The Impact of Legislative Factor in the Identity of Modern Residential Urban in Iraq

Abstract

 The Urban Residential has developed and changed in different periods of time with successive and gradual shifts, as it cast a shadow over the characterization of modern urbanism in Iraq. The semi-total absence of the governing legislation of urbanization as well as the weakness of the State's role of supervisory in addition to neglecting urban heritage contributed in offering a strange environment  in relation to its traditional identity.  That was increased by the pressure of the using urban environment as a result of the increasing of population as well as the growth of people’s needs. The research aims to provide an objective view for a mechanism of the application of urban legislation to monitor the implementation of the business relating to the urban structure in general and specifically the urban residential areas in order to preserve the traditional identity of the modern Iraqi city. For the purpose of treating the problem of research and to achieve its goals, the research supposes that the legislative system is based on a pyramid arrangement  in its vocabulary, which is flexible in its application, and are drawn from objective reality, it can produce urban residential with local identity. The elements of the practical influential process of the legislative factor identified by the planning legislation, laws, regulations, controls and limitations, supervision and oversight. And then draw theoretical indicators which affect the urban environment, namely: proportionately, essence and appearance, construction and the sky line, the scale and size, bearings, cover-up, opening-up and containment through the study of a number of legislative irregularities in neighborhoods and residential areas that produced these indicators. For applying and testing these indicators practically, two selective neighborhoods in Al Rabeea'a District  in  Baghdad has been chosen and with a précised  field survey the search findings are: the poverty of Urban elements, the weakness of appropriate and harmony, the predominance of appearance over substance, the aggravation of the problems of neighborhood planning and house designing. As a result, the research found the urban landscape confused mix of styles,  shapes, materials and colors, foreign to local realities, that caused then the loss of the individual identity and totally one.Thus there is an urgent need to restore the identity of the Iraqi city in light of comprehensive programs to modernize the Master planning of cities, and reform the legislative system through updating old laws and filling the existed gaps, furthermore activate the monitoring role through the supervisory mechanism to ensure the mandatory application of the laws .