Kuwait Transformed

A History of Oil and Urban Life

Nonfiction, History, Middle East
Cover of the book Kuwait Transformed by Farah Al-Nakib, Stanford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Farah Al-Nakib ISBN: 9780804798570
Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication: April 13, 2016
Imprint: Stanford University Press Language: English
Author: Farah Al-Nakib
ISBN: 9780804798570
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication: April 13, 2016
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Language: English

As the first Gulf city to experience oil urbanization, Kuwait City's transformation in the mid-twentieth century inaugurated a now-familiar regional narrative: a small traditional town of mudbrick courtyard houses and plentiful foot traffic transformed into a modern city with marble-fronted buildings, vast suburbs, and wide highways.

In Kuwait Transformed, Farah Al-Nakib connects the city's past and present, from its settlement in 1716 to the twenty-first century, through the bridge of oil discovery. She traces the relationships between the urban landscape, patterns and practices of everyday life, and social behaviors and relations in Kuwait. The history that emerges reveals how decades of urban planning, suburbanization, and privatization have eroded an open, tolerant society and given rise to the insularity, xenophobia, and divisiveness that characterize Kuwaiti social relations today. The book makes a call for a restoration of the city that modern planning eliminated. But this is not simply a case of nostalgia for a lost landscape, lifestyle, or community. It is a claim for a "right to the city"—the right of all inhabitants to shape and use the spaces of their city to meet their own needs and desires.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

As the first Gulf city to experience oil urbanization, Kuwait City's transformation in the mid-twentieth century inaugurated a now-familiar regional narrative: a small traditional town of mudbrick courtyard houses and plentiful foot traffic transformed into a modern city with marble-fronted buildings, vast suburbs, and wide highways.

In Kuwait Transformed, Farah Al-Nakib connects the city's past and present, from its settlement in 1716 to the twenty-first century, through the bridge of oil discovery. She traces the relationships between the urban landscape, patterns and practices of everyday life, and social behaviors and relations in Kuwait. The history that emerges reveals how decades of urban planning, suburbanization, and privatization have eroded an open, tolerant society and given rise to the insularity, xenophobia, and divisiveness that characterize Kuwaiti social relations today. The book makes a call for a restoration of the city that modern planning eliminated. But this is not simply a case of nostalgia for a lost landscape, lifestyle, or community. It is a claim for a "right to the city"—the right of all inhabitants to shape and use the spaces of their city to meet their own needs and desires.

More books from Stanford University Press

Cover of the book Between Philosophy and Literature by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book Reducing Uncertainty by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book National Matters by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book Ninette of Sin Street by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book Breakdown in Pakistan by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book Ethnic Entrepreneurs by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book Challenged Hegemony by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book From Kabbalah to Class Struggle by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book A Systems Theory of Religion by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book Enhancing Campus Capacity for Leadership by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book The HP Phenomenon by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book In History's Grip by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book Pilate and Jesus by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book Queer Theory by Farah Al-Nakib
Cover of the book Introductory Econometrics by Farah Al-Nakib
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy