Urban Dynamics in Downtown Baghdad: Analyzing Syntactic Properties and Land Use Forms of AlShorja and Bab AlSharqi Areas

Main Article Content

Noor Hadi Alsaffar
Dhirgham Alobaydi

Abstract

The spatial arrangement in the urban area in which cities exist is very important because it directly influences how active or otherwise such an environment can be. This study explores how Baghdad’s downtown area incorporates this spatial arrangement into land use patterns to support vitality. Particularly attention is given to AlShorja and Bab AlSharqi (two districts within Downtown Baghdad). The analysis of Space Syntax techniques and methods combined with GIS demonstrates that AlShorja does not only enjoy connectivity but also walking-oriented spaces while Bab AlSharqi has the opposite features with heavily structured road networks dedicated to vehicles. The compact, irregular streets in AlShorja support intense pedestrian movement and vibrant commercial activities, while the grid pattern in Bab AlSharqi enhances vehicular accessibility and accommodates a range of land uses, including commercial and administrative functions. The study concludes with recommendations for urban planners to improve connectivity and vitality through informed spatial planning, considering historical context integration with contemporary urban needs. These insights aim to guide future urban development to create livable and sustainable environments. Urban areas that are close to the downtown could be further studied using different analysis tools such as GIS or UNA. This could be expanded through the investigation of other forms of urban layers, such as economic and environmental aspects.

Article Details

Section

Articles

How to Cite

“Urban Dynamics in Downtown Baghdad: Analyzing Syntactic Properties and Land Use Forms of AlShorja and Bab AlSharqi Areas” (2025) Journal of Engineering, 31(4), pp. 44–61. doi:10.31026/j.eng.2025.04.04.

References

Al Hashimi, H., Alobaydi, D., 2023, March. Measuring spatial properties of historic urban networks. In AIP Conference Proceedings, 2651( 1). AIP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0117077.

Al-Ashab, K.H., 1974. The urban geography of Baghdad. Doctoral dissertation, Newcastle University.

Albabely, S., Alobaydi, D., 2024. Analyzing movement densities in AlKarkh Districts: A comparative study. Journal of Engineering, 30(04), pp.134-151. https://doi.org/10.31026/j.eng.2024.04.09 .

Alobaydi, D., Al-Mosawe, H., Lateef, I.M., Albayati, A.H., 2020. Impact of urban morphological changes on traffic performance of Jadriyah intersection. Cogent engineering, 7(1), p.1772946. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311916.2020.1772946 .

Alobaydi, D., Rashid, M., 2017, July. A study of the morphological evolution of the urban cores of Baghdad in the 19th and 20th centuries. In Eleventh international space syntax symposium at Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal (pp. 38-1).

Alobaydi, D., Rashid, M., 2024a. Morphological evolution of Baghdad: Analyzing urban growth patterns and transformation processes. Journal of Engineering, 30(12), pp.16-32. https://doi.org/10.31026/j.eng.2024.12.02 .

Alobaydi, D., Rashid, M., 2024b. The evolution of street structures: A morphological study. Journal of Engineering, 30(10), pp.203-219. https://doi.org/10.31026/j.eng.2024.10.12 .

Al-Saaidy, H.J., Alobaydi, D., 2021b. Studying street centrality and human density in different urban forms in Baghdad, Iraq. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 12(1), pp.1111-1121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2020.06.008 .

Al-Saaidy, H.J.E., 2020. Urban form elements and urban potentiality (literature review). Journal of Engineering, 26(9), pp.65-82. https://doi.org/10.31026/j.eng.2020.09.05 .

Al-Saaidy, H.J.E., Alobaydi, D., 2021a. Measuring geometric properties of urban blocks in Baghdad: A comparative approach. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 12(3), pp.3285-3295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2021.04.020.

Al-Saffar, M., 2018. Urban heritage and conservation in the historic center of Baghdad. Journal of Heritage Architecture, 2(1), pp.23-36. https://www.witpress.com/elibrary/ha-volumes/2/1/1810 .

Al-Saffar, N., 2022. Studying Urban Geometric Characteristics in the Downtowns of Baghdad, Iraq. University of Baghdad, Baghdad.

Alsaffar, N.H., Alobaydi, D., 2023, March. Studying street configurations and land uses in the downtown of Baghdad. In AIP Conference Proceedings, 2651 (1). AIP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0105420 .

ALslik, G.M.R., Majeed, F.A., 2014. Succession of urban structures of the city of Baghdad. Journal of Engineering, 20(12), pp.1-30. https://doi.org/10.31026/j.eng.2014.12.11 .

Al-Thahab, A., Mushatat, S. and Abdelmonem, M.G., 2014. Between tradition and modernity: Determining spatial systems of privacy in the domestic architecture of contemporary Iraq. ArchNet-IJAR, 8(3), pp.238-250.

Awad, J. A. 1989. Islamic souqs (bazaars) in the urban context: the souq of Nablus. Manhattan, Kansas: Kansas State University.

Batty, M., 2022. Integrating space syntax with spatial interaction. Urban Informatics, 1(1), p.4. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44212-022-00004-2

El-desokey, A.K. and Yassin, K.A., 2023. From archaic agora to roman forum: Urban organization of public spaces in Ancient Alexandria. Journal of the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels-University of Sadat City, 7(2/3).

Ercetin, A. , Kutlu, R. , and Akbas, G. 2018. Grand bazaar and heart of trade sandal bedesten. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), ISSN: 2319-7064.

Fethi, I.A.W., 1978. Urban conservation in Iraq: The case for protecting the cultural heritage of Iraq with special reference to Baghdad, including a comprehensive inventory of its areas and buildings of historic or architectural interest (Doctoral dissertation, University of Sheffield).

Garau, C., Annunziata, A. and Yamu, C., 2024. A walkability assessment tool coupling multi-criteria analysis and space syntax: the case study of Iglesias, Italy. European Planning Studies, 32(2), pp.211-233. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2020.1761947

Gorski, G.J. and Packer, J.E., 2015. The Roman Forum: a reconstruction and architectural guide. Cambridge University Press.

Gu, X., 2024. The innovative use of spatial syntax in spatial design of tourism landscape. Applied Mathematics and Nonlinear Sciences, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.2478/amns.2023.2.00338

Hillier, B. and Hanson, J., 1989. The social logic of space. Cambridge University Press.

Hillier, B. and Iida, S., 2005, June. Network effects and psychological effects: A theory of urban movement. In Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Space Syntax (Vol. 1, pp. 553-564). Delft: TU Delft.

Hillier, B., 1997. Cities as movement economies. In Intelligent Environments (pp. 295-344). North-Holland.

Hillier, B., 2007. Space is the machine: a configurational theory of architecture. Space Syntax.

Hillier, B., Penn, A., Hanson, J., Grajewski, T. and Xu, J., 1993. Natural movement: Or, configuration and attraction in urban pedestrian movement. Environment and Planning B: planning and design, 20(1), pp.29-66.

Kostof, S., 1991. The City Shaped (pp. 9-39). Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company.

Kropf, K., 2009. Aspects of urban form. Urban morphology, 13(2), pp.105-120.

Lee, S., Yoo, C. and Seo, K.W., 2020. Determinant factors of pedestrian volume in different land-use zones: Combining space syntax metrics with GIS-based built-environment measures. Sustainability, 12(20), p.8647. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208647.

Mohammed, L.R., Alobaydi, D., 2020a, March. Evolution of the urban form of historic hit citadel: Deriving a schematic model for Iraqi fortified cities. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 745, No. 1, p. 012180). IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/745/1/012180 .

Mohammed, L.R., Alobaydi, D., 2020b, July. Studying sustainable actions of syntactic structures of historic hit citadel: A morphological approach. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 881, No. 1, p. 012034). IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/881/1/012034/meta .

Perry, E., 2014. Art, Architecture, and Space in the Roman Participatory Context. A Companion to Greek Democracy and the Roman Republic, pp.482-500.

Pieri, C., 2008. Modernity and its posts in constructing an Arab capital: Baghdad’s urban space and architecture. Review of Middle East Studies, 42(1-2), pp.32-39.

Rashid, M., 2017. The geometry of urban layouts. Cham: Springer.

Rashid, M., Alobaydi, D., 2015. Territory, politics of power, and physical spatial networks: The case of Baghdad, Iraq. Habitat International, 50, pp.180-194.

Russell, A., 2014. Memory and movement in the Roman Fora from antiquity to Metro C. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 73(4), pp.478-506. https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/preview/1425348/13955.pdf .

Russell, Amy. 2016. On gender and spatial experience in public: The case of ancient Rome. Oxford: http://doi.org/10.16995/TRAC2015_164_176.

Thompson, H.A., 1954. The agora at athens and the Greek marketplace. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 13(4), pp.9-14.

Turner, A., Penn, A. and Hillier, B., 2005. An algorithmic definition of the axial map. Environment and Planning B: planning and design, 32(3), pp.425-444.

Van de Ven, A., 2016. The spatialisation struggle: The heritage of open spaces in Baghdad. plaNext–Next Generation Planning, 2, pp.48-73. https://journals.aesop-planning.eu/index.php/planext/article/view/73.

van Nes, A., 2021. Spatial configurations and walkability potentials. Measuring urban compactness with space syntax. Sustainability, 13(11), p.5785. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/11/5785.

Xiao, H., 2021. How did public buildings and monuments contribute to the evolution of Agora to forum during the early Roman Period in Athens? Journal of Architectural Research and Development, 5(4), pp.1-8. https://ojs.bbwpublisher.com/index.php/JARD .

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.