Land use as a sustainability indicator for Arab cities

Land use distribution represents a major sustainability indicator. It has cause and effect on transportation systems, time, energy consumption, and the location of source and destination stimuli for daily trips. Consequentially, it affects sustainable development plans. Arab cities demonstrate multiple layers of development through history. Over long periods of development, land uses have been adapted to suit inhabitants. This paper analyses the transformation and distribution of land use in Arab and Western cities. Conventional urban configurations were based on densities, mixed uses and bottom-up urban growth, reflecting people's daily needs. Although various theories have been presented to explain land use transformations, this research adopts the spatial configuration theory, which links spatial logic with social logic of movement. Modern Arab cities demand an accelerating increase in transportation mobility pursuant to inappropriate land use distribution. These requirements do not consider the current spatial morphology of the urban fabric, nor its role as a stimulus in successful locations. The paper highlights the differences between traditional and modern extensions for Arab city centres on the basis of sustainable land use location. It proposes a model framework for analysing current land use distribution and forecasting the success of any future intervention.