The Qatar Urban Design Compendium (QUDC) is the primary reference for achieving good urban design in Qatar. It is a comprehensive and practical guide that addresses the key aspects of urban design practice to help resolve development challenges at every scale from neighborhood development to significant area preservation to city-wide regeneration. The Compendium embodies a full understanding of the numerous aspects that help shape urban design:
• socio-economic forces;
• cultural values;
• movement and transport systems;
• existing and proposed land use;
• development density.
It also considers significant contemporary principles and philosophies of place-making including sustainable urbanism, transit-oriented design, climate-responsive design, and landscape urbanism.
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The Compendium represents a national consensus for creating sustainable and high quality townscapes, streets and other public spaces, as well as buildings and their surrounding landscapes. It will provide tangible benefits to several groups:
- Developers and design professionals will receive clear guidance on the best practice and methods to help achieve Qatar’s vision through their individual projects, and will be empowered to “raise the bar” with their design. They may also enjoy higher financial return and prestige associated with successful projects that are better integrated within an overall vision.
- Government development review officers and decision-makers will be better informed and enabled to craft policies and plans, and to work with developers to deliver an attractive built environment that best serves the needs of the community.
- Landowners and homeowners will receive increased security and return on investment through satisfying the demand for high quality built environment and better performing buildings.
- The general public will enjoy safer, healthier, more efficient and livable urban environments and better overall quality of life.
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The project produced a 2 volume Urban Design Compendium - Volume 1: Shaping the Qatari City, Volume 2: Delivering Good Urban Design, and a third publication: Towards Distinctive Urban Character for Qatari Cities.
The QUDC has been completed and was presented to the senior management of MME’s Urban Planning Department in November 2019. Training on the QUDC was also provided to Urban Planning Department staff in November 2019.
Click the links below to view the complete Urban Design Compendium Documents
VOLUME 1
VOLUME 2