Perspectives on Everyday Urbanism: Evidence from an Abu Dhabi Neighborhood

Everyday urbanism, a bottom-up planning approach, exemplifies the discourse in current planning practice through the lens of critical urbanism. This study uses morphological mapping, observation, and open- and closed-ended questionnaire responses to identify factors that facilitate everyday urbanism in a neighborhood in Abu Dhabi and offer an action plan for putting everyday urbanism into practice. Findings indicate that everyday urbanism is facilitated by both formal planning and bottom-up interventions. Planning education and practice should teach, train, and encourage people-centered planning in a context-sensitive way that adapts to the social and cultural needs of the community.