Street Furniture Influence in Revitalizing the Bahraini Identity

“Bab Al Bahrain” Avenue is one of the liveliest streets and its location is in the
intermediate of the historical part that gave the avenue a strong historical
dimension in the urban context of Manama city, Kingdom of Bahrain. Moreover,
the avenue has economic and cultural significance activities. The socio-economic
value of “Bab Al Bahrain” and the attached “Gold Market” make the area is the
most crowded area in Manama. The existing users of the avenue are variable
between residences, local visitors and tourist. Unfortunately, with the rapid urban
developing for the Manama City in general and Bab Al Bahrain area, and the
changing for the economic base for most of the original families they moved to
other suitable places to them while new non-Bahraini replaced them. As a result,
the sense of identity and belonging is not considerable. Consequently, the identity
for these areas is in its way to disappear. This research analyzed the street furniture
condition and focused on the act of street furniture role in revitalizing Bahraini
identity in such an area. Moreover, the research draws the point of revitalizing the
sense of belonging for the residences, which will influence positively upon the open
spaces’ conditions and the visual quality.
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2020), 4(1), 11-20.
https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2020.v4n1-2