Building A Sustainable and Smart Urban Development Model Based on Transit Oriented Development (TOD)- Gaza City (Implementation Area)

Abstract

Gaza city suffers from unclear and unstable situation. Also, there is a growing concern about many social, economic, physical, environmental and urban problems that have been attributed to many circumstances. Therefore, an exhaustive development process has to be implemented and significant efforts have to be made toward reforming sustainable development. Gaza city is taken as study area to model a new pattern of sustainable urban developmental planning, which supports land use, transportation planning, environment and all fields of growth management. While more empirical evidence is needed to verify cause and effect, and while all urban and technological aspects turn to reshape the starting point in planning process, Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is seen as efficient and energetic trend to resolve the existing hard situations and actualize sustainable urban developmental planning. The thesis defines indicators, strategic transactions and scenarios that support the approach and help decision makers to identify priorities and develop quality of live. Also, it encourages community and stakeholders collaboration in developmental process. Besides, it explores new points for future development suggestions for further researches. The approach toward smart and sustainable urban development, and Transit Oriented Development that presented in this study is different from a transportation planning that envisions a comprehensive and complete plan as the final product of the process. Rather, this approach recognizes that to be effective, planning must to be an integral, adaptable and ongoing part of the decision making framework. The resulting product is indicators, strategic transactions and scenarios that provide useful information for understanding problems facing Gaza City as a metropolitan area, identifying alternative actions, select the best alternative, and developing successful implementation strategies. Also, plans is part of the final product, that tells what kind of a system is desired, and provide some sense of satisfaction that today's problems are being addressed. All aspects are implemented in details on the South Remal district. Moreover, the thesis offers three tools; the first is a strategic transaction to draw a spatial movement system, allocate and design urban spaces, the second is a computerized model of three scenarios, which can be added to ArcGIS toolbox to be used in other cases and plans, and the third is an evaluation calculator tool in Excel format.