press: New York, 1997): 101. 16 - Ibid., 103 17 - Ibid., 102.

12 “Walls that act as boundaries [as is the case in GCs], however, can suggest a particular set of relationships between those on the opposite sides of the boundary: separation, distance, fear, tension, hostility, inequality, and alienation.”18 The physically impermeable walls of GCs do not only define territoriality and protect those who are inside but also exclude others; it gives a clear, aggressive and defensive message of exclusion. Thus, walls create a conception of otherness between those who live behind the gates and those who do not. Therefore, the analysis of the physical components of a privatized GC in comparison to state-built housing in this dissertation will introduce a number of terminologies that represent paradoxes and tensions. These terminologies include urban fear versus residential safety, social exclusion versus inclusion, privatized spaces versus urban commons, and spatial integration versus urban fragmentation. The meaning of terminologies will be elaborated in the literature review.

1.6 Theoretical Approach

As global phenomena, a review of the international and local literature on gated communities indicates that it is legitimate to employ theoretical approaches used in international literature for an analysis of this housing typology in Baghdad as well as for the purpose of comparing it with non-gated, state-built housing projects that were constructed in Baghdad during the second half of the 20th century. This phenomenon has been generally analyzed and communicated through two forms of rhetoric. The first one emphasizes the role of market values on the supply-side — architects, developers, and even some public-sector actors — as the main reason and motivation behind the popularity of gating.19 This perspective links the rise of GCs to

18 - Ibid., 103 19 - Examples of this perspective can be seen in the work of Fredrick Jameson’s “Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism” in 1997, Setha Low’s Behind the Gates in 2003, David Harvey’s Spaces of Global Capitalism in 2006, and Edward Soja’s Seeking Spatial Justice in 2010. 13 urban restructuring associated with global economic processes and defines GCs as the spatial translation of a neoliberal capitalist ideology. Other perspectives stress the role of the demand-side

— people pursuing homogeneity and safe living environments.20 This form of rhetoric links the rise of GCs to an increasing postmodern fear that is transferred into architecture and urban design to result in residential enclaves. In short, these researchers define a GC as a physical representation of postmodern responses to fear, or the spatial translation of an ideology of fear. These two forms, commodification and fear, are interrelated in regards to a gated community as an enclave that is a basic unit of a postmodern city. Whereas postmodernism, according to Fredric Jameson, is the cultural logic of late capitalism, an enclave is an urban capitalist model and a part of the production mechanism in a postmodern city that is, Nan Ellin argues, organized and controlled through mechanisms of fear: surveillance, policing, and military tactics.21 Regarding these postmodern enclaves, the analysis of GCs in Baghdad in comparison with state-built housing projects constructed during the second half of the 20th century in Baghdad will be framed and addressed within the context of those two forms of rhetoric.

1.6.1 Rhetoric of Fear: GCs as a Postmodern Response to Fear

In a book entitled Architecture of Fear published in 1997, several scholars such as Ellin,

Flusty, Sennett, Marcus, Blakely, and Snyder, examine the ways in which the preoccupation of fear shapes contemporary urban life and urban terrain. In their view, fear in architecture manifests itself in the increasing number of GCs around the globe, despite the evidence that they do not

20 - Examples of this perspective can be seen in the work of Blakely’s and Snyder’s Behind the Gates in 1997, Nan Ellin’s Architecture of Fear in 1997, Peter Marcus’ “Walls of Fear and Walls of Support” in 1997, and the work of Allen, Massey, and Pile entitled City Worlds published in 1999. 21 - Using the notion of enclave to describe the phenomenon of gated communities has been widely employed by scholars. See examples in Nan Ellin’s Architecture of Fear and Postmodern Urbanism, Fredric Jameson’s “Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism,” David Harvey’s Rebel Cities and Spaces of global Capitalism, Mathieu Perrin’s “The Gated Community as a Postmodern Utopia,” and Reinhold Martin’s Utopia’s Ghost.

14 lessen crime. They also argue that fear has eviscerated the public space, terminated neighborhood organization, and forced people to seek refuge in privatized and fortified enclaves. However, this fear is not a mere result of increasing crime and social ills – it is fear of rapid change.22 In

Architecture of Fear in 1997, Ellin refers to several contributing factors to the peculiarity of a postmodern sense of insecurity: globalization and the growth of the free market and flexible accumulation, the increasing shift toward the private realm, the growing gap between the rich and the poor, the increasing access to information technologies, and also increasing reports regarding crime and terror emitted by the mass media.23 The reflection of such factors is mirrored in architecture and urban design in the growth of security systems, the popularity of gated or enclaved communities, and the increasing surveillance of public spaces.24 In short, postmodern responses to fear, Ellin argues, are conveyed via retribalization, nostalgia, escapism, and spirituality.25

Al-Yousif in 2008 described postmodern fear as an ideology of terrorism. In his article, he attempted to analyze the globalized effect of fear and its reflection on architecture and urban design. He defines terrorism ideology as the practice of dominance and power over the culture of a certain society and thus also the architecture that is part of that culture. To Al-Yousif, postmodern fear is not only caused by crime but also by architecture. In his view, the reflection on architecture does not appear as a unique style, but rather as an eclecticism of architectural vocabularies and building materials capable of transforming the architectural identity of a certain society. He describes the process of the transformation of terrorism ideology into architecture in phases: first, the phase in which frequent images of terrorism, especially via the media, during a significant

22 - Nan Ellin, Architecture of Fear, 44. See also Al-Yousif, “The Effect of Globalizing Terrorism on Architecture,” The Iraqi Journal of Architecture, no. 14-15 (2008): 134. 23 - Nan Ellin, Architecture of Fear, 26. 24 - Nan Ellin, Architecture of Fear, 26. 25 - Ibid., 26

15 period of time accumulate in the recipient’s thought and memory, and eventually those images become the norm.26 The second phase is that in which the accumulation of those images subconsciously affects the design concepts of architects in a specific society.

Consequently, architecture becomes a product of that accumulation process and becomes a representation of fear.27 Here, architecture not only turns into a reflection of the ideology of terrorism, but also indirectly becomes publicity for and an affirmation of that ideology.28 The postmodern infatuation with the past and with mass imagery, according to Ellin’s Postmodern

Urbanism in 1999, “might be understood as part of a larger search for meaning and security in a world that appears increasingly meaningless and scary. An obsession with the past is interpreted, on the psychological level, as a desire to return to the womb, to the mother, to nature, to archetypes, to some paradise or state of bliss which has been lost.”29 To Ellin, this search for meaning and identity appears through ‘escapist and exclusionary urbanism’ with a nostalgic impulse as a means of legitimization and/or inspiration in the face of insecurity and fear. 30 Such an impulse in architecture and urbanism emits signals that the present is unsavory and threatening and that the past provided a safer environment.31

For this reason, GCs in general, as part of the postmodern response to fear, share certain characteristics. First, they share a nostalgic impulse. It appears in terms of their architectural style that they incorporate “features of the townscape movements, regionalism, contextualism, neorationalism, neoclassicism, historical eclecticism, and the historic preservation movement in a variety of ways.” 32 This typology, especially in apartment complexes, “is reminiscent of the older

26 - Al-Yousif, “The Effect of Globalizing Terrorism,” 134. 27 - Ibid., 135. 28 - Ibid. 29 - Nan Ellin, Postmodern Urbanism, 129. 30 - Ibid., 129. 31 - Ibid., 177. 32 - Ibid., 87.

16 typologies of courtyard housing because they are arranged around common spaces.”33 These fortress-like complexes diverge from the traditional form, however, in their retreat from the surrounding urban fabric. Accessed by patrolled gates, they turn their backs to the community around them, focusing inward upon the common spaces.”34 They “feature architectural components that allude to the past or to the local vernacular, and that seek to offer inhabitants a sense that their own dwelling is somehow unique from others and that the development as a whole is legible.”35 Second, GCs share the characteristic of homogeneity in terms of residents belonging to the same rung of the socio-economic ladder — mostly middle-income earners and up. These

GCs are devoid of rental or low-income housing.36 From this perspective, the nostalgic impulse and homogeneity are a representation of the fear of rapid, urban, architectural, and social change.

These represent a search for meaning by architects and planners, as well as a search for security by householders in those communities.

However, before physical barriers became primary design elements for master planned communities, they began in preexisting neighborhoods. Street closures, high-fences, and gating became the physical translation of the pursuit of safety. To Ellin, these physical barriers are part of a design strategy known as Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED)

(pronounced as SEP-ted), to which residents resort in neighborhoods with a high rate of crime. 37

Ellin argues that “this obsession with security has also incited architects to design ‘defensive architecture.’” 38 The theory and design movement of CPTED is attributed to Jacob's The Death and Life of Great American Cities in 1961, which is considered a reaction to the social ills produced

33 - Ibid., 91. 34 - Ibid. 35 - Ibid. 36 - Ibid., 87 37 - Ibid., 89. 38 - Ibid.

17 by modernist planning orthodoxy. Jacobs suggested several strategies and principles for city planning that would help produce safer environments. Jacobs focused on safety and public contact in streets, sidewalks, and neighborhood parks. To Jacobs, safety could be maintained through collaborative surveillance in order to manage strangers. Jacobs criticized the safety system used in some redevelopment projects such as “the city within a city” concept for middle-and upper-income housing occupants, as this system incorporates militarized features such as fences and patrol guards. Instead, the author listed three main qualities of safe streets in successful city neighborhoods: a clear demarcation between public and private spaces, a correct orientation of buildings to make available controlling “eyes” on the streets, and continuous sidewalk activities

— stores and public activities — to add a number of effective eyes on the street.39

Jacobs promotes social and urban heterogeneity through mixed ages, types, and functions of buildings, and mixed socio-economic levels. However, master planned GCs contrast Jacobs’ suggestions by promoting the homogeneity of socio-economic levels of residents and of the function and age of buildings. Jacobs emphasizes collaborative community action and active street life as main sources of security for surveillance. Her suggestions imply the opposite of depending on physical barriers and hired guards for security. Nonetheless, the emphasis on the importance of physical design elements in providing security appears in later proposals of crime prevention in the early 1970s, which were inspired by Jacobs’ work. The two most influential works were C.

Ray Jeffery's Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in 1971 and Oscar Newman's

Defensible Space in 1972. Throughout his book, Jeffery tried to interpret the relationship between behavior and environmental design and conditions. In terms of urban planning and design, Jeffery focused on elements of urban design such as streets, parks, terminals and super highways. He

39 - Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (New York: Random House, 1961), 35.

18 stressed two ways of reducing crime in a built environment: physically, and socially – in a way that enhances social cohesion and reduces crime ‘opportunities.’40 His ‘opportunity theory’ of crime prevention and control was expanded by Mayhew, Clarke, Sturman and Hough in 1976, and

Clarke and Mayhew in 1980, and also by Canadian researchers Brantingham and Brantingham in

1981.41

Newman's study in 1972 focused on crime prevention in residential environments through urban design elements, with an emphasis on public housing in New York. Newman defines defensible space as “a surrogate term for the range of mechanisms – real and symbolic barriers, strongly defined areas of influence, and improved opportunities for surveillance – that combine to bring an environment under control of its residents.”42 This defensible space theory is based on three factors. The first of these is territoriality, which can be achieved through a hierarchy of spaces: public, semi-public, semi-private, private, as well as street design, the subdivision of the exterior forms and interior design of the buildings, and the use of real or symbolic barriers.

Territoriality requires the creation of perceived zones of territorial influence.43 The second of these factors is surveillance, which can be achieved through social or natural surveillance, but it mostly depends on the continuous presence of people and visibility made possible by the availability of diverse activities and by glazing, lighting, window orientation, and the positioning of buildings, non-private spaces, and pathways.44 The third and last factor is image and milieu. Newman states that the distinctiveness of a housing project in building forms, height, size, and materials makes it stand out very clearly, distinctively, and identifiably from its adjacent areas. 45 Here, he supports

40 - Jeffery, C. Ray. Crime prevention through environmental design (Sage Publications, London, 1971), 215, 219. 41 - Geason, and Paul R. Wilson, Designing Out Crime (Australian Institute of Criminology, 1989), 3. 42 - Oscar Newman, Defensible Space (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1972), 3 43 - Ibid., 9, 60, 64, 71. 44 - Ibid., 80. 45 - Ibid., 103.

19 small size projects equal or less than 1,000 units and 6 stories — low-density, low-rise housing projects with building forms designed in a way that “avoids the stigma of peculiarity that allows others to perceive the vulnerability and isolation of the inhabitants.”46 Although his concept of

‘defensive space’ may include the use of real boundaries, as is the case with Jacobs, Newman suggests collaborative responsibility from community members to provide surveillance and defend their territory from outsiders. In addition, Newman emphasizes community image, the notion of

‘milieu’, and the emphasis on harmony between a housing project and its immediately adjacent neighborhood as an important component of security, and implies his rejection of a fenced, isolated, and segregated community. Nonetheless, the shift in urban environments towards an enclaved and privatized realm manifest in the continuous sprawl of GCs and reflects the characteristic of defensibility of contemporary cities.

1.6.2 Consumerism Rhetoric: Gated Communities as a Neoliberal Space

With an emphasis other than that of fear, several contemporary sociological academic scholars attribute the increasing popularity of GCs around the world to changes in the political economy. Scholars have developed theories regarding gating through concepts such as ‘global city-regions’ by Scott in 2002, uneven geographic development by Harvey in 2006 and 2012, the

‘partitioned city’ by Marcus in 2002, and a postmodern utopia and capitalist enclave by Jameson in 1997, Perrin in 2007, and Martin in 2010. Such perspectives view the urban trend of gating as a negative expression or symptom and a spatial translation of global market-led economic growth.

Following the Marxist approach to analyzing the urbanization process of contemporary cities, David Harvey in 2006 describes these urban enclaves in his Spaces of Global Capitalism as neoliberal spaces, or spaces of global capitalism and an example of uneven geographic

46 - Ibid., 9, 28.

20 development. These also represent an ongoing process of accumulation by disposition under neoliberalism, which disposes many low-income populations of their rights to space in the city for the benefit of capitalists. 47 This process is a global phenomenon of the commodification of urban development in contemporary cities that depends on the privatization of public commons and public goods, the commodification of residential provision, and the decentralization of the public sector’s responsibilities towards housing production.48 Such neo-liberalization of the urban process creates a climate of optimized conditions for the goal of capital accumulation.

This goal is described by the Marxist geographer in his Rebel Cities published in 2012, as the “capitalist law of value” or the maximization of profit. 49 This value system, Harvey insists, overrides all other values that stand in its path, especially social values. The hegemony of economic power imposes certain design values according to its own needs — profit and capital accumulation — rather than to satisfy the needs of people.50 Hence, such a typology of residential enclaves does not serve the needs of people, which is the basic function and goal of architecture, but rather it serves the goals of the powers of domination.51 In this context, GCs are therefore a global capitalist urban model of consumerism that serves economic and political goals.

Such urban models as artifacts of capitalism are publicized by the advertising media and presented to the public as utopias that promise safety, better services, and secured amenities: a homogeneous society with a desired lifestyle. Reinhold Martin in 2010 insists that these postmodern utopias are not a reproduction of a utopian diagram that was described by Thomas

More in 1516, nor a representation of an ideal city.52 It is rather a ‘topo’ and an island and enclave

47 - David Harvey, Rebel Cities (London: Verso, 2012), 18. 48 - Harvey, Spaces of Global Capitalism (London: Verso, 2006), 44. 49 - Ibid., 25 50 - Ibid. 51 - Al-Yousif, “the Effect of Globalizing Terrorism on Architecture,”138. 52 - Reinhold Martin, Utopia’s Ghost (University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2010), 20. 21 that is a basic unit of the postmodern or the contemporary city and has been integrated into the productive machinery of capitalism.53 Such an urban phenomenon, Jameson in 1997 argues, is thus a spatial logic of late capitalism or the neoliberal urban approach. Gated communities are not the only examples of such enclaves; there are also shopping malls, corporate campuses, weather- sealed atriums, barricaded office buildings, and so on.54

From a parallel perspective, Low in 2003 argues that the rise and increase of the GC phenomenon is a social consequence and a response to transformations in the late-twentieth- century political economy, which intensified an ideological focus on neoliberal practices of free- market capitalism. 55 Here, Low supports the supply-side economic factors. Economic restructuring has driven investors and private developers towards building GCs; this allows them to cluster more housing units on less land in order to maximize their profits. 56 Great support for

‘fortified enclaves’ is provided not only by the private sector, but also by the public sector or local governments. Le Goix and Caldeira claim that the motivation behind that support is that GCs are a substantial part of the new housing market and at the same time a valuable source of revenue for the public sector. 57 Caldeira’s “Fortified Enclaves” in 1996 considers the fortified enclaves as a contemporary trend in planning from which cities around the world are drawing inspiration.58 Yet, it can be argued that a GC being a global urban trend is a result of the increasing supply of this urban phenomenon and that is not only a matter of fashion that is imported by cities in developing countries from global cities. It simply means there is a growing demand for such a trend. Hence, there is an increasing willingness of consumers to live behind walls.

53 - Ibid., 21. 54 - Ibid., 21 55 - Low, Behind the Gates, 16. 56 - Ibid., 20. 57 - Le Goix, “Gated Communities: Sprawl and Social Segregation in Southern California,” Housing Studies (2004): 1. 58 - Teresa P. R. Caldeira, “Fortified Enclaves: The New Urban Segregation,” Public Culture 8, no. 2 (1996): 320. 22 It can thus be concluded that the motivations behind the popularity of gating can be divided into the supply-side and the demand-side affiliations. From the supply-side perspective — the private sector, public sector, architects and planners— GCs for private-sector actors, developers and investors, represent an urban model that commodifies residential architecture for the purpose of capital accumulation. For public-sector actors, GCs represent a source for revenue and a source of housing production. For architects, planners, and urban designers, master planned communities are a chance for the creation and maintenance of architectural and urban meaning, aesthetics and identity — as Ellin in 1997 puts it – through a nostalgic impulse and historicism. On the other hand, there are various demand-side perspectives that could be related to an increasing global perception of fear and the psychological need of households for secured enclaves in which to live.

Demand-side perspectives could also be related to a search for homogeneity — race, ethnicity, religion, etc. — or certain lifestyle standards. There is also a loss of faith in public services and amenities that oppose the utopianism that GCs promise, especially in developing countries such

Iraq.

1.7 Limitations

The essential work of this research has been divided into two parts. First, the theoretical part primarily relates to the body of knowledge or literature related to the topic of this dissertation.

Second, the practical part relates to fieldwork including, but not limited to, site visits, library visits, and the digital analysis of information related to housing development in Iraq. Therefore, factors that limit this research can be divided into the aforementioned categories.

23 1.7.1 Challenges Faced by the Practical Part of the Dissertation

The major obstacle encountered in the practical part of this research was the difficulty to travel to Iraq to do fieldwork, primarily due to visa restrictions. Studying abroad comes with its difficulties. One such difficulty is studying a housing typology in Baghdad, while writing a dissertation in the U.S. Such a situation poses another difficulty: having to recruit others, my siblings in this case, to obtain recent images of housing complexes, as well as certain documents from libraries and governmental affiliated institutions and organizations in Iraq such as the

Ministry of Construction and Housing (MOCH) and the Mayoralty of Baghdad.

The high rate of crime and terrorist attacks makes movement in Baghdad dangerous and even life-threatening for researchers and those who assist them. Multiple military checkpoints and blocked-off streets hamper circulation in Baghdad and increase the time required to visit locations.

Also, there are strict governmental rules and restrictions against taking pictures without permission. There is also an increasing fear among the public to let strangers take pictures or document their residential areas, due to unsafe conditions in Baghdad. These challenges make it hard for researchers to document existing residential projects that are accessible to the public, let alone access to recent walled and gated residential developments. High security at the guarded gates of recent MHUP projects make it difficult for researchers to access the property. This not only applies to taking pictures, but also to interviewing residents and management staff of residential complexes. These challenges hamper a detailed analysis of the socioeconomic characteristics of the inhabitants of gated communities and urban housing projects in general. They also make it difficult to acquire a deep understanding of the socio-spatial impact of those communities on the neighborhood scale.

24 1.7.2 Challenges Faced by the Theoretical Part of the Dissertation

Although gated communities have been examined by scholars in many countries around the world since the 1970s, they are still a recent phenomenon in Iraq, and are understudied. In their writings, western scholars such as Ellin, Blackley, Low, and others have attempted to address the various typologies of GCs and their socio-spatial impact on the urban environment. Yet their writings fall short in the discussion of GCs within non-western, local contexts such as Iraq, where the role of the private sector in residential development under a post-socialist, neoliberal economy is recent and still evolving. Therefore, the local socio-political and economic context of developing countries such as Iraq imposes its own specificities and particularity in the analysis of GCs, despite the fact that they are a global phenomenon.

In addition to western studies, local literature also has its own gaps when it comes to the analysis of GCs. Although the term “gated communities” has appeared in local scholarly work, it has been exclusively related to the security-zone communities that emerged in the urban fabric of

Baghdad as part of a national security strategy. The term has not been employed to describe urban housing development. Because the MHUP is recent in Baghdad and several of its projects are still under construction, local scholarly work that relates to the housing typology of gated communities in Baghdad is rare, if it exists. Gated communities are a global phenomenon; yet applying theories from international literature to a local phenomenon in Iraq is risky. It requires a deep understanding of differences and similarities between the two contexts.

Although there is an abundance of international literature on this housing typology, literature on the positive social-spatial impact of gated communities is limited. The fact that most of the related literature conveys negative perspectives on the socio-spatial and economic impacts of gated communities worldwide makes it difficult for a researcher to take a neutral position on

25 this typology of residential development. What makes it even more difficult is the fact that gated communities as a design typology for urban housing is a recent phenomenon in Baghdad, and several MHUP gated communities are still under construction. The long-term impact of those communities is still unknown.

1.8 Organization of the Dissertation

Chapter 1

The first chapter will reveal the research framework and provide an introduction to the rise of urban housing projects in Baghdad. It will also present the thesis statement and main questions that the dissertation will explore, the hypothesis or proposition, and the methodological and theoretical approaches selected for the analysis of urban housing typology in connection to politics and economy in Baghdad.

Chapter 2

The second chapter will review the relevant literature in contemporary scholarly work on the discourse of the theory and practice of privatized gated communities and neoliberal urbanism in comparison to state-built housing and socialism. It will seek to explore the various factors, motivations and mechanisms surrounding the rise of state-built, subsidized housing and gated communities, as well as socio-economic issues and perceptions related to these typologies of housing development in Baghdad. Additionally, a theoretical debate, emerging from the contemporary literature and also international debate regarding gated communities, will be explored along two main themes: the rhetoric of the commodification of housing and the rhetoric of fear. Findings from the second chapter will lay the groundwork for this dissertation and will be employed as a theoretical framework that will guide the analysis of selected case studies.

26 While the first and second chapters introduce the research question and lay the groundwork for its analysis through a literature review, the third, fourth, and fifth chapters will explore urban housing developments in Baghdad in a chronological order. Each chapter will critically examine the way the tectonics of urban housing have reflected the visions and agendas of Iraqi political regimes over time.

Chapter 3

The third chapter will cover the period between the 1950s and 1970s, during which the

Hashimiti monarchy system exploited housing projects to reflect its agenda of modernization and nationalism. This chapter will shed light on the initiation of urban housing programs, starting with

Doxiadis Association housing program in 1955 and moving to the Polservice Housing Program in

1965. In order to explore the relationship between politics and the tectonics of housing projects, this chapter will also examine the conceptual and physical design characteristics of the Western

Baghdad Development Housing (WBDH).

Chapter 4

The fourth chapter will cover the period between the 1970s and 1990s, during which urban housing transformed the cityscape of Baghdad. This chapter will explore the socio-spatial and physical characteristics of urban housing that mirrored the proposals of Polservice and the political agenda of the Ba`athist party, which combined modernization with pan-Arabism. In order to explore those characteristics in detail, the primary focus will be given to the case study of the

Saidiya housing project. In addition, the fourth chapter will examine the role of local and international firms in the emergence of early signs of gated communities in Baghdad, as seen in the case of Complex no.8 in Haifa Housing project.

Chapter 5

27 The fifth chapter will focus on the transformation in the tectonics and socio-spatial characteristics of urban housing constructed between the years 2000 and 2017. This period has accompanied a shift in the political and economic trajectories in Iraq from a socialist to a neoliberal system. This shift has introduced design typologies of urban residences known globally as gated communities. In addition, this chapter will aim to identify and compare the design values, architecture, and spatial organization of urban housing projects in Baghdad – those constructed during the second half of the 20th century, as well as those more recently constructed. For a deep examination of those characteristics, the case study of Alayadi housing project (2013-2017) will be employed. Through this examination, this research will attempt to uncover basic answers to key questions. When were the gated communities constructed? Who were/are the main players

(financers, residents)? Who designed and constructed these communities?

Chapter 6

The last chapter will focus on the main findings and conclusions from this dissertation as to the implications of political change on housing development in Iraq, and ways in which those changes have given way to various typologies of GCs that are emerging in Baghdad. It will present findings on the motivations behind gating as well as current and possible future socio-spatial implications of recent urban housing typologies on the urban fabric of Baghdad. This chapter will also explore contributions made by this research and provide suggestions and directions for future research.

28 Chapter 2 Literature Review: 2.1 Chapter Preview

In the following literature review, this research will attempt to explore theoretical and methodological contributions and substantive findings in the texts of scholarly works that represent current knowledge on the main topic of this dissertation, urban housing typology and politics, with an emphasis on literature on privatized gated communities and their relation to neoliberalism in comparison to state-built housing and its relation to socialism in Baghdad. This literature review will present the groundwork for this dissertation.

2.2 Literature on Urban Housing Typology and Politics in Baghdad

The available texts on housing typologies and politics in Baghdad are limited to residential development and political changes during the 20th century. They do not address recent transformations in housing development in Baghdad nor recent politico-economic shifts that occurred in the years following the war of 2003. In terms of typologies, the available texts address randomly selected single-family houses and residential units in apartment complexes, considered in separation from the typologies of the residential complexes of which they are a part. For example, in a research paper entitled “Socio-cultural Change in Vernacular Architecture,” Allaa

Al-Raziki addresses the transformation in the types of spaces and relationships between them within the unit layout in connection with socio-cultural changes. Al-Raziki’s paper describes a time period spanning from the beginning of the 20th century until the beginning of the 21st century, emphasizing on the traditional single-family courtyard house known locally as a ‘Baghdad house.’

There is minimal research regarding the typologies of urban housing. In addition, the available text is limited to housing projects constructed during the second half of the 20th century.

29 For instance, in “Urban Identity in Residential Complexes,” Marwa Ali in 2016, has examined four urban housing projects, only one of them in Baghdad, namely the Hamada market housing, which was constructed during the 1980s. The typologies of housing projects were divided according to characteristics, dimensions, and components. Also included were urban design elements and urban planning layouts. Another example includes a research study entitled “the

Effect of Planning Regulations on the Formation of the Residential Settlements” by Niran Abdul-

Wahab. It explores planning policies and regulations behind the formation of spatial organization typologies of residential complexes with an emphasis on four residential projects: Haifa, Abu

Nuwas, the Saidiya complex, and the Hamada market development. All were constructed between the late 1970s and late 1980s. Similar to Abdul-Wahab, Manaf Mohammed Nabil explored case studies of urban housing projects constructed during the second half of the 20th century. In his research paper entitled “Identity in Housing,” Nabil compares the physical and spatial differences and similarities between single-family houses and apartment units in urban housing projects in

Baghdad. Yet, neither research paper addresses recent urban housing developments. In addition, they involve neither economic nor political contexts that surrounded the development of the case studies covered in their projects.

Akeel N. Mullahiwaish’s Modern Architecture in Iraq in 1988 offers a good example of a critical examination of housing projects and politics. In his attempt to cover modern architecture in Iraq, Mullahiwaish has studied typologies, styles, and modern planning layouts and policies of various projects, with an emphasis on urban housing projects in various cities in Iraq, including

Baghdad, in connection with the economic and political contexts that surrounded the planning efforts and construction of several housing projects. His analysis follows a chronological approach

30 starting from the beginning of the 20th century and ending in the late 1980s. His division of typologies is primarily based on three elements:

 An economic element which is related to provision and funding sources

 A social element which includes the role of inhabitants in designing or altering the

residential unit

 An architectural element that is based on a comparison with the traditional

courtyard house, namely a ‘Baghdad house’

Based on those three elements, Hiwaish provides several typologies of residential development that include both single-family and multi-family housing units. Similar to

Mullahiwaish, Ma’ath Al-Alusy, in a chapter on “Haifa Street” in his book entitled Nostos: A Tale of a Street in Baghdad, addresses the influence of the Ba’athist political regime on the design of the Haifa urban housing project in Baghdad during the 1980s and the way in the which the agendas of modernization and socialism were translated in the design of that housing project. Yet, both texts have exclusively focused on the 20th century housing development. Therefore, there is a need to examine the recent transformation of urban housing typologies in connection with their politico- economic context and in comparison with those that emerged during the 20th century in order to gain a better understanding of the current urban development in Baghdad.

2.3 Literature on Urban Housing and Neoliberalism in Baghdad

Several local scholars have been critical of the neoliberal housing trend in Iraq; others view it as a positive, evolutionary step towards meeting the massive housing need in Baghdad.

Additionally, there are scholars who stress that there should be a balance of private and public cooperation in housing provision. However, the debate around this shift in housing provision can be divided into two opposing perspectives that can be described as being held by supporters and

31 opponents of the neoliberal housing approach. Those who emphasize its advantages believe that a neoliberal housing strategy, through which housing can change from a social project to a marketable product and investment, is the ultimate answer to the tremendous housing shortage in

Iraq.1 These scholars criticize the pre-2003 war housing provision approach in which the public sector was the main source for housing finance, production, allocation, and delivery. They believe that housing investment projects can resolve the issue of housing production in Iraq and eventually satisfy the massive need for housing, estimations for which reached two million units in 2015.2 In short, they call for the need to abandon the Ba’athist socialist position in which housing is viewed as a social service expenditure, and for the need to view housing as an investment project that relies on the private sector.

Interestingly, from 2004 to 2009, several surveys and research studies have been conducted by local and international scholars as part of the UN-Habitat Iraq Program to analyze the housing sector critically and propose solutions. This intensive research was followed by the release of several reports, all of which indicate the necessity of transforming the housing sector into an investment. For instance, a report entitled “Strengthening the Capacity of the Housing Sector in

Iraq” in 2006 focused on housing finance resources in Iraq. According to the report, “Iraq, an oil- rich country, requires long-term investment to develop a dynamic housing market.”3 The proposals in that report emphasize the public/private partnership finance system and an activation of the

1 - See examples of scholarly work that support a neoliberal approach to housing provision in Aljubory’s “Law System for Investment in Iraq,” Alhamawendy’s and Alqaisy’s “Phase of Change and Building Institutions and its Effect on Framing Housing Policy in Iraq,” Mutlag’s “Activating the Role of the Private Sector Activity in Housing Finance,” Hamid’s “Investment in Housing Sector and its Finance,” Majdi’s “The Role of Housing Finance Policies in Reducing the Housing Crisis in Iraq,” and Rahi’s “The Role of Bank Credit in Financing Housing Market in Iraq.” 2 - Iraq Investment Map 2015. http://investpromo.gov.iq/?id=146. See also Baghdad Provincial Strategic Plan (2008- 2012). 3 - Gabriel Nagy, “Strengthening the Capacity of the Housing Sector in Iraq,” Housing Finance International (2006): 3.

32 private and commercial banks mortgage system to enable and encourage the private sector to participate in the housing sector:

State-owned corporations in Iraq need to focus on a more regulatory and policy making role and leave to the private sector to leverage and channel the enormous amount of resources needed for the housing sector. It is key to note that most needed resources will come from the local market, and only some foreign seed capital (grants or loans) can be expected to boost financing activities.4

In response to those reports, the Iraqi government set a goal of turning the housing sector into an investment and declared that “to achieve the economies of scale needed to overcome financing, cost, and technical obstacles, Iraq needs real estate developers that are capable of planning, designing, developing, and delivering planned community housing at the necessary price point.”5 Since 2010, a significant number of investment licenses have been awarded to local and international investors for the development of housing in seven provinces.6

While there is tremendous support from local scholars for neoliberal housing policies, there is also opposition. In their 2009 article, Jamal-Aldeen and Walid Jabur argue that a private sector approach would have a socially devastating impact and that low-income resident populations would benefit least from this approach. In “The Future Prospects of Liberalism” in 2009, Iraqi economist Jamal-Aldeen claims that neoliberalism represents an inevitable result for Iraq after the cessation of the international trade embargo in 2003. From Jamal-Aldeen’s perspective, after the war, Iraq had no choice but to join the world market, after which Iraqi investment laws had to change to fit the new circumstances – and the implications of neoliberalism in Iraq are deleterious for society, the economy, and even politics.

4 - Ibid., 7. Similar proposals are provided in another report titled “Iraq Housing Market Study: Main Report,” prepared by PADCO and Iraqi Central Office of Statistics & Information Technology in 2006, and in the proceedings report of Iraq housing sector analysis & policy directions workshop that was held in Amman, Jordan, December 6-7, 2006. 5 - NIC, “Investment Overview of Iraq,” (2010): 60. 6 - Ibid.

33 In “Human Security and Sustainable Human Development,” Walid Jabur argues that neoliberal politics might lead to economic improvement by attracting external capital for participation in the reconstruction process in Iraq, but at the same time this could result in the suppression of sustainable social development. These views imply that private investors, as capitalists, would only focus on protecting and increasing their gains, and might also impose their own regulations in order to participate in housing development. As expected by the local scholars who support the neoliberal housing approach, a recent survey of Iraq’s Central Statistical

Organization (CSO) shows a substantial acceleration of housing production in Baghdad.7 Yet, the foreboding of those who opposed this housing approach has also become a reality in that all housing projects are constructed by the private sector and thus beyond the affordability of low- income groups.

Furthermore, it can be observed that local scholars have overlooked yet another impact of the neoliberal housing approach: the introduction of gated communities into inner city areas, dedicated mostly to middle-income residents. Housing investment through the MHUP primarily targets residents of middle-income status and above because they are more likely to ensure the profits of private investors and developers than low-income earners.8 Additionally, despite the establishment of the Iraqi Housing Fund in 2004 to encourage and financially assist families living in new housing developments, even this opportunity is not accessible to many, especially low- income residents, as there are several conditions that govern the process of qualifying for and paying back those loans. Those conditions make this approach suitable for middle-income earners

7 - See the national five-year development plan (2010-2014) prepared by the Ministry of Planning in 2009. 8 - According to recent surveys by the CSO, the middle-income families in Iraq are those who gain an average of 1.512.900 (ID/Month). Middle-income and low-income percentage in Baghdad varies according to districts. Low- incomes for instance, constitute 1% to 49% and they are mostly in the rural areas around the city and in the informal settlements in and around the city of Baghdad. http://www.cosit.gov.iq/ar/expenditure-indicators.

34 and detrimental for those with lower incomes. Hence, the MHUP, with gated communities as its principal design theme, has demonstrated an increased interest in the market value of profitability and capital growth and a decreased interest in meeting social needs for housing provisions. These market values are not only supported by local scholars and academics, but also by political forces.

Most housing programs since 2006, the year which marked the issuance of new investment laws, have shown their favor for market-based housing provisions.

Recent changes in investment laws that further empower the private sector are now expected to fuel the concept of market-based, gated communities in Baghdad. According to Iraqi economists Jamal-Aldeen, Jabur, and Salih, this process evokes a form of the “small government” of neoliberalism.9 This will result in reductions in government spending in efforts to enhance the role of the private sector, with these changes made only to enhance the economy, regardless of social impact. In terms of housing development, this means that real estate investors will not be interested in constructing affordable housing for underprivileged families; instead, they will construct more gated communities to protect their financial gains and investments.10 In the long term, this process will reduce the role of the public sector in the provision of public services and meeting of basic needs such as housing. Thus, the impact of the neo-liberal agenda on housing production will extend beyond lower income groups, as it is based on profit-making and marketing rather than meeting the actual need for housing.

In a global context, several anthropologists and urbanists insist that there is enough evidence illustrating how gated communities can cause urban fragmentation and socioeconomic

9 - See Mudhir Salih 2012 on www.iraqieconomist.net. See also Walid Jabur’s “Human Security and Sustainable Human Development,” 189, and Jabbar Jamal-Aldeen’s “The Future Prospects of Liberalism,” 201. 10 - Jabur, “Security and Social Sustainability,” 206. 35 segregation.11 Housing developments in the neighboring Gulf region, in Qatar for instance, provide ample evidence for how real estate investors favor the concept of gated communities and use them as a marketing strategy to empower their investments, regardless of the “dramatic impact on neighborhoods and cities as well as on the quality of urban life of people.”12 This market-oriented approach in Iraq follows what Harvey calls in his 2012 book Rebel Cities the “capitalist law of value” or the maximization of profit. This value system, Harvey insists, overrides all other values that stand in its path, especially social values. The hegemony of economic power imposes on others certain design values according to its own needs — profit and capital accumulation — rather than satisfying the needs of people.13 The implications of this neoliberal approach in Iraq are expected to be socially deleterious in the long-term, as its housing developments are designed to attract external capital and enhance the economy, regardless of their social implications.14 Nonetheless, gated communities, as a symptom of the neoliberal housing approach and an increase of fear, are forecasted to be a popular typology for current and future urban housing developments in Baghdad.

In this context, most of the available literature on current housing developments in

Baghdad in connection to politics and the economy emphasize the importance of adopting a neoliberal approach in housing provision. Local scholars criticize the pre-2003 war housing provision approach, in which the public sector or the previous socialist political regime was the main source for housing finance, production, allocation, and delivery. They believe that housing investment projects can solve the issue of housing production in Iraq and eventually satisfy the

11 - Examples include Blakely’s and Snyder’s Fortress Ameriaca, Low’s Behind the Gates, Soja’s Seeking Spatial Justice, and Harvey’s Rebel Cities. 12 - Mahgoub, and Khalfani, “Sustainability of Gated Communities in Developing Countries,” Developing Country Studies 2, no.6 (2012): 53. 13 - Harvey, Spaces of Global Capitalism (London: Verso, 2006), 25. 14 - See examples of scholarly work which discusses the problematic impact of adopting a neoliberal approach in housing provision in Jamal-Aldeen’s “The Future Prospects of Liberalism,” Jabur’s “Human Security and Sustainable Human Development,” and Mudhir’s ““Reducing the Government Role in Economic Life.” 36 urban need for housing, estimations for which had reached two million units in 2015. However, their analysis has overlooked the typology of urban housing introduced through the neoliberal approach. Their work lacks references to, and analysis of, urban housing case studies that resulted from the recent shift in housing provisions. This is because most of those texts were written by scholars from disciplines other than architecture and planning, such as the disciplines of economics and political science. This dissertation will focus on the impact of recent neoliberal housing provisions in comparison with the socialist approach and the impact left by it on urban housing typologies.

2.4 Literature on Urban Housing and Socialism in Baghdad

The connection between state-built housing and state-subsidized housing and socialism in

Iraq has been widely addressed in local scholarly work, as well as in reports prepared by Iraqi ministries. Examples include Mullahiwaish’s Modern Architecture in Iraq in 1988, Elsheshtawy’s

Planning Middle Eastern Cities in 2004, Ahmad’s “Policies of State Control Under the Socialist

System” in 2010, Theodosis’ Victory over Chaos? in 2015, Pyla’s “Back to the Future,” in 2008,

M. Hamid’s “Investment in Housing Sector and its Finance” in 2011, Majdi’s “The Role of

Housing Finance Policies in Reducing the Housing Crisis in Iraq” in 2013, and the Ministry of

Housing and Construction’s housing market report in 2009.

In general, these texts assert that the result of the government-controlled system of housing construction and delivery during the socialist regime in Iraq introduced the concept of state- housing estates into the urban fabric of Baghdad and that the socialist economic orientation made state-built housing highly subsidized and thus affordable to social groups of various income levels.

According to those texts, housing under the socialist political system was seen as a social service and the government’s responsibility. Yet, some of the aforementioned texts that are concerned

37 with the economics of housing, such as those written by Hamid, and Majdi, and Ahmad, have criticized the absence of the private sector in housing provisions due to the dominance of socialism in politics and economics. These perspectives will be employed in this dissertation for the purpose of analyzing the role of the political system in the rise of urban housing in Baghdad as well as its typology and its socio-economic characteristics.

2.5 Literature on Urban Housing Architecture in Baghdad: Traditionalism and Nationalism

Several scholars have examined components of the traditional residential environment in comparison with modern residential buildings. In general, the available texts are concerned with identifying traditional vocabularies, approaches of traditional and historical referencing, and the transformation of those elements in connection with notions of identity, nationalism, traditionalism, and socio-cultural changes in Iraq. For instance, in her article entitled “The Role of

Neighborhood in Forming Sustainable Residential Communities,” Dhabya Ibraheem has analyzed the gated community of the Sab`abkar housing project constructed in 2008 and the 28 Nissan urban housing project constructed during the 1980s. She compares their physical and spatial components with the Islamic city which she considers as a primary source for social sustainability and architectural aesthetics. Other examples on urban housing in connection with traditionalism include a research paper entitled “Identity in Housing” in 2007 by M. Nabil and another paper entitled “Urban Identity in Residential Complexes” in 2016, by M. Ali; both papers have examined residential developments in Iraq with a focus on the transformation of traditional vocabularies.

These vocabularies are identified in a research paper entitled “Elements of Heritage and their Semantic Architectural Identity” in 2001 by F. Fatal, who argues that there are two primary roots for contemporary traditional referencing in Iraq. First, are elements and forms from the historical cities of the Mesopotamian civilization. Second, are elements from the Abbasid era,

38 which represents a main source of Islamic architecture in Baghdad. Those elements are taken from public buildings such as mosques, palaces, and schools. Those elements include towers, vaults, arcades, three dimensional ornaments, and arched entrances. There are also the elements taken from residential architecture such as the traditional courtyard house, also known as a Baghdad house, which evolved from the residential architecture of historical Mesopotamian cities.15 Fatal identifies those elements as the ornamented wooden columns that surround the courtyard, latticed openings known as shanasheel, two dimensional and three-dimensional ornaments, the small openings on the external walls, and the arched and angled entrances. In her research, Fatal further identifies two approaches used by architects for historical referencing. The first approach focuses on building forms and relies on copying, abstraction, and mixing typologies. This strategy can easily be communicated to viewers because of its direct visual connection with traditional elements. The second approach deals with the essence of and the philosophy behind the employment of traditional architectural elements, which may relate to the environmental, social, or structural function of forms. These two strategies, according to Fatal, were popular among local architects and foreign architects who worked in Baghdad, especially during the second half of the

20th century in response to the postmodern movement in architecture.16 Yet, due to technological developments, the employment of those elements followed modern construction and production systems and exploited modern materials.

In connection with the main theme of housing and politics, identifying traditional vocabularies and approaches of traditional referencing are beyond the scope of this dissertation.

Instead, this research will emphasize the design intent and reasons behind the presence or the

15 - Sukaina Fattal, “Elements of Heritage and their Semantic Architectural Identity,” Dissertation (University of technology, Baghdad, Iraq, 2001): 85. 16 - Ibid., 111.

39 absence of traditional referencing in recent urban housing projects. There are several texts that have examined the ways in which local vocabularies translate political agendas. For instance,

Panayiota Pyla’s article, “Back to the Future: Doxiadis’s Plans for Baghdad,” and Lefteris

Theodosis’s article, “Victory over Chaos? Constantinos A. Doxiadis and Ekistics 1945-1975,” have examined the way the Doxiadis housing program in Iraq intertwined with the Iraqi political regime’s agenda of social reform during the monarchy era. Nonetheless, the available texts have focused on political agendas of various regimes in Iraq during the 20th century. They do not address post-2003 politico-economic agendas that involve urban housing development in Iraq.

2.6 Literature on Gated Communities in Baghdad

This phenomenon of gated communities is recent in Baghdad. The available local literature is limited to GCs constructed in Baghdad as part of the national counterinsurgency strategy and does not represent the main focus of this research since it does not address urban housing projects.

Instead, it addresses ethnic enclaves formed by gating off and fencing neighborhoods. Thus, most literature employed in this section includes texts of scholarly work on GCs at the international level. It includes literature written by western authors on case studies in Europe and the U.S., as well as texts prepared by eastern authors on GCs in the Middle-eastern region including neighboring countries to Iraq, such as Turkey and countries in the Gulf region.

Current literature has exclusively addressed GCs in Baghdad that resulted from the national security tactic of counterinsurgency adopted after 2003 by the Coalition Provisional Authority

(CPA) and the Iraqi governmental systems that followed — interim, transitional, and elected government. This literature has overlooked GCs that resulted from the recent shift in the design typology of urban housing developments. Yet, the socio-spatial values identified by scholars covering the national security in Baghdad show great similarities with values introduced by the

40 global phenomenon of GCs. Those values are social segregation, physical and socio-spatial isolation, sectarian difference and exclusion, urban fragmentation, and loss of community values.

In addition to these values, and because the counterinsurgency tactic involves political power, other values and themes appear in the available literature on GCs in Baghdad, such as socio-spatial hierarchy, power and powerlessness, and the government and the governed.

In an exploration of the presidential enclave in Baghdad, namely the Green Zone, A.

Majeed, in his article entitled “Crisis of Professional Responsibility in the Press of Iraq after the

War” in 2007, labeled this fortified area a ‘cocoon’ of governmental officials. The journalist R.

Chandrasekaran in 2007 described it as the Emerald City in which the government leads an imperial lifestyle. Both Majeed and Chandrasekaran have addressed the social hierarchy implied by the spatial and physical isolation of the Green Zone.

Other examples of literature on GCs as resulting from national security tactics include

Damluji’s “Securing Democracy in Iraq” in 2010, Al-Hasani’s “Urban Space Transformation in

Old City of Baghdad” in 2012, A. Mohamed’s “The American Strategy and its Impact on the

Social and Security Situation in Iraq” in 2008, N. Ibrahim’s “The Phenomenon of Violence and

Sectarian Polarization in Iraq after 2003” in 2015, K. Ahmed and A. ALBustany’s “Crime

Provokes Civil War and Sectarian Fighting” in 2015, and others. For instance, Al-Qarawee, in his article entitled “Iraq’s Sectarian Crisis: A Legacy of Exclusion” in 2014, claims that “a highly contentious environment, weak state institutions, the effects of political Islam, and geopolitical rivalries have heightened sectarianism in Iraq.” In “Analytical Study of Factors Associated with

Iraqi Family Disintegration after the Events of 2003/4 /9” in 2012 by S. Abbas, and “Terrorism and its Implications for Security and Social Peace” in 2016 by Y. Aubed, the authors argue that the impact of socio-spatial segregation is multivalent. The socio-spatial values of the

41 counterinsurgency strategy have been addressed not only by local scholars but also by foreign scholars such as Kilcullen in his article “The Urban Tourniquet ‘Gated Communities’ in Baghdad” in 2007, Wong and Cloud in their article “U.S. Erects Baghdad Wall to Keep Sects Apart” in 2007, and Rubin in his article “Outcry over Wall Shows Depth of Iraqi Resentment” in 2007; each author highlights the necessity of gated communities for controlling sectarian violence in Baghdad, while also acknowledging their problematic impact on Iraqi society.

While most of the available literature have addressed the negative values of GCs in

Baghdad, there are scholars who support this physical isolation. For instance, in a research paper entitled “Urban Challenges in Residential Environment: Analytical Study in Residential Safety and Security” in 2013, Al-Darzy supports gating off existing residential neighborhoods and also recommends the employment of militarized tactics in future urban housing development in

Baghdad. This is because, Al-Darzy claims, direct physical urban integration of adjacent neighborhoods increases urban permeability and thus decreases the levels of residents’ privacy and safety.

An extensive search on the topic of GCs in Baghdad has resulted in a minimal number written texts on recent urban housing projects. For instance, D. Ibraheem’s “The Role of the

Neighborhood in the Formation of Sustainable Housing Complexes in Iraq” in 2012 and J. Fawzi’s

“The Prophylactic Design of the Green Walls in the Landscape of the Outer Spaces of the Vertical

Housing” in 2012 have analyzed the gated community of the Sab`abkar housing project; yet, neither has described it as a gated community nor attempted to address its militarized features and their socio-spatial impact on the immediately adjacent neighborhoods. D. Ibraheem in 2012 analyzed the social, economic, and environmental components of the project in comparison with the notion of the ‘Islamic city.’ Fawzi in 2012 specifically focused on an environmental analysis

42 of the project’s physical components. Therefore, additional research that addresses the socio- spatial impact of the physical isolation features employed in the Sab’abkar gated community and similar residential projects is required in order to understand the urban impact of this increasing phenomenon in the context of Baghdad.

The literature on the socio-spatial impact of gated communities has focused exclusively on

GCs that emerged as a counterinsurgency tactic in Baghdad. For instance, in a recent study by Al-

Hasani in 2012, the author asserts that recent political and social changes have given rise to various forms of defensive spaces in Baghdad. Not only the military, but also civilians in several residential areas in Baghdad, have turned their neighborhoods into gated communities by closing off every access, primarily because they feel that the gates are less of a choice than a necessity.17 Al-Hasani explains that the physical elements used to form those spaces (i.e., concrete barricades) have destroyed the homogeneity of the existing urban fabric.18 Damluji agrees with Al-Hasani, in that national security strategy and counter-terrorism activities that have formed gated communities in

Baghdad have caused social and urban fragmentation. In the article “Securing Democracy in Iraq:

Sectarian Politics and Segregation in Baghdad, 2003–2007” in 2010, Damluji argues that physical isolation imposed through security tactics has “actively reproduced, intensified, codified and spatially reinforced the significance of sectarian difference […] and hardened and intensified patterns of internal conflict, diminishing the potential for reconciliation.”19 Consequently, Damluji continues, these tactics have displaced and segregated Baghdad residents into homogenously

17 - Mona Damluji, “Securing Democracy in Iraq,” TDSR xxi, no. 11 (2010): 85. See also D. Kilcullen’s “The Urban Tourniquet: ‘Gated Communities’ in Baghdad,” Small Wars Journal, 2007. Also see Blakely & Snyder, Fortress America, 102. 18 - Mohammed Al-Hasani, “Urban Space Transformation,” MEGARON. ek 1 (2012): 83. 19 - Damluji, “Securing Democracy in Iraq,” 71. By reconciliation, Damluji refers to socio-political sectarian relationships and efforts made by various political parties in Iraq.

43 populated neighborhoods. These conditions have turned Baghdad into fragmented urban enclaves based on the ethnic background of residents.

In addition to explorations by Al-Hasani and Damluji, the socio-spatial exclusion and segregating impact of gated communities in Baghdad has been addressed by several other local scholars.20 For instance, Al-Qarawee, in his 2014 article entitled “Iraq’s Sectarian Crisis: A Legacy of Exclusion,” claims, similar to Damluji, that “a highly contentious environment, weak state institutions, the effects of political Islam, and geopolitical rivalries have heightened sectarianism in Iraq.” As previously stated, S. Abbas in 2012 and Y. Aubed in 2016 argue that the impact of socio-spatial segregation is multivalent. That is, this segregation not only manifests on the level of the city of Baghdad, but it impacts other cities as well. They also argue that this segregation tactic has become a source and a factor of disintegration on the family level within the city. Despite the slight difference in their perspectives regarding the causes and motivations behind gating off neighborhoods in Baghdad, these scholars agree that the impact of the phenomenon of gated communities is dramatic and devastating, and it is a source of social and urban fragmentation on the city scale.

The impact of gated communities on the urban fabric of Baghdad has also been addressed by foreign scholars and journalist such as Kilcullen, Wong and Cloud, and Rubin, who highlight the necessity of gated communities for controlling sectarian violence in Baghdad, but also acknowledge its problematic impact on society. In 2007, Kilcullen claims that gated communities as a counterinsurgency measure in Baghdad are analogous to tourniquets in surgery, for “they can

20 - Examples include Mohamed’s “The American Strategy and its Impact on the Social and Security Situation in Iraq,” Abbas’“Analytical Study of Factors Associated with Iraqi Family Disintegration after the events of 2003/4 /9” Al-Qarawee’s “Iraq’s Sectarian Crisis: A Legacy of Exclusion,” Ibrahim’s [NIC: Commencement in Alrasheed Military Camp Housing Project Once Received from the MoD], Ahmed’s and Al-Bustany’s “Crime Provoke Civil War and Sectarian Fighting,” Aubed’s “Terrorism and its Implications for Security and Social Peace,” and others. 44 stem a life-threatening hemorrhage, but they must be applied sparingly, released as often and as soon as possible, and they have side-effects that have to be taken into account.” For Kilcullen, that

"urban tourniquet" strategy (checkpoints, T-walls, etc.) is necessary for breaking the cycle of sectarian violence in three ways: it makes it difficult for terrorists to infiltrate a community, it reduces extremists' ability to use gated districts as a base to attack neighboring areas, and it alienates extremists from the population and thus reduces fear within the community. Nonetheless, the views presented by Rubin in 2007 on people living inside one of the gated communities in

Baghdad offer an opposition to the strategy of isolating adjacent neighborhoods; Rubin argues that it further fuels sectarian violence and social segregation and therefore increases rather than reduces fear.

In an opposing view, in a 2013 article, Al-Darzy strongly supports the practice of gated communities, not only by gating off existing residential neighborhoods but also by including militarized tactics in future designs of urban housing projects inside Baghdad. Al-Darzy’s research aims at identifying the elements of environmental, architectural, and urban design that help raise the level of safety in residential environments, and their impact on the human sense of safety. With an emphasis given to visibility and visual integration, Al-Darzy concludes that the psychological need for safety, as the second basic human need on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, can be achieved through the presence of militarized design vocabularies on the architectural, environmental, and urban levels. Al-Darzy believes that the integration of a residential area with its adjacent surrounding neighborhoods through street networks increases the permeability of residential areas and allows strangers to infiltrate a community, and thus lessens the level of residential safety. The author also believes that it is important to use physical security elements as suggested by CPTED design theory, such as secured and limited access through guarded gated, fences, cameras, and

45 alarm systems. Al-Darzy supports high visibility and also social interaction inside controlled, physically isolated territories with limited and secured vehicular and pedestrian access.

Although Al-Darzy does not use the term “gated community,” or draw on any example of recent housing projects in Baghdad that are walled and gated, the conclusions and recommendations in her research support, to a large degree, the practice of gated communities as a design strategy for housing projects. Additionally, Al-Darzy opposes the direct physical urban integration of adjacent neighborhoods through integrated street networks and multiple open entrances, because she claims that this urban permeability decreases the levels of residents’ privacy and safety. It is important to mention that permeability is one of the five elements of Integral

Urbanism suggested by Nan Ellin’s Integral Urbanism in 2006.21 With this lack of permeability, social and physical cohesion could be in jeopardy. Consequently, the security strategy in Baghdad has brought about a type of militarized resilience which, according to Jon Coaffee’s “The

‘Everyday’ Resilience of the City,” can enhance the processes of militarization and securitization in cities but eventually weaken social networks and hamper efforts toward social and urban coherence by generating negative social values of sectarian isolation. In short, gating off communities can jeopardize any potentiality of socio-spatial integration on the city scale.

2.7 Literature on the Typologies of Gated Communities

In terms of typologies, based on the primary motivation of residents, Blakely and Snyder in 1997 classify GCs into three typologies: lifestyle communities, prestige communities, and security zone communities. First, are the lifestyle communities or ‘gates to paradise.’ Motivations are privacy, image, status, access to special amenities, and also fear. The first typology of GC has

21 - These five elements are: hybridity, connectivity, authenticity, vulnerability, and porosity. See chapter 2 for definitions.

46 3 subtypes: the retirement community, the golf and leisure community, and the suburban new town. This typology is usually developed for middle-and upper income earners. 22 Second, are the prestige communities: here, the gates symbolize, create, and protect an image and a secure place on the social ladder, usually middle class. 23 “Gates denote a barrier of status.” 24 Motivations also include fear of crime and desire for privacy. In short, motivations behind gating focus on community, crime, and status. The third category describes security-zone communities, where the fear of a high rate of crime and outsiders is the foremost motivation for defensive fortifications.25

Here, neighborhoods might be retrofitted with gates or barricades. The first two typologies are examples of gating motivated by a desire to “maximize the internal life standards of the residents”

26 and are mostly constructed by developers from the private sector and sometimes the public sector.27 The third typology is provided by either a public sector or by the residents themselves, where the motivation is to create a defensive fortification as a security strategy. Blakely and Snyder argue that this last typology is not a need, but rather a must. 28 Gating is “less of a choice than a necessity.”29

In 1997, Luymes classified residential enclaves according to the physical “typology of access control.” For Luymes, this typology is connected to the socio-economic level of residents; the most affluent enclaves include a higher level and more elements of a security system than those of the less affluent.30 Another typology is classified by Burke, based on physical and social

22 - Blakely and Snyder, Fortress America, 39. 23 - Ibid., 41. 24 - Ibid., 75. 25 - Nan Ellin, Architecture of Fear, 88. Also see Blakely & Snyder, Fortress America, 42. 26 - Blakely and Snyder, “Divided We Fall: Gated and Walled Communities in the United States,” 88. 27 - Blakely and Snyder, Fortress America, 99. 28 - Ibid., 42. 29 - Ibid., 102. 30 - Luymes D., “The Fortification of Suburbia: Investigating the Rise of Enclave Communities,” Landscape and Urban Planning 39 (1997): 198.

47 characteristics as well as geographic location. In 2001, Burke defined five types of GCs in his article “The Pedestrian Behaviour of Residents in Gated Communities.” First, Urban Security

Zones are created by retrofitting gates into an existing urban setting of small neighborhood areas to keep out non-residents and undesired vehicular traffic. Second, Secure Apartment Complexes are often three or more stories in height with open space outdoor areas and facilities open to all residents with restrictions on nonresidents and vehicular access.31 Third, Secure Suburban Estates signify gated developments in the middle or outer suburbs of major cities and are characterized by a housing form of low-rise villas or townhouses. Secure Resort Communities include one or more elements of what Burke calls: ‘resort-lifestyle features,’ such as lakes, golf courses, gardens, pathways, or elaborate lighting. Lastly, Secure Rural-residential Estates are ex-urban estates, located most often at the edge of the rural-urban fringe of major city centers. They usually incorporate, in addition to gated entrances and security features, elements that ensure a ‘rural idyll’ such as garden areas, grazing land, vineyards, and large areas of the estate retained as pastoral landscape – yet, no explicit lifestyle features indicative of resort-style living are included. 32

In addition to Blakely and Snyder, Luymes’s “The Fortification of Suburbia” in 1997,

Burke’s “The Pedestrian Behaviour of Residents in Gated Communities” in 2001, and Grant’s and

Mittelsteadt’s “Types of Gated Communities” in 2004 classified other typologies of GCs by adding four more variables and characteristics to those identified by Blakely and Snyder. Their resulting variables are: functions of enclosure, security features, amenities included, type of residents, tenure, location, size, and policy context. 33 Based on those variables, Grant and Mittelsteadt in

31 - M. Burke, “The Pedestrian Behaviour of Residents in Gated Communities,” in City of Walls: Crime, Segregation, and Citizenship in Sao Paulo (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000), 143. 32 - Ibid. 33 - Mittelsteadt L. Grant J, “Types of Gated communities,” Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 31 (2004): 917.

48 2004 classified gated communities into eight types: ornamental gating, walled subdivision, faux- gated entries, barricaded streets, partially gated roads, fully gated roads, restricted-entry bounded areas, and restricted-entry guarded areas. 34 Their typologies are largely dependent upon the level of gating and physical isolation. In the first three typologies, for instance, the gate is constructed as a mere definition of entrance to the housing complex. It may function as a landmark feature with the marketing name of the project prominently displayed to give identity to that within, but no actual security measures are taken to restrict access. 35

Although the classification of GC typologies differs among researchers and accords to analytical approaches and geographic locations studied, common factors drive the classification of

GC typologies. Generally, three categories of motivations emerge from the literature: “security,”

“status,” and “lifestyle.” Sub-typologies can be classified depending on physical, geographic, and demographic characteristics. Additionally, all typologies share certain commonalities: the privatization of public space and services and the utilization of physical barriers to restrict access from non-community members with features such as sidewalks, green spaces, and streets, which have typically been seen as public commons in the traditional urban setting. For the purpose of this research, the classification of Blakely and Snyder will be employed to analyze the typologies of GCs in Baghdad. This is because the typologies of GCs suggested by Blakely and Snyder best describe the typologies of recent GCs in Baghdad in terms of the motivation behind their emergence.

34 - Mittelsteadt, “Challenging the Public Realm,” School of Planning, Dalhousie University (2008): 923. 35 - Ibid., 923

49 2.8 Literature on Socio-spatial Impact of Privatized GCs as Compared to State-built Housing

The discussion regarding the impact of privatized GCs as compared to non-gated state- built housing projects on the urban and socio-economic fabric of contemporary cities leads to essential problematic questions regarding several paradoxes: fear versus safety, privatized spaces versus public spaces, socio-economic homogeneity versus heterogeneity, socio-spatial inclusion versus exclusion, a community versus a lack of community, integration versus fragmentation, utopia versus dystopia. Answers to such questions require an examination of the socio-spatial organization and impact of those communities in Baghdad. It also requires an exploration of the main actors or players: beneficiaries, users, and financers. But first, this research will review recent literature regarding the several paradoxes that spring from the imposition of residential enclaves in the urban fabric of cities.

2.8.1 Fear versus Safety

The paradox of fear and safety with the deliberate use of barriers and separation from the surroundings in GCs is debated by scholars, yet most of them agree that the physical barriers and security systems of GCs establish a perception of safety for residents. For instance, the author of

Behind the Gates, Setha Low, stresses the psychological impact of guarded gates and surrounding walls. Low claims that architectural symbols such as gates and walls generate a feeling of unity and security and thus bear psychological importance. 36 In “Shelter from the Storm or Form follows

Fear and vice versa,” Ellin offers a historical and theoretical view of the relationship between fear and contemporary city building. She argues that fear is part of the human experience, and architectural and planning solutions have always been associated with the need for protection from

36 - Setha Low, Behind the Gates, 12,13.

50 danger or outsiders.37 She sustains that strategies of defensive architecture and urbanism such as gating, policing, and surveillance systems do provide certain people with a limited sense of security.38

However, scholars such as Low, Ellin, Blakely and Snyder, Marcus, and Burke argue that the effect of barriers and security systems on the perception of safety does not necessarily mean that GCs are safer than non-gated communities.39 This perception makes inevitable the designation of those beyond the walls as ‘outsiders’ and a threat.40 Safety is a psychological need, and thus the effects of barriers is symbolic and not necessarily an indication of the existence of real safety.41 In

2003, Low argues that a GC heightens residents’ anxiety and sense of isolation rather than helping them to feel safer.42 On a city scale, the existence of GCs may diminish collective responsibility for the safety of society as a whole.43 Gating has little impact on crime rates; it may even elevate them – yet the mentality of fear that it creates and the perception that it is safer to live in gated communities remains intact.44

In a similar view, scholars in Architecture of Fear in 1999 claim that such a physical representation of space is based on fear and military tactics of defense and does not necessarily eradicate the sources of fear and insecurity in a contemporary society. They exacerbate them. Ellin in 1997, for instance, doubts the validity and ability of these architectural and urban responses in achieving their goals, specifically that of providing a sense of security and diminishing danger.45

37 - Nan Ellin, Architecture of Fear, 13. 38 - Ibid., 42. 39 - See Low’s Behind the Gates, Ellin’s Architecture of Fear, Blakely’s and Snyder’s Fortress America, Marcus’ “Walls of Fear and Walls of Support,” and Burke’s “The Pedestrian Behaviour of Residents in Gated Communities.” 40 - Burke, “The Pedestrian Behaviour,” 147. 41 - Low, Behind the Gates, 12,13. 42 - Low, Behind the Gates, 21. 43 - Ibid., 17. 44 - Ellin, Integral Urbanism, 101. 45 - Ellin, Architecture of Fear, 42. See also Ellin, Postmodern Urbanism, 177.

51 Instead, GCs contribute to “accentuating fear by increasing paranoia and distrust.”46 To Ellin, defensive urbanism generates what might be called offensive urbanism and architecture.47 But if such responses are destructive, offensive, and defensive, then what might reconstructive, non- offensive architecture and urbanism look like?

In trying to answer this question, Ellin suggests a sustainable design approach that engages both physical and social aspects of design, taking into consideration the contemporary lifestyle and the future instead of merely emulating the past in a search for meaning, legitimacy, and sense of security.48 She also suggests an outward-looking design rather than the inward-looking spatial organization of GCs.49 In short, Ellin stresses the importance of community involvement in addition to physical design elements in the achievement of security. Her perspective is parallel to that of several other scholars, including Blakely and Snyder, and Geason and Wilson, who are critical of the implementation of CPTED theory in GCs.50

Researchers have come to believe that social requirements and other crime-reduction measures should be taken into consideration in addition to physical design elements in order to provide security such as policing and the creation of groups from within the community dedicated to preventing crime.51 A suggestion similar to that of Ellin in 1999 is proposed by Blakely and

Snyder in 1996. They argue that GCs in general have focused on the physical elements of CPTED and have ignored its social aspects. They state that physical design tactics that can act as security measures should promote social defense and not act directly against crime. They promote CPTED tactics; however, they stress that it is important not to rely merely on physical devices for target-

46 - Ellin, Postmodern Urbanism, 177. 47 - Ellin, Architecture of Fear, 9. 48 - Ellin, Postmodern Urbanism, 43. 49 - Ibid., 45. 50 - See Blakely and Snyder’s Fortress America, and Geason’s and Wilson’s Designing Out Crime. 51 - Susan Geason, and Paul R. Wilson, Designing Out Crime (Australian Institute of Criminology. 1989), 6.

52 hardening approaches of CPTED. These should be accompanied by social control through the promotion of mutual responsibilities for residents.52 As an alternative to gates and hired guards,

Blakely and Snyder put forward the concept of ‘defensible space’ or a physical environment that affects social behavior and discourages crime.53 In 1989, Geason and Wilson take a similar approach in opposing the mere dependence on physical barriers and security systems for the provision of safety. Instead, they propose that the management and security of residential complexes should rely on shared responsibilities between the management and residents.

Some scholars are critical not only of the implementation of CPTED in the design of GCs, but also critical of the theory of CPTED itself. Scholars who regard crime as the result of social conditions such as poverty, unemployment, etc., believe that the physical design environment is no substitute for improved social services and enhanced education and employment opportunities.54 To these scholars, CPTED merely encourages the so-called ‘waterbed effect,’ which refers to the repression of criminal activities in one location causing crime displacement to other areas.55

2.8.2 Homogeneity versus Heterogeneity

Although promoting socio-economic diversity and mixed-use buildings may be a common theme called for by contemporary planning, diversity rarely occurs in gated projects. Advertising for GCs usually focuses on describing the homogeneity of potential residents.56 The homogeneity in income, interest, social level, and lifestyle are the common characteristics of GCs in general.57

52- Ibid., 162, 163. 53 - Blakely and Snyder, Fortress America, 162. 54 - Susan Geason, and Paul R. Wilson, Designing Out Crime, 8. 55 -Peter Burgess, The Routledge Handbook of New Security Studies (Routledge: New York 2010), 258. 56 - See Grant’s “Mixed-use in Theory and Practice: Canadian Experience with Implementing a Planning Principle,” Maxwell’s “Gated Communities: Selling the Good Life.'' 57 - Blakely and Snyder, Fortress America, 29.

53 Consequently, Blakely and Snyder argue, GCs are one of the most dramatic forms of residential boundaries and a manifestation of a new fortress mentality through the exclusionary land-use policies that limit access to residential, commercial, and public spaces.58 According to Blakely and

Snyder in 1997, creating walled enclaves and sealing off existing neighborhoods further fragments the socio-economic fabric.59 From their perspective, “the shape and characteristics of the places we live in have a great influence on our experiences, our social interactions, and our behavior.”60

This practice extends beyond the walls of GCs to influence the character of a city as a whole.61

Blakely and Snyder argue that when privatization and residential exclusion become dominant, neighborhood connectedness and mutual support structures disappear.62 Hence, a gated community magnifies differences instead of commonalities.63 It stresses socio-spatial division and fragmentation, separate settlements, and segregations.64 As a result, social values, the sense of community, and equity are the most targeted aspects in gated communities.

However, as discussed earlier in the section of the literature on the typologies of gated communities, not all typologies of GCs stress homogeneity. According to Blakely and Snyder, social homogeneity disappears in security-zone communities in which neighborhoods might be retrofitted with gates or barricades for reasons related to high crime rates or terrorism. Such neighborhoods are usually made up of heterogeneous groups on the communal socio-economic ladder.

58 - Ibid., 1,2. 59 - Ibid., vii 60 - Ibid., 31. 61 - Ibid., viii 62 - Ibid., 177 63 - Ibid., 159. 64 - Ibid., 145.

54 2.8.3 Privatized Spaces versus Public Spaces

Critics of consumption such as Davis, Jameson, Harvey, and others, highlight the way in which the market dictates and alters the value and meaning of public spaces and urban commons, generates social inequalities, and forces people towards consumption. Harvey, in “The Creation of the Urban Commons,” elaborates on the concept of public goods and urban commonalities, using the pattern of a gated community as one of the examples to describe a loss of meaning and value of a public common. He argues: “There is much confusion over the relationship between the commons and the supposed evils of enclosure.”65 Harvey continues that in order for public goods

— such as education and health facilities, streets, sidewalks, playgrounds, green spaces and the like — to become urban commonalities, the government and society should contribute to the use and quality of public goods, and there should also be ‘social participation potentials.’66 He insists that some forms of enclosure, such as GCs, can be dismissed as “bad by definition” since they are not being used to protect certain kinds of valued commons, such as cultural archeological sites.67

Instead, the boundaries of GCs are used to isolate and privatize basic needs for residence, education, and health care that should remain in public access. Harvey insists that boundaries within a residential neighborhood should only be placed so that the least advantaged group in a set of territorial aggregates would benefit more from the resources than the more advantaged groups.68

This is because the urban common and social relations and practices that underpin a residential neighborhood should work for achieving greater justice within a community.69 To Harvey, GCs as urban models produced via a neoliberal approach reflect the privatization and commodification of

65 - Harvey, Rebel Cities, 66. 66 - Ibid., 65 67 - Ibid., 67. 68 - Ibid., 68. 69 - Ibid., 69

55 urban commons and the diminished role of public financing of public spaces, which he believes is crucial for the definition and creation of a commons. Harvey argues that the prevalence of neoliberalist policies has turned contemporary cities into commodities, and during this process, the commons have been destroyed and turned into privatized public spaces and privatized GCs of an exclusionary nature.70 He maintains that public goods “have always been a matter of public administration, in some cases, because urban commons almost always increase nearby residential property prices, public goods can be capitalized upon and may even be designed precisely with that in mind.”71 Hence, the neoliberal policy in housing sector investments will extract the public value of urban commons by promoting gated enclaves.

The paradox of private versus public in GCs relates not only to public or open spaces or urban commons such as schools, markets, and other social amenities, but also includes the management and governance of the residential complexes. Various types of governance can be found in gated residential enclaves, depending on their typology. Governance may be contained by the private-sector, or jointly by private-public sectors. To Blakeley and Snyder, the impact of a

GC extends beyond its gates; it includes an underlying governance system that is privatized and removed from social budgets and government regulations, usually through homeowner or community associations, or property managers and hired security companies.72 Maintenance costs are privatized and removed from a social budget.73 To Harvey, the impact of the public sector’s increasing dependence on the private sector could issue a wave of privatizations, enclosures, and

70 - Harvey, Rebel Cities, 71, 14. 71 - Ibid. 72 - Blakely and Snyder, Fortress America, 20, 22. 73 - Ibid., 20.

56 spatial controls upon the quality of urban life in general, and in particular upon the potential to build social networks.74

Likewise, according Ellin in 1997, privatization as one of the postmodern responses to fear appears through the management of public spaces by private agencies, including inward-looking designs, surveillance, and security systems.75 The theme of fear reflects a great interest in edges and borders and physical isolation and an increasing interest in privatized spaces. The privatization impulse has resulted in “a corresponding decline in meaningful public space and desire to control one’s space.”76 As a result, Ellin continues, this theme of fear with interests of spatial and social distinction is translated in architecture and urban design into several design elements and the final result is a gated community with great growth potential in the number of people preferring to live in gated communities.77 In 1990, Mike Davis used the term ‘pseudo public spaces’ to describe controlled public spaces that are restricted through security systems, defined by signage, consumer oriented, limited to those who can afford it, with a single-focused function opposed to the multifunctional traditional public spaces, commercialized, and with a design containing architectural symbolism from historical or traditional references.78 Inside a gated community, even public spaces — parks, plazas — that are left non-commercialized still restrict traditional social activities since they cannot escape the rising tide of fear that has transformed them into controlled and guarded places through the use of gates and walls that surround the community.79 For Ellin,

“these so-called public spaces, then, are places of exclusion as well as inclusion.”80 She therefore

74 - David Harvey, Rebel Cities, 67. 75 - Ellin, Architecture of Fear, 34. 76 - Ellin, Postmodern Urbanism, 167. 77 - Ibid., 167 78 - Ibid., 169. 79 - Ibid., 169. 80 - Ibid., 169

57 terms this ‘escapist and exclusionary urbanism.’ This postmodern urbanism enhances settings for consumption and also generates a critique of consumption.

2.8.4 Integration versus Fragmentation

Different approaches were taken by urbanists to define urban integration, yet most scholars agree that the increasing sprawl of GCs is symbolic of urban fragmentation in contemporary cities.81 In a book entitled Integral Urbanism published in 2006, Ellin identifies five qualities of an integrated urban fabric: hybridity, connectivity, authenticity, vulnerability, and porosity. The author describes hybridity and connectivity in the urban fabric as qualities that bring activities, people, buildings, and landscape together, rather than isolating them as separate objects and functions.

While authenticity involves actively engaging social and physical conditions, vulnerability calls upon us to relinquish control, to reintegrate space with time.82 Lastly, porosity preserves integrity and brings the community together while allowing for mutual access through permeable membranes. According to the author, these five qualities offer a clear opposition to the modernist attempt to dismantle boundaries and the postmodernist tendencies of fortification. Ellin emphasizes permeability to describe the transitional spaces between the different zones and activities in the city fabric: “the master-planned functionally-zoned city … separates, isolates, alienates, and retreats, [while] integral urbanism emphasizes connection, communication, and celebration.”83 In her elaboration of porosity, she asserts that ‘translucent urbanism’ enhances the experience of the city and can be achieved through porosity, “an urban condition that allows some

81 - See examples in Altinok’s and Cengiz’s The Effects of Urban Sprawl on Spatial Fragmentation and Social Segregation in Istanbul, Le Goix, “Gated Communities: Sprawl and Social Segregation in Southern California” Blakely and Snyder’s Fortress America, Ellin’s Architecture of Fear, and Integral Urbanism, and Low’s Behind the Gates. 82 - Ellin, Integral Urbanism. xii. 83 - Ellin, Postmodern Urbanism, 169.

58 seepage but not free flow.”84 Here, she argues that the word ‘flow’ means ‘to filter.’. For Ellin, walls — both real and symbolic — preclude a translucent urbanism and cause a lack of porosity which can be seen in shopping malls and in walled or gated communities that do not share facilities with the surrounding neighborhoods. Too much porosity also precludes translucency; thus, too little or too much porosity diminishes the quality of life. 85 Throughout the book, Ellin stresses the devastating urban impact of the escapist and privatized enclaves of fear created by postmodernism, such as those of gated residential areas and shopping malls. She believes that such urban tendencies cause urban fragmentation:

Integral Urbanism is about: Networks not boundaries, Relationships and connect ions not isolated objects Interdependence not independence or dependence, Natural and social communities not just individuals, Transparency or translucency not opacity, Permeability not walls, Flux or low not stasis, Connections with nature and relinquishing control, not controlling nature Catalysts, armatures, frameworks, punctuation marks, not final products, master plans, or utopias.86

Several other scholars have also stressed the lack of permeability and porosity in GCs as main causes for urban disintegration and fragmentation. For instance, Luymes asserts that access control in GCs represents a main cause for, and an indication of, increasing urban impermeability.

For barriers to be permeable, their meaning and function should not be exclusionary; rather, they should define territoriality.87 Barriers of GCs impose great limitations to access in addition to insecurity and fear on those outside the walls.88 In 2001, Burke studied the impacts of the gating of communities on urban life with an emphasis on pedestrian activity. He concluded that most of the impacts of gating tend to be negative, referring to decreased permeability as the main reason.89

84 - Nan Ellin, Integral Urbanism, 62. 85 - Ibid., 62. 86 - Ibid., xxii 87 - Ellin, Architecture of Fear, 106. 88 - Ibid., 105. 89 - Burke, “The Pedestrian Behaviour of Residents in Gated Communities,” 148. 59 Burke stresses that the permeability of an urban area is immediately reduced by the presence of walled neighborhoods accompanied with guard-controlled access points.90 However, for Blakely and Snyder, the use of impermeable barriers such gates and fences is justifiable in security-zone communities, for they reflect defensible spatial approaches through residents’ active participation and mutual responsibilities in providing surveillance. On the other hand, Blakely and Snyder sustain, the exploitation of impermeability in lifestyle and prestigious communities is unjustifiable for it does not constitute defensible space through environmental design and thus gates are merely for isolation and exclusion.91 They stress that “one way to define a better society would be to speak of it as a wall-less society in which the divisions among people are not equated with the walls between them.”92 The issue of urban fragmentation goes beyond the physical effect on urban fabric to include social relations and social networks.

While permeability is one of the design principles of CPTED, according to Geason’s and

Wilsons’ Designing Out Crime in 1989, most GC designs stress the employment of impermeable physical barriers and complete spatial isolation from their immediately adjacent neighborhoods.

In their definition of permeability in CPTED, they claim that it can be achieved through the use of real or symbolic barriers which promote the hierarchy of spaces (from public to private) and that designers should avoid fencing the whole site and creating a fortress; this is only necessary for security issues and in that event a low and open style fence would be better than a wall, for natural surveillance. Although a GC is classified as a result of CPTED, most GCs are designed to be entirely isolated from the urban fabric. Their spatial layout is generally inwardly-looking; they turn their backs to the community immediately adjacent to them. GC as a privatized urban

90 - Ibid., 144. 91 - Blakely and Snyder, Fortress America, 163 92 - Ellin, Architecture of Fear, 112.

60 development leads to a devastating fragmentation of city life and city form.93 The effect of urban fragmentation caused by the sprawl of GCs is therefore socio-spatial, for it affects the community and city as a whole.

2.8.5 Community or Less of a Community

GCs reflect the notion of community as an island and a utopia or an ideal living space.94

This image is related to perceptions and aspiration regarding living in a GC such as its being safe, clean, friendly, and having good schools.95 The increasing attempts to substitute private control for public organizations commodifies community.96 A community is sold as a commodity by the housing market, and is publicized by an advertisement that typically states that it does not only sell housing units but also a community of a specific lifestyle supported by various amenities and a complexity of architectural design.97 According to Blakely and Snyder, the word “community” is used by developers, officials, and even residents to describe a GC because it indicates their feelings regarding living in space that bonds people together and creates grounds for mutual action and a feeling of territoriality.98 They promote a residential space in which the homogeneity in income, interest and lifestyle make people feel at home due to their having neighbors like themselves, with whom they would share responsibilities and discuss community problems and improvements.99 Here it can be argued that Blakey acknowledges the possibility of the sense of community or cohesion which may or not be generated among the people living within the boundaries of a GC. Nonetheless, it is a community – and not a neighborhood.100 Blakely claims

93 - Ibid., 32. 94 - Blakely and Snyder, Fortress America, 3, 11 95 - Ibid., 15. 96 - Ibid., 63. 97 - Ibid., 63 98 - Ibid., 129. 99 - Ibid., 29. 100 - Ibid., 69.

61 that, theoretically, a GC offers a platform and sets a ground for mutual interaction as opposed to an open settlement, yet there is no concrete evidence that GCs have been successful in achieving this.101

Citing Suttle, Blakely insists that the idea of an ideal community is fiction because it is based on a golden age that never existed.102 Hence, in the contemporary city, with all the forces of modernization, globalization, and neoliberalism, the community is not lost, but transformed.

Although a GC is an artificial or planned way to create a community, it is hard to deny a GC as a community defined by social, physical, or symbolic boundaries.103 It has a specific theme which might be social, economic, or architectural; this theme, together with boundaries, helps to define a community. A GC shares what Blakely lists as ‘the elements of a community’ which include a shared territory in which walls, gates, architectural and housing types define the boundaries of a community: shared values made visible through ethnic background, class, history, traditions, and so on. These elements help define an identity or a commonality of a certain community (shared public realm) through public spaces and amenities which define a common ground of interaction

(shared support structures), governance, management of the residential area, and even a shred destiny, which acts through associations inside a GC and provides the mechanisms to guide the future of a residential area.104

Nonetheless, in contrast to much academic debate, the supply side of GCs — architects and developers — usually argue that the reason GCs turn their backs on adjacent areas is to create a sense of community inside the walls of GCs.105 In addition to supply-side actors, scholars such

101 - Ibid., 135. 102 - Ibid., 32. 103 - Ibid., 7, 32. 104 - Blakely and Snyder, Fortress America, 33. 105 - Ellin, Postmodern Urbanism, 88.

62 as Cashin in his 2001 article "Privatized Communities and the "Secession of the Successful" and

Damstra in his 2001 article “Don’t Fence Us Out” consider privatized spaces inside GCs, such as communal services, including security, education, and recreation, as public/private utopian partnerships, and describe it as a form of secession. Views similar to that of Cashin and Damstra are asserted by Manzi and Bowers, in their article “Private Security and Public Space” in 2006.

They review the partitioning of urban space as of positive benefit to social cohesion through a concept of ‘the club good.’ To these authors, a gated community should not be seen in straightforward ideological terms as a form of privatism and restriction on public space. They claim that a GC is a phenomenon illustrating individuals and groups attempting to come to terms with an inherently risky world. It can therefore function as a form of ‘bonding’ if not ‘bridging,’ even if it is located in inner-city residential areas.

Manzi and Bowers review the arguments and the evidence that the concept of the city partitioned through gated communities has a useful application both in private and public-sector housing. While they acknowledge the disadvantages of gating, they see merits too. Utilizing the concept of ‘club economics,’ they claim that whilst gating may exemplify a form of privatism, it may also provide a contribution to social cohesion through the establishment of new forms of relationships or democratic accountability; further, gates are territorial management structures that can either facilitate or prevent resident empowerment. The argument emerges that, in certain circumstances, gating can be a contribution to social integration and can increase participatory democracy. Manzi’s and Bowers’ view — mentioned above — opposes and questions the common assumptions regarding gated communities and other forms of privatized public spaces, especially those related to social processes. They maintain a viewpoint that anti-GC scholarly views have ignored the social changes of the last fifty years, and that scholars “rely on an idealized myth of

63 community and also do not represent the realities of modern day living.”106 These authors hold that GCs make explicit that which is implicit in the debates about neighborhood improvements due to an increase in the level of risks related to modern life: “The growth of the fortified enclaves is a spatial expression of increasing socio-economic inequalities and urban conflict in contemporary cities; it is therefore a reaction to increasing risks.”107

Therefore, for Manzi and Bowers, a GC, as a strategy for a number of individuals purchasing ‘club’ goods (i.e. security services inside a walled housing environment), is therefore an insurance mechanism to minimize exposure to the dangers of modern urban societies.108 They exemplify children’s play areas as the common goods that can be monitored and maintained more effectively in privatized, gated areas than if they are left in a spurious ‘public realm’ which can, in certain circumstances, be inherently insecure.109 In particular, developments located in areas of deprivation are always linked with concerns for safety and security.110 In terms of social cohesion,

Manzi and Bowers claim that the ability of GC residents to bond together in collective attempts to combat anti-social behavior can therefore function as an effective way of limiting criminal behavior, enhancing safety and security, and in the process ensuring higher levels of ‘bonding’ as social capital — understood as informal ties between groups.111 Thus, “spatial segregation is not necessarily an indication of wider social segregation.” 112 Manzi and Bowers conclude that the walls do not necessarily create social segregation, for there is a reasonable level of social cohesion that can emerge between residents within the walls and even with those outside of these walls. 113

106 - Manzi and Bowers, “Private Security and Public Space,” 2. 107 - Ibid., 2, 3. 108 - Ibid., 16. 109 - Ibid., 15 110 - Ibid., 14. 111 - Ibid., 15. 112 - Ibid., 17 113 - Ibid., 14.

64 In general, commonalities can be drawn from amongst scholars who oppose the concept of a gated, homogeneous community. First, although territorial management, control, and physical boundaries may establish a sense of community inside a GC, the socio-spatial segregation caused by a secure fence, nonetheless, generates negative myths, stereotypes, and ignorance regarding the society outside the fence. 114 Second, gating/fencing equals social inequality and exclusion and causes the loss of social contact. Third, as argued by Le Goix in his article “Gated Communities:

Sprawl and Social Segregation” in 2004, and Low in her book Behind the Gates in 2003, GCs are a symbol of urban fragmentation, a sprawl of policing, enclosures; homogeneous territories of GCs generate a scheme of “spatial governmentality,” and a system of spatial segregation, class division, socio-economic dissimilarities, and exclusion. The impact of GCs is further devastating in the context of poverty and deprivation, for, as Altinok and Cengiz argue, it makes clearer a class-based segregation. It generates a sense of otherness and thus affects the sense of community of the neighborhood and the city in general.

2.9 Chapter Review

This chapter has critically reviewed available literature on urban housing and politics in

Iraq. This review indicates that there is a need to examine recent economic and political shifts in connection with the typologies of urban housing in Baghdad—primarily, the typologies of privatized gated communities (GCs) and state-built housing. In general, gated communities are viewed as a global phenomenon and a neoliberal space that has common socio-spatial characteristics, impact, and design values despite the difference in locations. These are privatization, segregation, physical and spatial isolation, militarization, re-tribalization, escapism, and a sense of otherness. The increase in its popularity gains strength from the increase of fear due

114 - Ellin, Architecture of Fear, 34.

65 to changes in social conditions. Additionally, this typology is highly supported by globalized neoliberal forces. It is thus a spatial translation of both the commodification of residential spaces as well as the fear of crime and of others. Despite the similarities, there are differences and specificities related to the local context that surrounds the increase of this urban phenomenon in each city. Therefore, despite the fact that it is a global phenomenon, the literature review indicates that there is a need to examine gated communities within their local economic and political contexts such as that of Baghdad. Available texts on the theory and practice of gated communities lack such specificity and locality.

66 Chapter 3 Early Signs of Urban Housing in Baghdad (1955-1973)

3.1 Chapter Preview

In order to critically examine recent housing programs and urban housing typologies and compare them with those constructed during the 20th century in Baghdad, as well as explore their connection to the political atmosphere, it is important to begin by revisiting early urban housing programs in Baghdad and the ways in which these programs have been affected by the visions and propagandas of the political regimes that have ruled Iraq during the previous century. It seems, therefore, appropriate to shed light on the initiation of urban housing programs in Iraq beginning with the Doxiadis Association (DA) housing program from 1955 to 1958, which responded to the social reform of the Hashemite monarchy, then moving on to the implementation of the DA housing program from 1958 to 1963 during which the monarchy was overthrown after the 14th

July Revolution in 1958 by the coup d'état led by Abd Al-Karim Qasim, who remained in power until 1963. This chapter further examines the second major housing program in Iraq: the Polservice

Housing Program from 1965 to 1973 in connection with the socialist ideology of the Ba’athist political regime that ruled Iraq until 2003.

In addition to examining these housing programs and the political context that surrounded their initiation, this chapter will also examine the implementation of these programs in Baghdad on a broader scale through an analysis of two case studies: the case of Sector No.10 from the

Western Baghdad Development Housing (WBDH) program, which was implemented during the monarchy era; and the case of the Dhubat neighborhood, which was constructed during Qasim’s regime. The analysis will emphasize the typologies of these two case studies, as well as their design values, physical characteristics, and socio-spatial characteristics.

67 3.2 Doxiadis’ NHPI 1955 to 1958: A Program of Nationalism and Modernization

During the mid-20th century, Baghdad suffered enormous housing problems that sprang from the lack of any housing policy, the rapid population growth, and the construction of villages and towns of low-income sarifa dwellers (informal settlers) on the outskirts and the inner areas of the city, with neither plans nor public facilities.1 In August 1955, the Development Board of the

Government of Iraq commissioned Doxiadis Associates to prepare a housing program that would take into consideration the country’s housing problem as a whole, with an emphasis on Baghdad.

This first serious attempt to create a comprehensive housing program in Iraq occurred during the monarchy political era under King Faisal II.2 The monarchy sought to create an anticommunist, modern image by changing the cityscape to conform to the mid-20th century communist agenda supported by the former Soviet Union that was increasing in popularity in Arabian countries.3

Gradually, communism in the Middle East used pan-Arabism to create a dominant political group with an anti-western agenda.4 These changes greatly affected politics in Iraq and other Gulf countries.

The monarchy in Iraq perceived communism as a threat to its political power in Iraq and thus sought to take actions against it.5 Joseph Siry in 2005 argues that the Hashemite dynasty in

Iraq believed there was a conflict between democracy and communism in the Middle East. Since

1 - Doxiadis Associates, Iraq Housing Program, Report No.5. In page 122 of a book entitled Modern Architecture in Iraq, Akeel Mullahawish claims that in 1958, sarifa dwellers were 18400 inhabitants and represented about 18.4% of Baghdad population. This number has increased to reach 25,000 in 1961. 2 - King Faisal II (1935 –1958) was the last King of Hashemite monarchy in Iraq which lasted for 37 years. His reign has ended after the 14th of July Revolution after which Iraq became a republic. 3 - Neal Tate, Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizens' Rights and Responsibilities. Volume 2 (Michigan: Thomson Gale, 2006), 297. 4 - Ibid. Pan-Arabism is a belief that one`s nation or culture is superior to all others. In page 294 of a book entitled Governments of the World, v2, Tate stated that the Ba`ath party grew out of the Ba`ath movement founded by Aflaq, and was strongly influenced by the Soviet communist party during the 1950-60s. Its ideology is based on combining Marxist social analysis with Pan-Arabism which an idea of Arab cultural, social, and political unity. However, it has been an instrument of terror and oppression in Iraq. See also Roger Scruton, The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Political Thought (London: Palgrave McMillan, 2007), 51. 5 - Ibid.

68 they were a constitutional monarchy and promoted democracy, the Hashemites feared the prevalence of communism, as noted in their political speeches of 1957.6 This political threat led the Hashemite government to choose a style of architecture that reflected the spirit of the time and the values of democracy through modernization while still incorporating elements of the traditional

Arab culture.7 Their choice was based on a political vision that held that the modernization of their capital city would solidify their standing against the non-democratic colonialism of communism.8

In addition to a modern architectural image, the political system sought social reform that focused on obtaining the social support of marginalized groups (i.e., sarifa dwellers) in Baghdad by providing better residential environments for them.

The oil income boost of the 1950s accelerated the development process in Baghdad and assisted the monarchy in its maintenance of power.9 Consequently, several foreign firms and pioneers of modernism were invited to work in Iraq to create that modern image in Baghdad during the 1950s, which has been described as the peak of modernism in Baghdad by several scholars such as Pieri, Siry, Alsutani, Khaseer and Nasir, and Marefat.10 Doxiadis Associates was one of the international firms that worked in Baghdad during the 1950s. They proposed a National

Housing Program of Iraq (NHPI) to deal with the urgent housing needs and problems in Baghdad, but at the same time it fit the wishes of the monarchy in its achievement of social reform against

6 - Joseph Siry, "Wright's Baghdad Opera House and Gammage Auditorium,” The Art Bulletin 87, no.2 (2005): 270. 7 - Ibid. 8 - Ibid. 9 - Tate, Governments of the World, 297. 10 - During the1950s, Baghdad witnessed the extensive use of reinforced concrete, and high-rise building type that was new to the city such as the Rafidain Central Bank which was the tallest buildings on Al-Rasheed Street in Baghdad. It is designed by the British architect Philip Hirst. In addition to Hirst, other pioneers of Modernism architecture were invited to design and construct projects in Baghdad such as Frank Lloyd Wright who proposed a design for Baghdad opera house, Le Corbusier who designed Baghdad gymnasium, Walter Gropius who designed Baghdad University, and others. These projects had a major impact the cityscape of Baghdad. For more description of modernism in Baghdad during the 1950s, see Suad Mehdi’s “Modernism in Baghdad,” and Mina Marefat’s “1950s Baghdad, Modern and International.” 69 the communist agenda – because it focused primarily on the social groups of sarifa settlements.

This program was divided into three categories: a five-year plan called the Basic Foundation

Program (BFP), the Technical Assistance Projects (TAP), and the General Housing Projects

(GHP). Later, another program was added known as the Special Program of Action (SPA) within which the Experimental Housing Projects (EHP) were opened. BFP was designed as a 5-year program in order to deal with urgent housing needs, to organize the public services related to housing and settlements, and to propose a framework for further housing developments. It was divided into 3 broad categories:

 The first category encompassed rural projects that included the construction of new

villages for 15,000 families, improvements to the conditions of 80,000 rural

families’ housing, and the re-housing of 30,000 families of the swampy southern

areas.11 According to the Doxiadis report, the design of these villages included

houses for farming and non-farming families and public and community facilities

that were designed with a main aim of raising the living standards for residents in

rural areas.

11 - Doxiadis Associates, Iraq Housing Program, Report No.5.

70 Figure 3.1: Showing a proposed layout plan of standardized village. Source: Doxiadis Associates, Iraq Housing Program, Report No.5, Doxiadis Associates, Athens, Greece, September 1959.

 The second category promoted urban housing projects. These included the

development of 20,000 housing plots, the construction of 20,000 new houses,

improvements to the housing conditions of 30,000 families, and the resettlement

of 40,000 sarifa-dwelling, low-income families.12

 The third and final category encompassed special projects that included 12,000

houses for civil servants, 6,000 houses for industrial workers and 1,000 houses for

handicraft workers with attached workshops.13

12 - Mullahiwaish, Modern Architecture in Iraq, 125. Sarifas, are huts made of reed and mud. Its average area is 20 m2. 13 - Doxiadis Associates, Iraq Housing Program, Report No.5.

71 The biggest share of those programs was to be implemented in Baghdad, because of its large population. Problems surrounded the sarifa settlements, which became a major issue in the early 1950s and the sarifa settlements have now reached to 45% of the total built stock.14 These settlements lacked basic facilities such as sanitation, water, and electricity. They originally sprang up after WWII as rural populations immigrated to Baghdad in search for a better life after having been deprived of their lands claims by reformist policies.15 New settlements gradually started to form on the outskirts of Baghdad from a low socio-economic spectrum of Bedouins, peasants, and nomads. These impoverished tenants were perceived as representing a social threat to the city.16

Doxiadis was commissioned to establish order in those sarifa settlements by implementing slum clearance projects and creating new housing to resettle sarifa dwellers. The urban projects were grouped under the Experimental Housing Program (EHP).

14 - Lefteris Theodosis, Victory over Chaos? Constantinos A. Doxiadis and Ekistics 1945-1975 (Constantinos and Emma Doxiadis Foundation, 2015), 132. 15 - Ibid., 131. 16 - Ibid., 132.

72 Figure 3.2: Showing the high percentages of sarifa settlements during early 1950s. Source: Doxiadis Associates, Iraq Housing Program, Report No.5, Doxiadis Associates, Athens, Greece, September 1959.

73 Figure 3.3: Showing a densely-populated sarifa settlement in Baghdad during early 1950s. Source: Doxiadis Associates, Iraq Housing Program, Report No.5, Doxiadis Associates, Athens, Greece, September 1959.

3.2.1 Experimental Housing Program in Baghdad and the Ekistics Design Values

Two major experimental housing projects were proposed by Doxiadis Associates (DA) in

Baghdad as part of the BFP: Western Baghdad Development Housing (WBDH) project and

Eastern Baghdad Development Housing (EBDH) project. The spatial organization of both projects followed DA’s Ekistic Design Values. Ekistics (from oikos, the ancient Greek word for house) refers to the science of human habitation which, according to Doxiadis’ definition, “co-ordinates economics, social sciences, political and administrative sciences, technology and aesthetics into a coherent whole and leads to the creation of a new type of human habitat.”17 Here, Doxiadis called for multi-disciplinary designs or co-operative work between architects, urbanists, geographers, and

17 - Doxiadis, Architecture in Transition, 96. In Doxiadis’ book entitled Ekistics, he conveys his vision concerning Ekistics design values. He describes in detail the theory, goals, programs, and design approach of Ekistics.

74 economists. In his book entitled Ekistics, Doxiadis explained in detail the 54 laws of Ekistics theory divided according to themes. These themes include laws of development (creation, development, and extinction of human settlements), laws of internal balance, and laws of physical characteristics (form, structure, function, size, and location of human settlements). Through these laws, Doxiadis explicitly indicated that each design case was unique, and that it was necessary to deal with each design of human settlement differently according to the needs and conditions of that settlement, which included geographical, economic, social, and cultural conditions. In this,

Doxiadis indicates a rejection of the universality of modernist design. Doxiadis’ work in Baghdad provided evidence of his Ekistic design approach, which manifested in the national housing program he proposed for Baghdad and also in his master plan for Baghdad in 1958.

3.2.2 The Case of Western Baghdad Development Housing (WBDH): Sector No.10

This section will present a critical examination of the proposed Ekistic designs and implemented parts of the WBDH project in relation to the political and social contexts that surrounded the DA design and implementation process in Baghdad. In addition to design values and physical characteristics, the analysis will include strategies for residential security through the application of the four elements of CPTED theory (surveillance, territoriality, access control, image) in order to gain an understanding of the main differences and/or similarities between recent gated communities and state-built housing projects constructed in Baghdad during the second half of the 20th century.

3.2.2.1 Spatial and Physical Characteristics

Site Layout

The first EHP project in Baghdad was located in what is currently known as the Al-Iskan district. While construction began in 1957, the proposed design of this project was first submitted

75 in October 1955. It was designed to provide housing for nearly 100,000 people. The area was divided into communities of 7,000 to 10,000 people. Each community was laid out on a grid pattern and designed to be semi-independent, including its own facilities and amenities. These included administrative, educational, social, health and shopping centers, in addition to roads, a water supply, sewers and electricity.18 It is important to mention that the implemented parts included sectors 5, 7, 10, and 13. In this section, the analysis will focus on Sector No.10 since it is one of the first parts of the early urban housing projects to be implemented in Baghdad. Sector No. 10 had a 33.8 hectare site that contains 1,154 houses and five types of common buildings in addition to infrastructure services.

Table 3.1: Percentages and areas of the physical components of Sector No.10 in WBDHP. Source: Ameera Jalil Ahmed, “The Planning & Designing Effects for local low-cost housing complexes sites," 120

Component Percentage Area in m2 Residential units %36 121400 Public routes %13 43510 Green spaces %47 160100 Common buildings %4 13318 Total area %100 338328

18 - Doxiadis Associates, Iraq Housing Program, Report No.5.

76 Figure 3.4: Proposed Western Baghdad Development, Sector No.10. Source: Doxiadis Associates, Iraq Housing Program, Report No.5, Doxiadis Associates, Athens, Greece, September 1959.

Housing Unit Layout

Various types of housing units were proposed by DA for WBDH. The layout of those units varied in terms of the built areas and number of bedrooms. Yet, they showed similarities in that they did not exceed two stories – in an attempt to match and maintain the horizontality of the existing traditional cityscape. While horizontality was a must for DA, his proposals for housing unit layouts allowed inhabitants to make alterations to their housing units. He believed that public participation was crucial in order for housing units to match the needs of the residents.

77 Area in m2 bedrooms Housing units type Table 3.2: Typologies of housing units in 81=9×9 2 QA-13 Sector No.10 of WBDHP 72=12×6 2 QA-02 Source: Ameera Jalil Ahmed, “The Planning & Designing Effects for Local low-cost Housing 54=9×6 2 QA-02 Complexes Sites," 120 108=12×9 2 QB-15 108=12×9 3 QB-15 135=15×9 3 QB-22 135=15×9 4 QB-22 144=12×12 5 QC-27

Figure 3.5: Showing plans of implemented housing units in Sector No.10 of WBDHP between 1956 and 1958. Source: Ameera Jalil Ahmed, “The Planning & Designing Effects for Local Low-cost Housing Complexes Sites," 121

78 Figure 3.6: Proposed urban housing type D and Type C for WBDH by DA in 1955. Source: Panayiota Pyla, “Back to the Future: Doxiadis’s Plans for Baghdad.” 2008. p 15.

Figure 3.7: Showing housing typology q 601, proposed by DA for Sector No.7 in WBDH, Baghdad, Iraq. Source: Mullahiwaish, Akeel N. Modern Architecture in Iraq, Afaq Arabiya: Baghdad, Iraq (1988): 131.

79 Interstitial Space The areas around each sector were designed to reflect a spatial integration between the communities of WBDH. They were primarily made up of the circulation routes that surround each sector to provide accessibility and connectivity with the surroundings through the multiple access points along those routes. This design layout indicates that the designers intentionally attempted to create a socio-spatial integration between the existing fabric and the newly added residential structures.

3.2.2.2 Physical Appearance and Design Values

A Clash of Modernization and Nationalism

Following Ekistics values, Doxiadis attempted to convey a variety of meanings in his designs for urban residential developments in Baghdad. In his book Architecture in

Transformation, he explains those meanings under four terms:

(a) A geographic term, as distinct from rustic, open space architecture. (b) A cultural term, as distinct from rural, small-town architecture, which is to be identified more with handicraft than mass production. (c) A social term, as the architecture of democratic urban society, as distinct from a feudal or aristocratic society. (d) An economic term, as distinct from an architecture of special buildings only, where economy is not of primary importance.19

To Doxiadis, these meanings could stand up to several urban and architectural problems: population growth, economic development, socialization, vehicular transportation, industrialization, urbanization, and the coexistence of all these forces together in the urban fabric of growing cities such as Baghdad.20 Yet, in Baghdad, DA also faced the clash of locality and traditionalism with contemporary international architecture. For DA, the architectural solution to

19 - Doxiadis, Architecture in Transition, 149, 150. 20 - Ibid., 42.

80 these urban problems was to be sought through a national housing program that followed the human habitat science of Ekistics. This solution supported Doxiadis’ socialist vision of mass produced, standardized architecture that reinforced social equality, but at the same time supported locality and traditionalism.

Standardization

DA relied heavily on the application of methods that were based in the standardization and mass production of technologies, and a manner of implementation to meet a definite time limit for the construction of a considerable number of housing units and facilities scattered all over the country. Levels of standardization ranged from the design of the housing units themselves to the general layout of each community. This standardization was salient in the use of a certain number of housing types, community plans and facilities. It also appeared in the construction methods used for implementation. As for the buildings, DA described that “all main connecting elements, as well as their construction details, are standardized so that the designing work is restricted to the assembly of these elements within the assigned plot.”21 Doxiadis believed that such a system allowed for a wide range of combinations and it saved time, while ensuring adjustment to local conditions. From his perspective, standardization allowed for a simple addition or subtraction of spaces to serve the changing size of a family throughout its life cycle.22 This process of transformation turned a house into a living organism that could grow and expand.23 This perspective was also applied in the design of common buildings. Doxiadis believed that “buildings start at a certain size but very soon have additional needs; either because of an expansion of the same needs, or because the same people develop new kinds of needs.”24 Schools, for instance,

21 - Doxiadis Associates, Iraq Housing Program, Report No.5 22 - Doxiadis,, Architecture in Transition, 59. 23 - Ibid., 115. 24 - Doxiadis, Architecture in Transition, 120 115.

81 were designed by DA to achieve a future flexibility of spaces that could grow to serve a larger number of students or incorporate additional laboratories.

Figure 3.8: Showing the standardized design of the various spaces needed in a school in Sector No.10 and the spaces left for future expansion. Source: Doxiadis, Architecture in Transition (1963): 121.

82 Figure 3.9: Showing a standardized wing and school plan proposed by DA. Source: Doxiadis Associates, Iraq Housing Program, Report No.5, Doxiadis Associates, Athens, Greece, September 1959.

Based on his beliefs in socialist planning, in his book entitled Architecture in Transition

(1963), Doxiadis argues that there should be a new outlook on urban housing, especially in densely populated areas. This outlook would be based on standardization in order to serve the forces of socialization that, in Doxiadis’ words, “demand that whatever measures we take must be taken for everybody ... We are thus led to the conception of national programmes, which divide the total architectural activity for each country, at each phase of its development.”25 This reflected

Doxiadis’ belief in a socialist vision based on public ownership, centralized planning, and class equality. He claimed that it is the architect’s responsibility to understand the necessity of socialization in growing societies, such as that in Baghdad during the mid-1950s, in order to meet housing demands in a way that provides equality. As a result, standardization governed DA’s designs of urban housing and their related services in Baghdad.

25 - Doxiadis, Architecture in Transition, 58.

83 Figure 3.10: Implemented DA standardized urban housing. Source: Lefteris Theodosis, Victory over Chaos? Constantinos A. Doxiadis and Ekistics 1945- 1975, 165.

Physical Interpretations of Local Architecture Vocabularies

Following Ekistic values, and in order to embrace the movement against the universality of modernism during the mid-20th century, Doxiadis attempted to include architectural locality in his proposals for EHP. Beginning in the early 1930s, discourse on architecture and urbanism was largely dominated by the Athens Charter and the principles of the International Style that celebrated a radical break with the past and encouraged a contrast between the modern and historic city. After the dissolution of CIAM, a strong wave of postmodern critique of modernism emerged during the second half of the 20th century. That period marked the rise of many influential publications that shared similar goals: to criticize modernist planning approaches and to suggest alternatives that take into account aspects related to society, culture, locality, and history, from which modernism had tried to break away. These new approaches sought to respond to local and

“users’ needs.”

84 Figure 3.11: Showing a traditional courtyard design given to a modern market in Sector No.10. Source: Doxiadis Associates, Iraq Housing Program, Report No.5, Doxiadis Associates, Athens, Greece, September 1959.

Figure 3.12: Showing interconnected standardized courtyard: a market-place in WGDHP composed of group of internal squares with all types of central community functions. Source: Doxiadis, Architecture in Transition, 124.

These approaches had a great impact on Doxiadis’ proposed designs for urban housing in

Baghdad. Doxiadis attempted to respond to the housing crisis in Iraq by relying on the Ekistic approach that embodied an ambition to bring the global forces of urbanization to an equilibrium,

85 while nevertheless preserving human scale and historic values.26 These Ekistic values were largely apparent in the experimental housing projects of Doxiadis. Although Doxiadis’ approach to housing design involved standardization, it “sought to root his housing schemes in traditional building practices.”27 In describing the local particularities of Doxiadis’ Western housing design, in “Back to the Future” (2008), Panayiota Pyla cited Hassan Fathy’s concept of “gossip square” which was formed from a group of 10 to 15 attached houses and served as a modern substitute for the traditional gathering places in Baghdad.28 Such a concept facilitated the transformation of sarifa dwellers to urban dwellers and generated a strong sense of community which, in turn, severed the Iraqi regime’s goal of projecting an anti-communist image.29 Pyla is critical of

Doxiadis Associates’ abstracted studies of local climate that, she argues, never really became an integral part of material choices, spatial conceptions, or larger design sensibilities.30 She writes:

“Doxiadis Associates may have recognized the open-air courtyard and colonnaded upper gallery as typical of the region’s residential architecture, but the firm’s own reinterpretations in its standardized ‘house types’ pushed courtyards to the side or to the back of each unit, thereby losing any of the traditional courtyards’ climatic benefits and secluded qualities.”31 She is also critical of

Doxiadis’ interpretation of what is known in Iraq as shanasheel – wooden window screens that

Doxiadis attempted to reinterpret with reinforced concrete patterns of openings. This attempt, as

Pyla in 2008 describes, is “not nearly as effective in increasing wind pressure, in softening sunlight, or in providing a sense of privacy.”32 Therefore, Pyla concludes, “Doxiadis Associates’ housing units ultimately compared unfavorably with the old city’s mud huts with movable roofs, in terms

26 - Theodosis, Victory over Chaos, 344 27 - Ibid., 150. 28 - A famous Egyptian architect who joined the Ekistics group in 1957. See Pyla (2008): 13. 29 - Panayiota Pyla, “Back to the Future,” Journal of Planning History 7, no. 1 (2008): 13. 30 - Ibid., 16. 31 - Ibid. 32 - Ibid., 15.

86 of their microclimate.”33 Such misinterpretations of elements from deep-rooted local and historical architecture in the design of the Greek firm of DA conveys an attempt to exploit nostalgic orientalist images more than a response to local needs.

In addition to historical architectural features and in order to add that touch of locality and nationality, a participatory approach was proposed. Doxiadis called for public participation in the decision-making process and in the management and maintenance of public spaces such as squares, roads, gardens, schools, and other public amenities. The description of the experimental programs stated that inhabitants were given the freedom to decide the color, material and decoration of their dwellings. Additionally, they were given the freedom to make alterations and additions based on their needs. Doxiadis saw such an approach as a way to avoid uniformity and monotony. Nonetheless, as Theodosis points out in Victory over Chaos? in 2015, the WBDH became later known for its standardized row houses and uniformity.

Despite the nationalist spirit and the Ekistic values of Doxiadis’ designs, several scholars argue that a sense of modernism dominated their designs. Theodosis claims that the Ekistic approach utilized by DA was essentially modern.34 Thus, this typology of housing produced in

Baghdad failed to move beyond modernism entirely. Theodosis explains that, despite the intention to adapt housing to extreme climate conditions and efforts to match local realities and customs, the use of mass production techniques was decisive for the final outcome. According to Theodosis,

Doxiadis’ housing schemes were overwhelmed by the repetition of standardized building elements.35 He continues, “the prevailing impression of order and monotony was further enhanced by the designated street naming and property numbering.”36

33 - Ibid., 16. 34 -Theodosis, Victory over Chaos, 344. 35 - Ibid., 155. 36 - Ibid.

87 With a similar view, in 2008 Pyla insists that, “despite all the research and analysis of the locale, what prevailed most was an aesthetic imperative of standardization, which left little opportunity to contemplate a more cultured conception of the human subject or to conceive of urban development itself as a cultural process tied to the locale.”37 The system of using mass produced elements could allow for a wide range of combinations and thus theoretically could avoid monotonous repetition. Nonetheless, it was obvious that the image of implemented urban housing could not escape monotony – one of the several characteristics for which modernism was criticized.

Human Scale

Despite the fact that Baghdad embraced the construction of high-rise building technologies during the mid-20th century, Doxiadis insisted on proposing single-family units only. Doxiadis avoided multi-family units and high-rise housing. The fact that detached single-family housing was the dominant housing typology in Baghdad was not the only factor behind Doxiadis’ choice of this urban housing typology. According to Theodosis’ Victory over Chaos? (2015), although he supported modernism, Doxiadis was critical of the high-rise buildings that modernism had produced in cities, for he believed that they would negatively impact the city for generations and cause a loss of human scale; he thus favored low-rise buildings in his designs.38 To Doxiadis, human scale is a primary element in the Ekistic design approach. In his book Ekistics, he argues that human scale is a human need because it is related to man’s physical dimensions, senses and movement and thus needs to be taken into consideration. Therefore, Doxiadis’ decision not to include multi-family housing units involves human scale and the existing local image of Baghdad

37 - Pyla, “Back to the Future,” 16. 38 - Theodosis, Victory over Chaos, 210.

88 city in which single-family units prevailed. In other words, this decision aligned with Doxiadis’ general values of Ekistic design.

Not only did human scale appear on the level of the unit design, but it also appeared in the form of what Doxiadis called the human community, blending human and non-human scale.

Doxiadis explains that in his design of Western Baghdad, an extension of the city had to be made in an area surrounded by highways and two built-up areas. Here, Doxiadis continues, there was a need to create a human community based on dimensions obtained from studying human settlements in Baghdad which were of a length of approximately 800 meters.39 Doxiadis used this dimension to define the basic planning unit of human settlement in the Ekistics grid his firm attempted to apply in Baghdad. Doxiadis applied this grid as a classification system for the project’s area and for each sector within it. Such a spatial system extended to create a system of socio-economic ordering. Each sector was divided into socio-spatial units arranged hierarchically according to income. The smallest, called “community class I,” was constituted of 10 to 20 families of similar income and house typology. Three to seven of these communities made a community

“class II,” and a cluster of communities (class II) plus an elementary school made a community

“class III.” Class III communities of different income groups, plus shops, a market, and a mosque made a “class IV” community that could include nearly 7 to 10 thousand people. A group of “class

IV” communities comprised the overall West Housing community (class V) which, if combined with other (class V) communities in other parts of the city, would create a class VI community,

Baghdad in this case, that would then join larger regional communities, and so on.40 The community sector became later the “basic element” of Baghdad master plan which Doxiadis

Associates were granted to design in 1958.

39 - Doxiadis, Ekistics, 440. 40 - Ibid. See also Pyla, “Back to the Future,” 11. 89 Figure 3.13: Showing the two-directional growth of Baghdad in 1955. Source: Doxiadis, Constantinos. Ekistics: an Introduction to the Science of Human Settlements, 484

In his design of Baghdad’s master plan 1958, Doxiadis argues that local conditions forced him to apply the Ekistic grid pattern in the form of two-directional growth along the river.41 This choice followed the two-directional city expansion of the 19th century which related to the location and form of the river. The river provided better climates than areas beyond it, better soil for cultivation, and a good source for water supply and sewage disposal. The river thus governed the city’s growth shape. Since Ekistics values follow geographic, cultural, and local conditions,

Doxiadis’ design for the Baghdad master plan, while adhering to standardization, followed a two- directional growth along the spinal axis of the river and incorporated parallel canals to the river axis to create areas of similar climate to the river.42 Next to the canal on the west side of the River

Tigris, the WBDH project was proposed to be a new center of a human scale-based community that guided the growth process of Baghdad based on Ekistic human scale, a two-dimensional grid.

41 - Doxiadis, Ekistics, 483 42 - Ibid.

90 Figure 3.14: Showing the proposed master plan of Baghdad, DA 1958: the application of Ekistics design values on the level of the city plan based on the repetition of a residential sector in two- directional along the river Tigris. Source: Doxiadis, Constantinos. Ekistics: an Introduction to the Science of Human Settlements, 485

91 Figure 3.15: Final Layout of human and non-human scales in WBDHP 1955. Source: Doxiadis, Constantinos. Ekistics: an Introduction to the Science of Human Settlements, 441.

92 Reflecting a Political Agenda: Projecting a National Image

Doxiadis studied Iraqi society and attempted to infuse a purely national character into the housing design. He also attempted to reflect a nationalist narrative in the official housing program propaganda. In doing so, he not only attempted to create a housing typology that could be embraced by the middle class and other groups on the ladder of income, but one that would also satisfy the political agenda of the Iraqi Government. Lefteris Theodosis in 2015 argues that Doxiadis was successful in projecting a national image in the architecture of the experimental housing, and thus in delivering a national housing program. Theodosis insists that “the built communities reflected to a greater extent the socio-political ends of the successive regimes.”43 One of the main factors behind that success, according to Theodosis, was Doxiadis’ clear anti-communist agenda.44 This is because, by the time the Doxiadis received the commission to work in Iraq, the Hashemite monarchy under King Faisal II perceived modern architecture combined with local and cultural traditions as a style that represented a democratic agenda to counter the non-democratic colonialism of communism that the monarchy considered a threat to its power and political stability.45

Nonetheless, the decision to modernize the urban scenery was not autonomous, and was highly influenced by western powers. By the mid-1950s, Iraq was politically controlled by the

U.S. and Britain.46 “Alarmed by a possible prevalence of communism, the U.S. responded to the failure of Britain to maintain leadership. The Truman Doctrine declared the U.S.’ decision to contain the Soviet expansion, fill the power vacuum of decolonization in the Middle East and

43 - Theodosis, Victory over Chaos, 343. 44 - Ibid., 342 45 - Siry, "Wright's Baghdad Opera House and Gammage Auditorium," 270 46 - Press for Conversion! Issue # 51 (May 2003): 20.

93 exercise influence in Europe.”47 Western powers saw Iraq as a key Arab region against the communist system in the Soviet Union and therefore British and American consultants encouraged the Hashemite monarchy to create social reform in the country.48 For these reasons, Doxiadis’ proposals to create a modern image with nationalist characteristics were accepted by the Iraqi regime, because Doxiadis’ propaganda of national design was in agreement with the regime’s nationalist, anti-communist agenda.

While some scholars such as Mullahiwaish in 2006 and Pyla in 2008 have described

Doxiadis’ design as unfit for Baghdad’s local particularity; others such as Theodosis in 2015 believed that it was successful in projecting a national identity. In a critique of Doxiadis’ development plan for Baghdad, Aqeel Mullahiwaish in 2006 insists that it did not take into consideration the existing historical and cultural values of the city. Mullahiwaish argued that

Ekistic planning values represented an imposition of Greek city planning on a historical organic city. Such an imposition did not fit into the future expansion of the existing plans of Baghdad.49

3.2.2.3 Socio-economic Characteristics

Not only housing typologies but also the types and quantity of facilities corresponded to the income level of each community. The ladder of income was decisive and crucial in the designing process. The first projects of Western Baghdad housing were given the codes 13 and 5.

Each project was comprised of groups of 15 to 20 “various types of houses suitable for a wide range of incomes.”50 Nonetheless, Doxiadis’ ambition behind the social order of the community

47 - Theodosis, Victory over Chaos, 2. 48 - Pyla, “Back to the Future,” 7. 49 - Mullahiwaish, Modern Architecture in Iraq, 179. 50 - See, Doxiadis Associates, Experimental Housing Projects. Baghdad: Development Board – Ministry of Development of the Government of Iraq. In Project 13, houses are ranged from type A1 which fits persons with a monthly income of 10 Iraqi Dinars, followed by A2, B, and C types which corresponded to 20, 30, and 50 Iraqi Dinar monthly incomes, respectively. Project 13 was thus, a low-class neighborhood compared to Project 5 which comprised higher standards housing which corresponded to monthly incomes of 78 to 100 dinars.

94 was to promote gradual “development of social balance among the several classes of the citizens.”51 According to Theodosis, “preserving the integrity of different income communities was one of the Iraqi government’s demands, and yet Doxiadis’ experimental endeavors did nothing to overcome segregation.”52 He argues that the hierarchical logic used by Doxiadis implied a system of social ordering that stipulated a gradual shift from low-income sectors to high-income sectors. Therefore, Doxiadis’ classification system generated an economic hierarchy and enhanced a sense of socio-economic segregation within the constructed community. Nevertheless, this large- scale spatial organization ensured physical connectivity and the integration of different parts of the community.

3.2.2.4 Spatial Translation of Residential Safety

In order to understand the similarities and differences between the recent gated communities and state-built housing development constructed during the second half of the 20th in

Baghdad, it is important to tackle the strategies of defensibility employed in the design of the case studies examined in this dissertation. Therefore, the four primary elements of Crime Prevention

Through Environmental Design (CPTED) theory will be examined in each case study. In the case of Sector No.10, the application of Ekistics theory in the design of the WBDH project did not contradict (CPTED) theory. As Sector No.10 was one of the segments of a bigger community, surveillance depended largely on the community members themselves. No formal surveillance was available (i.e., guards). The residential parts were clustered in separation from common spaces.

This separation of land use diminished the validity of the concept of ‘eyes on the street.’ The

51 - Doxiadis Associates, “Iraq Housing Program,” Doxiadis Associates Pamphlet No 5, September 1959 (C. A. Doxiadis Archives). 52 - Theodosis, Victory over Chaos, 159.

95 straight visual lines from residential units towards the streets and open spaces applied only to those units immediately adjacent to, and overlooking the public spaces.

In terms of the second element of CPTED theory, territoriality, Sector No.10 as a community was designed to be spatially integrated with its surrounding communities. The lack of physical and symbolic boundaries made it difficult to detect the edges of various sectors of WBDH such as Sector No.10. Its circulation network of both pedestrians and vehicles was designed to create interconnectivity between the sectors in WBDH and between those sectors and the surrounding fabric.

Therefore, unlike the typology of gated communities, the design of Sector No.10 lacks the meaning of territorial isolation through the absence of fences, and gates. It also lacks another element of CPTED theory, access control. As a result of the spatial connectivity, the grid pattern of WBDH sectors provided many vehicular and pedestrian access points to the residential sectors as well as to common facilities within each sector.

Figure 3.16: (above, left to right) showing pedestrian access and vehicular access in Sector No.10 of WBDHP and their connectivity with the surrounding circulation network. Source: Doxiadis, Architecture in Transition (1963): 109

The fourth element of CPTED theory, image, which primarily relies on maintenance of the residential built environment, was a shared responsibility between the state and the inhabitants of

96 Sector No.10. Although DA proposed a participatory approach in the management and maintenance of public spaces such as squares, roads, gardens, schools, and other public amenities, as part of the city, the Mayoralty of Baghdad (Amanat Al-Asima) became responsible for providing public services for those amenities in WBDH. While publicly-provided services applied to common amenities and open spaces, housing units constructed within the site of WBDH remained the responsibility of their owners.

3.3 NHPI 1958 to 1963: Urban Housing as a Support of a New Political Era

The image of nationalism, emerging from the combination of local and modern elements in the DA designs, is perhaps the reason why some of this work was implemented in Baghdad despite the political changes in Iraq. On the 14th of July, 1958, Iraq’s Hashemite monarchy was overthrown and a republic was established. During that year, the national Gross Domestic Product

(GDP) increased, especially after passing law no. 80, which regulated oil revenue. This increase allowed the political regime to implement several development projects. Although the work of

Doxiadis Associates was eventually discontinued due to these political changes, the new Iraqi

Prime Minister, Abd Al-Karim Qasim (1958-1963), ordered the implementation of several proposals mentioned in the NHPI during early 1960s. These include July 14th Street, Ramadan 14th

Street, Alrabee Street, West Baghdad Housing, and the Alyarmook neighborhood on the Al-Karkh side of the River Tigris, and Palestine Street on the Al-Rusafa side of the same river.

Yet, implementation of the NHPI remained partial. By 1958, due to the political shift in

Iraq, only parts of WBDH were implemented for low-income groups between 1956 and 1958

97 through the Ministry of Social Affairs that continued its work during Qasim’s era.53 These included:

 Sector No.10

 Al-Arabi neighborhood

 and Door Al-Sood

Interestingly, Qasim was a Soviet-ally and he increased the influence of Iraq’s Communist

Party. Generally, the communist vision towards residential development encouraged a socialist housing system that opposed individual property rights. Its architecture was primarily based on a modernist style of standardization and mass production that could provide a large number of housing units in a short amount of time.54 This system was originally created to satisfy the massive need for housing in Europe after WWII. This state-provided, state owned, standardized style of communist urban housing opposed Doxiadis’s proposals for social reform and his conceptions of regional particularity.

Although Qasim’s vision contradicted the vision of the previous anti-communist monarchy, his political regime did allow the implementation of Doxiadis’ development. A closer look at Qasim’s political propaganda may provide an answer as to why. Despite his communist vision, Qasim “aimed at being a neutralist in the Cold War and pursued rather inconsistent policies toward Iraqi communists, never allowing them formal representation in cabinet, nor even full legality.”55 His somewhat mixed approach towards communism was combined with a pan-Arab

53 - The Iraqi Ministry of Social Affairs was established in 1939 based on law no.59. during the monarchy era. This ministry played an important role in constructing urban housing projects for low-income groups during Qasim’s era, and later during the Ba’athist era. Examples include single-family housing in the Al-hurriyaand, Al-Washash, and Al- Iskan neighborhoods, and multi-family apartment buildings for Palestinian refugees. See Mullahiwaish, Modern Architecture in Iraq, 132. 54 - S. Tsenkova, “The Legacy of Socialist Housing Systems,” in Housing Policy Reforms in Post Socialist Europe (Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag, 2009), 36. 55 - Press for Conversion! Issue # 51 May 2003. P20

98 vision that was influenced by Nasser’s Egyptian revolution 1952, and a nationalist vison based on the goals of the 14th July Revolution of 1958.56 Therefore, although the Doxiadis firm was forced to leave the country due to political changes, their work did see the light because their proposed designs considered regional particularity and local vocabularies, and thus were imbued with a nationalist spirit that served the nationalist vision of Qasim.

Additionally, the implementation of residential development in Baghdad during Qasim’s era attracted social and political support. This was because urban housing projects during Qasim’s regime were dedicated to marginalized groups and military personnel. Examples include the Al-

Thawra housing project, the officers’ housing project in Yarmouk neighborhood, and another officers’ housing project in the Zayoona neighborhood.57 All three projects followed the proposed designs of Doxiadis. Thawra city, for instance, was proposed by Doxiadis under the name of

Eastern Baghdad Development Housing Project (EBDHP) as part of EHP. It was designed to resettle a social group of 7,000 low-income sarifa dwellers in a residential area with required facilities that fit their local needs.58 In alignment with Ekistic values, the project’s area was divided into seven equal sectors (489 x 1059 m). Each sector was comprised of 48.2% house plots, 20.9% public buildings, and 30.9% roads, avenues and squares.

The entire project area was designed to fit the local needs of low-income sarifa-dwellers via the proposal of various strategies such as including 25% of house plots for families who owned and raised cattle. But the main strategy was the proposal of a participatory approach and a self- help system that assigned the inhabitants plans for the houses but allowed them to build their own

56 - William Roe Polk, Understanding Iraq (New York: Harper Perennial, 2005), 111. 57 - The word Thawra is the Arabic word for revolution. EBDHP was name Thawra city to commemorate the 14th of July Revolution by the coup d'état led by Abd Al-Karim Qasim to whom the establishment of Thawra city is attributed. 58 - The project was originally designed to dwell groups of 7000 sarifa dweller in seven sectors. Yet, it is obvious from the implemented project layout that those sectors were multiplied to dwell the increasing population which, according to Awni in 1979, has reached 353,188 in mid 1960s.

99 houses from the materials of their choice.59 Although the EBDH project was planned in 1956, it was not until the early 1960s that the project was implemented. Due to political changes in Iraq after the 14th of July Revolution, Doxiadis’ work in Iraq was suspended. Later, according to

Muhammad Awni in 1979, during the early 1960s, the poor agricultural conditions of the people who migrated from the south of Iraq and settled in the outskirts of Baghdad reached a crisis point in terms of public utilities. Consequently, the EBDH project was implemented to provide better living conditions and act as a slum clearance project.60 At the same time, this project that targeted the marginalized low-income groups of sarifa dwellers fit in with the Soviet-allied communist agenda of Qasim that rejected social classes and called for equality.

In terms of ownership, legislation stated that inhabitants were responsible for the construction expenses of the housing units which were to be paid in the form of monthly payments with an annual interest of 1%. Yet, this item, legislation no. 54, was cancelled and replaced during the same year. The revision allowed the delivery of housing units for free to the inhabitants of sarifa settlements in Baghdad.61 The implementation of this project was supported by the formation of Housing Communities, established in response to law no. 73 in 1959. During the year

1962, the allocation, provision, and delivery of those houses followed legislation no. 54, which stated that the Iraqi Ministry of Public Works was responsible for the construction of housing units

59 - M. B. Al-Adhami, “A Comprehensive Approach to the Study of the Housing Sector in Iraq,” dissertation (University of Nottingham, 1975), 160. According to Al-Adhami, M.B., although the plans of housing units existed at the Housing Department of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, they have rarely been used. Nonetheless, having the inhabitants designing and building their houses according to their own standards helped escape the monotony of standardized housing typology that appeared in the WBDH project. In addition, such alteration does not conflict with Doxiadis’ vision of the final outcome of the community because the spatial organization which was intended to put order in the community was implemented according to the design. 60 - Muhammad H. Awni, “Urban Case Studies: Baghdad, Iraq,” dissertation (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1979), 30. 61 - Http://wiki.dorar-aliraq.net/iraqilaws/law/1568.html. Legislation no 54 was cancelled in 1964 by the political regime that followed Qasim’s political regime in 1963. It was replaced by legislation number 2 for the year 1964, which states that the prices of housing units and the payment method relies of the inhabitants’ sources of funding and monthly income. It cancelled the prioritization of sarifa dwellers in gaining housing units and included other social- economic groups. For further information, see http://wiki.dorar-aliraq.net/iraqilaws/law/3736.html.

100 and their required services, and that the delivery system was exclusive to Iraqi citizens who did not own a house or a vacant plot suitable for the construction of a housing unit.62

Out of 911 proposed housing units, 200 units were constructed by the Iraqi Ministry of

Public Works and Housing. The designs included two typologies: 2-bedroom units and 3-bedroom units. Those units were provided for free for sarifa dwellers.63 The rest of the sarifa dwellers obtained vacant lots and subsidies for building their dwellings, following similar designs to those constructed by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing. The foundation of Thawra city eliminated the urban expansion of sarifa dwellings around Baghdad and improved the living conditions of their marginalized social groups.

Figure 3.17: Showing the district plan of Eastern Baghdad housing project, also known as Altoura housing project or Alsadir city implemented during Qasim’s era (1958-1963). Source: Muhammed Awni, “Urban Case Studies, Baghdad, Iraq,” 30

62 - Http://wiki.dorar-aliraq.net/iraqilaws/law/746.html. This regulation was also valid for housing units constructed in Dhubat city which was also constructed during Qasim’s era. 63 - Hayder Atiya Kadhum, “The Leader Abdul Karim and the Problem of Sarifa in Baghdad,” Al-Mada Dayly News. (Feb. 9th, 2014): 1. http://almadasupplements.com/news.php?action=view&id=9626#sthash.9KL5oAES.dpbs

101 Figure 3.18: Showing site layout of Dhubat (officers) neighborhood in Yarmouk, Baghdad. Source: Mullahiwaish, Akeel N. Modern Architecture in Iraq, 33.

3.4 The Case of the Dhubat Neighborhood

While the state-built housing project of Sector No.10 was constructed to provide better life conditions for sarifa dwellers and to gain social support for the monarchy, the Dhubat state-built housing project was constructed during Qasim’s regime (1058-1963) exclusively for military personnel for the purpose of gaining political support. Therefore, similar to the analysis of Sector

No.10, the examination of the case of the Dhubat neighborhood will focus on its socio-spatial and physical characteristics in connection with the political agenda behind its design. Furthermore, the analysis will also tackle strategies for residential security through the application of CPTED theory in order to gain an overview of the main differences and/or similarities between state-built housing projects and recent privatized gated communities.

102 3.4.1 Spatial Characteristics

Site Layout

In terms of spatial design, the site layout of the Dhubat neighborhood followed a grid pattern. The grid was comprised of clusters of 14 houses and clusters of 20 houses. According to

Awni, “it represents the adoption of the Western suburban approach to physical planning.”64

Nonetheless, the implemented project was designed based on Doxiadis’ proposals and was designed to act as a semi-independent unit in terms of its services. Most of these services were allocated on two perpendicular strips of open spaces in the central area of the site. This allocation ensured walkable distances to common amenities and provided spatial connectivity to adjacent communities. In terms of maintenance, the spatial layout of the project was designed to be an integrated urban segment of Baghdad. Therefore, as part of the city, maintenance of public spaces was dependent entirely upon publicly-provided services.

Unit Layout

Two types of design layouts existed in the Dhubat neighborhood. Each was designed to have four bedrooms on two stories. The lot area of each house was 594 square meters.65 Although the design layout of the semi-detached housing could be described as western, it took into consideration the traditional social value of privacy. The public spaces (i.e., guest rooms) within the unit were spatially separated from the private family spaces that included bedrooms and a family living room.

64 - Awni, “Urban Case Studies,” 38. 65 - Ibid.

103 Figure 3.19: Showing standardized housing plans of Dhubat neighborhood in Baghdad Source: Muhammed Awni, “Urban Case Studies, Baghdad, Iraq,” 44.

Interstitial Space

The grid planning of the Dhubat neighborhood in integration with the grid circulation network of its immediately adjacent built fabric allowed for access and created a sense of spatial integration. The interstitial space was composed of green spaces on three sides including Firdows public park on the southwest side of the project. The fourth side was spatially interconnected as a continuation of the circulation network of the Zayoona neighborhood in Baghdad.

The primary component of the project was semi-detached single-family housing units that composed nearly 68% of the site.66 In terms of amenities, similar to Thawra city, Officers city in

Dhubat neighborhood was designed to have its own common facilities that included schools, a

66 - Awni, “Urban Case Studies,” 38. 104 leisure club, bank, mosque, library, and a shopping center. Those amenities and the open spaces within and around the neighborhood were designed to be accessible and shared with the surrounding residential areas around the Dhubat neighborhood, especially the Zayoona neighborhood to the southeast. The design of the housing units can be described as modern. The main elevation was composed of horizontal and vertical planes and lacked any direct referencing to the vocabularies of the traditional courtyard house, namely a Baghdad house (i.e., shanasheel, colonnaded courtyard, etc.). (See figures below)

Figure 3.20: Showing land use in Dhubat neighborhood. Source: Muhammed Awni. “Urban Case Studies, Baghdad, Iraq,” 39.

105 Figure 3.21: Housing type in Dhubat neighborhood, Baghdad. Source:https://www.pinterest.com/parnellwrites/iraq-babylon-sumer-mesopotamia- assyria/?lp=true

3.4.2 Socio-economic Characteristics

One of the urban housing projects that was implemented during Qasim’s era was the

Officers’ neighborhood, known locally as the Dhubat neighborhood, in Zayoona, Baghdad. It was one of two urban housing projects in Baghdad to be constructed by the public sector in an effort to house low-income and middle-income military personnel in the Iraqi army. The first project was in the southeast of Baghdad city in the Zayoona neighborhood, and the other was in southwest of the city in what is currently known as the Al-Yarmouk neighborhood. In a critique of Officers’ city, Awni claimed that Qasim, who was an army officer,

attempted to gain the support of the army by providing numerous privileges to them. Among many, were the army cooperative housing projects in Baghdad city. In 1960, this particular one (Officers city) was constructed instantly by contracting it to a large

106 contractor. The houses were distributed to army officers according to rank and/or by lottery.67

According to Awni in 1979, such a community of cooperative housing based on the profession of the family head warranted criticism regarding the inappropriateness of creating homogeneous communities. Despite its strong belief in socio-economic equality, Qasim’s regime ended up creating clusters of social classes that led to the argument that the implementation of residential developments during his era was primarily for gaining social support from the various strata of Iraqi society, more than for achieving a communist agenda. The selection of these groups of inhabitants clearly demonstrates that the implementation of the Dhubat urban housing project in the capital city of Baghdad revolved around attracting military support for the political system that had emerged in the country.

3.4.3 Spatial Translation of Residential Safety

Surveillance

Similar to Sector No.10, the theory of CPTED hardly applies to the design of the Dhubat neighborhood. Unlike recent gated communities, and as part of a bigger neighborhood (Zayoona), formal surveillance in Dhubat state-built housing was absent. In terms of natural surveillance, the residential units had no visible straight lines towards public spaces, as those spaces were grouped in open spaces in isolation from most residential uses of the site. The lack of mixed used buildings and the exclusivity of building functions of the various clusters within the site layout eliminated the strategy of ‘eyes on the street’ due to the lack of activity generated on residential streets.

In terms of territoriality, while the three sides/boundaries of the Dhubat neighborhood were defined by the buffer areas of public green spaces, the fourth side could hardly be identified.

67 - Awni, “Urban Case Studies,” 38. 107 Although public routes also contributed to this territoriality, they were designed to be integrated within the city’s street network. The landscape elements, streets, and buffer areas can all be considered as symbolic boundaries, and participated in creating social and spatial connectivity.

This connectivity was enhanced by the lack of the third element of CPTED theory, access control.

The grid pattern and circulation connectivity allowed for multiple non-guarded access points for both vehicular and pedestrian circulation. Similar to Sector No.10, the design layout and planning reflects the designer’s intention to integrate state-built housing projects into the existing built fabric.

Figure 3.22: Showing Dhubat neighborhood in terms of circulation connectivity. Source: Muhammed Awni. “Urban Case Studies,

Baghdad, Iraq,” 31.

While the image of the residential component of the neighborhood depended upon the owners of the housing units in the Dhubat state-built housing due to ownership rights, the common areas and amenities were the responsibility of the public sector. Similar to Sector No.10 and unlike

108 recent privatized gated communities, as a state-built housing project and a part of a bigger neighborhood, management and infrastructure maintenance relied entirely on government- provided services.

3.5 Polservice Housing Program

This section will examine another major housing program in Iraq, Polservice from 1965 to

1973, in connection with the socialist ideology of the Ba’athist political regime. This program has left a great impact on Baghdad city, not only in terms of residential development, but also in terms of the planning and urban expansion of the city in general.

3.5.1 Residential Development in Baghdad Master Plan (1965-1967)

In Planning Middle Eastern Cities, Elsheshtawy in 2004 argues that “it is common, following a power change, for the administration to change existing plans to prove that it is better than previous one and to demonstrate its creativity and interaction with the new political system.”68

While Qasim’s regime forced the Doxiadis planning team out of Iraq, at the same time it implemented their development plan, and the Ba’athist regime that followed invited another planning team to transform the capital city in a way that conveyed their political aspirations. In

1963, Qasim’s regime was replaced by the Ba'athist regime with Abdul Salam Arif as the president and Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as a prime minister. Its agenda evolved around socialism, nationalism, and pan-Arabism. “Socialism as a system of ideas and as a political movement has taken a variety of forms. Despite this diversity, the socialist model of development has resulted in a number of central features ... Politically the model is associated with the ruling of one party with no tolerance

68 - Yasser Elsheshtawy, Planning Middle Eastern Cities: An Urban Kaleidoscope in Globalizing World (New York: Routlege, 2004), 67.

109 for political opposition.”69 In economic terms, socialism celebrated state ownership and control of resources and investment of all key sectors (i.e., education, housing) instead of handing them to market control. It celebrated not only ownership, but also the provision of social services such as housing. Thus, the housing sector was “embedded in the overall political and economic system.”70

The socialist model in Iraq viewed housing as a political priority, a social service expenditure, a constitutional right, and a responsibility of the state. “State monopoly over housing production in the socialist states meant a highly centralized institutional, administrative and financial system for new housing supply.”71 Consequently, all urban housing projects constructed during the Ba’athist regime were financed by the government. The political authority was also in charge of the subdivision, allocation, production, and delivery of housing plots in cities via state institutions and construction companies.

As a result of this system, the private sector was highly discouraged and eliminated from participation in the production of urban housing projects. Self-help or self-provided housing was considered a legitimate form of housing production, yet no commercial or private banks were involved in any mortgage system for housing production. The Real Estate Bank of Iraq, a government-affiliated bank established in 1948, continued to be the only source for housing finance for individuals willing to construct privately owned houses.

Moreover, the Ba’athist political ideology had a dramatic impact on the city of Baghdad in terms of its cityscape, planning, and architecture. Being anti-western, Ba’athist ideology celebrated

Arabian culture, traditions, and language. A new image that mediated between modernization and locality had to be created for the capital city in order to convey the regime’s vision. Consequently,

69 - S. Tsenkova, “The Legacy of Socialist Housing Systems,” 26. 70 - Ibid., 27. 71 - Ibid., 29.

110 Amanat Al-Assima signed an agreement with the Polish consulting engineering firm ‘Polservice,’ representing the Town Planning Office ‘Miastoprojekt’ in Krakow, Poland, to transform the cityscape of Baghdad.72 “In the countries which were Poland’s trade partners, including Iraq, and with Polservice’s logo put on every document, Miastoprojekt’s planning projects in Iraq were usually referred to as Polservice’s.”73 Baghdad’s master plan was elaborated between 1965 and

1967 by the Polservice planning team with outlines for detailed plans of chosen locations within the master plan such as Al-Khirr, Karrada, Karradat Mariam, Kadhemiya old quarters, and the

Dura industrial district.74

Polservice was commissioned to analyze the existing structures of the city and propose a development plan. Their analysis tackled various conditions of Baghdad such as physical features, natural conditions, population, industry, and agriculture. In 1967, a proposal for Baghdad’s master plan was submitted to develop the existing structure of the city through the redevelopment of various sectors with an emphasis on housing, industry, and transportation (see Appendix).

Polservice’s proposals were expected to guide the future growth and development of Baghdad up until 1990 for a population of 3.5-4 million. In terms of housing, the master plan of 1967 introduced both single-family housing development and multi-story housing development (four-story buildings and above) to provide a variety of dwelling sizes and rents for a wide range of incomes.

Nonetheless, Polservice’s proposals remained inactive until it gained approval by the Iraqi authorities in 1970. Later, in 1971, Baghdad city master plan’s guidelines were officially issued

72 - Polservice consulting engineers, Al-Khirr Residential District: Outlines for Detailed Plans, 2. 73 - Lukasz Stanek, “Miastoprojekt goes abroad: The Transfer of Architectural Labour from Socialist Poland to Iraq (1958–1989).” Center for Advanced Study in The Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA (2012): 366. 74 - Outlines for detailed plans of Al-Khirr, Karrada, Karradat Mariam, Kadhemiya old quarters, and Dura industrial district, were published by Polservice Consulting Engineers Warsaw-Poland in the form of separate reports. For further information on those plans see: Karradat Mariam city park-west: outlines for detailed plans 1967, Al-Khirr residential district: outlines for detailed plans short report 1967, Rusafah-Karradah city centre: outlines for detailed plans 1967, Kadhemiyah central district : outlines for detailed plans 1967

111 by the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council and came to be known as law no. 156. These guidelines covered basic design outlines, zoning, and land use for Baghdad’s city development.

Design guidelines for housing development, included the following:75

 Reconsidering housing typologies according to their density and their location.

 Employing a new typology of housing: apartment buildings, in a ratio of 20% of

the residential areas.

 Allocating social amenities and open spaces in residential areas – the number and

typology of those amenities depended on the number of inhabitants and the size of

land according to the zoning regulations.76

 Dividing residential areas into various zones (community, neighborhood, and

sector) based on modern planning methods.

Polservice presented a different hierarchy of urban spaces (zoning) than that presented by

Doxiadis for residential areas in Baghdad. Doxiadis proposed a division as follows: room, single house, community, city and region.77 A sector was the basic unit that Doxiadis used to form the

Ekistic grid. Nonetheless, a sector was referred to as a community when it came to city zoning.

Polservice provided a different zoning system in Baghdad’s master plan of 1967. Residential areas were divided as follows: community, neighborhood and district. Within this zoning system, a neighborhood was the basic unit of division in the hierarchy of city urban spaces. Zoning divisions were described as follows:

75 - Ministry of Justice, “Law no. 156,” the Facts of Iraq Newspaper (1971): 1054. 76 - Ibid., 1056. 77 - Doxiadis, Architecture in Transition, 175.

112  A residential district containing over 300 thousand inhabitants was divided into a

number of neighborhoods, offering a common services area including commercial,

leisure, industrial, educational services and so on.

 A residential community was comprised of several neighborhood units linking

socially separate population groups around a common center of facilities. It could

range from 50 to 80 thousand inhabitants. It offered a variety of housing typologies

that fit various densities and socio-economic levels, and offered a central common

area that contained schools, open spaces, and recreational activities.

 A residential neighborhood could range from six to seven thousand inhabitants in

about 1,000 to 1,200 housing units, and offered elementary schools or high schools

as the center of the community area.

Although detailed plans were required to be developed by Polservice in connection with

Amanat Al-Asima, the supplementary reports included with the master plan did not provide detailed plans for buildings or residential complexes. Instead, they offered general outlines for detailed plans. Polservice’s reports clearly stated that the range of included outlines of the master plan was “sufficiently wide for the detailed plans but general enough not to limit in an undesirable manner the creative initiative of future authors of detailed plans.”78 For the Al-Khirr residential district, for instance, the Polservice report proposed that the Al-Khirr residential district be divided into four communities. Each community consisted of several neighborhood units of different classes. The report included drawings of circulation networks and a drawing of functional structures that identified the location of community centers and residential areas. These drawings lacked graphic representations of buildings.

78 - Polsrvice Consulting Engineers, Al-Khirr Residential District: Outlines for Detailed Plans, 9.

113 A similar case can be seen in the report of the detailed plans of the Karrada city center.

These included detailed drawings identifying locations of common amenities and locations of three housing typologies: the existing 1-3 story single-family housing, the existing traditional housing, and the proposed central concentrated multi-family housing. Nonetheless, these drawings of visual composition showed their locations and their general massing on a neighborhood scale. The reports lacked detailed drawings and did not specify recommendations for an architectural style.

Additionally, the reports covered outlines and design guidelines of limited locations in the master plan of Baghdad. According to Ma’ath Al-Alusy, whose firm designed the Haifa housing project in the 1980s, in his book Nostos: A Tale of a Street in Baghdad, this lack of specificity required additional analytical and planning efforts from designers of urban housing projects, and opened the door for architects to experiment with a diversity of architectural styles in Baghdad.79 This generality of information paved the way for differing interpretations that bore both creative and dramatic physical translations of the design guidelines set by the Polservice development plan during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

3.5.2 Proposed Housing Typologies

In order to create a variety in the physical components of the built fabric in Baghdad, the

Polservice development plan of 1965 proposed three types of housing: single-family housing, multi-family housing, and traditional housing. The development proposal suggested preservation techniques to deal with the existing residential parts of historical centers in Baghdad to maintain the historical characteristics of the city. These historical residential parts were composed of 1-3 story single-family housing. In addition to traditional houses, the development plan suggested allocating 199 km2 for new single-family housing. Unlike Doxiadis’ plan, the Polservice plan

79 - Ma’ath Al-Alusy, Nostos: A Tale of a Street in Baghdad (Rimal Books Publications, 2012), 161,162 114 proposed multi-family housing on 14/3 km2 with a density of 300 to 600 inhabitants/hectares.80

According to law no. 156, “in low density locations, apartment buildings can be constructed to give those locations the necessary contemporary form instead of the identical, monotonous one to two story houses that dominate the old quarters of Baghdad.”81 Law no. 156 clearly indicated the will of the political authorities in Iraq to create a modernized character for the capital city, and thus highly supported the exploitation of modern construction technologies and the insertion of high- rise structures into the city.

Figure 3.23: Showing the detailed drawing of Karrada city in the outline of detailed plans report included with Polservice Baghdad Master plan 1967. Source: Polservice, “Rusafa-Karrada: outline of detailed plans report,” drawing no3.

80 - Ministry of Justice, “Law no. 156,” the Facts of Iraq Newspaper (1971): 1088. 81 - Ibid.

115 3.5.3 Polservice Comprehensive Development Plan of Baghdad 2000: Housing Programs

Revised (1972-1973)

Supported by the economic development that occurred after the nationalization of the Iraq

Petroleum Company (IPC) in 1972 and the sharp rise in oil prices that followed, Polservice was invited by the Iraqi Ba’athist regime for the second time to revise Baghdad’s master plan in response to socioeconomic changes, especially population growth, and to stress the revitalization of the historic central areas of Karkh and Rusafa in the revised plans. In May 1971, a new agreement was signed between Amanat Al-Assima of Baghdad and the Polish Trade Enterprise

Polservice as the formal basis for a comprehensive development plan for the city of Baghdad.

The comprehensive plan was elaborated upon from 1972 to 1973 by a team from the Polish town planning office in Baghdad headed by town planner Boleslaw Skrzybalski. The team included architects, town planners, landscapers, civil, electric, and traffic engineers, and economists. The analysis breakdown included several elements such as climate, agriculture, population, soil, geology, existing physical features, and hydrology. The planning proposals encompassed several sections: housing (single and multiple family housing), old quarters (Karkh and Rusafa historical centers), community and neighborhood concepts, social facilities, open spaces, industry, and transportation. It came to be known as the comprehensive development plan of Baghdad 2000. Unlike the Baghdad master plan that Polservice had presented in 1967, the target year was extended from the year 1990 to the year 2000.

116 Figure 3.24: Showing existing land use in 1973. Source: Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 23.

117 Figure 3.25: Proposed land use for the target year of 2000 by Polservice study 1973. Source: Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 83.

118 The previous master plan elaborated in the years 1965-1967 became a base for the new plan. The new sections included new survey maps, a new comprehensive civic and land use survey between the years 1971-1972, and detailed plans for some chosen parts of the city based on the master plan of 1967.82 The primary difference focused on the historical value of the city of

Baghdad, and thus attention was given to the historical centers of Baghdad in terms of surveys, data collection, and proposals.

In terms of housing, the Polservice study noticed that the annual increase in population had exceeded their 1967 expectations, and that this increase would cause future housing demands. The design of Baghdad’s master plan in 1967 was based on a population of 1.5 million in 1965 to grow to an expected population 3.5 to 4.25 million by the target year of 1990. Due to the urban problem of internal migration, the population of Baghdad grew by over 530 thousand between 1965 and

1971, and by 1977 the population of Baghdad’s urban and rural areas reached 2.88 million.83 Due the increase in growth rate, Polservice adjusted its proposals based on the assumption that the population of Baghdad would increase to reach 5.5 million by the year 2000.84 In regard to housing program revisions, Polservice’s plan of 1973 stated:

To prevent or at least to diminish the negative side effects of the city growth, it will necessary to house much more than the existing 0.7% of the population in multi-family houses /blocks of flats/ . Some new means should be used to promote the building of family houses, like e.g. pilot projects, subsidies and loans for co-operative building associations, more flexible by laws and regulations etc.85

82 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 18. 83 - According to the 1977 census, the official survey of a population in Iraq was 12,000,497. Baghdad population represented 26.6% of that number. 84 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 45. Polservice expectation of Baghdad population for the yeas 2000 in their 1973 plan has proven later to be more accurate than their expectation for the year 1990 in their plan of 1967. According to CSO, Baghdad population survey of 1997 has reached 5.4 million which almost equals Polservice’s assumption of 5.5 million. 85 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000. Warsaw, Poland, 27

119 In addition to stressing the need to promote multi-family housing, the plan encouraged the development of policies and laws concerning plot sizes, environmental standards, and architectural designs in order to increase the population density in urban areas and manage the increase in population. By connecting the Polservice housing program to the political context that surrounded it, the purpose of the proposed mega-structures of multi-family urban housing would appear to go beyond meeting housing demands in an optimized area of land; rather, they would transform the low-rise city skyline, and thus would physically translate the political expectations of creating a new image for the capital city. Regulations of law no. 156, for instance, stressed the necessity of modernizing the city with the addition of high-rise structures and super blocks, not only for residential use, but also for the central business district CBD area in Baghdad.86

The nationalist, pan-Arab ideology required Polservice’s proposals to mediate between the political ambitions of modernization and attention paid to local specificity in their design for two master plans for Baghdad (1967, 1973). On page 1067 of law no. 156 in 1971, it is stated that

“Baghdad is the capital and the primary center of modern Iraq and thus, it should respond to modern life requirements.”87 This law asserted that the proposed land use approach should partially preserve historical characteristics whilst ensuring that the utilization of modern technologies and renewal planning approaches would prepare the city to meet modern urban requirements. This attempt, according to Lukasz Stanek in 2012, echoed the lessons learned by Miastoprojekt from its design and construction of new towns such as Nowa Huta in Poland. Stanek argues that, by choosing an office from a socialist country, Iraqi political regimes would not only respond to the specific geopolitical conditions of the Cold War in the Middle East, but also aim at drawing on the

Polish experience of post-war reconstruction, with the state taking an active role in the processes

86 - Ministry of Justice, “Law no. 156,” the Facts of Iraq Newspaper (1971): 1074. 87 - Ibid.

120 of urbanization. This development plan was considered to be the last officially approved comprehensive plan for Baghdad during the second half of the 20th century. None of the previous proposed development plans during the 20th century had nearly as much impact on Baghdad city planning as that of Polservice, especially in regard to housing sector development.

3.5.4 Zoning of Residential Areas: Community and Neighborhood Concepts

Not only social integration but also spatial integration can be found in Polservice’s proposals. These are evident in the proposed allocation of public amenities and public spaces and the proposed accessibility network of those spaces. One of the main concepts suggested by the

Polservice plan is that of zoning, which was to divide Baghdad into units: neighborhoods, communities, and districts.88 Within those divisions, the plan proposed a hierarchy of accessibility to open spaces. The recreational areas were proposed as follows: completely accessible, partly accessible, and private to the public.89 The plan also stressed that green areas on the level of communities and neighborhoods, including multi-family residential areas, were to be completely accessible to public.90 Within a neighborhood unit, the plan proposed that social facilities, services, and amenities should be designed to be within walking distance based on modules of 800 meters.91

In multi-family housing projects, it was proposed for services to occupy the first floor, to be accessible to the entire neighborhood area and not restricted to the inhabitants of the residential buildings.92 In this context, one of the main goals that motivated the Polservice proposals was to create an environment that strengthened social solidarity among heterogeneous socio-economic groups.

88 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 117. 89 - Ibid., 168. 90 - Ibid., 169,170. 91 - Ibid.,120. 92 - Ibid., 121.

121 The zoning concepts of community and neighborhood proposed by Polservice in 1973 differed from those proposed in 1967. The primary difference was that the previous zoning concepts defined the basic unit ‘neighborhood’ as based on the number of inhabitants, while the

1973 zoning concept defined a neighborhood based on proximity and walkability to day-to-day social amenities with a varying number of inhabitants. The other distinction was that the idea of a community being reliant upon the flexibility and strength of social links and relationships between neighborhoods. To explain these differences, the Polservice study states:

it has to be taken into account that the community concept as a semi-independent spatial unit within fixed boundaries will not be universally workable, particularly in the “infilling” period of development. Also the idea of the community in the existing vast residential areas is rather a theoretical one, since in a community more weighing are social than the spatial links.93

With more focus given to urban infill projects in residential areas within an existing fabric, especially those of historical characteristics, Polservice gave emphasis to the provision of services in a more effective way that was more flexible and could adapt to existing conditions. Giving proximity a priority, the dimensions were identified as 50 hectares for the neighborhood size and

800 meters for the maximum distance to common services and amenities.

93 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 72.

122 Figure 3.26: Showing the zoning concept of Polservice in residential areas in Baghdad. Source: Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 118.

3.5.5 Proposed Housing Typology and Socio-economic Considerations

In the “Housing” chapter from Polservice’s Baghdad master plan, the proposed development plan divided residential areas into 3 groups based on location: 94

94 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 103, 104.

123  Residential districts lying outside the Tigris River belt, including: Al-Shaab,

Thawra, New Baghdad, El Nur-Hurriyah, Mansur, Al Khirr, and Daura. These areas

comprised most of the existing housing stock of Baghdad during the 1960s, and as

these districts already had the required facilities, the Polservice study recommended

limited redevelopment that would focus on providing extra facilities, improving the

existing ones that were below acceptable standards, and ensuring public

accessibility to those facilities.95

 Tigris belt residential districts, including: Old Adhamiyah, Kadhamiya, Alwiyah

and Hindiyah, and Zafaraniyah. Unlike the first group, these districts were

dominated by administrative and public facilities; therefore, the redevelopment

plan suggested increasing their mixed functionality through the development of

existing residential areas and new residential areas within those districts.96

 The last group included city center residential units. The plan proposed the

execution of new residential concentrations within the city center due to

environmental and historical attractiveness factors attached to that area of Baghdad.

Within those three groups, two main housing typologies were suggested, single-family housing and multi-family housing. After an examination of the proposed allocation, concentration, and design guidelines of those groups, it can be stated that there was a clear hierarchy in the development proposals for residential areas that relied heavily on socio-economic considerations.

The inhabitants of the proposed housing units were divided into 4 groups based on income levels:97

95 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan, 103. 96 - Ibid., 104 97 - Ibid., 86

124 (A) very low-income level (up to 50 Iraqi Dinar), (B) upper low-income level (51-100 Iraqi Dinar),

(C) middle income level (101-200 Iraqi Dinar), and (D) high-income level (over 200 Iraqi Dinar).

The percentages of population based on income level during the time of the study were

58% for group A, 27% for group B, 12% for group C, and 3% for group D. Despite the fact that the highest percentage of the population was from group A, the included tables from the Polservice development plan show that the targeted inhabitants of the proposed single-family and multi- family housing were mainly from group B, which consisted primarily of skilled workers and lower groups of white-collar workers.98 Although a possible explanation would be that the existing group

B may have been more likely to pay for the housing units than group A, the Polservice study suggested that the reason was that many of group A inhabitants would evolve into group B by the year 2000 due to expected economic improvements, and therefore, the proposed housing ought to focus on group B.99 Nonetheless, the proposals did suggest the inclusion of inhabitants from other income groups in the proposed housing. Thus, unlike Doxiadis’ planning criteria that encouraged the concentration of homogenous income groups, the Polservice proposals made sure to include mixed income inhabitants within the same community to create a sense of social integration.

98 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 107. 99 - Ibid., 108

125 Figure 3.27: Showing divisions of socio-economic groups according to Polservice study in summer 1975. Source: Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 87.

3.5.5.1 Single-Family Housing

While single-family housing was the prevailing housing typology during the late 1960s,

Polservice’s proposed plan suggested that by the year 2000, this housing form would decrease to accommodate 80% of Baghdad’s population.100 The study attributed this prevalence to the social customs that evolved from the traditions of society and climatic conditions, as well as from

100 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan, 115.

126 government policies, subsidies, and laws.101 In addition to the prevalence of this housing form,

Polservice noted the monotonous repetition of the single-family housing style in certain locations in Baghdad.102 Therefore, in order to increase the variety of housing units, and to avoid monotony, two separate single-family urban housing typologies were proposed, type A (Terraced Houses) and type B (Detached Houses).

Despite Polservice’s goal of avoiding uniformity and monotony, a close examination of the proposed designs proves they fell short of that goal. Although Polservice’s criticism of the prevalence of the international style in Baghdad, its suggested designs show a high reliance on mass-produced elements, with the design of modular housing units displaying no sign of local particularities. The plan was arranged in a simple grid design with structural spans of 3.40 and

5.00 meters.103 The general spatial layout was arranged on a grid layout in which identical housing units were repeated along the streets of that grid. This repetition and uniformity of urban housing was paradoxical, considering the main goal described in Polservice’s officially published propaganda.

101 - Ibid. 102 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 250. 103 - Al-Adhami., “A Comprehensive Approach to the Study of the Housing Sector in Iraq,” 177. 127 Figure 3.28: Showing proposed housing units by Polservice in Baghdad. Source: Al-Adhami., M.B. “A comprehensive approach to the study of the housing sector in Iraq,” 173.

128 Figure 3.29: Showing single-family housing type A proposed by Polservice Source: Al-Adhami., M.B. “A comprehensive approach to the study of the housing sector in Iraq,” 175

129 Figure 3.30: Showing single-family housing type B proposed by Polservice. Source: Al-Adhami., M.B. “A comprehensive approach to the study of the housing sector in Iraq,” 176

130 3.5.5.2 Multi-Family Housing

Polservice’s development plan was the first to propose multi-family housing projects in

Baghdad as a strategy to meet the increasing demand for housing due to a rapid increase in population. A multi-family housing proposal seemed to be the ultimate solution for low- or middle- income households that struggled to obtain individual houses due to increasing land prices. The proposed multi-family housing was sub-categorized into dispersed and concentrated housing.104

Polservice’s proposal to include multi-family housing aimed to house the increasing population of

Baghdad that was predicted to reach 4-5.3 million by the year 2000.105 This planning aimed at accommodating 20% of Baghdad’s inhabitants in multi-family housing by the year 2000. This percentage was thought to equal nearly 200 thousand inhabitants in dispersed multi-family housing, and 680 thousand in concentrated multi-family housing.106

The aim of suggesting various types of multi-family housing was to “augment the attractiveness of this kind of housing and its gradual acceptation by larger groups of the population.”107 This is because, by the time Polservice submitted its proposal in the mid-1960s, single-family housing was the prevailing residential form.108 At that time, less than 1% of

Baghdad’s population lived in dispersed multi-family housing.109 This lack of popularity, according to the Polservice development plan, was mainly due to a general negative attitude towards multi-family housing. Since lower-income earners were the main inhabitants of multi- family housing, a social stigma was attached to that housing typology. Nonetheless, the Polservice

104 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 108. 105 - Ibid., 71. 106 - Ibid. 108. 107 - Ibid., 71. 108 - Ibid., 115. 109 - Ibid., 116.

131 plan aimed at changing that social attitude by attracting mixed income groups to live in multi- family housing.

Therefore, percentages from all socio-economic levels, A, B, C, and D, were proposed to be included in multi-family housing. The percentages shown in the included tables in the

Polservice development plan indicated that 75% of concentrated multi-family housing inhabitants were from group B, nearly 10% were from group A, and nearly 15% were from group C.110 As a result, low-income earners had the highest percentage in concentrated multi-family housing areas.

This particular group, according to the study, would speed up the success of the development plan, because most of the inhabitants from group B worked for the growing industrial sector in the city, and thus multi-family housing should be dedicated primarily to that particular group.111 Although the percentages were not equal, all income groups were included, and it could be stated that the plan criteria encouraged mixed income, multi-family housing projects.

3.5.6 Assessment of Proposed Townscape Development: Projecting a Modernized Image

According to the Polservice development plan, two-thirds of Baghdad during the 1960s was comprised of detached single-family houses, and the remaining third was a concentration of buildings of various functions and architectural styles. In terms of the residential architectural character, the development plan stated:

Although some of settlements consist of luxurious and architecturally well shaped houses, since they are almost identical in scale and character, they evoke the feeling of overwhelming monotony. Communication lines cut among these unified settlements are also highly uniform. Roads as well as intersections are extremely similar to one another and that badly affects the conditions of orientation. As has already been stated, the buildings and places which endow the town with identity, i.e. its historical and traditional monuments, are quickly disappearing and are being replaced by modern developments. As

110 - Polservice Consulting Engineers, Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 108. 111 - Ibid.

132 the latter are of international style. It seriously threatens that the town will lose its identity and become one of modern standard cities.112

Polservice engineers argued that a further injection of uniform residential settlements into the existing fabric “without any intervention that would inject more variety and introduce a clear- cut division of the town into different units, will increase disorientation and confusion.”113

Therefore, its proposal for townscape development stressed that the design of new residential and other built-up areas should have the maximum possible architectural variety and should reflect the identity of these areas.114 Polservice even suggested the establishment of a check-up system that would ensure this variety for planning schemes.115

The plan proposed that about 14.3 sq. km be developed as multi-family housing up to the year 2000. In terms of allocation, the proposed locations of multi-family housing were roughly at the city center and district centers, with single-family housing in the proximity of community centers and public transportation.116 It was proposed to follow a linear composition of the center, while other residential types were scattered all around it.117 Concentrated multi-family housing was to be constructed in densely populated areas on both sides of the city (Karkh and Rusafa) as divided by the River Tigris.118 In addition to concentrated multi-family housing, the proposed master plan of 1967 proposed dispersed housing, which was smaller groups of multiple family houses to be built within the single-family housing communities and within proximity to

112 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 251, 250. 113 - Ibid., 251. 114 - Ibid., 255. 115 - Ibid., 255 116 - Ibid., 126. 117 - Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 136. 118 - “Law no. 1428,” 1073. 133 community centers.119 Polservice’s design guidelines proposed locations that had an attractive character – lining up along city centers and river banks, and/or in areas overlooking open green fields.120 According to Polservice’s study, as Baghdad at that point was predominantly built of single-family houses of almost uniform height, the location of high-rise buildings, multi-family housing in this case, was of great importance because it would help create a variety of housing typologies. Therefore, the study suggested that specific locations meeting specific standards should be taken into consideration, including:121

 Multi-family housing should be grouped in several chosen places rather than spread

all over the city;

 This would mark important places in the town’s structure;

 It would serve as orientation landmarks in the town’s organism;

 It would create a well-arranged sky-line for the city;

 It would not mar places where the historic skyline was well-established.122

The final proposed outcome of the residential structure included four types of housing to be maintained within the city center of Baghdad: multi-family settlements, dispersed residential developments above commercial activities, existing single-family housing, and residential areas in old quarters as part of the city’s historical heritage.123 Maintaining various housing typologies, according to the Polservice study, would help the city of Baghdad maintain a sense of variety and overcome an increasing prevalence of the international style.

119 - Polservice, Comprehensive Development Plan, 71. 120 - Ministry of Justice, “Law no. 1428,” 1073. 121 - Polservice, Comprehensive Development Plan, 256. 122 - Ibid., 257. 123 - Ibid., 135.

134 Nevertheless, despite Polservice’s observations regarding the loss of local particularity in the city due to the spread of the international style, international tendencies prevailed in its proposals. According to the Polservice plan, the principles of spatial distribution in this kind of urban housing and the conditions for its realization were to be based on universally accepted standards.124 The plan clearly stated that Baghdad was no exception to these universal rules.125

Although the development plan suggested taking into consideration the social and climatic conditions of the city, it can be observed that the general guidelines for the proposed location and typology of the suggested housing lacked details in spatial organization for residential projects as well as architectural details. In addition, although the plan included appendices for design guidelines, implementation phases, and detailed descriptions of land use and population density, it did not provide details related to cultural dimensions of the city as far as how these new developments might socially and architecturally relate to the historic city centers and elevations of river banks. The plan suffered from a general lack of understanding of the social and economic forces crucial to urban housing development.126

Despite these shortcomings, this plan can be considered the most significant development plan in Baghdad, the influence of which can still be seen in Baghdad. Like many other cities in developing countries, several housing programs and proposals were made to control and solve housing problems in Baghdad, but the practical implementation of those programs remained partial, and housing problems continued to reemerge. The main factor behind this weakness is referred to in the clash of international planning visions with local realities –– in other words, a lack of detailed research on the socio-economic requirements specific to Iraqi culture. Another

124 - Ibid., 168. 125 - Ibid., 147. 126 - Al-Adhami., “A Comprehensive Approach to the Study of the Housing Sector in Iraq,” 580. 135 factor relates to the instability of political regimes that lacked the will to continue a comprehensive vision for the housing sector in Baghdad.

Figure 3.31: Proposed townscape of the city of Baghdad for the year 2000 showing locations of high-rise buildings including residential apartment complexes Source: Polservice Consulting Engineers. Comprehensive Development Plan for Baghdad 2000, 254.

136 3.6 Chapter Review Housing programs and the architectural typologies of the implemented urban housing in

Baghdad from 1955 to 1973 showcased the ways in which three different political ideologies governed and manipulated the housing sector to serve their goals. With each political regime came a new phase for urban housing. First, from 1955 to 1958, the monarchy exploited the housing sector for social reform in order to gain social support against the power of communism. Second, from 1958 to 1963, during the communist rule in Iraq, the state utilized Doxiadis’ housing proposals to construct state-built housing projects in Baghdad for marginalized groups and military personnel in order to form a supportive social and political base. The architecture of these projects emphasized traditional values not only to create an integration with the existing traditional built fabric, but also for the purpose of projecting the national agenda of Qasim’s regime. Third, during the Ba’athist regime from 1963 to 1973, Baghdad, the capital city, had to transform to showcase its superior political and economic power, in contrast to its former state. Unlike urban housing projects during the 1950s and 1960s, new typologies of urban housing of mid-rise and high-rise structures contrasting against the existing traditional low-rise residential fabric emerged to fulfill the aspirations of the Ba’athist political party which aimed at modernizing the cityscape of

Baghdad. Thus, it can be argued that the urban housing development from 1955 to 1973 was a tool of imposition and acquisition, and a showcase of political authority.

Although the implemented housing projects between 1955 and 1973 showed differences in terms of their architectural design, they shared certain characteristics. They were all state-built, single-family housing projects for heterogeneous socio-economic groups. Furthermore, their design promoted socio-spatial integration through the lack of physical barriers and the absence of controlled access points. Therefore, it can be stated that the main difference between state-built housing projects examined in this chapter (the case studies of Sector No.10 and the Dhubat project)

137 and the recent gated communities lies within the approaches to residential security. State-built housing projects lack socio-spatial isolation which is the core design goal of gated communities.

Figure 3.32: Urban housing development in Baghdad in relation to political shifts (1955-1973) Source: Author

138 Chapter 4

State-built Housing and the Socialist Approach to Housing Provision (1973-2003)

4.1 Chapter Preview

After an examination of efforts to insert urban housing into Baghdad’s master plan between the mid-1950s and early 1970s, this chapter will attempt to explore the context and results of the implementation process in residential development between 1973 and 2003. During the second half of the 20th century, other housing studies followed that of the Greek organization Doxiadis

Associates in 1955, and that of the Polish organization of Polservice in 1965 and 1973. These studies included a review of housing policy made by the Japan Consortium of Consulting Firms

(JCCF) in 1981, research on housing policy by a group of Iraqi researchers in 1986, and the 1998 strategy for the comprehensive spatial development of Iraq for the target year of 2000.1 However, the impact of all these studies on the urban fabric of Baghdad is invisible compared to that of

Polservice.

Therefore, this chapter will focus on a critical examination of the implemented urban housing projects that followed the design guidelines set by Polservice's Consulting Engineers through an analysis of the case study of the Saidiya state-built housing in terms of its typology, characteristics, and socio-spatial impact in connection to political efforts that supported the implementation process of urban housing projects during the 1970s and 1980s. In addition, this chapter will examine the context that surrounded the abandonment of Polservice’s housing program and the lack of urban housing projects during the 1990s, the decade that followed the peak of urban housing development in Baghdad during the 20th century.

1 - Ministry of Planning, “National Development Plan 2010-2014,” (2009): 24. 139 4.2 Urban Housing Programs under a Socialist Economy

Following Polservice’s comprehensive development plan for Baghdad 2000, and because housing was a vital sector in the urban development of the capital city of Baghdad, the socialist

Iraqi regime initiated housing programs and legislations that were published in The Facts of Iraq

Newspaper during the 1970s to support housing development.2 Several research studies were prepared, and proposals were presented by Iraqi scholars, government employees affiliated with housing development, foreign architects and development companies, such as JCCF, in order to redesign the housing program in Baghdad in a way that responded to demographic changes.

For instance, Polish architects and planners from the state office Miastoprojekt Kraków, won separate commissions to develop the General Housing Program as part of a 5-year development plan (1976-1980).3 In 1982, a “Complementary Study of Housing Standards for Iraq” was proposed by the Miastoprojekt team as an independent commission.4 However, their proposals were not implemented in Baghdad. Instead, the results of the programmatic part were tested in the comprehensive design of six pilot neighborhoods, such as the Al-Kadisiyah neighborhood in

Mahmudiyah for over 15,000 inhabitants, smaller neighborhoods in Mosul, Amara, Irbil, Samawa and the rural settlement, Al-Zuhairi.5 While government legislations facilitated the implementation

2 - The Facts of Iraq Newspaper is the official gazette of Iraqi. Funded by the ministry of Justice, this newspaper was established in 1922 during the monarchy political system and it continued since. It publishes the Iraqi government’s legislations, laws, regulations, instructions and orders for Iraqi government employees and citizens. 3 - Stanek, “Miastoprojekt Goes Abroad,” 368. See also Mullahwaish, Modern Architecture, 88. Within the 5-year development plan, the Iraqi government decided that housing development should include 70% apartment units to 30% of individual housing units. 4 - Ibid., 369. According to Stanek, “Complementary Study to Housing Standards for Iraq” presented in 21 volumes. It specified “the size of flats and their functional relationships according to occupancy numbers. The dimensions of particular rooms and the requirements of climatic and socio-psychological conditions were determined in relationship to traditional typologies, local building materials and technology. Beyond the scale of the flat, the Programme developed norms for the distribution of schools, technical infrastructure, social facilities, landscaping and climatic concerns.” 5 - Stanek, “Miastoprojekt Goes Abroad,” 370. 140 of Polservice’s housing program, the proposals of both local scholars and foreign companies did not find echoes in the urban fabric of Baghdad.

Figure 4.1: Proposed housing typology for Mahmudiyah by Tadeusz Myszkowski (Miastoprojekt, Kraków), as part of the General Housing Program for Iraq for the years of 1976 to 1980. Source: Stanek, Lukasz. “Miastoprojekt Goes Abroad: The Transfer of Architectural Labour from Socialist Poland to Iraq (1958–1989),” 371.

As the government adhered to the centralized bureaucracy of a socialist system, the Iraqi constitution then stated that access to housing was a basic right and that it was the government’s responsibility to ensure that right. Therefore, housing production and financing during the

Ba’athist regime were dominated by government control. “Housing was seen as a social service

(rather than a productive) activity and therefore the institutions and institutional frameworks reflect

141 a paternalistic approach.”6 In addition, “access to and provision of housing was also seen as an instrument in controlling who live where, and therefore allocation of housing, land and finance, were used to benefit and reward sections of the population as they were designed to meet needs.”7

Therefore, urban housing projects were viewed as a political priority by the Ba’athist regime.

To further enhance multi-family urban housing projects, funding programs were initiated and housing acts and regulations were passed. During the same year in which Polservice was re- invited to submit new proposals for the Baghdad master plan, law no. 911 was passed on 12 March

1973 for the study and analysis of the possible addition of multi-family housing in Iraqi cities.8

Later, on the 29th of August 1974, almost a year after Polservice submitted its proposals for multi- family housing, the Iraqi government released legislation no. 116, which marked the establishment of the General Organization for Housing.9 Its main goals were stated as follows:

 Development of plans for the implementation of the general policy of urban housing

with an emphasis on vertical (multi-family) urban housing projects as well as rural

housing projects

 Construction of housing projects for Iraqi citizens who did not own dwellings, and

reconstruction of unsuitable residential areas

 Design and implementation of state-built housing projects for the industrial sector and

cooperative societies, official departments and institutions of public benefit

6 - PADCO, Iraqi Central Office of Statistics & Information Technology, “Iraq Housing Market Study Main Report,” 8. 7 - Ibid. 8 - Mullahwaish, Modern Architecture in Iraq, 178. 9 - Legislation (No. 116) was cancelled by the Ba’athist political authority and replaced by legislation (No. 62) on July 5th, 1987. The General Organization for Housing was replaced by the Ministry of Housing and Reconstruction. http://www.iraqld.iq/LoadLawBook.aspx?page=1&SC=&BookID=20498 142 The organization was also responsible for documentation and regulations related to

ownership, acquisition, rent, rentals, sales, purchases, mortgages, loans and lending

with or without guarantee.

The above goals clearly state a shift in the way the Iraqi government viewed urban housing projects, ranging from single-family housing to multi-story, state-built housing projects, in accordance with Polservice’s proposals that encouraged 20% of Baghdad’s population to live in multi-family housing. In order to help promote state-built housing projects during the 1970s, housing act no. 1192 (1976) was released to reaffirm the goals of legislation no. 116. Under this act, the General Organization for Housing was to construct multi-family urban housing. In addition, the act stated that multi-family housing should be the main forms of state-built housing projects instead of the traditional typology of single-family housing. The government also assisted in financing these projects by providing interest-free loans through the Real-Estate Bank of Iraq

(REB) to be paid off over the course of 25 years. This bank was and still is the main funding source for housing in Iraq. Yet, during the Ba’athist regime, it was the only financial institution dedicated financing housing. Many of its loan orders were “made by presidential order at low interest rates to selected borrowers, namely middle and high-ranking government and army officials.”10 It was based on act no. 18 (1948) to provide housing financing, primarily to support individuals paying for single-family housing. Later, changes were made to the above-mentioned act to include housing loans for beneficiaries of the state urban housing projects; these changes were passed as act no. 161 (1977). These programs helped annual housing production to reach 50,000 units between the years 1975 and 1985.

10 - “a fixed amount was lent to land owners and public employees at a fixed, subsidized interest rate for 15 to 25- year periods. The amount was often not enough to finish construction on the houses. Repayment of a loan was guaranteed by compulsory deductions from the employee's payroll.” PADCO, Iraqi Central Office of Statistics & Information Technology, “Iraq Housing Market Study Main Report,” 24. 143 Nevertheless, after the mid-1980s, support for housing acts was highly ignored by the government. Housing production decreased by 97.5% in 1996 compared to housing production between 1975 and 1985 as a consequence of deterioration in the economic situation in Iraq due to the wars and United Nations (UN) sanctions. Also, housing finance relied entirely on a centralized financing system that, in addition to its inability to provide enough financial support for the housing sector, also did not involve nor encourage private investors or private banks to participate in urban housing financing and provision. As a result, housing shortage surfaced once again as a major issue in Baghdad.

4.3 State-built Housing Implementation (1970s-80s): Typology, Characteristics, and

Criticism

While Polservice’s planning efforts for urban housing began during the mid-1960s, it was not until the 1970s that actual construction started. Supported by the economic boom from the oil revenue of the early 1970s, several urban housing projects, in the form of apartment complexes, began to emerge in various locations in Baghdad’s urban fabric in the late 1970s. Several foreign design and construction companies with accompanying foreign workers were invited to work in

Baghdad with local firms under the supervision and administration of the Baghdad Mayoralty

(Amanat Al-Asima) and the General Organization for Housing.11 The implementation of those projects continued until the late 1980s and sought to respond to political aspirations to modernize the city skyline.

According to Mullahwaish’s 1988 book, several factors had to be taken into consideration to initiate the process of constructing multi-family housing in Iraq:

11 - Based on legislation number 62 in 1987, the Iraqi Ministry of Housing and Construction was established by the Ba’ath political regime. Since then, the General Organization for Housing became one of its affiliations. See the details of the legislation at http://wiki.dorar-aliraq.net/iraqilaws/law/10553.html 144  The economic factor, including funding sources and process

 The social factor, which focused on overcoming the social stigma related to living in

apartment complexes, and on dealing with purchasers accustomed to living in individual

single-family housing which had provided a crucial element for eastern society: the

element of privacy. The architectural factor, including the preservation of and reflection

on social heritage and architectural traditions in the designs of apartment complexes, and

the employment of structures and materials that fit the environment of Iraqi cities.12

These socioeconomic and architectural factors found echoes in the proposed and implemented designs of vertical urban housing projects. According to the report published by the research department of MOCH, “Housing Reality and Future Requirements and Proposals” in

2006, 11 urban housing projects were constructed in Baghdad between the late 1970s and late

1980s. These projects were financed by the public sector and supervised and commissioned by state-affiliated entities. Four urban housing projects were supervised by the Mayoralty of Baghdad

(Amanat Al-Asima), and the remaining projects were supervised by the General Organization for

Housing.13 Those projects are listed in the table below:

12 - Mullahwaish, Modern Architecture in Iraq, 178. 13 - During the Ba’athist political era, and due to the centralized system in housing provision, only two government affiliations were responsible for supervising the commissioning and implementation of urban housing programs in Iraq. These are: The mayoralty of Baghdad (Amanat Al-Asima), and the General Organization for Housing. 145 Table 4.1 Urban housing projects administered by the mayoralty of Baghdad Source: Author

Name of the project Apartment units Area in Typology Hectare Haifa Street Housing 2000 units n/a High-rise apartments

Saidiya housing 2004 units in 335 80 h low-rise apartments complex buildings

Al-Khulafa` street 250 units in 5 buildings 43 h High-rise apartments housing project

Abu Nuwas street 273 units in 155 buildings 8 h low-rise apartments housing project

Table 4.2 Urban housing projects administered by the General Organization for Housing. Source: Author

28 Nissan/ Salhiya 2300 units in 34 buildings 36 h High-rise apartments housing project

Qadisiya 630 units 15 h High-rise apartments

Thowra 1 1000 units in 167 32 h low-rise apartments buildings

Thowra 2 630 units in 150 buildings 18 h low-rise apartments

Saidiya 6,7 housing 2500 units 43 h low-rise apartments complexes

Zayona housing 2000 units in 149 43 h low-rise apartments project buildings

Doura housing project 400 units 156 h low-rise apartments

Hamada market housing n/a 4.5 h low-rise housing units

Palestinian refugees housing 768 units n/a Mid-rise apartments

146 Figure 4.2: Showing plans and elevations of one of the first multi-family housing projects constructed during early 1970s in Baghdad. It was constructed to house Palestinian refugees. The drawings were prepared by the Design Department at the Ministry of Housing by architect Burhan Al-Salihi in 1970. The project is administered by the General Housing Organization and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs; the same ministry that administered urban housing projects in western Baghdad during Qasim’s era (1958-1963). Source: Mullahiwaish, Modern Architecture in Iraq, 158, 160.

As for location, the typology of high-rise apartment blocks (over 8 stories) followed

Polservice’s recommendations for allocating high-rise buildings. They occupied main streets in

Baghdad such as Haifa street and Salhiya street. The low-rise apartment blocks (3-4 stories) were dispersed between various locations in residential neighborhoods within the inner city areas of

Baghdad. A close observation of the physical characteristics of those projects indicates that they shared similarities in terms of architecture and spatial characteristics. These similarities can be identified as hybridity and spatial integration. The following sections will be used to shed light on these characteristics.

147 Figure 4.3: Showing locations and approximate number of inhabitants of urban housing projects implemented during 1970s and 1980s Source: Author

4.3.1 Hybridity of State-built Housing: Caught between Modernization and Traditionalism

A review of local literature on the typology and characteristics of state-built housing projects constructed in Baghdad during the final quarter of the 20th century indicates that there was a lack of a single architectural style in efforts to respond to the lack of locality in the international style brought to Iraq after WWII by international firms and local architects who graduated from Europe and returned to work in Iraq. To move past the international style, local

Iraqi architects and international firms sought inspiration from the architecture of the past to frame their desire for locality and their respect for traditions and architectural heritage through

148 symbolism, metaphor and analogy. Yet, by examining the political context of the 1970s and

1980s, it appears that there was another motivation for architects to include local vocabularies: the pan-Arabism agenda of the political regime that funded urban housing projects and supervised their implementation process. In the book Nostos: A Tale of a Street in Baghdad, Ma’ath Al-

Alusy, whose office designed the Haifa housing project, claims that the Mayoralty of Baghdad that supervised urban housing projects had received strict orders from higher authorities in the political regime to modernize Baghdad’s city fabric by following the design criteria set by

Polservice’s comprehensive plan that sought to mediate between modernization and traditions.14

Consequently, the aspirations of political powers and local architects resulted in an urban housing hybrid architectural style that combined locality with a modernized cultural image.

The architectural hybridity of urban housing projects received various forms of criticism from local scholars. There were those such as Nabil, Alnaqib, Al-Dujaili, who described it as divergence from local identity, an act of imposition of traditional elements upon modern architecture such as Alsanjari, Taha, Aldauji, and Mullahwaish, internationalized regionalism such as Chadirji, an architectural and urban alienation such as Abona and Albazzaz, an act of imitation of traditions such as Razzouqi and an act of creativity such as Al-Qaraghuli. Yet, in general, local scholars such as Al-Daheen and El-Sheikh, A. Mullahwaish, Nabil, Alsanjari, Taha, and Aldauji, Al-Nima and Al Jameel, categorized the resulting architectural hybridity as postmodern architecture with an emphasis on the themes of history. These themes emerged as part of the wave of postmodernism during the second half of the 20th century as a reaction against

14 - From Ma`ath Al-Alusy meeting and conversation with Rifat Al-Chadirji who was the main consultant of the Mayoralty of Baghdad during the early 1980s. See Al-Alusy, Nostos, 156, 159. In a chapter titled “Haifa street” in Nostos: A Tale of a Street in Baghdad, Al-Alusy explains in detail his journey to Iraq to participate in a design commission for Haifa street housing project. He spoke of the ruling political power over residential development to covey a modernized image of the capital city to the visiting presidential representatives of Muslim countries who were to visit Baghdad to participate in the Islamic Summit conference 1981. 149 the universality of modernism and its radical break with history and past styles.15 Vertical housing emerged in Baghdad via attempts by architects (local and international) to take into consideration the social, cultural, and environmental context and to employ mass-produced traditional design vocabularies for different functions on different scales.

Several local scholars addressed the transformation of architectural language in Baghdad. In research that aimed at exploring the architectural transformations in the facades of residential architecture in Baghdad during the 20th century, Ali in 2009 has asserted that cultural and social changes, due to modernization efforts in Iraq, pushed the architecture of residential facades away from traditional design values towards modernist architecture during the mid-20th century. Ali also argues that during the last 30 years of that century — the time during which vertical housing began to appear in Baghdad — residential facades began to stress the incorporation of traditional architectural elements. However, those elements, Ali continues, were not employed or constructed in the traditional way. Rather, major changes occurred in the articulation of those elements, relations between elements, and their scale and materials.16 These changes led to the rise of architectural expressions that were new to Baghdad’s residential architecture such as the use of asymmetrical elements and masses, an outward-looking design instead of inward-looking design, and the loss of human scale in the design of openings, especially main entrances. An additional change was the use of materials other than the traditional bricks, such as concrete.

15 - Kate Nesbitt, Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996), 48. 16 - Shaiyma` Ali, “Architectural evolution of Residential Facades in Baghdad,” Engineering & Technology Journal 27, no. 7 (2009): 249. 150 Figures 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 (above, clockwise): Haifa complex, Salhiya complex, Qadsiya complex, and Abu Nuwas complex respectively) showing the variety of styles and hybridity of architecture which combines principles of the International Style with limited traditional vocabularies which primarily includes pointed arches, geometric Islamic art patterns, Shanasheel, and arcades.

Sources: (above, clockwise) http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/52011708.jpg https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zUZNCYfLtRA/maxresdefault.jpgal salhiya https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Xcrrzpb2n90/hqdefault.jpg Husain. “A report on Abu Nawas Development.” The Aga Khan Award for Architecture AKAA (1998): 1-45. http://archnet.org/sites/522/publications/8570.

151 Figure 4.8: Al-Thoura1 complex, showing the lack of traditional referencing Source: Amanat Baghdad. “Comprehensive Development Plan of Baghdad 2030.”: 18

Figures 4.9, 4.10: (above left to right) showing direct referencing (Disneyism) to traditional courtyard houses in Hamada Market Housing Project in Baghdad, Iraq, constructed in 1982, and designed by Al-Idrisi for Engineering Consultancy; an affiliation of the Ministry of Housing. Source: Marwa Abdual Qader Ali, “Urban Identity in Residential Complexes,” 82.

152 A similar perspective to that of Ali in 2009 was offered by Al-Daheen and El-Sheikh in

2007, who claimed that, while Iraqi architecture during the 1950s reflected sympathy towards modernist architecture and modernist urban design principles, the period from 1960 to 1980 reflected a reaction against modernist ideology in architecture and planning as part of a postmodernism wave. This ideology included themes related to the architectural association with place that took into consideration natural and cultural considerations, on one hand, and the product

(building) and the human being who inhabited it, on the other hand.17 Al-Daheen and El-Sheikh claim that architecture in Iraq from the 1960s to 1980s reflected three levels of influence: international, regional, and local. The first two were represented by the theory and practice of postmodernist calls for locality. These influences appeared in different levels in architecture: the level of the building façade, façade and the plans, and the massing level. However, all levels employed both local and international elements through various design strategies such as metaphor, symbolism, and analogy, not only on the level of the design, but also in the construction and use of materials such as concrete and traditional brick for building facades, and the use of mass-produced traditional moldings.18 Citing Mullahwaish, Al-Daheen and El-Sheikh insist that this hybrid architectural style acquired different names in Iraq, such as: creative local traditional architecture, an experimental local approach, improvised non-academic architecture, a local architecture sympathetic with international architecture, and western imitative local architecture.19 However, all referred to what Mullahwaish describes as a marriage between local

17 - Huda A. Al-Daheen, Niem B. Manouna, and Shatha Y. El-Sheikh, “Paradigms of Dealing with Context of Place in Iraqi Contemporary Architecture (1960-1980),” AL Rafdain Engineering Journal 15, no. 4 (2007): 96, 97. 18 - Ibid., 109. 19 - Ibid., 99. 153 and traditional elements, with international and modern vocabulary in terms of design, construction, and materials that reflected a spirit of place.20

From a parallel perspective, in 2010, Alsanjari, Taha, and Aldauji argue that the subjective oriented design decisions and various attitudes of architects in expressing the local architectural identity in housing projects caused a lack of a single style.21 Alsanjari, Taha, and Aldauji, who also cited Mullahwaish, divide the architectural design of residential projects from the late 1970s to the present into six approaches. Each approach had its own means of conveying a sense of locality.22

According to the authors, these six approaches can be categorized into two main trends between which local Iraqi architects could choose: a conservative trend, which adopted the image of the traditional architecture, and a trend that followed and imitated the international architectural style. Similar categorization is provided by Nooraddin in 2004. The author divides Iraqi architects into two groups: those who follow the design principles of the International Style with little or no change, and those who emphasize local design principles while at the same time applying contemporary international ideas.23 The second group, Nooraddin continues, can be divided into several levels depending on their definition of local architecture and their relationship to the international style. The result, according to Nooraddin, is a diffused architectural and urban character in Baghdad. Despite the variety of descriptions and perspectives of local scholars on the physical characteristics and architecture of residential architecture in Baghdad, they agree that it combined locality with universality. In other words, it conveyed a hybrid architectural image.

20 - Mullahwaish, Modern Architecture in Iraq, 226, 227. 21 - Hassan Abd Al-Razaq Al-Sanjari, Saba Ibraheem Taha, and Mumtaz Hazim Al-Dauji. “Place Identity of Residential Environment in Iraqi Contemporary Architectural Trends and its Impact on Academic Architectural Product,” The Iraqi Journal of Architecture 6, no. 19-20-21 (2010): 102. 22 - Ibid., 107. 23 - Elsheshtawy, Planning Middle Eastern Cities, 72. 154 4.3.1.1 The Role of a Political Modernization Agenda in Achieving Hybridity

Although architectural attempts towards hybridity indicated a desire to retrieve the past architectural glory of Baghdad city, it was not an action made solely by architects in isolation from external political and economic powers. Nooraddin claims that Baghdad is a good example of how political change can bring about architectural change and that in Baghdad “form follows political power system.”24 While local architects attempted to embrace a local identity and satisfy local needs, they were “increasingly hindered by political ideologies.”25 The economic boom during the

1970s from oil revenue financially supported the architectural boom in Baghdad. This economic change accompanied political desires to project a modern cultural image with an embedded

Ba`athist agenda of pan-Arabism. Nooraddin claims that the socialist Ba’ath party encouraged local architects to employ traditional elements in their designs to demonstrate a sense of nationalism, especially after the Iran-Iraq War during the 1980s. He claims that the former

President Saddam Hussain, during the Ba’athist regime, was highly supportive of the use of traditional architecture and that he stressed his perspective towards architecture during architectural conferences in Baghdad.26

During the 1980s, the famous Iraqi architect Rifat Chadirji was the main consultant for the

Mayoralty of Baghdad. He was given the task of modernizing the architectural image of Baghdad city by authorities of Ba’ath party.27 The main objective of this task was to construct a modern image of Baghdad prior to the Islamic Summit Conference of 1981, to convey a message of political power to the political regimes from the Arab and Islamic regions that were to attend the

24 - Ibid., 71. 25 - Ibid., 13. 26 - Ibid., 81. 27 - Al-Alusy, Nostos, 159. 155 conference.28 Thus, according to Nooraddin, high-rise housing projects were a priority during the

Ba’athist era in order to modernize the city.29 Chadirji’s interpretation of modernization in 1986 was that it sought “to bring the cultural development of Iraq into harmony with the process of internationalization in order to overcome the cultural gap during the development process, while at the same time maintaining the traditional character of Iraqi architecture.”30 To Chadirji, this combination would introduce, as he calls in his book Concepts and Influences in 1986, ‘regional internationalism.’ As a result, the embodiment of a clash of modern and traditional values became the main criterion for winning a housing project design contest in Baghdad. “The city became

Iraq’s architectural laboratory with different architectural styles being employed.”31 Consequently, these combined factors attributed to the rise of a hybrid architecture that lacked any particular definition of style.

4.3.1.2 The Role of Local and International Firms in Achieving Hybridity

Several local scholars refer to two factors that helped mediate the political agenda of modernization with local vocabularies to achieve hybridity.32 First, the availability of local architects: those who graduated from the first architectural department at Baghdad University

(which opened in 1959), and the older generations of architects who returned to Iraq after studying at European universities. Both groups were highly influenced by modernism and also by calls to embrace local traditions. Second, there was the availability of international experiences such as

28 - Ibid. 29 - Elsheshtawy, Planning Middle Eastern Cities, 68.

30 - Hoshiar Nooraddin, “Globalization and the Search for Modern Local Architecture: Learning from Baghdad,” in Planning Middle Eastern Cities (New York: Routlege, 2004), 73. Nooraddin citing Rifat Chadirji Concepts and Influences: towards a Regionalized International Architecture - 1952-1978, 40-43 31 - Elsheshtawy, Planning Middle Eastern Cities, 68. 32 - Examples include Mullahwaish’s Modern Architecture in Iraq, Al-Daheen’s and El-Sheikh ‘s “Paradigms of Dealing with Context of Place in Iraqi Contemporary Architecture (1960-1980)”, Ali’s Architectural evolution of Residential Facades in Baghdad,” and Alsultani’s Architectural Verb and Text. 156 The Architects Collaborative (TAC); this was because, by the time Polservice suggested vertical housing, high-rise building construction technologies had already been introduced into Baghdad’s urban fabric by foreign architects who had helped to import an international style into the urban scenery of Baghdad after WWII.

The domination of international architects and firms without local control and the influence of modern architectural principles on local Iraqi architects have been described by Nooraddin in

2004 as symptoms of an increasing power of globalization and modernization forces. In

“Globalization and the Search for Modern Local Architecture: Learning from Baghdad,”

Nooraddin discusses the impact of the large number of international construction firms, political instability and power shifts on Baghdad’s architecture and urban character during the 20th century.

Nooraddin argues that the influences of international architects who applied modern principles and local architects who imported and even copied modern architecture and combined it with local architectural elements continuously and cumulatively shifted the traditional character of Baghdad towards modern planning.

In general, factors behind hybridity can be divided into two types. The first type involved architecturally related factors such as an increased conscience for preserving local heritage during the 1960s, a desire to include local and cultural symbolism, and the opening of several local architectural firms and foundation of the first architectural academic department in 1959 in

Baghdad. In addition to teaching international architecture, the architectural department focused on local traditional architecture.33 The second type involved non-architecturally related factors including economic improvement that was due to the sharp increase in oil prices combined with the political aspirations to modernize the capital city through mega structures such as high-rise

33 - Huda A. Al-Daheen, Shatha El-Sheikh, and Niem B. Manouna. “Paradigms of Dealing with Context of Place,” 104. 157 apartment complexes. Additionally, it is notable that planning for urban housing, which started during the mid-1960s, was also a factor behind hybridity. This is because Polservice’s guidelines stressed a modernization propaganda, but at the same time, its proposals called for a regard for the sociocultural heritage and environmental conditions of Iraq.34 These factors combined produced a certain architectural typology of urban housing in Baghdad that embraced a language of hybridity between international and traditional design values.

4.3.1.3 Design Approaches towards Achieving Hybridity

Contrast: Constructing Modernized Cityscape

Following Polservice’s proposals, and the political agenda of the Ba’ath Party, the implementation of vertical housing projects changed the cityscape and projected a modern image in Baghdad that contrasted against the traditional image of the existing urban fabric. In order to convey an image of cultural development and to escape the monotony of low-rise horizontal housing development (1 to 2-story), Polservice design guidelines stated that vertical housing should contrast the surrounding fabric in terms of height, structure, and materials. These guidelines became visible in the urban scenery after the implementation process began in the late 1970s. Two typologies of urban housing projects emerged in Baghdad during the 1970s and 1980s:

a- Low-rise apartment buildings (3-5 stories), including: Althoura1 project 1981, Althoura2

project 1981, Saidiya housing complex 1985, Abu Nuwas residential development 1984,

Doura project, and Zayoona project 1979

b- High-rise apartment complexes (over 5 stories), including: Haifa street residential

development 1985, and Salhiya (also known as 28 Nissan) housing project.

34 - Nabil Manaf M, “Identity in Housing: Comparison Study between Identity in Single- family Housing and Multi- family Housing for Baghdad city,” Master’s thesis (Baghdad: University of Technology, 2007), 53. See also “Law no. 1428,” the Facts of Iraq Newspaper, no. 2125 (April 18, 1971): 1088. 158 Figure 4.11: Showing the typology of urban housing constructed in Baghdad during the second half of the 20th century Source: Author

159 Figure 4.12: Showing locations of implemented mid-rise and high-rise urban housing projects in Baghdad in relation to the proposed locations of high-rise buildings set by Polservice. Source: Author

The conceptual design of these housing projects followed to a large extent the design criteria proposed by Polservice. Whereas housing projects were designed as apartment buildings, their locations followed Polservice’s map for high-rise buildings. These locations, according to

Polservice, would help create a modernized image of city centers and help apartment buildings to be viewed as urban focal points. Modern technologies and materials used in the design and construction of those buildings offered a visual contrast to the existing fabric and further emphasized a modernized cultural image of the capital city of Baghdad. For instance, the Haifa housing complex, which was built on a main street, was constructed to hide the traditional fabric 160 behind it and thus reflect a modern interface for the Iraqi capital for the Islamic Summit Conference in Baghdad in 1981, which ended up not taking place due to the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War.35

This visual contrast, as an effort of modernization, was criticized by local scholars and described as a source of alienation due to architectural contrasts between the existing traditional fabric and the modern residential projects. In 2007, Nabil claims that although the architecture of vertical housing could be categorized as neo-traditional architecture that incorporated elements and symbolism from the traditions of Iraq, nonetheless, its scale, when juxtaposed against the low- rise traditional architecture of the surrounding fabric, created an architectural contrast. In a similar view, this juxtaposition is described by Al-Dujaili in 2006 in an assessment of the contemporary urban scenery of Baghdad city as a phenomenon of architectural contrast and paradox made by the imposition of modern architecture upon traditional neighborhoods from the primary level of urban design to the secondary level of architectural details.36 This architectural contrast, as argued by

Abona and Albazzaz in 2007, was a source of architectural alienation.

In an analysis of two housing projects, the Hay Al-Siha in the Dora area and the 28 Nissan in the Al-Salhiya area, Abona and Albazzaz consider urban residential projects in Baghdad to be an example of alienation, architecturally, socially, and psychologically. They identify three types of alienation: physical/spatial, social, and psychological, and define the first as the rupture in the relationship between man and his surrounding built environment caused by the disintegration of the urban fabric. They argue that physical inconsistencies in a built environment influence architectural symbols, as well as create architectural contradictions and contrasts between adjacent areas. Abona and Albazzaz conclude that this contrast causes a fragmented built environment that results in alienation, discontinuity and a rupture in the relationships that links the built environment

35 - Al-Alusy, Nostos, 159. 36 - Al-Dujaili, “Contrast in Urban Environment,” The Iraqi Journal of Architecture 3, no. 9-10-11 (2006): 248. 161 with human relationships. Despite criticism during the 1970s and 1980s, high-rise urban housing continued to emerge in Baghdad. This continuation indicated the dominance of political agendas over architectural will in the process of cityscape transformation.

Standardization

Even with attempts to use local vocabularies, the resulting designs of urban housing in

Baghdad remained essentially modern. Imbued with the political ambitions of projecting a modern cultural image of Baghdad, international design and construction firms, such as TAC, DanGroup,

Larsen-Nielsen, and others, drew on their experience with high-rise building technologies. These technologies had previously been introduced into Baghdad’s cityscape almost 20 years prior to the construction of high-rise apartment complexes in Baghdad, such as in the construction of the main administrative building in Baghdad University, which notably had also been designed and constructed by foreign companies. The employment of the pre-cast system and mass-produced materials in urban housing projects helped construction companies to deliver the required number of units within a specific time schedule set by the Baghdad Mayoralty during the 1970s and 1980s.

These modern construction technologies, combined with standardized mass-produced elements and modern materials, together overshadowed any local flavor in the architecture of urban housing.

Modern Translation of Local Vocabularies

A review of the local literature indicates that attempts from local and international firms to translate local vocabularies into their designs for urban housing were limited. These attempts varied between symbolism, metaphor and analogy; their sources of inspiration also varied, yet they nonetheless often referenced conventional vernacular and religious architectural vocabularies.

These included Islamic symbolism such as the 8-pointed star symbol on the facades of the Saidiya complex, the pointed arches on the facades of Salhiya, and the exterior arcades of the Haifa

162 complex. An additional source of inspiration was the traditional courtyard house (also known as a

Baghdad house). Examples can be seen in the spatial organization of some urban housing projects.

For instance, in 2012, Ibraheem claims that the way buildings were clustered around common spaces in the Al-Salhiya housing project is metaphorical for the traditional courtyard system. In another example, in 2015, Amer Khudhair and Mariam Humood argue that the hierarchy of spaces according to privacy level (from public to private) in the Al-Salhiya housing project was a metaphor for the spatial organization of the traditional city, such as that of the city of Al-Kadumiya in historic Baghdad. In “Metaphoric Image in Contemporary Iraqi Architecture,” the authors insist that, following a postmodern desire for locality, metaphor was one of the main strategies used by

Iraqi architects to convey locality in designs from the late 1950s up to the present time. These authors identify Islamic sources for metaphoric designs in contemporary Iraqi architecture, asserting that the metaphor may vary in scale from a broad urban scale to that of a single building to the scale of elements used on the facades of buildings.37 These metaphoric designs have served as a reaction against the international style appearing in the 1960s and continuing to the present time.38 This reaction also appeared in the individuality and subjectivity of local architects in their designs, which eventually led to a lack of any single design typology.

In addition to typology concerns, the concept of multi-family housing construction in

Baghdad has been found to be problematic by several local scholars in regard to social values.

Privacy is a principal value emphasized in criticism from local scholars. For instance, in 2007, the

Iraqi architect, Nabil, in his critique of the architecture of residential projects from the 1970s to present, claims that, despite the use of traditional symbolism and analogy in housing projects,

37 - Ali Haider Saad Al-Jameel and Mazin Jaber Omar Al-Nima, “Metaphoric Image in Contemporary Iraqi Architecture,” AL Rafdain Engineering Journal 20, no. 1 (2012): 37. 38 - Ibid. 163 especially in vertical housing, housing projects designers failed to deliver a clear architectural identity rooted in the cultural and social values of the Iraqi family.39 He claimed that the spatial organization of urban housing created a lack of privacy — a main element in traditional housing typologies.40 Nabil’s perspective is similar to that of Al-Naqib in 1993, as he argues that high- density vertical housing is not appropriate for the residential privacy of Iraqi society.41 From a similar perspective, Ibraheem in 2012 critically analyzed the socio-spatial, economic, and environmental design of two housing projects in Baghdad built in two different periods: the Al-

Salhiya housing project (also known as the 28 Nissan) constructed in 1983, and the Sab`abkar constructed in 2008.

Ibraheem’s analysis runs parallel to Nabil’s criticism of housing projects in Baghdad in that Ibraheem believes that the design of housing projects in Baghdad, especially those constructed after 2003, shows a divergence from local social and cultural design values. Ibraheem argues that this spatial organization lacks basic requirements for social coherence and does not provide the required level of safety for residents. From this perspective, the Sab`abkar complex as well as the majority of the current residential projects have lacked the basic principles of proper planning — which Ibraheem refers to as grounded in the traditional Arabian city pattern.42 Ibraheem asserts that, although an architectural analogy can be drawn between the traditional courtyard house and the spatial organization of the 28 Nissan housing project in which the buildings are clustered

39 - Nabil, “Identity in Housing,” 1. Nabil refers to external forces of modernization and globalization as the main behind this failure and lack of locality in residential architecture. 40 - Ibid., 53. 41 - Iman Ali Al-Naqib, “High-density Housing in accordance with Behavioral Privacy of Iraqi Society,” dissertation (Baghdad University, 1993), 82. 42 - Dhabyah Ibraheem, “The Role of the Neighborhood in the Formation of Sustainable Housing Complexes in Iraq: The Field Study Area 28 Nissan and Sab `Abkar Residential Complexes,” Journal of the Planner and Development. no.26 (2012): 22. 164 around a common space that echoes a traditional court, the common space lacks the traditional functionality of a public space and thus does not provide a high level of social coherence.

In this context, although traditional vocabularies have been employed in urban housing design, they have been superficially employed and seem to have lost their traditional functionality.

“The beauty and aesthetics of traditional Baghdad architecture are largely related to their conceptual meanings. These conceptual meanings have a dialectical relationship with indoor and outdoor functions.”43 They are thus inseparable from their original meanings. Therefore, this design approach “reflect[s] a method that deals with the shell rather than the content.”44 Designing with vernacularism and nationalism in mind requires a better understanding of the social life and public spaces of traditional cities. Therefore, despite a sense of locality, the resulting architectural style of residential buildings has remained primarily modern. This modern image fits the modernization propaganda of Polservice’s guidelines that were originally created to serve the agenda of the political regime.

43 - Elsheshtawy, Planning Middle Eastern Cities, 73. 44 - Ibid. 165 Figure 4.13: Showing the stylistic typologies of urban housing architecture in Baghdad in regard to the employment of traditional vocabularies Source: Author

44.3.2 Socio-Spatial Integration

Despite the architectural visual disintegration in its design and height, following

Polservice’s proposals, the spatial design of housing projects did consider urban and social integration.45 Interstitial spaces between housing projects and their surrounding neighborhoods were carefully designed to achieve social and urban coherence.46 This spatial organization

45 - See Husain’s “A report on Abu Nuwas Development,” and Ibraheem’s “The Role of the Neighborhood in the Formation of Sustainable Housing Complexes in Iraq.” 46 - Ibraheem in 2012, compares two main projects in her study: Sab’abkar housing (2008) and 28 Nissan housing (1983). Although she did not focus on the fact that Sab’abkar is a gated community, she argues that previous housing projects constructed during the second half of the 20th century such as 28 Nissan represents a better alternative. Several examples can be seen in Baghdad of projects constructed during the second half of the 20th with an attention given to aspects of urban integration in the design of those projects. Good examples in Baghdad can be seen in Zayoona housing project (1977), Abunuwas housing project (1981), Alsalam housing project (1985), and Alsaydiah housing project (1987). 166 integrated vehicular and pedestrian circulation within the housing project into the surrounding existing fabric and the city street network. This integration allowed for a vibrant and traditional use of public spaces, such as markets and schools, by residents and those living in the immediately adjacent neighborhoods. This view is shared by Al-Haidari in 2010, who argues that the spatial design of housing projects in Baghdad during the second half of the 20th century, such the Abu

Nuwas, maintained an ease of urban access and urban integration with city street networks and the surrounding fabric.

Additionally, Al-Haidari claims that the design of housing projects maintained public use of public spaces and validated social and spatial values such as variety, privacy and flexibility.47

The spatial organization in housing projects constructed between the late 1970s and 1980s reflected the importance given to spatial integration between the housing projects and their immediately adjacent areas. This was visible in the attempts to maintain the traditional meaning of public spaces within and around the housing projects and to integrate the roads of housing projects into the street networks of neighborhoods. While most of the constructed urban housing projects are walled, they were non-gated, and their boundaries were designed to be permeable, which allowed access to public spaces and public amenities from outside the housing projects.

Facilities, whether clustered or dispersed, were designed to have their own entrances from the main

47 - Sana’ Sati’ Abbas Al-Haidari, “Housing Development, its Dimensions and its Constituents,” The Iraqi Journal of Architecture 6, no. 19-20-21 (2010): 49. 167 streets in order to provide ease of access to the inhabitants of the surrounding residential areas.

Figure 4.14: Showing urban housing projects constructed in Baghdad in regard to permeability. Source: Author

These design criteria were also applied to the walled, gated community of Complex no. 8 in

Hayfa residential project. This particular residential typology was brought by international firms to Iraq. In 1980, the Iraqi engineer Ma`ath Al-Alusy won a contest to redevelop Haifa street in

Baghdad.48 Following Polservice’s design guidelines and the political agenda for modernization,

Ma`ath Al-Alusy engineers proposed 10 pages of design criteria that took into consideration spatial integration with the existing fabric. As for architectural style, these criteria combined traditional

48 - Al-Alusy, Nostos, 156. 168 vocabulary with modern construction technologies and materials.49 The engineers’ recommendations were taken into consideration by the construction companies, which were primarily German, Dutch, and Korean, for all parts of the redevelopment project, with the exception of complex no. 8 which had been commissioned to a Dutch consultant engineering company. This project included nine buildings, 15 stories each, and public facilities including commercial, and educational facilities. Unlike the rest of the redevelopment project, complex no.

8 did not follow Ma`ath Al-Alusy’s design criteria.50 It followed the criteria of a Dutch construction company that was familiar with walled apartment complexes in Europe. The engineers designed complex no. 8 to be a walled and gated, and it came to be known as the Dutch buildings (locally known as the Holland buildings). Although gated, the main entrances of its public educational facilities were connected to Haifa street. In this context, residential safety was not bound by the necessity of socio-spatial isolation, nor the existence of gates and impermeable physical boundaries. This approach to conceptual design employed by local and international firms that incorporated permeability and accessibility provided a salient spatial connection between urban housing projects and their surrounding fabric.

Figure 4.15: Showing the 8 parts of Haifa housing project and the location of complex no.8 Source: Muhammed Al-Sakiny “Change in social structures and their impact on urban housing policies,” 200.

49 - Ibid. 50 - Ibid., 206. 169 Figure 4.16: Showing permeable boundaries of Haifa housing complex through the employment of arcades which, according to Ma`ath page 167, mimics the traditional arcades in Al-Rasheed street and Ghazi street/ kifah. Source: httpsewar.panet.co.ilimages20110202alfarizuz.jpg

170 Figure 4.17: Showing the type of boundaries and access points to Complex No.8 in Haifa project. Source: Author based on aerial view map

Figure 4.18: Showing the gate of Complex no.8 in Haifa housing project. Source: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/31833494.jpg

171 4.4 The Turn of the Century: Urban Housing as an Urban Blight

While the period from the late 1970s through the 1980s witnessed the construction of several vertical housing projects in Baghdad, the 1990s was a decade during which urban housing fell into disrepair. According to research conducted by the research department of the Ministry of

Construction and Housing (MOCH) titled “Housing Reality and Future Requirements and

Proposals,” no urban housing projects were constructed in Baghdad during the 1990s. According to the authors, this absence of housing projects was largely due to the economic recession in Iraq between the First and Second Gulf Wars, mainly due to the United Nations’ International Trade

Embargo imposed on Iraq from 1991 to 2003. In addition to the absence of new projects, several urban housing projects constructed in Baghdad before the 1990s faced neglect in state-provided maintenance and services due to a shortage of financing. The deterioration in services combined with a rising crime rate and security issues that arose after the 2003 war drove a large number of middle-income residents out of state-provided vertical housing projects, which in turn led to further deterioration of the architecture of residential projects. Although the housing sector was included in the Oil-for-Food program in 1996 that helped in a limited way to improve the housing sector, a deteriorated exterior architectural image due to a lack of maintenance, a loss of faith in public-sector provided services, along with diminished safety, reattached a social stigma to state- provided urban housing that Polservice’s guidelines and various housing acts had attempted to remove during the 1970s.

4.5 The Case of Saidiya State-built Housing

The planning for the Saidiya state-built housing (also known as the Al-Salaam neighborhood, and previously was known as the Saddam neighborhood) commenced in 1979, when the Baghdad Municipality issued a technical briefing soliciting bids for the design of an

172 urban community of 2000 housing units and their required facilities in the Saidiya neighborhood.

51 In September 1980, the Baghdad Municipality commissioned The Architects Collaborative

(TAC) of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to design the master plan. In response to the Municipality’s request for high standard design quality and construction technology, TAC employed a pre-cast system. Nonetheless, the system was the product of several international firms: an Indian contractor, Makers Development Services of Bombay, carried it out; an American firm, TAC, did the design; a Danish firm, Larsen-Nielsen, did the pre-casting; and another Danish company,

DanGroup, provided the site supervision.52 The project was completed in 1985.

4.5.1 Spatial Characteristics

Site Layout Pattern

The project was comprised of 3-story apartment blocks (60% of the units were 3-bedroom and 40% were 2-bedroom), a civic center of various social facilities, open spaces, and educational amenities. Unlike the grid pattern for the residential areas that surround it, the physical components of the Saidiya residential complex were arranged in clusters. Every three residential buildings were grouped in a cluster in a manner that formed an open space that acted primarily as a parking space for the inhabitants of those three buildings. Each six to eight clusters were connected by a vehicular loop road that provided a connection with the ring road (beltway) that bordered the residential complex.

51 - Peter W Morton and Johan M. Monsted, “Saydiyya Neighborhood Project, Baghdad,” The challenge of Humanitizing Large Housing Projects. (1985): 27. 52 - Ibid., 30. 173 Figure 4.19: Showing land use layout of Saidiya housing project Source: Author

This ring road was composed of two side roads that were connected to the main roads that lined the project from four sides. The central spine was left for amenities, including 16 schools (nursery, kindergarten, intermediate, and high schools) and playgrounds (soccer fields, tennis courts and other areas).53 In the project’s central area, a civic center was designed to serve not only the 2,000 units, but also the housing areas that already existed on the north side of the project.54 It included a medical center, a mosque, a youth and social center, a political headquarters building, a swimming pool, a supermarket, and an open-air souk.55 Pathways ran through the middle area of the project, connecting the clusters on both sides of the project (north and south) with the facilities and amenities distributed along the site.

53 - Ibid., 27. 54 - Ibid. 55 - Ibid., 29. 174 Individual Unit Layout

In the vision of the TAC designers, the design layout of the housing units reflected the modern living requirements of Iraqi families in Baghdad. This modernity was reflected in the interior design and openings of the housing units which were allocated on three sides of each unit.

This design was far from the design typology of the inward-looking traditional courtyard house, with the exception of the separation between public spaces (i.e., living room, lobby) from the rest of the apartment. This separation, according to TAC, echoed the privacy of the residential environments of Iraqi society. Following the requirements imposed by the Baghdad Mayoralty, the targeted household size was families of four to six people. This was evident in that 60% of housing units were designed to have three bedrooms and 40% were designed to have two bedrooms.

Figure 4.20: Showing 2 bedroom apartment unit type A. Following the notion of residential privacy in traditional residential architecture, the unit layout designed by TAC shows the isolation of the private spaces from the living room and the entrance lobby. It also conveys the goal of providing visual access to the front and back facades of the apartment unit.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Hayalsalaam/photos/a.10154948898070652.1073741829.928643156 51/10154948863415652/?type=3&theater

175 Figure 4.21: Showing 3-bedroom apartment unit type B. The unit layout shows similar isolation of private spaces to that in apartment unit type A

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Hayalsalaam/photos/a.10154948898070652.1073741829.928643156 51/10154948864925652/?type=3&theater

Figure 4.22: Showing 3- bedroom apartment unit type C. The unit layout similar space divisions to that of both type A, and type B.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Hayalsalaam/photos/a.10154948898070652.1073741829.928643156 51/10154948863415652/?type=3&theater

176 Interstitial Spaces: Permeability, Accessibility, and Urban Integration

The Saidiya housing complex project was designed to provide physical and social integration with the adjacent urban built fabric, while providing privacy for the inhabitants, with

3-story apartment blocks of 12 to 18 units clustered in such a way that allowed the formation of a semi-private space for inhabitants. The space in each cluster was connected with other semi-private spaces through pedestrian pathways and a vehicular loop road. Each cluster was also connected to the ring road of the residential complex. The connection that pointed along the ring road formed several non-gated entrances to the complex from the surrounding built neighborhoods. Moreover, a pedestrian bridge was added to connect the common areas of the complex with the immediately adjacent neighborhood on the north side of the project.

The common areas of the civic center were clustered in the central part of the project and along the central spine in a way that provided immediate adjacency with the residential areas on the four sides of the project, primarily the north and west sides. Pathways and roads ran through the project site, connecting the project’s residential clusters with facilities and amenities distributed along the site, and at the same time providing pedestrian and vehicular connections between the project and its surrounding fabric. The main entrances to these amenities, especially educational amenities, were immediately adjacent to the main ring road, to facilitate access for those from adjacent neighborhoods. The spatial organization of the project was carefully designed to create social and physical integration. Although residential parts of the complex project were walled, the walls were designed to ensure the permeability of the joinery area between the project and the surrounding built fabric by providing uncontrolled openings within those walls. Saidiya’s physical boundaries could be considered symbolic boundaries that provided the perception of isolation and privacy to the inhabitants of the complex.

177 Figure 4.23: Showing the type of circulation routs and their connection with the surrounding network in Saidiya project Source: Author

Figure 4.24: Showing the boundaries and access points at Saidiya housing project. The permeable fence, shown in dotted line, was added after 2005. Source: Author

178 Figure 4.25: Showing the spatial implications of the integrated design of Saidiya urban housing in terms of elementary schools. Source: Author based on GIS spatial analysis

Figure 4.26: Showing the spatial implications of the integrated design of Saidiya urban housing in terms of high schools. Source: Author based on GIS spatial analysis

179 Figure 4.27: Showing the spatial implications of the integrated design of Saidiya complex in terms of providing walkable distance to social amenities including a mosque and a club for inhabitants of Saidiya complex and the residential areas in the north side of the complex. Source: Author based on GIS spatial analysis tool: Buffer analysis, 800 meters.

4.5.2 Physical Appearance and Design Values: A Modern Design for Modern Iraq

Despite TAC’s previous experience with the nostalgic design of residential architecture in

Baghdad, limited traditional vocabularies were employed in the design of the Saidiya residential complex. During the mid-20th century, TAC designed a single-family housing typology in

Baghdad “that was completely traditional, with courtyard, blank walls, and flat roof for sleeping.”56 These design strategies were absent in their design of the Saidiya neighborhood.

Instead, TAC embraced the ideas of modernism. This is because TAC was established at

Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a center for the modernist movement in architecture by professors who had fled the dangerous political climate in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.57 They

56 - Ibid., 34. 57 - TAC was formed in 1945 from Gropius Benjamin, Thompson, John C. Harkness, Sarah P. Harkness, Jean B. Fletcher, Norman C. Fletcher, Robert S. McMillan, and Louis A. McMillan. 180 “replaced the Beaux-Arts tradition with the modernist ideas of sleek form, ultimate function, and elegant design.”58

Cambridge became famous for the work and presence of modernist architects such as Le

Corbusier, Benjamin Thompson, Josep Lluís Sert, and foremost Walter Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus in Germany. They believed in the role of architecture in the creation of a better modern society. Gropius, a founding member of TAC in 1945, maintained that: “Thus our aims become, not architecture for architecture's sake, but architecture for the sake of a healthy society.”59 Based on that belief, TAC’s architects attempted to create a modern residential atmosphere in Baghdad.

Traditional strategies were kept to a minimum in their designs of the Saidiya project. In the shopping center, the TAC employed a passive cooling wind-catcher scheme, “incorporating the same principles as those used in Baghdad in the old days. It has a cross on the top so that the wind will be driven downward into the space”60 They also considered the element of privacy, which appeared largely in the design of the single units. The main terrace was located on the “private” side of the unit facing the park.61 This side included the living room, dining room, and master bedroom. In order to create a visual sense of an Arabian traditional city, many large palm trees were planted throughout the site. This landscaping strategy had been previously employed by TAC in the design of Baghdad University.62

58 - http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/innovation/Architects%20Collaborative.html 59 - Gropius, Gropius, 256. Interestingly, Gropius left a major influence on the development of modern architecture in Iraq. Yet, in his designs of Baghdad university during late 1950s, he combined modernist design combined with inspirations from the Islamic city and the traditional Baghdad house. http://cambridgehistory.org/innovation/Architects%20Collaborative.html. 60 - Peter W. Morton and John M. Monsted, “Saydiyya Neighborhood Project, Baghdad,” 29. 61 - Ibid. 62 - Ibid. 181 Figure 4.28: Showing vocabularies of Islamic architecture employed in the mosque building at Saidiya complex. Source: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Hayalsalaam/photos/?tab=album&album_id= 10150452830480652

Figure 4.29: Showing vocabularies of Islamic architecture employed in the Market open spaces at Saidiya complex. Source: https://www.facebook.com/Hayalsalaam/photos/a.10150452830480652.628003. 92864315651/10157053562505652/?type=3&theater

182 Figure 4.30: Showing parts of the civic center within the site of Saidiya housing project. The façade employs arched openings similar to those found in traditional residential architecture in Baghdad Source: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Hayalsalaam/photos/?tab=album&album_id= 10150452830480652

Figure 4.31: Showing a limited employment of traditional vocabularies in the architecture of educational facilities in Saidiya project. These include the arches on the front façade and the eight- pointed star on the fence in reference to geometric patterns of Islamic art. Source: Https://www.facebook.com/pg/Hayalsalaam/photos/?tab=album&album_id= 10150452830480652

183 Nevertheless, the design of the Saidiya housing complex as a whole was described as a

“style which does not reflect tradition, either in the design of the residential unit or in the layout of the blocks. […] It is not good architecture. It is just construction to solve a problem.”63 In this comment on the modern design of the Saidiya project, primarily in reference to the utilization of a western living style in the apartment buildings rather than in courtyard houses with flat roofs, TAC architect Peter W. Morton claims that Iraqis during the 1970s and 1980s were “very western in their tastes. They may not have turned their backs completely on their local style, but by now sites have become scarce, land has become very valuable, and building[s] had to go vertical. […] Along with Western clothes, Western habits, Western connections, Iraqis are beginning to accept apartment living, and that is what we were asked to do.”64 From these comments, it can be argued that the design strictly followed the requirements of the Baghdad Mayoralty for the modernization of the capital city – and at the same time, it followed Polservice’s design recommendations for the employment of multi-family housing instead of single-family housing as a solution for the housing shortage.

4.5.3 Socio-economic Characteristics

Peter W. Morton, in an interview with a TAC engineer regarding the Saidiya project’s economic aspects, stated:

These housing units cost approximately $80,000 to $90,000 per unit (they will be sold to Iraqis on a very reasonable loan basis), a cost that includes all site amenities — the entire civic center, the mosque, and the underground utilities. We think it is a bargain at that price. Other housing projects in Baghdad cost three times as much and do not look half as good as this one does.65

63 - Ibid., 34. 64 - Ibid., 34,35. 65 - Peter W. Morton and John M. Monsted, “Saydiyya Neighborhood Project, Baghdad,” 34. 184 Loan payments associated with owning an apartment unit in the Saidiya complex attracted middle-income employees from various government ministries. The loan system also allowed lower-middle-income families to own housing units in the complex. Due to the ownership system, a mixed-income community was created in the complex. The shared amenities and open spaces attracted groups of various socio-economic levels from the neighboring areas of the Saidiya complex.

4.5.4 Spatial Translation of Residential Safety

Although various design strategies were taken into consideration by TAC to provide residential security to the inhabitants of the Saidiya complex, further strategies were made by the inhabitants, and later by government authorities, to deal with crime. The original design of the

Saidiya housing project relied on strategies other than physical isolation (i.e., fences and controlled gates) for security, such as the hierarchy of spaces and the employment of symbolic barriers around the project such as green spaces, among others. Nonetheless, after occupancy commenced, changes were made by the inhabitants to improve security, such as the addition of iron grids on the openings and fences around green spaces on the back of residential buildings to physically isolate apartment units on the ground floor from their surrounding open spaces. After 2005, due to a high rate of crime and ethnic violence, the Saidiya complex was surrounded by a fence on three sides (north, east, and south). Concrete barriers were also added around common amenities on the north side of the project to restrict and limit access. However, amenities remained public and accessible. In order to explore and compare the various strategies for residential security at the Saidiya complex with strategies used in recent housing projects, this research will analyze the Saidiya housing project based on CPTED principles, as discussed earlier in the literature review.

185 Table 4.3 Applying the Principles of CPTED Theory: Saidiya state-built housing

1- Surveillance Strategies employed Straight lines Visible access to and hidden spots individual buildings: The main entrance and main lobby including the stair area in each residential building were clearly visible from the common spaces through the use of permeable doors.

Lighting: Open spaces and public routes are equipped with street lighting. These include:

1- The middle spine that separated the two sides of the project, pathways, and civic center area within the site layout of the project was equipped with street lighting fixtures.

186 2- Entrances and lobbies of individual residential buildings were designed to be automatically lit.

3- Parking areas were located in front of the residential buildings and were visible to inhabitants and equipped with lighting.

187 Optimized use of ground level The ground levels of residential buildings were designed to serve as a residential function of the building and thus did not generate hidden spots.

Locations of activity generators Open spaces in each cluster were not designed to encourage social activities, nor to include playgrounds. Rather, they were designed as parking areas. Social activities were meant to occur in the areas of the civic center in the middle part of the project area. Yet, the spaces between the residential clusters included green fenced spaces that created play areas. These spaces also included local stores, scattered throughout the site.

Local store within the residential area

188 Straight lines of visibility from apartment units The openings and main balconies inside the residential units faced the parking areas from one side, and semi-private green spaces on the other. These openings provided what Jane Jacobs has termed “eyes on the street”. This concept is supported by the height of the buildings, at 3 stories.

2-Access Hierarchy of spaces Control The spatial design of the layout offer a flow of spaces that differ in the level of privacy. This flow provides privacy to the residential spaces at the scale of residential building clusters, and at the same time, it ensures public access to social amenities at the scale of the site plan.

189 3-Territorial symbolic barriers at the reinforce-ment scale of the site The buffer area, which was made of a separate route, or a ring road around the project, provided a symbolic barrier and reinforced a sense of territoriality.

Symbolic barriers at the scale of the project In addition to the symbolic barriers provided by the ring road and landscape elements, a permeable fence that included several pedestrian and vehicular access points was added after 2005 on three sides of the complex. Although permeable, these symbolic barriers generated a sense of territoriality around these residential areas.

Physical barriers at the scale of a single building The green spaces behind the buildings were equipped with solid fences and gates that defined private spaces for the residents of each building within the cluster.

190 4- Maintenance Public-sector provided and manage- maintenance ment. The project was designed to rely on public-provided services in addition to the public participation of inhabitants. Yet, after the economic collapse of the 1990s, urban housing suffered deterioration due to limited public-provided funding for maintenance.

Public-private management Each urban housing project had its own housing management staff, comprised of elected personnel from the community of the housing complex. This type of management encouraged a sense of community and public participation.

191 4.6 Chapter Review

This chapter focused on a critical examination of state-built housing projects in connection with the political efforts that supported the implementation process of those projects during the

1970s and 1980s and has indicated that there were several factors that governed these state-built housing typologies and socio-spatial characteristics. These factors are primarily related to politics and the economy and have been summarized below.

- The centralized socialist system left its impact on urban housing projects in Baghdad. The

political authority ensured that its affiliated housing entities corresponded to its agenda to

modernize and transform the cityscape of Baghdad. A typology of high-rise apartment

complexes was employed to contrast with the existing low-rise residential fabric and

convey a modern image. The political aspiration of modernization is quite evident in the

analysis of the modern architectural image of the case study of Saidiya.

- Economic improvements resulting from the increase in revenue from oil exports provided

financial support for the government to exploit some local and mainly foreign expertise in

the design and implementation of mid-rise and high-rise urban housing projects, such as

the state-built housing project of Saidiya, based on technological advances in the

construction industry.

The analysis of the Saidiya state-built housing indicates that, although the modernized image of state-built housing projects was a source of visual disintegration, the spatial design was carefully shaped to ensure socio-spatial integration with the surrounding fabric. The spatial integration that is evident from the analysis of state-built housing projects constructed during the

1970s and 1980s indicates that the concept of privatized gated communities was still far from becoming a reality. Although complex no. 8 in the Haifa state-built housing shows early signs of

192 such communities, it cannot be described as one since its amenities are designed to be shared with the surrounding community. Additionally, it is a government-built state-built housing and therefore, cannot be considered as a privatized residential project. This is primarily because the socialist economic system of the Ba’athist regime has hampered the role of the private sector in housing production. While state-built housing projects emerged as an architectural symbol of modern life in Baghdad during the 1980s, it came to represent an urban blight during the 1990s due to the absence of financial support from the governing political authority. Due to this as well as the centralized system and absence of the private-sector’s role in urban housing production, state-built housing programs and projects disappeared from Baghdad’s city development plans, and existing ones faced neglect and deterioration.

Figure 4.32: Shows the relationship between politics and urban housing production between 1973 to 2003. Source: Author

193 Chapter 5 Gated Communities and the Neoliberal Approach to Housing Provision (2003-2017)

5.1 Chapter Preview

Despite the social stigma of living in apartment complexes caused by the lack of public services and maintenance since the early 1990s, recent years have witnessed a strong return of urban housing projects into the urban scenery of Baghdad. In this chapter, this research will aim to critically examine recent housing typologies established between 2003 and 2017 as compared to housing typologies constructed during the second half of the 20th century, as well as the factors that have led to the re-emergence of urban housing projects with an emphasis on the political and economic context that surrounded these projects. This examination will help to identify the factors and context behind the regained popularity of urban housing projects. In order to do so, this chapter is divided into several sections.

The first section examines the implications of the political and economic shift that occurred during the early years of the 21st century in Iraq on approaches to the provision of urban housing, housing financing programs, and housing policies. The second section will critically review housing typologies in terms of their social, spatial, and physical characteristics with an emphasis on the recent trend and phenomenon of gated communities (GCs). The third section will review scholarly debate to uncover the narratives behind gating in Baghdad, gating’s various typologies, and its potential socio-spatial impact and implications. In order to gain a deeper perspective on recent urban housing development in Baghdad, the final section will be dedicated to the case study of the Al-Ayadi Housing Project (AHP) with a focus on typology, characteristics, and implications.

194 5.2 Urban Housing and the Shift from Socialism to Neoliberalism in Iraq

Events have unfolded rapidly in Iraq since the rise of a new political regime in 2003. In

June 2004, political control was transferred from the Coalition Provisional Authority to the Iraqi interim government.1 Later, in 2005, political power was transferred from the Iraqi interim government to an elected government. On October 15 of the same year, a new Iraqi Constitution was approved in a national referendum, in which the system of government was described as a democratic, federal, representative, and parliamentary republic.2 Consequently, new laws were passed and others were revised. These included new investment laws that were passed in 2006 to encourage investment in various sectors, with an emphasis on the housing sector.

The new investment laws were the inevitable result of an economic shift in the country from a socialist system to a neoliberal system, which became possible after the end of the United

Nations’ sanctions of the international trade embargo (1991 to 2003).3 This event allowed Iraq to join the world market and embrace a neoliberal economic system that minimized and decentralized the role of the government in providing basic needs such as urban housing. These combined political and economic changes opened the way for several housing programs, policies, and projects to develop in support of the economic shift.

1 - Scruton, The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Political Thought, 169. From 19 March to 9 April of 2003, a military operation of a U.S.-led coalition forces has ended the Ba'ath socialist regime in Iraq. Following this event, the Coalition Provisional Authority headed by the American diplomat Paul Bremer, became the transitional government in Iraq. The political power was later transferred to an Iraqi Interim Government on June 2004. Later in May 2005, the Iraqi Interim Government was replaced by the Iraqi Transitional Government. The latter was replaced by an elected government in May, 2006. 2 - Ibid. In January 2005, the United States cooperated with U.N. officials to sponsor democratic elections that would represent most of Iraq`s most important religious and ethnic groups to form a representative democratic government. A representative democracy is a political system in which decisions are made by a collective choice of representatives of citizens. 3 - In August 1990, a financial and trade embargo was imposed on Iraq by the United Nations Security Council. Because economy in Iraq had been highly dependent on the revenue from oil exports, the U.N. sanctions has caused Iraqi economy to decline during the 1990s. This decline was mirrored in several sectors in Iraq. The housing sector for instance, suffered the absence of urban housing projects. 195 Not only to mark the shift in the economic system, the urge to invite the private sector to participate in housing production emerged as a solution after the new Iraqi government came to realize its incapacity to satisfy the massive housing demand that continues to rise in Iraq. A survey prepared by Planning and Development Collaborative International (PADCO) in cooperation with the Iraqi Central Office of Statistics indicates that government-built housing (i.e., multi-story state- built housing, some Ministries, and universities and state-owned construction company-built staff housing) that occurred in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s only met about 15% of housing needs:

The housing deficit has been estimated to be at least 1.6 million units. As early as 1981, for example, the Polservice Study recommended that plans be pursued to build a similar number of housing units between 1981 and 2001. A detailed program was developed with targets for public and private sector production, but only 13,000 housing units were built during the period.4

The role of the private sector in providing urban housing was discouraged by the Ba’athist government-controlled system of housing production.5 The socialist, centralized system of housing production resulted in unmet residential needs not only in terms of housing, but also in required services. Even recent plans of the Ministry of Construction and Housing (MOCH) to construct

100,000 housing units to revive its role as a housing producer will only address between 5% and

10% of the estimated housing needs.6 The government found itself unable to close the housing gap in Iraq. Estimations of the housing shortage in 2015 varied from two to three million units with nearly 600,000 of these units needed in Baghdad alone.7 This housing shortage, according to a

4 - MOCH, “Iraq Housing Market Study Main Report,” 8. 5 - Ibid., ii. According to this report, since the early 1980s, the private sector has been providing 80-90 percent of housing production in the form of private contractors constructing individual houses that are owned and financed by individual owners. 6 - Ibid., 9. As part of its plan to reactivate the role of public sector in housing provision, the MOHC has announced plans to construct 100,000 housing units during. The Housing Commission and Housing Fund are expected to produce 42% of these units, the General Union of Cooperatives 40%, and other ministries 18%. 7 - From the Iraq Investment Map 2015. http://investpromo.gov.iq/?id=146. See also Baghdad Provincial Strategic Plan (2008-2012). 196 study prepared by the research department of the MOCH, is the result of several conditions that compiled since the early 1990s. These conditions include:

 The decline of the state’s role in the provision of housing units, and the general

neglect of the housing sector

 The lack of the private sector’s role in the housing sector and the reluctance of

investors to invest in housing due to the lack of appropriate economic and

legislative incentives

 Low income per capita due to a significant economic decline since the United

Nations’ sanctions began in 1990

 The high cost of construction and the shortage of professionals and

skilled workers

 The scarcity of local construction industries and building materials and lack of

modern administrative and technical capacities

 The absence of a clear, stable, and comprehensive housing policy

 A shortage in housing financing for the construction of new buildings and

improvement and expansion of existing housing units and infrastructure services

 The increasing phenomenon of displacement and informal housing that spread after

the events that followed the war of 20038; these phenomena added new

complications and have forced a large percentage of Baghdad’s population to create

informal housing settlements in poor conditions that lack the simplest services and

amenities9

8 - MOCH, “Housing Reality and Future Requirements and Proposals,” 1, 2. 9 - Informal settlements and slums are residential communities, often unplanned, and built without a license on state property or property of others and are characterized by the concentration of poverty, the lack of public services. It is usually constructed by a segment of society who took the initiative to solve their housing problems on their own 197 These conditions combined have resulted in limited access to land and finances for housing. “The Iraqi government is aware that public financing will not be enough. Private capital and expertise will be needed to build and sustain the huge infrastructure investment needed. In housing, for example, the government expects that up to 85% of home building will be carried out by the private sector.”10 The government saw the neoliberal approach as the ultimate way to take the burden of housing provision off the government’s shoulders.

outside the scope of authorities. According to recent data obtained from the Central Statistical Organization of Iraq (CSO), there is around ,4,752000 informal housing units in Iraq.33.4%which equals 752,304 informal housing units are in Baghdad located in about 335 locations in and around the city of Baghdad. CSO, “Results Report of Preliminary Survey of Informal Housing Settlements for the year 2013,” 6. http://www.cosit.gov.iq/ar/pop-main/demographic. The Governorate of Baghdad, in dealing with the situation, has decided to give ownership rights to some of these settlements based on certain criteria indicated in housing regulation number 418 in 2013. http://www.cosit.gov.iq/ar/random-house. In addition, the Iraq National Housing Policy (2010), item number 2.7 provides another way to deal with informal settlements. It includes two approaches were described to deal with informal housing. First, upgrading: in situ development and Physical improvements to infrastructure. Second, redevelopment: the removal of most or all existing buildings and construction of new ones. 10 - NIC, “Investment Overview of Iraq,” 60. 198 Source: page iv page Source: MOCH,“IraqStudy Report,”Market Housing Dec.2006. Main to Showing presented reasons Figure5.1: byPlanning the Ministry necessitythe for the of of transformation a a indecentralized system housing production

199 As a result, a neoliberal approach in housing provision was put into action by the government to deal with an increasing demand for housing. Despite the housing programs during the second half of the 20th century, the housing shortage has continued to worsen and public- provided housing has failed to keep up with population growth rates.11 In order to convince the private sector to invest in housing production and activate the neoliberal approach, the government has initiated various programs and strategies for housing development in Iraq.12 One of these was the issuance of the new investment laws in 2006 to facilitate private-sector access to land and finances.13 During the era of the previous political regime, urban housing provision depended solely on the public sector, and land ownership was restricted to Iraqi citizens. Through the amendment of investment law no. 13 of 2006, the Iraqi government guaranteed full ownership rights of land by local, Arab, and foreign investors to attract residents to participate in urban housing provision based on law no. 2 of 2010 and the amendment of the statute no. 7 that organized lease rates for lands invested in various fields.14 In addition, law no. 13 has permitted “distribution of land by either providing it as an incentive for investment in development projects or as long- term leases of up to 50 years.”15

Another strategy taken by the government was the establishment of the National

Investment Commission (NIC) in 2009 to facilitate, organize, and attract Iraqi, Arab, and foreign capital investment. Such an investment strategy, according to a statement published NIC, was poised to “contribute to the transfer of knowledge and technology in all Iraqi economic sectors

11 - MOCH, “Iraq Housing Market Study Main Report,” 8. 12 - From the Investment Map of Iraq 2015 on the official website of NIC. http://investpromo.gov.iq/nic_flash/refrence_materials/investmentmap_ar/index.html#p=98. 13 - See Iraq Investment Laws 2006, chapter three: Benefits and Guarantees, Article 10. Published on http://www.iraqitic.com/maga_ten/ten_64_63_62_61.pdf. 14 - See the statement of Dr. Sami Al Araji; the chairman of the National Investment Commission in Iraq on the official website of NIC: http://investpromo.gov.iq/ 15 - NIC, “Investment Overview of Iraq,” 60. 200 currently being transformed from a centralized economy to a market economy.”16 An examination of proposals for future residential development from the NIC, the Mayoralty of Baghdad, and the

MOCH indicates that the majority of urban housing development has been to be financed through investment.17

As important institutions for the provision of financial support, banks are expected to participate on a large scale in urban housing development in Iraq. An MOCH report titled “Iraq

Housing Market Study Main Report” identified three financing sources for urban housing in Iraq:

The Real Estate bank, the National Housing Fund, and commercial banks. The Real Estate bank was the only source of housing finance in Iraq during the Ba’athist regime. After the political shift of 2003, in order to enhance housing development, in 2004 the Iraqi government created the

National Housing Fund by using oil revenue “to provide a quick, simplified source of housing finance, especially for lower-income households.”18 It also has provided financing for some urban housing projects from the Housing Commission. According to the aforementioned MOCH report, the expectation is that the units of urban housing projects will be sold to low-income families who will use loans from the Housing Fund to purchase them. However, it has been pointed out that “the costs are far higher than can be met by any of the loans from the Fund.”19 In this context, loans would only benefit middle-income purchasers of housing units, especially in projects constructed by the private sector. In addition to public banks, commercial banks are also expected to play an important role in housing finance; yet, as with the Housing Fund, low-income earners are indirectly

16 - Official website of NIC, Iraq. http://investpromo.gov.iq/ 17 - See Baghdad investment map 2017 issued by Baghdad Investment Commission BIC on http://www.baghdadic.gov.iq/projects_en. Also see the Mayoralty of Baghdad investment map 2016 on https://www.amanatbaghdad.gov.iq/page.php?link=Investment&lang=ar. See also, proposed projects of MOCH on http://www.moch.gov.iq/ProjectsList.aspx?TypeID=4&language=ar&MID=30. 18 - MOCH, “Iraq Housing Market Study Main Report,” 25. The National Housing Fund of Iraq was established with a start-up capital fund of $200 million. It is expected to make small loans at no or very low interest rates and to be repaid over two to five years. 19 - MOCH, “Iraq Housing Market Study Main Report,” 25. 201 excluded. Commercial banks focus only on funding individuals and businesses with acceptable credit ratings.

Nonetheless, loans from the three above types of banks in Iraq are expected to support the government’s transition from a socialist, centralized system to a neoliberal decentralized system in housing production and housing finance. Both private and public banks initiated and/or revised their regulations in regard to the provision of loans for purchasers of housing units in urban housing projects, primarily those produced within the Million Housing Units Plan (MHUP). For instance, while most loan types from public-based banks have emphasized the construction of single-family housing, the Iraqi government passed new regulations to facilitate loan processing and to include purchasers of housing units in newly constructed urban housing projects such as the Housing Fund

,on May 19 م ر و/bank regulation no. 32 in 2011, and the Real Estate bank regulation no.56428

2016. These regulations can provide loans of up to 35 million Iraqi Dinars (ID) for building a new house or buying an apartment in newly constructed commercial housing. These changes in housing programs and provision approaches have demonstrated government efforts in support of the neoliberal system.

202 Table 5.1: Comparing the three main financial sources for urban housing projects Source: “Iraq Housing Market Study Main Report,” 26.

203 In addition to housing programs, this political and economic support of the neoliberal system was also echoed in housing policies. In 2010, a new National Housing Policy was released after an 18-month study and analysis of housing sector conditions in Iraq. Almost 30 years after its collaboration with the Japan Consortium of Consulting Firms (JCCF) to develop a housing policy for Baghdad, Housing & Urban Development Consultants Geoffrey Payne & Associates

(GPA) returned to Iraq to assist with the preparation of a new housing policy. Supported by United

Nations Human Settlements Programme, GPA worked under the United Nations Development

Group (UNDG) Iraq Trust Fund, as well as under the Iraqi Ministry of Construction and Housing.

This collaboration resulted in a new National Housing Policy that was released in October 2010.

The objectives of this policy include the facilitation of access to decent housing, increased housing production and housing choices as far as typology and location, increased government ability to address the needs of fragile groups, insurance of improved quality of new housing, and the improved ability of homeowners to improve the conditions of their existing housing.20

An examination of the National Housing Policy indicates that several items in particular have been designed to support the private sector as the main provider for housing in Iraq. One of the five key principles that guided the formulation of the housing policy states that the private sector is to be the largest overall provider of housing.21 “The new policy shifts the Government of

Iraq’s focus from being a primary provider of housing to enabling the scaling up of housing delivery through the private sector and other partnerships.”22 According to D. Mbye, the Head of

Mission of the UN-HABITAT Iraq Programme:

20 - National Housing Policy (2010): 9. Housing policy defines “Decent housing” as affordable housing with an adequate amount of space, adequate protection from the elements, and access to basic infrastructure, social services and employment areas. 21 - Ibid., 10. 22 - Geoffrey Payne & Associates GPA, Iraq National Housing Policy. http://newgpa.org.uk/iraq-national-housing- policy/ 204 As Iraq’s estimated housing shortage reaches approximately 2 million housing units, the Government of Iraq has concluded that centralized systems of housing delivery can no longer address the country’s increasing housing deficit. Through this policy the Ministry of Construction and Housing outlines how the Government of Iraq will establish an enabling environment to support the engagement of other actors in radically scaling up housing provision, in particular the private sector.23

In short, these new national housing policies in Iraq are in line with a new neoliberal economic orientation and a new legal framework for investment that supports this orientation.

These policies are symptomatic of the political shift in the country that has marked the end of the socialist system and the state’s monopoly over housing provision, allocation, financing, and delivery in Iraq.

The changes in housing programs, policies, and investment laws opened way for the commencement of the MHUP in Iraq. In 2010, the NIC announced the commencement of a housing investment plan to develop approximately 1,000,000 housing units in total across Iraq’s

15 governorates. The Baghdad Governorate has the largest number of those units which is estimated to be 224,000 units. MHUP is to be implemented by investment companies and private developers under the supervision of the public sector.24 To support this plan, the NIC proposed the

Housing Purchase Program for buyers of housing units. It proposed two mortgage options:

 A down payment of 25% of the purchase price upon signing a contract, to be held

in escrow with the Consortium of Banks. 10% of the purchase price due upon

delivery of the unit, with the remaining amount to be financed by a mortgage lender

amortized over 10 years.

23 - The National Housing Policy (2010): iv. 24 - Ibrahim Ibrahim, [NIC: Commencement in Alrasheed Military Camp Housing Project Once Received from the MoD]. Almada Press, no. 3223. Baghdad 23 Nov. 2014. http://almadapaper.net/. Several housing project are currently under construction to reach the goal of the million housing units. The first of these investment projects is the city of Basmaya. 100,000 housing units implemented by the Korean Company “Hanwha.” Another example is Alzuhor housing project. A gated community of 5400 units in Alniariah and Kayara district inside Baghdad city. Both projects are still under construction. 205  A down payment of 20% of the purchase price upon signing a contract, to be held

in escrow with the Consortium of Banks. 7% of the purchase price due upon

delivery of the unit, with the remaining amount to be amortized over 10 years.

A review of the design recommendations for recent housing programs and policies indicates a lack of specificity and absence of a single vision. Although the NIC aimed to supervise the construction of one million units, its design recommendations for investors were limited, and to some degree, they contradicted those recommended by the National Housing Policy in 2010. In a published statement on the MHUP, the NIC stated that it would look favorably on developers who employed creative design solutions and modern building technologies which were more efficient in terms of cost and time. It also stated that housing units would likely be required to

“comply with basic criteria municipal requirements and regional market demands in terms of size, layout, energy efficiency, construction material.”25 The NIC believed that, in light of housing shortages and available plots, it was more efficient that units be housed in apartment buildings.

The statement also amended basic requirements for housing units, stating that each apartment having an area between 100 to 140 square meters should contain, at a minimum, three bedrooms, a living room, bathroom, kitchen, and storage area. While high-rise apartment buildings were recommended for urban areas, row houses and smaller apartment buildings, with the same apartment size requirements, were recommended for locations in rural areas outside the major cities.

While residential towers were highly recommended the NIC, they were not encouraged by the National Housing Policy. This policy stated that “while residential towers may be appropriate for some high-value central urban neighborhoods, they will not be encouraged as a primary model

25 - NIC, “Investment Overview of Iraq,” 60 206 of housing development, given their higher cost, greater energy consumption, and weaker connection between the household and the community, on the one hand, and the natural environment, on the other.”26 In terms of design considerations, although many urban housing projects were constructed in Iraq during the second half of the 20th century, the policy indicated that only a few of them represented socially, aesthetically, and environmentally successful models for housing development in Iraq. Therefore, policy 2.2.5 stated that the MOCH would develop and promulgate alternative design models for housing projects, with an emphasis on medium-density, low-rise, multi-family housing.

In contrast to design recommendations from the NIC, the National Housing Policy recommended that the design of new housing projects find inspiration in the traditional models of low-rise, courtyard housing developed in Iraq and other countries in the region because these models are environmentally sustainable. They offer “their inhabitants a comfortable, secure environment in which to live, work, and interact with the community.”27 The policy criticized existing housing typologies (subdivisions with detached single-family housing on individual plots, residential towers, and medium-rise apartment complexes) for having a western style that lacked traditional inspiration, and for offering residents little contact with nature, even on a small scale.28

Compared to design guidelines proposed by previous political regimes that appeared in the

Doxiadis proposals of 1955 and the Polservice proposals of 1965 and 1973, more recent calls for traditional inspirations have lacked any motivation for projecting nationalism or local architectural identity. Traditional inspirations have been encouraged by the National Housing Policy merely for the purpose of environmental and social sustainability.

26 - National Housing Policy of Iraq (2010): 18. 27 - Ibid. 28 - Ibid., 17. 207 The policy suggested that the MOCH develop a number of different housing design prototypes. These prototypes include:

 Low-rise, medium-density housing, and multi-family housing such as attached and

semi-attached terrace housing of two to four stories tall. Terrace housing should be

designed to allow residents to have a private or shared back yard and direct access

down the stairs and to the street (without long, double-loaded corridors). “Since

terrace housing creates a near-continuous ‘street wall’ (façade), streets tend to be

more comfortable and pleasant to walk through, and neighborhoods are often be

more dynamic as a results.29 It was argued that housing projects composed of many

apartment buildings set out geometrically on the land did not generate any kind of

dynamic street environment.

 Higher-density apartment blocks (four to five story walkups) that could be used to

fit more housing into a smaller area, with buildings oriented toward public spaces,

such as the street, parks and open spaces, and recreational facilities. High-rise

development, whether residential or commercial, would also be located via city-

wide development plans in designated clusters, rather than distributed throughout

the city.

 Single-family detached housing, although not as “environmentally successful as

terrace housing, [would] nonetheless be included as one of the housing design

prototypes because of (1) its ability to facilitate a strong connection to the land and

(2) the strong preference of many Iraqi households for this type of housing.”30

29 - Ibid., 18. 30 - Ibid. 208 Although design criteria of urban housing set by NIC and by the National Housing Policy differ on certain points, neither of them indicates the necessity of the physical isolation of residential complexes from their surroundings. In fact, urban integration is one of the design criteria mentioned in the Urban Housing Standards Manual, released in 2010, the same year that the NIC statement and National Housing Policy were released. Despite those criteria, socio-spatially isolated GCs have become an urban phenomenon and a primary typology for urban housing in

Baghdad.

The MHUP plan is one of the housing programs initiated by the public sector to deal with housing shortage issues in Iraq, but at the same time, in its essence, it is a housing investment project on a massive scale. It has been designed to involve private-sector developers in the fulfillment of housing demands. The proposal for financial facilitation and the employment of public and private banks to support MHUP is expected to encourage purchasers as well as investors to participate in urban housing production.

During the same year, 2010, the Iraqi Ministry of Planning released a National

Development Plan for the years 2010-2014. According to a statement describing the 5-year plan, the previous Minister of Planning, Ali Ghalib Baban, stated that the plan forecasts future developments and proposes a new economic philosophy based on a market economy that provides opportunities for local and foreign investment.31 Later, in 2013, this plan was followed by another development plan for the years 2013-2017, also published by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning. It revealed that only 13% of the housing demand was met between 2010-2013. It also revealed that

31 - Ministry of Planning, “National Development Plan for the Years 2010-2014,” 3. See also National Development Plan for the Years 2013-2017, 50. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved= 0ahUKEwiO1rqzxpLSAhVLSCYKHVqDCMMQFggaMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unesco.org%2Feducatio n%2Fedurights%2Fmedia%2Fdocs%2F795ff8cb2cd3987aba07572026cdb6d0958cd27a.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFa67E_ sEe-PSPetUeNx52JT1xfpA. 209 the low rate of housing production was largely due to the poor efficiency of public and private sector contracting companies.32 The new plan hoped for an increased percentage of housing production, and thus provided similar recommendations regarding the necessity of making the private sector the main provider for housing. It also provided a similar recommendation regarding housing demands for low-income groups, stating that the public sector should emphasize a poverty reduction strategy by building low-cost housing compounds.33 A comparison between the two 5- year plans (2010-2014 and 2013-2017) and the new National Housing Policy of 2010 indicates that both 5-year plans encourage the public sector to focus solely on housing needs of fragile groups (low-income and lower-income) and leave the housing demands of other income groups to be satisfied by the private sector.34 These recommendations led to the rise of a new housing typology in Baghdad in 2012, namely low-cost, state-built housing provided by the public sector to meet the housing demands of low-income groups.

The impact of the aforementioned programs, policies, and recommendations has been visible in the percentages of housing production and housing finance. For instance, in 2009, housing financing from the National General Budget in Iraq decreased from 5.5% in 2004 to 1%.35

Nonetheless, housing production has increased since the formation of the NIC. While approximately 84.4% of total housing production between 2010 and 2015 has been delivered by

32 - Ministry of Planning, “National Development Plan for the Years 2013-2017,” 43. 33 - Ibid., 50. On the 16th of September 2006, the Iraqi Ministry of Planning formed the Higher Committee for Poverty Reduction Policies, which includes members from various Iraqi institutions such as the CSO, to compute the national poverty line, draw a geographical map of poverty, and determine the socioeconomic characteristics of low-income households. The first report was published in 2009. It held five objectives: Increased salaries for the poor, improved health status of the poor, expansion and improvement of education for the poor, improved housing environment for the poor, effective social protection for the poor and greater equality between poor women and men. In its report, titled “National Strategy for Poverty Reduction Paper,” published by the Ministry of Planning in 2009, PRS encouraged the public sector and the private sector to participate in producing low-cost housing projects for low-income groups. 34 - Ministry of Planning, “National Development Plan for the Years 2010-2014,” 126. 35 - The national five-year development plan (2010-2014) prepared by the ministry of Planning (2009). 210 the private sector, the public sector has succeeded in producing approximately 15.6%.36 These numbers indicate an amplified role of the private sector as the main current and future provider for housing in Iraq due to the new economic orientation in the country. In this, urban housing has turned from a social service expenditure into an investment and tool for the government to project its new agenda through a neoliberal agenda.

Figures 5.2 and 5.3 (left to right): Housing financing by the National General Budget in Iraq has decreased to 1%. It also shows housing production (public sector Vs. private sector) between 2004 and 2016. Source: Author based on data provided in NDP of Iraq (2010-2014), 8.

5.3 Urban Housing Typologies Constructed between 2003-2017

The Iraqi government’s efforts to meet housing demands as part of an ongoing reconstruction process proceeding the political shift in 2003 introduced urban housing typologies that show similarities when compared with the housing typologies constructed during the 20th century in

Baghdad. Yet there are some characteristics that set them apart. Based on the findings from the

36 -Ibid. 211 GIS data which was created for the purpose of this research, urban housing can be categorized according to several themes. These include the typology of housing units (single-family, multi- family), size of the project (number of housing units), permeability (walled and gated, non-gated), design characteristics (modern, hybrid, traditional) source of funding (state-provided, market- provided), socio-economic level of occupants (homogeneous, heterogeneous/ mixed). For the purpose of this research, these themes will be organized under two categories: non-gated state- built housing and gated communities.

5.3.1 Non-gated, Low-cost, State-built Housing

In an attempt to reduce housing shortages and meet the residential demands of various income groups, the public sector initiated development plans to construct state-provided housing projects.

Although this step towards residential development echoes the action taken by the socialist regime during the 1970s and 1980s (mixed-income state-built housing in the form of apartment blocks), it differs in that it has produced a different typology of residential development, low-cost single- family housing for low-income earners. In December 2007, the Al-Farouq State Construction

Contracting Company, under the supervision of the MOCH, executed a state-built housing project in the Al-Saidiya neighborhood. The project consisted of 49 houses on an area of 8 acres. Each house was designed as a two-bedroom unit, and was built on an area of 220 m2.

Contemporaneously, another state company, the Al-Fao general construction contracting company, constructed the Aljihad state-built housing project, encompassing 167 housing units. It included two types of houses: two-story houses on an area of 250 m2 with a total number of 109 housing units, and one-story houses on an area of 220 m2 with a total number of 58 housing units.

These projects were designed as standardized row houses of identical units. Moreover, they were designed to rely entirely on the adjacent areas in terms of social facilities; therefore, the design of

212 their interstitial areas took into consideration elements of accessibility and connectivity to the circulation network of the surrounding built fabric. No surrounding physical barriers nor buffer areas were included. The design and implementation of this housing typology was sponsored by the public sector through the Ministry of Construction and Housing.

Figure 5.4: Showing standardized row housing units of Al-Saidiya public -provided housing. Source: http://farouq.moch.gov.iq/index.php?q=node/10.

Figure 5.5: The front façade of Al-Saidiya housing unit showing public -provided housing for low- income and middle-income households Source: http://farouq.moch.gov.iq/index.php?q=node/10

213 Figure 5.6 and 5.7 (above left): Showing the absence of physical boundaries (gates and fences) and openness of access points of Al-Jihad low-cost state-built housing project, constructed by the public sector in 2011. (right) elevation of Al-Jihad low-cost housing unit. Source: (left) Author, (right). https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mhh7mKs4knE/hqdefault.jpg

In addition to these two state-built housing projects, and in response to the proposals of the

Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) which were published by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning in 2009 to build low-cost housing for low-income earners, the public sector introduced a new housing typology of state-built housing in Baghdad—low-cost, state-built housing. On May 15th 2012, the construction of the first subsidized low-cost, state-built housing project began in the Abugharib district in Baghdad on an area of 288,000 m2: 1600 housing units in the form of two-story buildings, with 3-bedroom units on each floor. The project also included four elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools, marketplaces in each section, health centers, police stations, fire stations, two kindergartens, and green spaces.37 The project that came to be known as Shams

Contemporary Village was implemented by the Al-Radhwan state company, a construction company affiliated with the Iraqi Ministry of Industry. This project was followed by another

37 - http://baghdad.gov.iq/index.php/news-projects/3392.html 214 project called Qamar housing in the Al-Latifiya neighborhood in Baghdad. It included a similar number of housing units and similar services and design typology as that of the Shams housing project. It was also implemented by the same state company. The eligible resident groups for both projects are also similar. They included victims of terrorism, orphans, informal housing householders, and displaced householders.38

Figure 5.8: Showing low-cost housing project of Shams contemporary village Source: http://baghdad.gov.iq/index.php/news-projects/3392.html

One of the goals of the PRS was to exploit the new investment laws and encourage investors to participate in the provision of low-cost housing for low-income earners. Yet, the implemented low-cost housing projects of the Shams housing project and the Qamar housing project were

38 - From the website of the Iraqi Ministry of Industry. Available at http://www.industry.gov.iq/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1111. Accessed on 23 May, 2016. 215 designed and implemented by a state company and funded entirely by the public sector. The government aimed to play the roles of the “monitor” who observes the progress and the quality of housing development provided by private sector entities, as well as the “enabler” who “enables the low-income to have an appropriate housing unit through the market such as providing microfinance systems, subsidies, loans, discounts, technological support.”39 Instead, it found itself continuing to play the role of the “provider” of housing to low-income families.

With the private sector as the current main housing provider in Iraq for middle-income earners and up, the role of the public sector has become the provider of housing for “those who cannot be well-served by the private sector owing to income or special circumstance.”40 As part of the PRS in Iraq, the public sector has focused on the development of informal settlements and the construction of affordable state-built housing projects.41

Although a limited number of low-cost housing have been implemented, a review of the housing development plans of MOCH and the Mayoralty of Baghdad indicates that this housing typology is going to be the approach that the public-sector will rely on to meet the housing demands of low-income groups. According to a statement published by the Mayoralty of Baghdad, there are currently 11 sites in Baghdad that have been proposed to be locations for new low-cost housing projects. Nonetheless, according to recent reports by the Central Statistical Organization of Iraq (CSO), public financial resources and land availability in Baghdad for low-cost housing projects are limited, with obscurity and lack of consistency in the national strategy for resolving the issue of informal settlement. Consequently, a recent approach to state-provided housing for

39 - Hussain Al-Kahachi, “Affordable Housing Policies in Iraq and Jordan.” Journal of the Planner and Development, no. 15 (2015): 60. 40 - National Housing Policy of Iraq (2010): 14. 41 - The Ministry of Planning, “National Strategy for Poverty Reduction Paper,” 28. This statement indicates that the public sector is aware of the targeted groups by the private sector: Middle-income and high-income earners. Low- income households seem to be excluded and thus, their housing demand remains a matter of the public sector.

216 low-income groups has been characterized by a very slow pace, resulting in a very limited production of housing units. What can also be observed about this approach is its dedication to low-income households. This particular urban transformation could lead to the formation of urban concentrations of poverty, and thus has the potential to stigmatize state-built housing. This housing project typology might create urban fragments based on the socioeconomic status of residents.42

With this consideration, a comparison between state-built housing constructed during the neoliberalist era and state-built housing constructed during the socialist era in Baghdad shows several differences. Current state-built housing projects are socio-economically homogeneous

(low-income groups) and offer very limited number of housing units. Further, they are low-cost in terms of materials and construction methods, and their design layouts either lack or offer very limited public amenities.

5.3.2 Gated Communities

This typology can be divided into sub-typologies which can be categorized according to several factors: first, the funding source, which include either the public sector or the private sector; second, the design characteristics, which vary between modern, hybrid (a mixture between traditional and modern designs), and traditional; and third, the reasons behind gating. Here, gated communities can be divided into two sub-typologies, security-zone communities and prestige communities.

42 - Some of the new government-built state-built housing projects are constructed specifically for lower-income earners such as housing projects for widows and orphans as part of the poverty reduction strategy in Iraq. These projects are not only isolated in terms of their architecture from the surrounding urban context, they are also socio- economically isolated as well due to the certain characteristics of residents. 217 5.3.2.1 Typologies of Gated Communities According to Funding Source

State-Provided Gated Communities

As part of the reconstruction process during 2004, a state construction company, namely the Al-Mansour State Contracting Company, designed and constructed an urban housing project located in the Sab’abkar neighborhood in Baghdad.43 A community of approximately 2,750 residents occupies 48 apartment buildings. It is the first state-built apartment blocks to emerge in the urban fabric of Baghdad since the construction of urban housing projects stopped during the late 1980s. Unlike other previous state-built housing projects, Sab’abkar is surrounded by a 6-foot high concrete fence with restricted public entrances via two gates. Each gate is attached to a security-guard building that is equipped with surveillance cameras and a vehicle access control system. Sab’abkar has its own services and amenities, including a school, a daycare center, marketplace, recreational amenities, and infrastructure services such as parking lots, a water supply station, and additional electric power separate from the national electricity grid. Therefore,

Sab’abkar was not only the first urban housing project to emerge in Baghdad after the war of 2003, but also the first of its kind in Baghdad to be designed as an isolated island following the notion of a ‘city within a city.’ Although complex no. 8 in the Haifa project (1979-1985) was designed as a gated community, unlike Sab’abkar, its common amenities were designed with public access that allowed them to be shared with the surrounding community.

43 - Al-Mansour State Contracting Company is affiliated with the Iraqi Ministry of Reconstruction & Housing (MOCH). It was established, according to the companies’ law no. (66) Issued in 1987. Since the establishment, the company commenced various projects including residential complexes, hospitals, factories, developing Airports, grains warehouses, colleges’ buildings, banks, religious buildings, ...etc. http://www.almansourco.moch.gov.iq/index.php/en-gb/ 218 Figure 5.9: The spatial organization of Sab`abkar gated community, Baghdad, Iraq. Source: Ibraheem, “The Role of the Neighborhood in the Formation of Sustainable Housing Complexes in Iraq,” 22.

Figure 5.10: Showing the fence of Sab`abkar gated community, Baghdad, Iraq.2012 Source: Al-Mansure Company website. http://www.almansourco.moch.gov.iq/index.php/2015- 01-13-00-36-00/2015-01-21-07-09-28?layout=edit&id=415

The uniqueness of the Sab’abkar housing typology makes it unclear as to whether it is a response to the deterioration in security in Baghdad, or a clone of residential complexes in neighboring countries such as Turkey, and Gulf countries in which gated communities have

219 become increasingly popular.44 Nonetheless, the emergence of the typology used in the Sab’abkar housing project marks a shift in housing typologies in Iraq with unclear causes and indistinct socio- spatial implications since this typology is new to urban housing typologies in Baghdad

Market-provided Gated Communities

Walled, gated complexes included low-rise (3-5 story) and high-rise (over 5 story) apartment buildings equipped with required services and amenities. This typology was almost exclusively sponsored through investment. Although the first example of this typology (known as the

Sab’abkar housing project) was implemented in 2008 by the public sector, all other projects that followed were implemented as investment projects in which the private sector played the major role in its provision. While only a few examples of the first typology were implemented in Baghdad since the rise of a new political system in Iraq, many examples of the second typology are currently emerging in the urban scenery of Baghdad. Examples can be seen in the Alzuhor Residential project, the Al-Ayadi housing project, and others. This typology of walled and gated communities has become the current trend and principal typology for market-provided residential development in Baghdad.

44 - Several scholars have observed and addressed the increasing phenomenon of gated communities in the neighboring countries to Iraq. Examples include Basak Tanulku’s “Gated communities as spatial manifestations of moral differentiation and competition: an example from Istanbul, Turkey,” Turgut’s and Aydin’s “The walls of Gated Communities in Brazil and Turkey: security, separation or status,” Bagaeen’s and Uduku’s Beyond Gated Communities, El-Ekhteyar’s and Petruccioli’s “Sense of Community in Gated Communities in Doha: The Case of Al- Ein Compound in Ein Khaled Neighb,”.and other 220 Figure 5.11: Showing type B. Zuhur Baghdad, a gated community of high-rise apartment blocks of, constructed by private-sector investment company: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida Co. Source: http://photos.wikimapia.org/p/00/05/55/39/23_big.jpg

Figure 5.12: Showing current typologies of urban housing projects constructed in Baghdad between 2000 – 2017. Source: Author

221 Based on figure (5.14) above, it is evident that all MHUP investment housing projects constructed so far in Baghdad were designed as apartment complexes. Such a design offers an optimization of land and finance and thus achieves a higher rate of profit. In addition, this design has been highly encouraged by the NIC, although this residential typology was highly criticized by local scholars after its emergence in Baghdad urban scenery during the 1980s for its architectural style and for its lack of privacy. However, its re-emergence on a massive scale, combined with promises of maintained services, has reinforced a certain lifestyle for Baghdad society and removed the social stigma of living in apartment buildings.

Figure 5.13: Showing current typologies of urban housing in Baghdad in terms of permeability. Is Shows that all gated communities, except for Sab’abkar, are constructed by the private sector, and that this typology represents the current trend in housing development in Baghdad. Source: Author

222 Table 5.2: Urban housing Projects in Baghdad since 2004

Project Name Units Company Typology Provision

Sab’abkar 288 Al-Mansor State Low-rise Apartment Public sector project Company buildings

Saidiya project 49 Al-Farouq State Single-Family Housing Public sector Company Jihad project 176 Al-Fao State Company Single-Family Housing Public sector

Shams project 1600 Radhwan state Low-rise Apartment Public sector company Buildings

Qamar Project 1600 Radhwan state Low-rise Apartment Public sector company Buildings

Al-Ayadi 1332 Al-Ayadi Group Co. Low-rise Apartment Investment Project Project For Real Estate Buildings (Private-sector)

Basmaya project 100000 Hanwha Group High-rise Apartment Investment Project Buildings (Public/Private sector) Zuhur Baghdad 5500 Al-Hayat Al-Jadida High-rise Apartment Investment Project Buildings (Private-sector) Dijlat Al-Ahlam 1450 Al-Ghadeer Company High-rise Apartment Investment Project project Buildings (Private-sector)

Yamama project 1200 Al-Ma’morah High-rise Apartment Investment Project Company Buildings (Private-sector) Bawabat Al-Iraq 3000 Dorchester Company High-rise Apartment Investment Project Housing Buildings (Private-sector)

Al-Fahim 2000 Al-Fahim Company Low-rise Apartment Investment Project project Buildings (Private-sector)

Al-Ekhowa 2000 Kayson Company Low-rise Apartment Investment Project project Buildings (Private-sector)

Al-Qudhat gated 91 Al-Mansor State Single-Family Housing Public sector community Contracting Company and Low-rise apartment buildings

223 Al-Sha’ab 540 Nakheel Karbala & Low-rise Apartment Investment Project Housing Project Al-Izza Company Buildings (Private-sector)

5.3.2.2 Typologies of Gated Communities according to Design Characteristics

The obsession with identity, traditions, the notion of Islamic city design, and the longing for a sense of nationalism have been present in the writings of local Iraqi scholars, as well as in the work of local and foreign architects who designed various types of projects in Baghdad, since the early decades of the 20th century.45 For these architects, sources of inspiration have varied from pre-Islamic references such as the Ziggurat of Ur and the historical gates of Babylon city, to references from the Islamic city, which can still be seen in Baghdad’s remaining historical fabric on the Al-Rusafa side of the River Tigris, such as that of Al-Kadumiya city. Nonetheless, the traditional courtyard house design typology (also referred to by local scholars as a Baghdad house) has been the primary source of inspiration for urban housing design typology since the latter’s emergence in Baghdad’s urban scenery during the 1950s. This obsession with traditional referencing has been combined with an admiration for modernization. This mixture has given birth to a hybrid architecture in residential development in Baghdad (as discussed in the previous chapter). Interestingly, traditional referencing and primarily elements from the traditional courtyard house are still viable sources of inspiration for the design of current urban housing projects in Baghdad. In fact, the design criteria proposed by the recent National Housing Policy in

2010 stress the importance of employing traditional references and inspirations from the traditional courtyard house. Alsanjari, Taha, and Aldauji state that, in spite of the hybridity trend being more than 50 years old, it is still present in contemporary architectural works. They view contemporary

45 - Caecilia Pieri, Baghdad Arts Deco: Architectural Brickwork, 1920-1950 (Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2010), 1. 224 architecture as reflecting even more variation and ambiguity in its expression of the local traditions than projects constructed during the 20th century. There are still no serious attempts at establishing a defined style.46 With this observation, compiled with findings from the GIS database created for the purpose of this research, the design style of current urban housing projects can be divided into two categories:

 Those with limited employment or the absence of traditional referencing, such as

the design of the Sab’abkar project, in which traditional vocabularies were limited

to the employment of the Abbasid pointed arches on the main facades of the

residential units. Other examples include the Zuhor Baghdad residential project

and the Bawabat Baghdad housing project.

Figure 5.14: Showing the limited employment of traditional vocabularies in Sab`abar project. Source: Fawzi, “The Prophylactic Design of the Green Walls in the Landscape of the Outer Spaces of the Vertical Housing,” 115.

46 - Hassan A. Al-Sanjari, Saba Ibraheem Taha, and Mumtaz Hazim Al-Dauji, “Place Identity of Residential Environment,” The Iraqi Journal of Architecture 6, no. 19-20-21 (2010): 103. 225  Those with an abundance of traditional referencing, such as the Al-Ayadi gated

community that employs metaphoric design of historical references, such as the

Ziggurat, historical gates of ancient cities, elements from the architecture of the

Abbasid era, and others. An additional example is the Al-Fahim housing project,

which employs elements of Moorish architecture.

Figure 5.15 and 5.16 (above, left to right): Showing arches and decorative patterns of Moorish architecture in the interior and exterior architecture of Al-Fahim Housing project, constructed by Al-Fahim construction company Source: https://www.facebook.com/552860178148107/photos/a.552891508144974.1073741829. 552860178148107/815061285261327/?type=3&theater

226 Figure 5.17: Showing current stylistic typologies of urban housing projects constructed between 2000-2017 in Baghdad in terms of employment of traditional vocabularies. Source: Author

Designers of gated communities in the inner areas of Baghdad (i.e, the Al-Ayadi) have claimed that traditional referencing is important for maintaining traditional architectural characteristics or a notion of Islamic identity in Baghdad.47 This notion applies not only to the design of housing projects in the inner-city area, but also to projects constructed on the fringes of

Baghdad. The spatial organization and architectural design of the satellite city of Basmaya, for instance, display strong referencing to the traditional Islamic city, the traditional courtyard house.

The project was designed to include a grand mosque in the central area, namely “the central park,” which is located in the center of the central business district CBD area of the satellite city.

47 - The website of the National Investment Commission NIC. Available at http://www.baghdadic.gov.iq/ar/node/472. Accessed 5, March 2016 227 Figure 5.20: Bird's eye view of the master plan of Basmaya city showing the mosque in the central area surrounded by traditional courtyard-like buildings to mimic the traditional Islamic city Source: http://www.bismayah.org/english/pages/01overview/BNCP.asp

228 Figure 5.19: Central Park in Basmaya city. The open space of the mosque as the main and central open space in the city in reference to the traditional Islamic city. Source: http://www.bismayah.org/english/pages/01overview/BNCP.asp

Not only does traditional referencing appear in spatial organization, but it also appears in the design layout of the housing units. Two main types were offered in Basmaya: traditional and modern. While the modern units were based on the interconnectivity and openness of spaces, the traditional style unit, according to the designer, “emphasizes on traditional lifestyles, is designed so that the living room is independent from the other rooms, therefore separating the public and private zones.”48 Interestingly, this separation of spaces has not only been a consistent design characteristic in recent designs of housing projects such as the Sab’abkar project and the Al-Ayadi project; this characteristic in design layout was also essential to the design of housing projects constructed during the 1970s and 1980s. (See figures 5.24, 5.25, 5.26, and 5.27 below). Additional

48 - http://www.bismayah.org/english/pages/02unitplan/traditional_type.asp 229 examples can be seen in the Saidiya project (1985), the Haifa project (1981), and the Salhiya

Project.

Figure 5.20 and 5.21 (Above, left to right): Showing the difference between the traditional unit and the modern unit in Basmaya new city project Source: (left to right) http://www.bismayah.org/english/pages/02unitplan/modern_type.asp http://www.bismayah.org/english/pages/02unitplan/traditional_type.asp

Figure 5.22 and 5.23 (above, left to right): Sab`abkar housing unit (2008), Al-Ayadi housing (2017) respectively. These figures are showing the separation of public spaces of entrance and living room from the private spaces of the housing unit. Source: (left to right) - Intisar Juma, Faisal Kadhum. “Comparative Study to Employ Lightwight Concrete Alternative from Traditional Bricks in Building Partitions.” Page 13 - https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp

230 Figure 5.24 and 5.25 (above, left to right) Saidiya project (1985), Haifa project (1981) respectively. These figures are showing the separation of public spaces of entrance and living room from the private spaces of the housing unit. Source: (left) Morton and John M. Monsted, “Saidiya Neighborhood Project, Baghdad,” 29. (right) Amanat Al-Asima, Haifa Street Development,” document 1, part 2.

While the design of urban housing projects during the second half of the 20th century employed historical references to project an image of nationalism and Pan-Arabism based on the political agenda of the Ba’athist party, it is not clear why such references re-appeared in the design of current housing projects. Interestingly, as evidenced from the previous chapter, this abundance of historical metaphor, referencing, and symbolism appeared only in one project, namely the

Hamada Market housing, from among the 13 implemented housing projects. In addition, none of the current public-sector provided urban housing projects (the Saidiya and Jihad housing projects) displays such an abundance of referencing to traditional architectural. Has this transformation in stylistic design, evident in recent MHUP invested projects, been created to reinforce a sense of identity, as argued by investment companies (i.e., the Al-Ayadi Group), or is it merely a marketing strategy?

The method of applying architectural quotationism from historical precedents and adapting those precedents for various building functions recalls the definition of internationalized regionalism as suggested by the famous Iraqi architect, Rifat Chadirji in his book, Concepts and

231 Influences (see previous chapter). Yet, even when hybridity or a fusion of architectural styles expresses regionalism and involves history and traditions, “it is often a banalization of regionalism.

Its characteristics concern a Disneyization of the architecture, and therefore, it is in the realm of globalism.”49 Thus, it can be argued that the current trend in MHUP parallels the globalized phenomenon of Disneyism which is defined by the British sociologist Alan Bryman in “The

Disneyization of Society” as the translation or transformation of an object into something superficial and even simplistic.50 For Bryman, Disneyism is a global notion in contemporary societies that is built upon four trends from the popular Disney theme park motif: theming, dedifferentiation of consumption, merchandizing, and emotional labor.

These trends are quite evident in current Disneyfied housing projects of MHUP. For instance, adopting the historical city of Babylon as a referencing for the architecture of the Al-

Ayadi gated community, a Moorish referencing for the Al-Fahim project, and references from One

Thousand and One Nights for the Dijlat Al-Ahlam housing project provide evidence of the trend suggested by Bryman. The employment of attractive formal characteristics turns housing projects into vehicles of consumption and sources of financial gain for developers and investors. The replication of traditional architecture in modern structures does not necessarily provide a theoretical ground nor tools for design toward a non-homogenized regionalism; rather, it merely promotes a kind of Disneyism and globalism.51 In this context, globalism is disguised under the name of traditionalism.

In the context of Baghdad’s residential architecture, the Disneyfication phenomenon emerged contemporaneously with the shift towards a neoliberal approach in housing provision.

49 - K. Moraes Zarzar, “Dutch Fusion Architecture: Regionalism or Globalism?”14h Generative Art Conference GA, (2011): 257. 50 - Ibid. 51 - Ibid., 255. 232 The fact that all projects of this typology are part of the MHUP that is sponsored through investment leads to the argument that those historical references have merely been employed by investors as a marketing strategy to attract buyers. This argument draws support from the fact that, unlike the National Housing Policy, the design criteria mentioned in the statement of MHUP include no obligations or even suggestions for investors to employ traditional references.

Such an abundance of architectural nostalgia in recent urban housing projects in Baghdad is a general characteristic of contemporary gated communities and not specific to Baghdad. This characteristic, according to Nan Ellin, is a general characteristic of the global phenomenon of GCs.

Ellin states that this indicates not only a need for legitimization from historical references, but “an inspiration in the face of insecurity and fear”52—that is, a postmodern fear of rapid globalism. Ellin claims that quotationism from architecture of the past helps to create an environment that projects an image of safety by referencing popular or familiar architectural characteristics.53 This perceived safety is physically translated through the exploitation of mass-produced, commodified traditional vocabularies. Therefore, the resulting residential environment of market-based GCs in Baghdad has been carefully designed to lure residents into it. Its characteristics revolve around the marketing strategies of a neoliberal agenda.

5.3.2.3 Typologies of Gated Communities According to Narratives behind Gating

According to Blakely and Snyder, identifying the primary motivation behind defensive fortifications and the main actors involved can assist in classifying the typologies of GCs and in understanding their socio-spatial implications. After a critical examination of the context that surrounded the rise of GCs in Baghdad, it can be argued that there are two types of rhetoric used

52 - Ellin, Postmodern Urbanism, 129. 53 - Ibid. 233 in the motivations behind gating. The first one relates to market forces and the shift in Iraq’s economic orientation towards neoliberalism, in which developers have introduced GCs as a primary typology of residential development in Baghdad. The second type of rhetoric relates to the political and social changes that produced and reinforced residential areas of exclusionary nature in the neighborhoods of Baghdad. In the latter, GCs were produced as a result of a counterinsurgency strategy.

5.3.2.3.1 A Narrative of Fear: Security-Zone Communities

It is important to note that before GCs became a phenomenon and design typology for urban housing projects, they appeared in other residential areas. In the years that followed the war of 2003 in Iraq, Baghdad witnessed an increasing rate of crime and terrorist attacks, in addition to a growing presence of armed militiamen.54 Certain security measures were taken by the government and by the people themselves, such as the installation of high concrete barriers around entire neighborhoods with limited and secured accesses. Urban housing projects constructed during the 1970s and 1980s could not escape the government security tactic of walling and gating off residential areas. While some projects were partially gated or T-walled, such as Abu Nuwas residential complex and Haifa residential complex, others such as the Alsalaam housing complex were ethnically divided. This strategy of fencing and gating off residential areas was described by

Blakely & Snyder as “security-zones,” “where the fear of a high rate of crime or hazards are the foremost motivation for defensive fortifications.”55 Here, it is important to mention that fear, arising from an amplified rate of crime and terrorism, was originally the primary motivation behind the rise of GCs in Baghdad.

54 - Damluji, “Securing Democracy in Iraq,” 71, 75. 55 - Blakely and Snyder, Fortress America, 99. 234 Currently, while the former type of GCs (ethnic enclaves created through a national security plan) is on its way out, another type is emerging. In an official statement from the Iraqi

Government on August 28th, 2015, it was announced that concrete barriers were going to be removed from existing neighborhoods and main streets in Baghdad. Security-zone gated communities that were created as a component of national security strategy will gradually disappear from the urban scenery of Baghdad, while yet another type of GC is emerging – in the form of housing projects. While the first typology created and increased social segregation based on ethnicity, the second typology might create another type of segregation based on economic status. With current efforts from the government to reconnect the city, projects constructed through the MHUP will maintain and increase the urban characteristics of fragmentation and socioeconomic segregation, now based on income rather than ethnicity.

Fortified Neighborhoods: The Case of Green Zone Enclave

As part of the counterinsurgency strategy, Karradat Mariam neighborhood, a 10 km2 area on the Karkh side of the Tigris River in the center of Baghdad, was fortified in 2003 and turned into the first security-zone community in Baghdad. Prior to 2003, as the center of the Iraqi capital,

Karradat Mariam served as the administrative headquarters for the Ba’athist regime. It contained a number of government ministries and presidential palaces such as the Republican Palace, which was the largest palace in the presidential complex. After the war of 2003, the entire residential complex area was restricted to the public and buildings were fortified with barbed wire, high concrete blast walls, T-Walls, and a limited number of access points controlled by military checkpoints. It became a center for the Coalition Provisional Authority, and later a location for the

Iraqi Interim Government, and for the elected Iraqi government afterwards. It came to be known

235 as the International Zone of Baghdad, or the Green Zone.56 In addition to several governmental buildings and international embassies, the fortified complex also includes residential areas with hundreds of houses. Nonetheless, over the years, the majority of these houses were turned into rented or owned dwellings for parliaments and governmental officials.

Figure 5.26: The green zone in Baghdad Source: Author

The problematic socio-spatial impact of the Green Zone fortification has been addressed in several articles by local and international journalists and scholars. In the article “Baghdad's

Heavily-Fortified Green Zone Opens to Public,” the journalist claims that since it became fortified,

“the Green Zone has become a symbol of disconnect between the country's top officials and ordinary citizens.”57 In another article, “the Green Zone … the Forbidden City in the Heart of

Baghdad” this fortified area is described as a forbidden city and a ‘bubble’ in which the lifestyle was vastly different from that of the rest of Baghdad. According to the above mentioned article,

56 - The term Green-zone refers to the large green areas which has a large number of palm trees in Karradat Mariam neighborhood, Baghdad. 57 - “Baghdad's heavily-fortified Green Zone opens to public.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east- 34439899 236 the physical isolation of fortification raised the indignation of the people, and turned the Green

Zone into a location for citizen protests58 In another description, the local scholar A. Majeed describes this fortified area as a “cocoon” in which governmental officials kept themselves apart, in a small world of their own.59 In the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City Inside Iraq's Green

Zone in 2006 by journalist R. Chandrasekaran, the author analogizes the Green Zone to an emerald city and describes it as an enclave and walled-off compound of swimming pools and luxurious amenities. The Green Zone became the ultimate symbol of fortification, segregation, and physical isolation, as well as a safe haven for the Iraqi government, away from the public. Following this strategy, walling and gating off neighborhoods in Baghdad enacted a national security plan and generated similar spatial impacts as those created by the concrete walls of the Green Zone.

Figure 5.27: Showing the concrete walls of the Green-zone in Baghdad Source: https://mideastconflicts.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/pho-09aug03-172466.jpg

58 - http://arabic.cnn.com/middleeast/2016/05/06/me-060516-what-green-zone. May 2016. 59 - Ahmed Abdul Majeed, “Crisis of Professional Responsibility in the Press of Iraq after the War,” Baghdad University Press (2007): 1. 237 City Perches: Exclusive Security-Zone Communities

In the cases of housing projects where walls, gates, and guards were paid for by the government and “seen by their builders as an exigency rather than an amenity,”60 the gated community becomes a security-zone community. This specific typology is termed by Blakely and

Snyder as a “city perch” in which fencing is a necessity and strongly supported by tenants as their source of protection against crime.61 In this typology of communities, security measures can include identification cards, security cameras, and twenty-four-hour guards.62 The Al-Qudhat gated community is a manifestation of this typology of security-zone communities in Baghdad.

From March 2009 to September 2011, the Al-Mansour State Contracting Company designed and constructed a gated community that was primarily dedicated to the judges of the Al-Karkh Court of Appeals.

Its location was chosen to be in direct attachment to the building of Al-Karkh court in

Baghdad. It was designed to include 50 four-bedroom houses in a total area of 300 m2, 17 caravans, and twenty-four apartments in a total area of 240 m2 allocated in six 3-story apartment buildings.

In addition to the residential dwellings, the project also included its own electricity, water, and trash disposal services that were controlled by community management. These services and amenities were designed to be physically isolated from the adjacent neighborhood. Additionally, the community included common amenities such as a market building and an elementary school.

The entire project area was surrounded by a 2-km concrete fence, with access controlled by hired guards. In their defense of this housing typology, the management of this community claimed that the Al-Qudhat housing project saved time for the judges of the Al-Karkh Court of Appeals and

60 - Blakely and Snyder, Fortress America, 102. 61 - Ibid. 62 - Ibid. 238 court employees in reaching their work place, and most importantly, it provided a safe environment from terrorist attacks and assassination attempts against judges.

The government’s decision to construct this typology of security-zone communities came after an increasing frequency of terrorist attacks against courts and assassination attempts of judges in Iraq. Unlike housing units in other typologies of GCs in Baghdad, the housing units of the Al-

Qudhat community were designed to be rented for 8% of the formal salary of its head of household.63 It thus provided temporary safety to court employees. Eligibility for residence in those units was dependent on active employment status in the Al-Karkh court. Rental of the housing units gave the priority to judges who did not own residences in Baghdad and judges who were displaced due to deteriorating security in Baghdad. Interestingly, the Al-Mansour State

Contracting Company, which designed and constructed the Al-Qudhat community, was the same company that constructed the Sab’abkar housing project, the first gated community in Baghdad after the 2003 war. The main difference between the two projects is that the fence and gates in

Sab’abkar were an amenity rather than an exigency.

63 -Http://www.almansourco.moch.gov.iq/index.php/featured/536-2015-12-27-09-12-7

239 Figure 5.28: Showing houses of Al-Qudhat gated community Source: http://www.almansourco.moch.gov.iq/index.php/featured/536-2015-12-27-09-12-7

Barricaded Perches

Where the complete closure of all access points to a neighborhood by fences and gates was not possible, homeowners tended to block the streets that led to their dwellings. This form of physical isolation, according to the typologies identified by Blakely and Snyder in 1997, is known as “barricaded perches” and is one type of security-zone gated community. In Iraq, this phenomenon has become visible during the years that followed the war of 2003 due to an increase in frequency of terrorist attacks and the rise in the crime rate. Several streets in various locations in Baghdad were blocked by barbed wire and concrete barricades, along with security cameras, and in some cases, military checkpoints or hired guards, to provide controlled and guarded access to certain streets. In other cases, some streets were blocked to all types of access and were physically isolated from the street network. This action was taken primarily by government officials to protect offices of political parties, governmental buildings, and residences of

240 government officials. Together with other types of security-zone communities, this type of physical isolation became a source of urban fragmentation and symbol of social segregation.

Figure 5.29 and 5.30 (above, left to right): Showing inner streets of Jadriya neighborhood in Baghdad in 2002 and the same area in 2017. Notice the barricades and checkpoints points that were added in 2004. Source: Author based on google earth images

5.3.2.3.2 A Narrative of Consumerism: Prestige Communities

Since the beginning of housing programs in Iraq during the mid-20th century, the public sector has been the main provider for urban housing. Yet, since Iraq joined the world market in

2003 — after the end of the U.N. Sanctions on International Trade — the country has adopted a neoliberal housing strategy in which the public sector is no longer the main provider for housing in Iraq. Instead, the private sector has become central to housing production. The housing typology that is being produced through this approach matches the definition of “prestige communities,” the

241 third of three typologies of gated communities suggested by Blakely and Snyder in 1997 (life-style communities, security-zones, and prestige communities).

While counterinsurgency efforts and fear of crime explain the causes and motivations behind the emergence of security-zone communities in the urban fabric of Baghdad, it is not clear what motivations lie behind gating in MHUP projects in Baghdad. Yet, in an examination of the characteristics of those projects, it can be argued that, since one of the primary characteristics

(mentioned earlier) is the socioeconomic homogeneity of inhabitants — primarily middle-income

— gating in MHUP projects is not only related to crime, but also socioeconomic status. According to Blakely and Snyder, when gates are employed to some extent to provide safety but primarily to

“denote a barrier of status,”64 then, the result is a “prestige community.” Unlike prestige communities in Europe and the U.S, where gating provides supposed safety from perceived sources of threats and lacks solid evidence according to Setha Low 2003, in the case of Baghdad, there is concrete evidence of amplifying rates of crime, terrorist attacks, and violence. From the perspective of local scholar Al-Darzy 2013, current residential environments in Baghdad require solid barriers in order to raise the level of safety. Gating is becoming more of a necessity. As safety has become the first priority in Iraq, it is now typical for families to prefer to live behind secured gates. It is also typical for market forces to exploit design characteristics that invoke values of spatial isolation in efforts to tackle the psychological need for safety and use that need to promote

GCs as their product. Here, market value seems to not only govern the provision of housing but also its design values and characteristics.

It is troubling that in a recent report published by the MOCH, physical isolation barriers

— secured gates and fences — are present in current as well as future housing investment plans

64 - Blakely and Snyder, Fortress America, 75. 242 for Baghdad.65 This plan could manifest as a wave of privatizations, enclosures, and spatial controls upon the quality of urban life in general. This also could impact the potentiality of social networking, especially due to the fact that neoliberal politics in real estate investment extract the public value of urban commons.66 Even though it may meet the psychological need for safety, a

GC is not necessarily a suitable form of housing development in Baghdad, because it has a potential to suppress the main goals of recent National Housing Policies targeting social and urban integration.67 The National Housing Policies in Iraq have a legal basis that supports the values of socioeconomic cohesion and urban integration; consequently, GCs should be avoided among the options for designing housing projects.68

5.4 The Case of Al-Ayadi Gated Community (AHP): A City within a City

The AHP is a residential investment project and is part of the MHUP, which was initiated in 2010, and is expected to reduce the housing shortage in Baghdad. This project was made possible by several factors such as the modification of investment laws in 2006 and the formation of the Baghdad Investment Commission (BIC) in 2009. These changes supported a mechanism of investment in Iraq. It created an opening for the private sector to play the main role in housing provision in Iraq, while under the supervision of the public sector. In 2012, the BIC granted an

Egyptian investment company, Al-Ayadi Group Co. for Real Estate, investment license no. 148

65 - One of these projects is Altajyat housing in which a surrounding concrete fence is listed in the project progress report as one of the main architectural items. For further information, see: http://www.imariskan.gov.iq/en/node/57. 66 - David Harvey, Rebel Cities: from the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution (London: Verso, 2012), 67, 73. 67 - Some of these polices are policy 2.7, policy 2.2.5, and policy 2.1.4 regarding the inclusion of low-incomes in commercially funded residential developments. See Iraq National Housing Policy (2010). 68 - See the National Housing Policies in Iraq, the official website of the Iraqi Ministry of Housing and Reconstruction. http://www.imariskan.gov.iq/en/node/60. In policy 2.5.4 for example, the government will develop guidelines to give priority to lower-income families for vacant units and for new projects. 243 for the construction of a housing complex in an area of 120,000 m2 in the Al-Qudhat neighborhood, in Al-Amriya district, Baghdad.69

5.4.1 Spatial Characteristics

Site Layout Pattern

The project contained 37 buildings, nine stories each, with four units on each floor.

Buildings were arranged in clusters on the sides of a main circulation access that acted as the spine of the project and branched out to form cul-de-sacs on both sides of the main axis. Its main function, according to BIC’s description, was to provide consistency between the physical elements and the open spaces in such a way that achieved greater connectivity between the various parts of the project, both visually and spatially. This axis was the main and only connection between the project and the surrounding built fabric. The presence of a single axis with a single gate provided a controllable environment that supported the concept of creating a gated community. The complex was designed to be self-sufficient in terms of services and amenities. In addition to infrastructure services (i.e., electricity and water supply), it contained a shopping mall, secondary and primary schools, a marketplace, a medical center, and a leisure club. Except for the shopping mall, all common facilities were allocated within the physical boundaries of the AHP.

Each of the common facilities was designed to occupy the public space formed from each cluster of residential buildings.

69 - Al- Ayadi Group Co. For Real Estate, Inc. (Al-Ayadi Group) Founded by Dr. Ali Oraibi, is a privately held real estate investment company specializing in multifamily and commercial real estate. Headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, Ayadi group is currently working in commercial property investments in Baghdad. 244 Figure 5.31: Showing the site layout of AHP Source: Author

Individual Unit Layout

Units were categorized according to the area of the unit – with 135 m2, 160 m2, or 195 m2

– yet their layouts are very similar. Following the MHUP criteria for housing unit design, the majority of units were designed to have three bedrooms which were grouped in a way that provided a degree of privacy and separation from the rest of the unit that contains a kitchen, a living room, bathrooms, and a terrace. This separation between the different sections in residential units is typical of residential buildings in Iraq. The design layout of the AHP housing units, as argued by the design firm, fits the current contemporary living requirements of Iraqi families. Lacking any traditional references from the courtyard house, this layout resembles to a large degree the modernized layout of housing units in apartment complexes constructed during the past century in

Baghdad.

245 Yet, regarding the design of housing units, the argument of Hanwha, the designers of the

Bismayah project, similar to the argument of TAC, the designers of the Saidiya project, is that the separation between public spaces (i.e., living room, main entrance, lobby) from the private spaces

(i.e., bedrooms) is a representation of traditionalism and privacy found in the traditional residential environment in Baghdad. The clustering of housing units is similar in all proposed building types.

This similarity and repetition is also evident in the design layout of housing units despite the difference in size. This repetitive design was projected onto the outer designs of residential buildings. Although the proposed designs included four different proposals for building facades, the implemented work manifested a monotonous repetition of exterior formal characteristics, including the finishing materials.

Figure 5.32: the typical floor plan of 165 m2 housing units Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

246 Figure 5.33: The typical floor plan of 135 m2 housing units Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

Figure 5.34, 5.35: Showing housing design layout of apartment unit 165 m2 (left) and unit 135 m2 (right) Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

247 Figure 5.36: Showing housing design layout of apartment unit 195 m2 Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

Interstitial Area: Privatization and Socio-spatial Segregation

“Full-service residential complex in Baghdad.”70 This is the opening description that has been used by the BIC to advertise MHUP residential projects. They have been designed as self- sufficient micro-urban areas, or micro-cities, that are functionally and socially independent from their immediately adjacent built environment. While inhabitants of existing housing projects constructed during the 1970s and 1980s lost faith in government-based services, management of newly constructed projects has promised continuous services and maintenance through private or public/private governance efforts. In the AHP project, for instance, all project services were centralized.71 These included management, security, maintenance and cleaning, landscaping, and commercial services. The project was thus designed to be isolated and privatized. In order to ensure the physical isolation and privatization of the AHP urban space, the interstitial area was designed to achieve physical impermeability. Controlled access and militarized features were employed.

The complex had only one gate that controlled vehicular and pedestrian access to and from the

70 - See official website of Ayadi Group; the investment company of Ayadi Project http://www.ayadigroup.com/ 71 - Ibid. 248 complex. The gate was designed as a 3-part building structure that included spaces for guards, security cameras, and iron gates. These features redefined the meaning of “safety” in residential complexes and had a strong psychological impact because they generate perceived safety.72 In an environment of violence, terror, and an increasing rate of crime, these features functioned as a marketing strategy that lured residents to live behind the gates of the AHP.

Figure 5.37 and 5.38 (above, left to right): Showing circulation network and the types of physical boundaries and access points of Al-Ayadi gated community Source: Author

Urban housing standards set by the State Commission for Housing in Iraq qualified the

AHP to be treated as a neighborhood in terms of the types of amenities provided. According to housing standards based on the Polservice study for planning general housing in Iraq in 1973, a housing group can be considered a neighborhood if the number of inhabitants is between 2,400-

3,600 and the number of dwellings is between 400-600. The expected number of inhabitants of

72 - Setha Low, Behind the Gates, 121. 249 1,332 units was approximately equal to the size of a neighborhood; thus, in terms of the required facilities and amenities, the AHP should include:

 A nursery/kindergarten  A primary school of about 18 classrooms  An intermediate/secondary school of 9-12 classrooms  A marketplace  A religious building  A healthcare center  An administration building

These amenities were already included in the AHP design. Although the AHP followed the design criteria set by the urban housing manual in terms of required amenities, it lacked an essential design criterion of accessibility to most of those amenities due to its exclusionary nature, as it was designed as a gated community. According to the urban housing design manual set by the State

Commission for Housing in Iraq in 2010, the walkable distance from and into these amenities should be as follows: nursery/kindergarten 300 m, health-care center 800 m, primary school 500 m, intermediate/secondary school 800 m, and marketplace 500 m.

Figure 5.39: Showing maximum access distances in meters from a dwelling in urban housing to the various community facilities. Source: Ministry of Reconstruction and Housing, “Urban Housing Design Manual, 37.

250 The AHP was designed to include the services mentioned above, yet its impermeable boundaries hampered access to those services and their benefits and thus, it forms a housing typology of ‘a city within a city.’ This typology is enhanced by the fact that, like most of GCs in

Baghdad, AHP is located inside the city of Baghdad, and not on the suburban areas or outskirts of the city as it is the case with GCs in other countries. By comparison, the civic center and common amenities in the housing complexes of the 20th century in Baghdad, such as the Saidiya complex, were designed to benefit not only the inhabitants of the complex but also those of the adjacent neighborhood through a permeable interstitial area. An accessibility analysis, using GIS based on accessibility criteria set by urban housing standards in Iraq, can identify the areas that can benefit from the services inside the AHP, yet such benefit is hampered by the physical barriers of the AHP.

Figure 5.40: Showing the socio-spatial impact of the impermeable boundaries of AHP in regard to health facilities. Source: Author based on GIS spatial analysis.

251 Figure 5.41: Showing the socio-spatial impact of the impermeable boundaries of AHP in regard to elementary schools. Source: Author based on GIS spatial analysis

Figure 5.42: Showing the socio-spatial impact of the impermeable boundaries of AHP in regard to high schools. Source: Author based on GIS spatial analysis

252 5.4.2 Physical Appearance and Design Values: Commodified Traditionalism and Disneyism

A close observation of the formal characteristics of the AHP indicates that there are two general referencing sources salient in the project: the Islamic city and a historical Mesopotamian city. These references appear on various levels: in building forms, vocabularies, and materials. In general, the project adapted historical architectural vocabularies to modern needs. The architectural design of the AHP has been described by the project’s consultant engineer to be a blend of modernity and heritage, with an emphasis on the traditional vocabulary of Baghdad’s architecture “in order to highlight the spirit of the capital city and to distinguish it from the rest of the projects.”73 In order to convey this vision of hybrid architecture, the AHP design drew upon replication and architectural quotationism from various traditional and historical referencing. In the following section, this research will attempt to identify these references and critically analyze their function and meaning.

‘Islamic City’ Referencing

The first referencing that can be identified in the AHP is the Islamic city (discussed in the previous chapter). It was conveyed through decorative ornaments and vocabularies that were superficially attached to the skin of AHP buildings. In short, they lacked the social meaning and environmental function of the original vocabularies. Hence, the design strategy of the AHP creates a mere image that lacks the essence of a traditional city, or as Nooraddin puts it, utilized “a method that deals with the shell rather than the content.”74

73 - Official website of BIC. http://www.baghdadic.gov.iq/ar/node/472 74 - Elsheshtawy, Planning Middle Eastern Cities, 73. 253 a. Materials and Visual Referencing

 Brickwork

Although the construction of the public buildings and high-rise residential buildings in the

AHP relied on a concrete frame structure system, their facades made use of yellow brickwork.

Separate from the primary skin of the buildings, brickwork was employed to form functional arches around the openings and non-functional decorative pointed arches on the facades of some of the AHP buildings. It was also employed as ornamentation to decorate the facades of buildings.

In Ornament and Decoration in Islamic Architecture in 2000, Dominique Clévenot insists that, because of its formal and thermal characteristics, in addition to the constructional and ornamentation variations it offers, brickwork is one of the principal materials in Islamic architecture in a vast region from the Indus valley to Mesopotamia.75 Yet, regardless of its connection to the notion of the traditional or Islamic city, brick has been the principal construction material for various types of buildings in Iraq throughout various historical periods.

In Baghdad Arts Deco: Architectural Brickwork, 1920-1950 in 2010, Caecilia Pieri claims that the employment of brickwork in Iraq dates far back in history. “The art of brick-building and ornamentation was brought to its peak by the Sumerians and Assyrians, whose techniques transmitted by the Abbasids, were perpetuated without interruption until the twentieth century.”76

After this, eclectic and composite brickwork techniques were developed through the efforts of local builders in Iraq known as “ustas” and by British architects during the British colonization of

Iraq.77 Pieri claims that the main reason behind this continuation was that brickwork was a representation of architectural identity in Iraq and accompanied an increasing consciousness of

75 - Dominique Clévenot, Ornament and Decoration in Islamic Architecture (London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2000), 91. 76 - Pieri, Baghdad Arts Deco, 1. 77 - Ibid. 254 nationalism against the influence of westernization which began in the late 19th century.78

Brickwork continued to be employed throughout the 20th century in Baghdad for masking the exterior facades of various building types. Thus, it can be argued that the brickwork in the AHP was primarily used in correspondence with and as a continuation of the notion of Baghdad’s architectural character and identity.

Figure 5.43: Showing yellow brickwork as a main exterior material for the facades of the residential buildings at Al-Ayadi Project Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

78 - Ibid., 50. British colonialism in Iraq lasted from 1918 to 1932 during which Caecilia Pieri in 2010, claims that the British —mostly military engineers — have dramatically transformed the urban scenery of Baghdad in order to translate the colonial control on the colonized territory practically and symbolically. Yet, the role of Iraqi builders ‘ustas’ who worked with the British engineers has created a hybridity in architectural and urban image of Baghdad by combining westernization with local architecture.50. This stylistic hybridity, Caecilia claims, is perceived by Iraqis as a loss of identity, 78. Caecilia refers this perception to nostalgia for the ideal imaginary image of Baghdad.

255  Wood

In order to indicate traditional referencing in the AHP, wood was used in two prominent buildings: the shanasheel of the market building (namely Ain Baghdad), and also in the arched openings of the gate building. Similar to the traditional shanasheel in Iraq, the shanasheel incorporated on the upper floors of the market building in the AHP were constructed from wood.

Shanasheels are latticed wood windows attached to the facade on the second story of typically a two-story traditional courtyard house, an irregular shaped house with silent walls, with no windows on the outside except for the shanasheel.79 Wood was one of the basic materials used to cover openings in traditional residential architecture in Baghdad. According to Clévenot, the detailing possibilities of wood is compatible with “aesthetics of the veil” or the meaning of social privacy in traditional Islamic society in Iraq. Clévenot argues that the logic of interlacing in Islamic architecture is that it separates “the private from the public, the interior from the exterior and the invisible from the visible."80 Yet, the building in which the shanasheel was used in the AHP was a market building, a public building surrounded by a public space.

In addition to privacy, the shanasheel served two other primary functions: aesthetic function and an environmental function of diffusing direct sunlight and thus reducing heat in the hot climates of Arabian cities. Nonetheless, social and environmental functions of the shanasheel are valid only within the integrated, ecological and social system of traditional, organic fabric.

While the traditional shanasheel holds social, environmental, and aesthetic meanings and functions, the shanasheel of Ain Baghdad seemed to be merely decorative elements. Therefore, although similar in shape, the shanasheel of Ain Baghdad differed in function and meaning from those used in traditional courtyard houses.

79 - Pieri, Baghdad Arts Deco, 26. 80 - Clévenot and Degeorge, Ornament and Decoration in Islamic Architecture, 208. 256 Figure 5.44: Showing traditional pointed arches and Islamic geometric and vegetal decorative patterns constructed in yellow brick on the market facades. It also showcases the employment of the traditional shanasheel constructed in wood to cover the openings at the upper floors of the market building. Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

257 Figure 5.45: Showing the employment of the traditionally-inspired opening vocabularies made in wood at AHP. Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

b. Geometrical Islamic Ornamental Motifs

In general, Islam condemns the use of animal and human forms in ornamentation and decoration, and thus geometry is its formal system of ornamentation.81 One of the Islamic-related decorative elements employed in the AHP project is the geometrical form of the eight-pointed star that appears as a decorative flooring print and ceiling lighting fixture at the main entrance of residential buildings.82 The eight-pointed star was chosen to indicate a religious symbol taken from the octagonal ground plan of the Umayyad Dome of the Rock shrine, which is considered to be the first qibla (direction for prayers) for Muslims. The architecture of public amenities in the Al-

Ayadi project also displayed evidence of hybrid architecture. The market building, for instance, showcases the employment of a specific geometrical ornamental pattern constructed with yellow brickwork-and-mortar ribs.

81 - Clévenot and Degeorge, Ornament and Decoration in Islamic Architecture, 126,143. 82 - Interestingly, for the Ba`ath party, the eight-pointed star represented a symbol of Arab unity and identity that reflects the pan-Arab propaganda of the Ba`athist party. As a result, during the last quarter of the 20th century, the eight-pointed star was present in most of the architectural edifices that were constructed during Ba`ath party era in Iraq. This includes mosques, presidential palaces, government buildings, and bridges. 258 Figure 5.46 and 5.47: Showing the eight-pointed star on the ceilings of the main entrances of some of the residential buildings at AHP, and similar geometric pattern on the front façade of the market building. Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

Figure 5.48: Showing the eight- pointed star used as a pattern on the floor of the main entrance at some of the residential buildings at AHP Source:https://www.facebook .com/ayadigroupp/

259 c. Islamic Arches

Pointed, Islamic arches have been widely used as both functional and decorative element in religious, institutional, and residential buildings throughout various historical eras in Iraq. Pointed arches appear in several historical buildings from the Abbasid era such as Al-Mustansiriya school and Abbasid palaces in Baghdad. Examples of the pointed arches are still vastly employed in contemporary Baghdad architecture with the objective of conveying an Islamic image. A good example can be seen in the new building of the Baghdad Governorate. A similar design approach has been used in the AHP. Pointed arches were incorporated on the facades of some of the AHP buildings as decorative elements. They were also visible on the facades of the market building, and on the entrances of some residential buildings. Semi-circular arches were also employed in the architecture of the AHP buildings. While pointed arches were often used in traditional public buildings, semi-circular arches were very common in traditional residential architecture in

Baghdad. Nevertheless, the employment of arches was one of the strategies used by the AHP designers to convey an image of traditional Islamic architecture. Interestingly, an examination of the Ayadi Group’s architectural designs in other Arabian countries indicates that the employment of arches is one of their principal design strategies to create combine modernity and tradition. An example can be seen in the Al-Yasmeen tower in Egypt.

260 Figure 5.49: Traditional pointed arch employed as an entrance at the front elevation of Al-Ayadi project Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

Figure 5.50: Showing traditional pointed arch employed as a decorative element at the front and side facades. Source: https://www.facebook.com/ ayadigroupp/

261 ‘Mesopotamian City’ Referencing

The second historical reference employed in the design of the AHP is the Mesopotamian city, based on iconic building forms from historical cities in modern Iraq. The architectural form of the leisure club, for instance, borrows from the historical Ziggurat of Ur, as well as from the imaginative description of the historical hanging gardens. Its architectural form consists of ascending series of tiered floors containing trees and other landscaping elements. The roofs of each floor were to be used as external sitting areas. Similar architectural form is replicated in a decorative structure in front of the main gate, the function of which was to display the symbol of the investment company. The design of the gate for the housing complex was also based on architectural metaphor. As the main symbol of a safeguarded territory, the AHP gate mimics the historical gates in Iraq, such as the Ishtar gate of Babylon. To create a general theme for the project, the finishing material used for the gate and the public amenities was similar to that of the residential buildings: yellow brickwork. Despite the historical referencing, modern materials and technologies are used for construction.

262 Table 5.4: References and Influences from the Mesopotamian City Source: Author

Metaphoric image reference Metaphoric architecture at Al-Ayadi gated community

Ishtar gate at Babylon city. Source: http://www.alsumaria.tv/ newsimages/NB-138182- 635708145424814394.jpg

Historical walls and gate at Babylon Source:http://orig00.deviantart.net/ Al-Ayadi project gate d766/f/2011/176/8/8/babylon_wall Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/ _2_by_spring_sky-d3jx6xr.jpg

263 The historical Ziggurat of Ur. Iraq Historical metaphor of Ziggurat to hold the sign of Source: http://www.ancient- the investment company and provide advertisement origins.net/sites/default/files/field/ima in front of the main gate of project ge/Great-Ziggurat-of-Ur.jpg Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

Imaginary drawing of the Hanging The proposed design for the leisure club at Al-Ayadi gardens of Babylon city. project. Source:http://media.moddb.com Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/ /images/games/1/11/10298/bablyo n.jpg

264 Applying the Theory of Disneyism

It can be argued that the design approach employed in the Al-Ayadi project has Disneyfied elements: forms from various historical periods and locations in Iraq. The design simplified these historical forms, altered their original functions to fit the project’s requirements and created visual effect that connects them to the ancient and near past thereby giving a sense of identity at the same time. This Disneyfication of history and tradition is well known for its attractive marketing effect on visitors to tourist attractions. Several scholars consider Disneyfication as a commodification and marketing strategy that is part of a larger neo-liberal globalization effort.83 The investment housing project of the AHP is part of a neo-liberalizing process in Iraq in which housing has become a marketable product instead of a social project. In this light, it was typical of the AHP investors to commodify history in order to attract buyers.

● Theming

According to Alan Bryman, theming, one of the four trends of Disneyism along with dedifferentiation of consumption, merchandizing, and emotional labor, is a formalistic strategy that helps in achieving visual coherence and integration. It makes a building prominent and popular by directing focus on the theme itself more than on the function of the building. Its main objective is to achieve attractiveness for residents, with the goal of financial gain. In the context of the AHP, designers made use of architectural quotationism from a known precedent, the historical city of

Babylon and its famous Abbasid architecture, and employed it as a theme for the architecture of residential buildings and common amenities. In an argument provided by the developer of the Al-

Ayadi gated community, this trend of theming helped to differentiate the AHP from the rest of the

83 - Lorenzo A. Puente’s “The Commodification of Everything: Disneyfication and Filipino American Narratives of Globalization and Diaspora,” David Harvey’s “The Art of Rent: Globalization, Monopoly and the Commodification Culture,” 93-110, and Jen Harvie’s Staging the UK, 76, and “The Edinburgh Festivals: Globalization and Democracy,” 74-112. 265 residential developments in Baghdad. This argument is analogous to the one provided by Walt

Disney, who wanted to differentiate Disneyland from traditional theme parks.84 This differentiation aided in advertising and marketing for housing units of AHP.

● Dedifferentiation of consumption

Bryman defines the second trend, dedifferentiation of consumption as “the general trend whereby the forms of consumption associated with different institutional spheres become interlocked with each other and increasingly difficult to distinguish.”85 Here, Bryman gives the example of the Main Street facades in Disneyland that are designed as toy houses to invite users inside, but their interiors are contemporary supermarkets or restaurants where users would make purchases while believing they are still playing. With their various attractive forms, buildings are created as vehicles of consumption that can achieve high rate of sales and financial gains.86 Similar to Disneyland’s Main Street, the buildings of the Al-Ayadi facades were designed to attract and invite residents. The marketplace at the Al-Ayadi project, for instance, was created to mimic the design of a traditional courtyard house, and so was its mosque. A similar case can be seen in the proposed architectural style of the leisure club of AHP. This familiarity of formal characteristics invites users to the building and simultaneously provide financial gains to the developer.

● Merchandizing

Bryman defines merchandizing as “the promotion of goods in the form of or bearing copyright images and logos, including such products made under license.” This third trend of

Bryman’s is close in meaning to the second and can be seen in the logo of the investment company

84 - Bryman, “the Disneyfication of society,” in G Ritzer, The McDonaldization Reader (London: Sage Publications, 1999), 282. 85 - Ibid., 284. 86 - Ibid., 283. 266 for the AHP. An entire structure was constructed and placed in front of the main gate and only access point to the AHP, holding the sign of the Ayadi Group on top of that structure with the primary objective of advertising for the project. This logo was also printed on the main entrance’s glass doors in residential buildings. In comparison, this merchandising is absent from the architecture of previous housing projects constructed during the 1970s and 1980s.

● Performative or Emotional Labor

Citing Ashforth and Humphrey, Bryman defines the fourth trend of emotional labor as “the act of expressing socially desired emotions during service transaction.”87 He also defines it as the

“rendering of work by managements and employers alike as akin to a theatrical performance park.”88 Emotional labor exemplifies an environment that is built upon the controlled actions of employees based on certain rules. This trend relies on the behavioral aspects of the private sector provided management and maintenance labor inside the AHP. However, not all four dimensions of Disneyism are always fully expressed, though Disneyism generally refers to thematic expressions that were quite evident in the AHP.89 In this context, it is neither Chadirji’s internationalized regionalism nor the notion of Baghdad’s architectural identity that is intended through the historical and traditional referencing in the AHP’s architectural characteristics. Rather, it is globalism hiding under the mask of traditionalism to serve the financial gains of investors.

87 - Ibid., 285. 88 - K. Moraes Zarzar, “Dutch FUSION Architecture: Regionalism or Globalism?” 257. 89 - Ibid. 267 Figure 5.51: Showing the logo of the investment company on the main doors of a residential building Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/photos

268 Figure 5.52: Showing the logo of the investment company on the main doors of the housing complex Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/photos

5.4.3 Socio-economic Characteristics: Homogeneity, Re-tribalization, and a Sense of

Otherness

According to the project’s description, residential units were to be sold to citizens and government employees. Based on the contract between the Baghdad Investment Commission

(BIC) and the investor for the AHP, 533 units were sold to employees of the Iraqi Ministry of

Municipalities and Public Works.90 The rest was to be sold to those who were able to afford the payments. The prices of the AHP housing units ranged approximately from 150 to 200 million ID,

90 - An interview by Al-Mada Press with the vice manager of Public Municipalities at the Ministry of Municipalities in Iraq, Ibtisam Ahmed. The vice manager stated that 533 apartment units in the Al-Ayadi housing project are dedicated for the ministry employees. https://www.almadapress.com/ar/news/18878/ 269 depending on the size of the unit. The payment method echoes the payment options proposed by the MHUP discussed earlier in this chapter. The down payment was to be covered by a loan from the Housing Bank, and the rest was to be divided into monthly payments of approximately 700 US

Dollars per month.

A comparison of purchase prices and monthly payments of those housing units to data from recent surveys by the CSO shows that only middle-income families (those who earned an average of 1312.9-1597.1 Iraqi Dinars per month) and higher-income earners were capable of affording those housing units.91 Additionally, like the rest of MHUP projects in Baghdad, the AHP showed no interest in supporting the National Housing Policy no. 2.1.4 – the inclusion of low-incomes residents in commercially funded housing developments. With strong political support for housing investment in Iraq, recent housing projects in Baghdad have been constructed exclusively for middle-income earners. The fact that a high percentage of the housing units in most of MHUP projects are to be sold to the employees of a certain ministry provides financial assurance to housing sector investors, simply because their government-provided salaries guarantee monthly payments toward the purchase price.

Table 5.3: Showing the mechanism of purchasing a housing unit in AHP Source: http://www.ayadigroup.com/index.php/en/features-mainmenu-47/template-features/seo- optimized/8-frontpage/127-2016-09-04-11-06-55

91 - CSO official website. http://cosit.gov.iq/ar/expenditure-indicators. 270 Although many Iraqi scholars believe that a neoliberal housing approach is the solution for the massive housing shortage in Iraq, the product of that approach proves otherwise.92 That neoliberal approach did increase housing production, yet it has not targeted all socioeconomic groups who are in need of housing. This is evident in recent surveys from the CSO that show that low and lower-income families make up the highest percentage of those in need for housing in

Baghdad, yet the main provider for housing, the private sector, is focusing exclusively on middle- income earners.93

Does providing housing units resolve the issue of housing shortage in Baghdad if it does not target the socioeconomic groups in need of housing? Perhaps the activation of National

Housing Policy no. 2.1.4, combined with law-enforcement and supervision by the public sector, might alleviate the problem. Not only the cost of the units but their conceptual design promotes the characteristic of homogeneity. Although housing units in the AHP project varied in size and cost, they were almost the same in terms of their layout. The majority of units were designed to have three bedrooms, which meant that the AHP targeted families of at least four members.

Therefore, the conceptual design of the AHP units projected an image of a safe, homogeneous family environment, serving as a marketing strategy that lured families currently living amid a high crime rate in Baghdad to live behind the gates of the AHP.

92 - See examples of scholarly work which supports a neoliberal approach to housing provision in Aljubory’s “Law System for Investment in Iraq,” Alhamawendy’s and Alqaisy’s “Phase of Change and Building Institutions and its Effect on Framing Housing Policy in Iraq,” Mutlag’s “Activating the Role of the Private Sector Activity in Housing Finance,” Hamid’s “Investment in Housing Sector and its Finance,” Majdi’s “The Role of Housing Finance Policies in Reducing the Housing Crisis in Iraq,” and Rahi’s “The Role of Bank Credit in Financing Housing Market in Iraq.” 93 - According to BIC, Baghdad needs around 224,000 housing units, and according to CSO, the number of inhabitants of informal settlements in Baghdad reached nearly 727,000 inhabitants, and it continues to increase. http://www.cosit.gov.iq/ar/random-household. 271 5.4.4 Spatial Translation of Residential Safety

A GC is an example of access control and spatial isolation, and thus socio-spatial segregation. This typology has been widely examined by scholars through the theory of CPTED.

As discussed earlier in the literature review, the theory of CPTED relies on four principles: surveillance, access control, territorial reinforcement, maintenance and management. In order to understand the differences in the meaning of residential safety between the previous housing typologies constructed during the second half of the 20th century and the typologies produced through the MHUP, this research will analyze the Al-Ayadi gated community based on the above mentioned CPTED principles and compare them to findings from an analysis of the Saidiya complex in the previous chapter.

Table 5.5: Applying the Principles of CPTED Theory a- Surveillance: Straight lines and hidden spots.

Strategies employed:

Visible access to individual buildings: The main entrance and main lobby which includes the elevators area in each residential building are clearly visible from adjacent streets through the employment of transparent glass doors

Main access of a residential Building at AHP Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

272 Lighting: Open spaces and public routes are well lit. these include:

1- The main, and secondary access lines and pathways within the site layout of the project are equipped with street lighting fixtures.

Main gate and central access at AHP Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

2- Entrances and lobbies of individual residential buildings are quite visible and well lit

Main access of a residential Building at AHP Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

273 3- Parking areas are located in front of the residential buildings and are visible to the inhabitants and well lit. They are also accompanied by formal surveillance through security cameras

Parking areas in front of residential buildings at AHP Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

Optimized use of ground level. The ground levels of residential buildings are well secured, fenced, and visible from the adjacent areas, and thus, do not generate hidden spots. However, they are not natural generators of activity, and thus, they are inconsistent with the CEPTED concept of functional optimization of ground floors. The ground level at a residential building in AHP Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

274 Locations of activity generators Unlike previous housing typologies of the 1970s, and 1980s, open spaces at Al-Ayadi gated communitys are not employed to be playgrounds and mere parking spaces. Each open space is designed to include a building of specific activity such as the local market, the leisure club, and the health facility

A public space occupied by a market building

Straight lines of visibility from apartment units The allocation of openings and main balconies of the living rooms inside the residential units face the streets and open spaces inside the project area which provide what Jane Jacobs call “eyes on the street”. Yet, since the residential buildings are 8 stories high, clear observation of outdoor areas is limited to those who dwell in the first four-five stories who make up almost half of the resident only. Typical floor plan of AHP residential building Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

275 Formal Surveillance In addition to the above-mentioned strategies of natural surveillance, the project relies heavily on surveillance cameras and trained guards for surveillance. b- Access control

Physical solid barriers The entire project’s area is surrounded by impermeable iron fence that restricts access. Physical barriers at AHP Source: Author

Secured gate The project has only one access for both pedestrian and vehicles. While it provides connection with adjacent area, it ensures isolation of Al-Ayadi inhabitants from the surrounding community Guards The single access to inside the project is controlled and secured by hired guards

AHP main gate. Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

276 c-Territorial reinforcement

Buffer areas The buffer area which is made of separate route around the project and green spaces, reinforce territoriality, and provide further isolation between the project and its immediately adjacent areas. Although it is permeable, it provides symbolic barrier.

The green spaces and separate routes in front of AHP Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

Physical solid barriers In addition to symbolic barriers provided by the buffer areas, the surrounding iron fence provides real physical isolation and generates a sense of territoriality.

The solid barrier around AHP Source: https://www.facebook.com/ayadigroupp/

277 d- Maintenance and management

Private-sector provided maintenance and management

The project relies entirely on maintenance provided through the investment company. It does encourage relying on voluntary public participation of inhabitants and thus, does not support the notion of community. Yet, maintenance ensures the vitality of the residential area. For instance, constant maintenance of lighting preserve visibility in public spaces and public circulation routes, and it thus promotes safety within the residential project. in addition to maintenance, management of the project is also controlled by the investment company.

5.5 Chapter Review

Throughout this chapter, this research has explored recent housing typologies constructed between 2003 and 2017, the factors that have led to their emergence, and their social, spatial, and physical characteristics, in addition to their potential socio-spatial impact and implications. Three typologies of urban housing can be identified:

 Non-gated, attached single-family housing

 Gated apartment complexes

 Gated, attached single-family housing

While the first typology shares great similarities with the urban housing typology used in the Doxiadis housing program during the 1950s, the other two typologies differ dramatically from previous typologies of urban housing in Baghdad in terms of funding sources, socioeconomic status of residents, purchasing methods, governance, and approaches to residential security. These typologies of GCs have promised utopic-like living conditions concerning safety and services, yet unlike previous urban housing typologies, their socio-spatial implications can be identified as homogeneity, privatism, re-tribalization, and socio-spatial segregation. Due to such problematic

278 implications and design values, previous typologies emerged during the second half of the 20th century provide better alternatives than GCs for residential development in Baghdad. A comparison of the case study of the AHP with case studies constructed during the second half of the 20th century can be identified in table 5.6.

Figure 5.53: Showing the current number of urban housing projects in Baghdad in addition to their locations and the approximate number of inhabitants. Source: Author

279 Table 5.6: A comparison between four case studies. Source: Author

Socio-spatial and physical characteristics Project name Components Characteristics Iskan Dhubat Saidiya AHP Layout Site layout Grid Pattern ● ● Clusters of buildings ● Unit layout Modern (opened) Traditional ● ● ● ● Interstitial area Access Gated ● Non-gated ● ● ● Street Integrated ● ● ● network Separated ● Physical Residential Single- Semi-detached ● ● components buildings family Detached Multi- Low-rise 3-4 stories ● family Med-rise 5-8 stories High-rise, above 8 ● Amenities Shared (public) ● ● ● Privatized ● Open spaces Shared (public) ● ● ● Privatized ● Physical Modern (absence of traditional referencing) ● Appearance Traditional referencing Hybrid ● ● Disneyfied ● Providers Public sector-provided ● ● ● Private sector-provided (Investment) ● Inhabitants Low-income groups ● ● Middle-income groups ● ● High-income groups ● Defensibility: Approaches to residential safety Surveillance Natural Visibility strait lines ● ● Activity Open spaces ● ● ● ● generates Ground floors ● Lighting Parking ● ● Building access ● ● Open spaces ● ● ● ● Public routes ● ● ● ● Formal Guards ● Security cameras ● Territoriality Physical Walls ● ● boundaries Gates ● Symbolic Landscape elements ● ● boundaries Separate routes ● ● Hierarchy of spaces ● ● Access control Limited access points (guarded) ● Multiple access points (non-guarded) ● ● ● Maintenance & Provision Public sector-provided ● ● ● management Private sector-provided ● Availability Continuous ● Occasional ● ● ●

280 An examination of the context that surrounded the return of urban housing projects, combined with the increasing popularity of gated communities in Baghdad since 2004, indicates that this phenomenon is a representation of a politico-economic shift. The shift in the political system in Iraq has moved from a centralized socialist system to a decentralized democratic system in which the housing sector is no longer a social service, but an investment. In addition to the political shift, the end of U.N. sanctions after the 2003 war, combined with the end of the Ba’athist socialist regime in Iraq, imposed new economic measures and shifted the economic orientation in

Iraq from a socialist to a neoliberal economy. This shift has left its impact on urban housing in various ways. This shift generated essential factors in the re-emergence of urban housing in

Baghdad. These factors can be identified as changes in investment laws, and the establishment of investment commissions – the NIC and BIC – and the initiation of the PRS and 5-year plans to support the provision of urban housing projects for fragile, low-income groups. The impact of those factors opened the way for the private sector to play a key role in housing provision, whereas the public sector in relation with urban housing in Baghdad can be explored in the diagram below.

Figure 5:54: The relation between urban housing and politics (2003- 2017). Source: Author.

281 Chapter 6 Conclusions

6.1 Main Findings:

This dissertation has attempted to contextualize the transformation in the architectural design typology of urban housing in Baghdad from state-built housing to privatized gated communities, and critically examine the socio-spatial impact of that transformation. This attempt has required an examination of the conceptual and physical design values and characteristics of urban housing projects, in connection with the political and economic contexts that surrounded this transformation. The examination has covered a period that began with the initiation of urban housing programs in Baghdad during the mid-1950s and extends to the present time. During this period, major political and economic shifts occurred and had a dramatic impact on the development of urban housing programs, policies, and typologies. Therefore, the examination of urban housing was divided chronologically based on shifts in political regimes and economic systems. Findings from a comparison of urban housing under different regimes throughout the researched chronological periods have highlighted a number of similarities and differences. In terms of urban housing characteristics, five typologies can be identified. Their characteristics are summarized in the following table:

282 Table 6.1: Urban housing typologies and their characteristics Source: Author

Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Type 4 Type 5 Type 6 Semi-detached single- Non-gated Gated Low-cost Exclusive Gated private towns family housing Apartment blocks Apartment housing communities blocks

Layout Grid pattern Clusters of uniform Clusters of Grid pattern Varies, Grid Varies, Grid buildings uniform pattern, and pattern, and buildings clusters clusters

Development Planned subdivisions state-built, includes Mostly private- State-built Public-sector private-sector process allocated and delivered subsidized housing sector provided subsidized provided staff provided primarily by the state. Includes and staff housing primarily as part housing as housing as part of MHUP subsidized housing and of some ministries of MHUP part of the exclusive communities and universities poverty reduction strategy (PRS)

Timeline 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s and 1980s 2010s 2010s 2010s 2010s 2010s

Housing units Semi-detached housing Uniform medium Uniform high- 2-story Semi-detached Semi-detached and high-rise rise apartment apartment houses and low- houses and low-rise apartment buildings buildings rise apartment apartment buildings buildings buildings

Infrastructure Fully serviced Fully serviced Fully serviced Partially Fully serviced Fully serviced serviced

Style Hybrid Varies, hybrid to Varies, standardized Hybrid Varies, disneyfied, standardized disneyfied, modern that hybrid, and modern modern that lacks hybrid, and lacks that lacks historical historical modern that historical referencing referencing lacks historical referencing referencing

Income Mostly low-income Mixed-income Middle to high- Low-income Mixed-income Middle to high- groups household household income household household income household household

283 Figure 6.1: Showing the typologies of urban housing in Baghdad Source: Author

284 The following sections represent the main findings of this research divided into themes.

6.1.1 Urban Housing and Politics: Various Architectural Images Serving Different Political

Agendas

The findings from this critical examination indicate that housing development has been used by various political regimes in Iraq as a tool to project certain images and deliver multivalent- level messages to the public, on the local level, and to political systems, on the regional level. By revisiting the initiation of urban housing programs in the mid-1950s by Doxiadis Associates, it is clear that the Hashemite monarchy employed foreign firms to modernize the urban scenery of

Baghdad through the removal of sarifa dwellings from the urban fabric and upgrading of living standards of dwellers from rural to urbanized in newly constructed urban housing projects. By looking deeply into the conceptual and physical characteristics of the implemented housing of

Western Baghdad, it can be stated that the inclusion of local vocabularies and regional particularities sought to mirror a housing program that supported property rights of individuals, a national propaganda, and aspirations of the Iraqi political regime toward modernization. Therefore, the Doxiadis national housing program and achievements did not merely respond to housing shortage problems in Baghdad, but also served the ambitions of the ruling power to achieve social reform and employ the capital city in the conveyance of an anti-communist message on a regional level in an attempt to overcome the threats of a communist agenda as its power was increasing in the Middle East.

Nonetheless, the 14th of July Revolution in 1958 created an opportunity for the communist agenda to influence the Iraqi political system. Despite its anti-communist propaganda, Doxiadis’ proposals continued to be implemented in Baghdad because the proposed designs were compatible

285 with the nationalist agenda of Abd Al-Karim Qasim. Towards the mid-1960s, new planning proposals and new housing programs appeared to suit new political directives in the country that were based on pan-Arabism and the socialist agenda of the Ba`ath Party. Polservice, an architectural and urban design office from a socialist country, was chosen by the Iraqi government to transform the entire urban scenery of the capital city and reflect the emergence of a new political power in the country.

Government-funded urban housing programs and state-built housing projects later emerged on a broader scale than during the 1950s. With the Ba`athist regime still in power, and supported by economic developments, the cityscape of Baghdad was transformed from the late

1970s to the late 1980s. An examination of urban housing typologies in greater detail reveals that the architecture of the residential structures that emerged during the Ba’athist regime era mediated between modernization and traditions. This hybrid architecture that combined a touch of locality with a modernized cultural image served the political system in mirroring its nationalist, pan-

Arabism image, and in delivering a regional message imbued with the concepts of power and control of the ruling power during the Iraq-Iran War. Hence, the primary factors that shaped urban housing development during the second half of the 20th century were political agendas that varied from anti-communism to monarchy, to the pan-Arabism of the Ba’athist socialist regime.

These agendas have vanished since the rise of a new government system in Iraq after the

2003 war. Nonetheless, residential development in Baghdad is still a top-down process. The globalized dynamic of recent market-oriented residential development has given a new definition to living standards and housing typologies. A critical examination of the AHP case study indicates that it was designed based on marketing strategies that supported a bigger process of neoliberalization in which housing was no longer a social need, but rather a commodity. While

286 nationalism was a goal in the design of urban housing during the second half of the 20th century, it has since disappeared from the current neoliberal propaganda around urban housing. Following the client’s will, the function of local architecture vocabularies transformed from a projection of nationalism into a promotion of the marketing values of investors. Urban housing in Baghdad can thus be described as a physical and spatial interpretation of hegemonic orders.

6.1.2 Urban Housing and Economic Orientation: From Socialism to Neoliberalism

A comparison of recent urban housing projects to those constructed in Baghdad during the second half of the 20th century indicates limited similarities and major differences. As for similarities, current housing developments reflect similar political efforts to exploit housing as a tool to serve a certain agenda. With the rise of a new government in the country after military operations in 2003, the transition from a socialist economy to a neoliberal economy has occurred.

Within this new economic system, the private sector has taken over the role of the public sector in the provision of basic needs such as housing. This shift has introduced a new residential typology in the urban fabric of Baghdad under a national investment plan known as the MHUP. Its characteristics are based on the protection of the financial gain of developers and the neoliberal agenda in general, and can be described as follows: privatized, homogeneous, Disneyfied, and walled and gated high-rise apartment complexes in a segregated and controlled environment.

Consequently, while the agendas of political forces previously controlled housing developments, globalized neoliberal market forces control the current housing development in Baghdad. The table below summarizes a comparison between these two economic orientations in relation to urban housing in Baghdad.

287 Table 6.2: Urban Housing in Baghdad in relation to Economic Orientation Source: Author

Economic Neoliberal economy Socialist economy orientation

Urban housing Nearly 85% of urban housing produced 100% of urban housing produced by Production by the private sector and 15% by the the public sector public sector

Urban housing Private sector, public sector, and public- Public sector Funding sources private partnership.

Expenditure type Urban housing is viewed as an Urban housing is viewed as a investment and as a public service public/social service expenditure expenditure

Supervision of urban NIC, BIC, Mayoralty of Baghdad, and Mayoralty of Baghdad (Amanat Al- housing projects MOCH Asima), and Public Authority of Housing

Land ownership Housing units in all projects are sold to Housing units in all projects are sold individual owners to individual owners. - Site, services, and amenities are Site, services, and amenities are government-owned in publicly-funded government-owned projects. - Site, services, and amenities (except for educational facilities) in investment projects (privately funded) are owned by investors. Services and open spaces are privatized.

Governance and Mayoralty of Baghdad and housing Mayoralty of Baghdad and housing Maintenance authorities are responsible for public- authorities provided housing. Investors are responsible for management, maintenance, and provision of services in investment projects.

Occupants of urban - Publicly-funded projects are dedicated Mixed-income groups housing to low-income fragile groups - Investment projects (privately funded) are dedicated to middle and upper- income groups

288 Source: Author andrelationship housing betweeneconoFigure the Showing 6.2: urban - political shifts in Baghdad in shifts political

289 This shift in the controlling power has introduced its own unique values. Architects and planners in Iraq have found themselves obligated to build their conceptual designs on values of profitability and consumerism to serve marketing forces. A comparison between the typologies and characteristics of previous urban housing projects during the 20th century with the conceptual and physical designs of recent gated communities (GCs) highlights that the transformation in values includes, but is not limited to, the following shifts:

From Perceived Safety to Persistent Fear

This dissertation has focused on three main case studies, one from each essential phase in the development of urban housing projects in Baghdad: the Western Baghdad Development

Housing (WBDH) project by the Doxiadis Association (DA) (1955 to 1958), the Saidiya housing complex by The Architects Collaborative (TAC) of Cambridge, Massachusetts (1979 to 1985), and the case of the Al-Ayadi Housing Complex (AHP) by the Egyptian investment company, Al-

Ayadi Group Co. for Real Estate (2013 to 2017). By investigating the spatial organization and physical components of each of these case studies, it is evident that the meaning of residential safety has materialized differently. Neither the WBDH project nor the Saidiya complex included the militarized features exploited in the AHP such as the gates, fences, security cameras, vehicular barriers, and so on. Both were designed to be integrated segments with their surrounding urban fabric. Their circulation networks were designed in integration with the street networks of their neighborhoods. These projects were designed to be permeable and penetrable from several entrances dedicated to both pedestrian and vehicular access. Safety was provided through the notion of residential privacy through a hierarchy of spaces (from public to private). The spatial organization of AHP, on the other hand, lacked this permeability. It was designed to be physically isolated with walls and a single, guarded access gate.

290 Urban fear exists in various forms and it influences the residential preferences of a community. Therefore, the increasing rate of terrorism and crime in Baghdad might justify the popularity of GCs. A brief review of current and future housing developments in Baghdad indicates that GCs emerged as the main typology and new trend of urban housing design. However, scholars such as Low and Ellin argue that GCs increase a sense of perceived fear from outsiders.

According to findings from this dissertation’s literature review, there is no concrete evidence that

GCs provide greater safety than integrated urban housing projects. Militarized features are employed in new housing complexes under the pretext of security and are exploited by the private sector as marketing strategies to attract middle-income buyers. In order for investors to optimize their capital gain through low-risk investments, housing design must attract buyers. In short, these militarized features are protecting investments rather than protecting the inhabitants themselves.

From Public to Privatized

One of the main design values of neoliberal residential spaces is privatization, the act of restricting, controlling, and surveilling common spaces. The word “public” loses its meaning in neoliberalized spaces. As evident in the examination of the case studies of the WBDH project and the Saidiya complex, the allocation of social amenities and open spaces is spatially designed to provide several public accesses to inhabitants of these housing projects as well as to those living in the immediately adjacent neighborhood. By comparison, the facilities and amenities in AHP were located within a walled-off space that limited the right of access to inhabitants of the AHP.

Residential buildings in both the WBDH project and the Saidiya complex were clustered in a way that created semi-public gathering spaces for the households of those buildings. The semi- public spaces acted as filters from which residents moved into either their private residential spaces or the public spaces of the civic centers. This hierarchy of spaces served to distinguish the meaning

291 of public versus private, but has been abandoned in the spatial organization of recent housing projects such as the AHP. The physical isolation of the AHP conveys a distinct meaning for the word “public.” Although its spaces serve as gathering spaces for the inhabitants, they differ from those in the WBDH project and the Saidiya complex in that they are physically restricted from non-community members. The AHP narrates the transition in design values towards an enclaved, privatized realm that has manifested in the recent neoliberal residential spaces of the MHUP projects.

From Integration to Fragmentation: Cities within the City

While the spatial organization of the WBDH project and the Saidiya complex took into consideration a system of socio-spatial integration with the surrounding fabric, the AHP was disintegrated and segregated both spatially and socially. According to local scholars, urban housing projects constructed during the 20th century demonstrated certain negative socio-spatial characteristics such as limited privacy. Yet, compared to the MHUP projects, these projects demonstrated a socio-spatially responsible design.

During the second half of the 20th century, there was a clear intention in architectural design for spatial integration. This was evident in the intentional designs of the interstitial areas between several housing projects and their surrounding neighborhoods that could enhance a sense of community and help to achieve social and urban coherence. This spatial connection with the surrounding built fabric also appeared through connected pedestrian and vehicular circulation and shared public amenities. Their design maintained social connections on the neighborhood scale.

Comparatively, the AHP gated community demonstrated socio-spatial segregation, designed to simulate an isolated island and an urban segment on its own. Its design values allude to the notion of ‘cities within a city.’ This is because, unlike many other cities in other countries, most GCs in

292 Baghdad are located inside the city and are designed as independent communities in that they provide their residents with various social services in isolation from the neighboring communities.

This typology, therefore, has the potential of causing dramatic and devastating socio-spatial implications, such as social segregation and urban fragmentation. Perhaps previous housing projects in Baghdad from the 20th century can provide a better alternative than current GCs in terms of a design that integrates into the surrounding urban fabric.

On the scale of the city, while previous housing projects were connected to a comprehensive housing program and a master plan, current projects are scattered with no master plan, nor a unified future vision to control and connect them to the city’s urban fabric. By promoting GCs as a housing development typology and changing investment laws to empower the private sector, the public sector is giving way to neoliberal concepts that have begun to prevail in the city of Baghdad. In light of this, national housing policies could lose the battle against the contracts of private investors who would impose their own regulations that would only focus on the protection of their investments and their gains, regardless of the broader implications. Perhaps, in the near future, this process may give birth to new generations of GCs and consequently transform the city of Baghdad into urban fragments.

Urban Housing and the Notion of Community

Scholars who support GCs perceive benefits in this housing typology, arguing that it generates a sense of community for those living inside the complex, strengthens the perception of safety for residents, and provides an optimized lifestyle and amenities for those who have lost faith in public sector services, especially in developing countries. Yet, it is difficult to predict whether the concept of “the club good” suggested by Manzi and Bowers 2006 could be achieved in the

AHP. Although the above-mentioned characteristics of the AHP, in comparison to those of the

293 WBDH project and the Saidiya complex, indicate that the socio-spatial characteristics of the AHP can result in a loss of the sense of community, it is too early to speak of whether the AHP may comply with the notion of community. This social implication of the AHP requires an evaluation of the social activities and gatherings within the boundaries of the residential complex itself. While this research could have benefited from a post-occupancy evaluation, demographics of inhabitants and interviews with the inhabitants of the AHP regarding the way they view their lives within the gated community, such data are beyond the scope of this research.

From Heterogeneity to Homogeneity: Enclaves within Enclaves

Another major observation on recent urban housing development in Iraq is the homogeneity of its inhabitants. The housing program proposals of both Doxiadis Associates in

1955 and Polservice in 1965 and 1973 indicated a variety of housing units for households of various income levels. They stressed the importance of achieving socio-economic integration. The statement of the MHUP, on the other hand, specifies that housing units are to be designed for families of at least four members with an income that covers the monthly payments for bank loans and the investors. The socio-economic context of the AHP provides evidence for the MHUP’s statement. The purchasing prices and ownership system of housing units ensure the socioeconomic homogeneity of residents — mostly middle-income earners and up. In light of this, the consequences of GCs, as summarized by the above research, refer to housing and social inequity, and the inadequate distribution of resources. On the city scale, based on evidence from regional and international examples of GCs, there is potential that Baghdad is going to be socially fragmented based on income level if the phenomenon of GCs continues to spread. Whereas

Baghdad is already socially stratified and fragmented into ethnic and religious enclaves, GCs have

294 the potential to enhance this social fragmentation and create a phenomenon of “enclaves within enclaves.”

6.2 Directions for Future Research

The general topic of this dissertation is urban housing and politics. While this dissertation has studied this topic through an examination of the impact of political and economic powers on the design of the residential architecture of urban housing, future research may analyze this topic by looking into other building typologies, for example the architecture of government buildings or educational facilities. Other types of architecture may reveal a different impact of politics on architecture.

In terms of the specific topic – gated communities – as previously discussed in this dissertation, a gated community is a product of the neoliberal urbanization process. Neoliberal spaces come in various forms. Privatized spaces in the urban fabric of Baghdad are on the rise since the transition of the economic system in Iraq after 2003 from a socialist economy to a neoliberal economy. Several types of privatized spaces, in addition to privatized urban housing, have appeared and are also considered to be neoliberal spaces by Nan Ellin, Vicki Howard, and others, such as privatized educational facilities, privatized health facilities, and even shopping malls, which are rapidly increasing in number in Baghdad. These spaces need to be examined in order for researchers to develop an understanding of the rapid urban process of neoliberalization in Baghdad. Although this dissertation has attempted to cover one of the neoliberal spaces in

Baghdad, privatized residential spaces of MHUP, there are several aspects of recent housing developments that require further research. These include, but are not limited to:

 Other case studies. This dissertation has focused on neoliberal residential development

in Baghdad with an emphasis on one case study: the AHP. Therefore, further research

295 is needed on other case studies in Baghdad. Further research is also needed on

typologies of privatized urban housing projects in other cities in Iraq, for instance, the

gated community of Atlantic Erbil in Erbil city. Its typology is distinct from the

typology of GCs in Baghdad in that, in addition to apartment complexes, it offers

luxurious villas with marketable names for its villas such as "Distinctive Style," and

"The Lifestyle You Deserve."1 Here, questions that emerge are: why is this residential

typology missing in Baghdad’s gated communities? Is it common in other cities in Iraq

as well, or not? What are its socio-spatial implications?

 Demographics, views, and the attitudes of gated community inhabitants. The limitations

of this research hampered a detailed analysis of the socioeconomic characteristics of the

inhabitants of GCs and their views regarding their standards of living or lifestyles in

those communities. In addition, the physical characteristics of the AHP in regard to the

impermeability of its physical boundaries hampering non-AHP inhabitants’

accessibility to its facilities could be devastating and destructive to social cohesion on

the neighborhood scale. Limitations of this research made it difficult to acquire deep

understandings of the socio-spatial impact of those communities on the scale of the

neighborhood or the way in which inhabitants of areas adjacent to GCs view those

residential developments. Therefore, a deeper look at the opinions of those living inside

a GC in Baghdad on the sense of community, safety, and quality of life might provide a

better understanding of these social aspects. What might also be interesting would be an

examination not only of the opinions of those living behind the gates, but of inhabitants

of the surrounding neighborhood and their views on this project.

1 - http://atlanticerbil.com/

296  The long-term impact of neoliberal residential developments. This dissertation covers a

certain time period of neoliberal development in Iraq (2003-2017). New literature with

various perspectives regarding GCs and neoliberal approaches to housing in Iraq might

be conveyed in new scholarly work. This is primarily because several MHUP projects

are still under construction. Therefore, new typologies in Baghdad might emerge other

than those covered in this dissertation.

In particular, this study has highlighted the essential social-spatial impact of neoliberal urban housing typologies, indicating that Iraq must develop its own approach to urban housing. It is hoped that further research and a comprehensive analysis can be made of neoliberal urbanism in Baghdad in order to highlight its benefits and diminish its negative impact on the urban fabric.

It is also hoped that this study may be used both to influence the future development of housing policies in Iraq and the planning of urban housing. The long-term impact of the neoliberal housing provision approach is still unknown. However, due to the fact that the practice of GCs is a global phenomenon and a product of globalized neoliberal forces, it is suggested that if Iraq uses the available knowledge in western and regional studies about this urban phenomenon, it could avoid a negative socio-spatial impact. Nonetheless, the current neoliberalization process has created a new challenge for architects in Iraq: what strategies should architects follow to limit the increasing control of autocratic clients over the design of residential development in Iraq? This question is especially crucial because architects, as Joan Ockman in 2011 puts it, have the task of channeling political and economic forces in their designs; yet, it is also the architects’ responsibility to rise above them.

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311 Appendix

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

AHP Al-Ayadi Housing Project BFP Basic Foundation Program BIC Baghdad Investment Commission CPTED Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design CSO Central Statistical Organization of Iraq DA Doxiadis Association GC Gated Communities GHP General Housing Projects GPA Geoffrey Payne & Associates IPC Iraq Petroleum Company JCCF Japan Consortium of Consulting Firms MHUP Million Housing Units plan MOCH Ministry of Construction and Housing of Iraq MOP Ministry of Planning of Iraq NHPI National Housing Program of Iraq NIC National Investment Commission PADCO Planning and Development Collaborative International PRS Poverty Reduction Strategy SPA Special Program of Action TAC The Architects Collaborative TAP Technical Assistance Projects UNDG ITF The United Nations Development Group Iraq Trust Fund WBDHP Western Baghdad Development Housing Project

311