Sultanate of Oman Regional Development Committee Town Planning and Implementation Project - Structure Plans for Buraimi and Mahdha - Executive Summary WITH original landscaped photographs

Darwish Shankland Cox for the Regional Development Committee

Published by Regional Development Committee, Sultanate of Oman, 1983

About this Item

Illustrated wraps 21x30cm. 9, 9, (2)pp English and Arabic texts including several plans, with original landscaped photographs laid in. Near fine. Extremely, rare, with this and related material not recorded by Worldcat or Library Hub. Buraimi and Mahdha in Oman owed their existence to water supply and the development of agriculture. Buraimi, on the UAE border, contained oasis villages fed by water from Jebel Hafit through ancient underground falaj channels to palm grove plantations. Mahdha lies to Buraimi town's north. In recent years many Omanis had moved to the area in order to work in the UAE. Oman's Regional Development Committee was formed to improve the engineering services in and around those towns, increase the supply of land suitable for housing, and build infrastructure to promote public and private sector investment. The RDC hired Darwish Shankland Cox to review the existing state of settlement, which they found compared unfavourably with their UAE neighbour, the rapidly growing Garden City of Al-Ain. This summary by Darwish Shankland Cox describes early thinking on planning, population characteristics, the long-term plan, and aspects necessary for immediate implementation. Town plans show Buraimi's growth in 1969, 1974, 1978, and 1983, based on population growth of around 12% a year. Both towns would likely have grown faster with key infrastructure in place, and in Buraimi's case "the total impression provides a very poor quality entrance or 'shop window' to Oman from the UAE". This document outlines proposals for realigning or phasing in new roads, corner shops, new centrepiece neighbourhood and town centres, and priority housing areas to accommodate and promote growth, with detailed town plans (reference: Urban Design Quarterly, Feb 1984, p11). The photo, presents a vast landscape probably around Buraimi or Mahdha, 52x9cm made up of 5 sections secured to the verso, and ms captioned to the back "May '83 / A barbeque in the hills".

Seller Inventory # 5066

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Sultanate of Oman Regional Development Committee Town Planning and Implementation Project - Structure Plans for Buraimi and Mahdha - Executive Summary WITH original landscaped photographs
• Publisher: Regional Development Committee, Sultanate of Oman
• Publication Date: 1983
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Near Fine