The impact of land form on urban identity ; el Shamiya project, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract EN

The aim of this paper is to clarify the relationship between urban identity and landform.

It discusses the aspects of urban identity from the system approach then the impact of landform on these aspects i.e.

spatial experience and cultural representation is determined.

This research is performed in light of recent urban development that takes place in Makkah`s centre.

This area is undergoing development that affects its landform configuration.

A comparative analysis is conducted between the old Shamiya district and new Shamiya project to examine the changes of its identity.

This comparative analysis is based on space syntax theory which is applied using the Rhinoceros 5® program-grasshopper plugin.

The results show that highland strengthens the place identity arising from cultural representation and weakens the degree of city legibility