Reclaiming Collateral Spaces: Abu Dhabi Alleyways as Critical Infrastructure for Network Connectivity and Community Life

Abstract

Alleys have been neglected in the definition and analysis of urban form even though they have existed in the urban fabric since antiquity and have served a wide variety of purposes. This can be attributed to historic associations between alleyways and lack of safety and hygiene, automobile-focused planning, as well as due to the immense computational load of assessing street networks with alleyways. This study explores and establishes alleys as a critical element of urban form, especially at the neighborhood scale. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are taken as case studies. Neighborhood samples belonging to different growth phases in each city are taken to document the changing morphologies of alleys. Morphological mapping identified ten types of alleys. Findings show an extensive use of alleys in the neighborhood samples from all growth periods in both cities. In some cases, alleys are equivalent to streets in terms of pattern, density, and length, and occasionally the physical attributes of alleys even surpass those of neighborhood streets. However, the qualitative observation of the samples revealed that the neighborhoods do not capitalize on the potential of the copious alley network since alleyway maintenance depends on personal efforts rather than a unified strategy. This is particularly evident in neighborhoods from later growth periods where they are often rendered inaccessible by over vegetation and debris. Despite their abundance, the ubiquity of alleyways is not always necessary. Through information centrality measures, this study revealed that alleyways play a secondary role rather than a dominant in network efficiency. However, the contribution of alleyways proved to be nonetheless significant, particularly in neighborhoods with inefficient road networks and large block sizes. The study concludes by recommending reclaiming alleys as green infrastructure or public spaces while capitalizing on key alleyways as thoroughfares that enable quicker access to destinations than streets alone can provide.

Date of Award	Nov 2021
Original language	American English