Anne Eaton’s scientific contributions

Urban Expansion Urbanization in Oman is an ongoing process that accelerated since 1970. Urbanization has two faces: rapidly growing and expanding urban areas on one side and rural areas, steadily transforming and creating a new rural-urban interface on the other. Urban expansion Based on the 1990 strategy developed by Weidleplan and implemented by the Ministry of Housing since areas located to the West of Muscat are be given priority in development. The aim of this strategy is to locate future citizens around Seeb in order to create a second center in an attempt to decentralize Muscat area. Massive zones have been allocated for residential land use such as Mabailah, Mawaleh and Al Khoudh. Another center under development is Al Amrat across the mountains South of Muscat. Neighboring willayats of Bidbid (case-study rural-to-urban expansion: Fanja) or Barka gradually accommodate Muscat’s urban sprawl. High costs of land development The transformation of former gravel desert into construction land required massive infrastructure measures foremost the construction of the storm water retention dams as seen in Al Khoudh, leveling of terrain as seen along the slopes of the Hajar mountains in the South and new highway linkages such as the expansion of Sultan Qabous highway and the Southern Expressway. Since the provision of physical infrastructure was a tremendous effort and is still incomplete development of houses started slowly. Better connected parts of these new residential areas develop faster than others. In some cases the infrastructure has been designed to meet the anticipated demand and is out of scale for the time being. In other parts the infrastructure is already collapsing. The implementation of the strategy of decentralization becomes more difficult in in rural areas as the costs for land development and infrastructure provision rises, while the areas become less attractive for residents due to the larger distance to the centers. In short, the strategy has already reached its limits before it has been fully implemented. Non-congruent development of infrastructure and residential areas Discrepancies in development become evident in the case-study Al Khoudh. The zone between Seeb in the North and the old village of Al Khoudh in the South was divided into 6 phases. The last phase is the subject of the the following case-study. Each phase was planned and implemented independently forming insular pockets of residential land. Each phase is connected to the larger highway system by a series of primary and secondary roads. The size and number of roads anticipate the final plan, while construction on the residential part is still under way. The final plan once implemented shows little functional mix and has no strategy for further densification to accommodate the rising population. According to this logic urbanization can only be achieved through further expansion. Land consumption and land speculation Governmental provision of infrastructure and land development is seen as the prerequisite for private sector construction. The private sector is not accountable for the costs of infrastructure and land development. On the contrary, the land allocation system by lottery redistributes land amongst Omani citizens regardless of the actual need, opening up a vast land speculation. Large governmental resources are bound by this development process that is neither economically, nor socially or ecologically sustainable. Land is consumed faster than necessary.

Dynamic of growth Rapid economic development and population growth Before the discovery of oil and gas in Oman (end of 1960s) the country relied on fishery, agriculture, animal husbandry, handicraft, and trade. Oman was a rural society, socially organized in tribes and family clans, living in villages and hamlets, mostly oasis settlements. After 1970, when Sultan Qaboos bin Said took power, the percentage of urban dwellers increased from 47.6 percent in 1980 to 72.8 percent in 2010. Population projections show that this percentage will continue to increase to reach 82.9 percent in 2050. In 2011 73,44 % of total population are considered to be urban and 26,56 % rural. The 2010 census revealed that 53.3 % of the total population (2,773,479 million) lives in the two governorates of Muscat and Al Batinah (south and north), both covering only an area of 16,400 sq.kms. (12,500 sq.kms. Batinah and 3,900 sq.kms. Muscat) Unbalanced population density The country’s average population density of 9 p/sq km (2010) doesn’t reflect the real situation, as the population is concentrated mainly in the coastal strip. According to the Statistical Bulletin from June 2013 (NCSI, National Centre for Statistics and Information, Oman) the total population registered in May 2013 was already 3.876,383 million, compared to 3.623,001 in mid year 2012. Focusing on Muscat Governorate the average population density increased to 257,4 inhabitants per sq. km in 2011. Migration plays a vital role in the country. There is rural to urban internal migration but as well international migration, mostly towards MCA. In Muscat Governorate expatriates have outnumbered the Omani population in May 2013. Out of the 1,162,966 registered inhabitants 712,638 are expatriates and 450,328 are Omani. Maps: MCA in 1970, 1982, 2012 Muscat as part of an urban corridor In the beginning oft he 21st century Oman contributes to a highly and densely urbanized coastal strip along the Arabian Sea, starting at Muscat and following the coast line until Sohar, Hatta where urbanization finally merges with the agglomeration of Fujeirah and continuing along the Gulf to the United Arab Emirates and beyond. In order to understand the processes leading to this extended urban corridor the research analyzed local case-study featuring dynamic urban growth. In April 2010 a number of new residential areas had been prepared for realizing new homes. During the short period of our survey a highly dynamic process has been observed within Muscat Capital Areas. Map: Satellite image at night of Gulf and Oman

Project Rationale Introduction During the past four decades Oman has been facing high population growth. In combination with considerable rural to urban migration Urbanization rate in the country has reached in 2010 84 % according to Oman Census 2010. Urbanization patterns are characterized by dispersed and patchy settlement structures not only in the urban expansion areas of the Capital Area of Muscat but as well in the areas of rural to urban transition. The overall followed separation of functions is further augmenting mobility needs that are exclusively based on the car. Life style patterns are oriented towards the single villa on a walled plot as the most favorite residential building type. These trends however meet limited resources mainly related to land. Due to the geophysical and climatic setting of the country 75 % of the countries total surface is covered by desert. Thus the remaining land has to be shared for different purposes of the Omani society. While land consumption by residential use, services and transport infrastructure is increasing steadily, suitable land for agriculture is decreasing supporting again rural-to urban migration or transition and thus creating again new demands on shrinking land resources. This roughly described 20th century-type of urbanization has been surpassed by the early 21st century- type that is focusing on complete new cities for 200.000 to 300.000 inhabitants. In the GCC countries and in Oman a number of new cities are under construction claiming to become sustainable cities, at least from its environmental point of view. While much attention is paid to this new urbanization trend, the resource consuming 20th century urbanization processes go ahead and have to be considered as responsible for creating irreversible facts in Oman. Against the background of these trends a comprehensive research project has been carried out in cooperation between scholars from GUtech (German University of Technology) and SQU (Sultan Qaboos University) sponsored by TRC (The Research Council). The research project followed three main objectives: Objective A: Providing empirical data and information on crucial issues of urbanization in Oman: Describing and analyzing land use and urbanization patterns in selected case study areas of urban expansion and rural transition. Literature on the topic related to Oman is very limited and relevant data collection on an empirical base plays a crucial role for the project. Therefore two complementary case studies carried out allow detailed insights and reveal specific characteristics of the two in-parallel processes of urban expansion and transition on the local level. The case studies provide a comprehensive and detailed survey on social, economic, and environmental implications of land use and settlement patterns. Objective B: Contributing to the current scientific national and international discourse on urbanization: Understanding processes and mechanisms of urbanization in Oman. The specific developments in Oman ask for a comprehensive view on urbanization trends that occur at the same time in more urbanized and in currently urbanizing areas. There is a strong interface between the rural transition process and the urban expansion process. The two case studies cover this dual approach and focus on urban expansion and on rural transition component of the overall process. The research identifies driving forces for the specific urbanization patterns in Oman. Objective C: Developing application-oriented instruments to guide and control sustainable urban development in Oman: The project develops locally adapted strategies, programs, and implementation frameworks to manage future balanced development in the country. This includes scenarios of sustainable development, indicators for sustainable land use and settlement patterns, strategies and action plans for selected areas, recommendations for the reform of physical planning standards, concepts for sustainable land management, governance and climate responsive urban design. The research addresses aggravating problems in the country that arise through urban growth and uncontrolled consumption of limited resources, in particular land. This exhibition forms an integral part of the research project. Its main purpose is to disseminate the field study results and thus presents processed empirical data collected during the period of April 2010 till March 2014. Related statistics refer to Muscat Governorate and Dakhiliya Governorate with the two wilayats of Bidbid and Samail. The concerned areas cover a core area of Oman where the Urbanization process – urban growth and rural-to-urban migration - representative of typical patterns observed all around the Sultanate.

Rural urban interface Showcase: rural urban interface: A particular Rural-urban interface is going to be created in the Sultanate that show new inter-linkages between urban and rural areas, in particular between Muscat Capital Area and the adjacent well connected rural hinterland. New type of flows/exchange between ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ areas can be observed such as i.e: Flow of people: -People go for work in MCA but keep their permanent residence in the near by country side, consequently circular migration has increased (daily commuting) -multi-local households become more frequent (employed household members stay in town during week time, go back to their rural home areas during week end and holidays) -elder people stay in rural areas while younger families move to live in urban areas, close to schools, universities, modern shopping facilities and jobs. - originally urban households decide to live in the close by rural hinterland, as land and property is cheaper and easier to access. Flow of money: - still existing date plantations in the villages are run by few owners who have their permanent residence in MCA, thus income generated in rural areas is transferred to urban zones; - and vice versa: income generated in urban areas is going to be spend in rural hinterland Flow of ideas and values: - Residences built in the countryside follow patterns of rather urban residences. - Life style patterns in former rural areas are more and more alike to those in urbanized areas; the exchange of values and priorities in daily life is going to be transmitted throughout the country by media and communication facilities. Flow of goods: Meanwhile goods that were not known and not available in the original rural areas, such as i.e. tv, AC, modern technical equipment, internet etc) are to be found anywhere. Facilitated by good access roads all kind of foodstuff, cloths or building material is available in all parts of the country alike. In particular where physical linkages facilitate these kinds of flows and exchange, both sides – the rural and the urban - are moving towards each other and create a transitional zone, where rural and urban life style patterns merge. These areas then are neither rural nor urban anymore. Transformation of settlement patterns perform in different ways as the following examples prove: Within existing rural settlements: a) transformation is shown in declining empty fallen old buildings, mainly mud brick constructions. These houses obviously don’t meet anymore the amenities of today and are left back in favor of newly erected villas reflecting urbanized life style patterns Inactive gardens and fields, dying or already partly or totally given-up date plantations tell about declining agricultural activities; Photo 1 & 2 b) Larger plots built up with more than one house to host extended families are going to be changed into smaller plots for one core family only. Photo 3 c) new houses are shaped similar to the overall “urban villa” type than continuing with the traditional rural house typology. Photo 4 d) Residences built recently at the outskirts of the rural settlements and along new roads cannot be distinguished from houses in the urban fringes of Muscat photo 5 Outside of existing rural settlements: Highways and by-pass roads are the main incubator for new settlements: e) the petrol and service stations every 50 kilometers along the highways form the nucleus of further buiding acticities and very soon a small mosque will be added and one or two residential houses, supposingly for those who work around the petrol station. A few months later, more houses are going to be built, and services are extended, offering a laundry, a coffee shop, a small fast food restaurant, attracting more families to live and step by step a small settlement is going to be established. This is the case in nearly all petrol stations along the highway between Muscat and Nizwa, which is taken as case of reference. Photo 6 f) the locational choice for new large scale governmental buildings (new ministries, new university premises (Halban, Knowledge Oasis), and for head quarters of big companies (Oman Tel, Bank of Muscat) encourages another pattern of transformation. These huge buildings and complexes attract hundreds of employees and/or clients per day, increase the need fort rips by car, increase the need for new roads and finally form the nucleus of new scattered settlements. Photo 7 Along with rural to urban transformation as illustrated above the threat of negatively affecting the unique landscape and the characteristic natural scenery is alarming. The following photos show how far the deranged balance between nature and urbanization has already destroyed what has been classified as the beauty of Oman and is one major factor for the cultural identity in the country. Photo 8, 9 & 10

Fanja- from compact to patchy settlements OR Fanja- a typical rural-urban interface in Oman Fanja – located along the highway to Nizwa, in 70 km distance to Muscat. About 30.000 inhabitants in 2012; Fanja represents one of the typical top-hill compact settlement formed by mud brick houses, stacked together with narrow streets. Fanja was connected by foot paths and the Wadi Ismael to neighboring oasis villages such as al Khoud, Bid Bid, Samail. Since 1970 ongoing inter-linkages between MCA and Fanja are manifold and represent a typical showcase of rural-to-urban transformation processes in inner Oman. (Dakhiliya) Phases of development and transformation from 1970 - present Phases of development have been shaped and accompanied by ‘innovation’ from outside such as the introduction of new roads followed by petrol stations, new schools, and hospitals, and new markets. Mostly the new access roads and/or by-pass roads that started after 1970 continue to be drivers of development and transformation until present. Also the provision with electricity marked a decisive change, as from that time onwards air conditioning was used and influenced the way of construction and activity patterns of the families. In addition to that there are natural population growth, changes of family structures and changes of income generating activities and life style patterns that shape development from ‘inside’ the place. Both the exogenous and endogenous factors have been taken into consideration when identifying four phases (phase A/B/C/D) of transformation and development in the case study Fanja since 1970. Phase A: Abandoning the top-hill settlement – construction of new clusters down hill (1970-1980/85 The top-hill houses in Fanja were closely stacked together not only because of climatic reasons but as well because of the limited ground available. Extension of such kind of a top-hill settlement was practically no longer possible as soon as all free land was built up. As it was difficult and sometimes even impossible to install modern infrastructure in the settlements on top hill, many families decided to leave their original homes. New living space started to be constructed along the slope going down on the southern mountain side and down-hill forming new clusters along the Wadi Samail. Photo 1 Phase B: Incremental Growth/densification Clusters of courtyard houses along the Wadi and along new roads (1980-1990/95) The decade after was characterized by a strong emphasis on providing lacking facilities and technical services, following the first 5 year plan. The introduction of electricity and the construction of paved roads were probably the most decisive driving forces for changes in these villages and small towns in that region. While before 1970 paved roads were rare and the Wadi Ismail served as the main connection path to Muscat via the old village of Al Khoud the first road to Inner Oman was opened in 1976 with the bridge crossing Wadi Ismail south-east of Fanja. Introducing adequate roads and the car as the new mode of transportation also encouraged people to leave their traditional settlements with narrow and unpaved lanes that did not allow a car to pass through. New clusters of mainly courtyard houses were growing and settlement started along the new road around the market area. photo Phase C: Dissolution of clusters, using all unbuilt area for development (rural sprawl) 1990-2005 This decade was characterized by high population growth. The newly opened highway Muscat-Nizwa was again a backbone for new settlement activities. The settlement-clusters formerly separated by plantations, started to grow as well and merged with each other. In addition open land on the hilly sides was now used as well for distributing the plots required. Though this area was not very much suited to be serviced by the hierarchy of roads according to planning standards, villas showed up here and there and opened a development that we would call „rural sprawl“. It ended up with a mixture of buildings dating from periods before, and fills in the entire surface Photo Phase D: Scattered, patchy structures along the highway and at the very outskirts (since 2005 ongoing) The freestanding villa on a mostly walled plot- started to be constructed about 10 years ago. This type ushered a new era in rural settlement development, as it is hardly to distinguish any more from the urban house-type that we find in all areas of expansion in MCA. New houses are to be recorded first at the fringes of the former settlement clusters and since 2009 are going to be realized mainly along the highway Muscat-Nizwa. Urbanization there is very dynamic, as to be proved by the maps below (google). At that time there were long waiting lists for plots to be allocated through the lottery in Muscat Capital Area. Since 2008 women were given the right to apply for a plot as well. More and more younger families decided to buy a plot along the highway – considerably cheaper than the ones in MCA. Though not at all accessible by roads, a small settlement started around the recently established petrol station. Having experienced the process of infrastructure provision in Muscat, that goes step by step ahead according to the number of houses erected, families just started to build and wait until more roads will be provided. Trucks will deliver drinking water anyhow and the sewage tank on the private plot is standard in nearly all of the new construction areas. The cluster-like settlement structure is given up totally and urbanization follow the ribbon-like pattern along the highway. Residents are no longer only Fanja-rooted families but come in from different parts of Inner Oman or more often from Muscat.

DRIVING FORCE: dynamic population growth Natural population growth and migration have contributed to the fact that “....the total population of the Sultanate has redoubled nearly six times from 50’000 in 1950 to 2’775’878 in 2010.” Although the Governorates of Muscat and Batinah represent merely 5.3% of the total area of the Sultanate, they accommodate about 56% of the total population by nearly 28% of each. The high growth rates plus the concentration of population in the MCA plus the fact that since 2008 also female Omani Nationals are eligible for a granted plot have led to long waiting lists for a plot. About 4000 applications have been registered in only one month in 2011 in Muscat and challenged the Governmental Bodies concerned. In order to meet this extremely high demand for new residential plots the Government had to find new additional land to allocate, which was located far away and people often didn’t wait for the plots being serviced but started to build as soon as possible. Thus fact contributes highly to the patchy structures and to a high consumption of land. DRIVING FORCE: Oil-based economy Oman started recently to reflect on depleating oil reserves. During the past decades however ‚energy saving’ was not on the agenda due the the seemingly never ending fossil resources. Buildings –also residential units- have been erected without using soft measures to save energy. Skills that have been manyfold in the country for climate responsive urban and architectural design have got lost and air condition devices are the predominant way of adapting the non insulated free standing villas, exposed to the difficult climate in the coastal region of Muscat capital area, to a comfortable indoor climate for human beings. Besides the consumption of limited resources, household expenses for electricity are very high and charge the families budget considerably. The state economy is still based to a high degree on oil, though diversifying the economy has become the ultimate development goal for the first time promoted in 1995 the „Vision 2020“ DRIVING FORCE: Housing Policy Housing policy has been redefined in 1991 within the Muscat Area Housing Study carried out based on comprehensive surveys. A main goal of the Omani Government is to allow all Omani citizens to build their own house. Thus land is granted to them forming part of a public welfare system of the Sultanate. Housing Banks have been established to grant long term loans for construction of new houses or the purchase of existing ones. Social housing is provided to those Omani Citizens in need for. The Non Omani nationals (meanwhile (2012) more than 50% of the total population in Muscat Governorate) are excluded from the right to own property in the country, except in ITCs. Private sector activities however are essential for the implementation of the Omani housing policy. The land allocation system allows the plot owner to either built up his or her plot right after allocation or to wait two years before he or she may sell the plot on a free /private estate market. Many plot owners speculate on land. Land prices rapidly grow on the market as soon as the land is going to be serviced by roads and other infrastructure. This policy has led to a dual land market, on one hand side land is distributed practically for free and on the other hand land is sold on a highly speculative market. 4. DRIVING FORCE: Physical Urban Planning The guidelines for future urban development patterns have been identified in the Muscat Area Structure Plan, taking the given development trends into consideration when designing future spatial structures until 2010. It has been decided to follow a functional separation, where areas are dedicated to one function only, be it residential, industrial, admininistrative, commercial land use. This generates a need for commuting long distances between residential place and workplace, schools, or shopping, leisure and health care facilities; This creates furthermore empty spaces during night time, when ministries are closed, when workplaces or the banking sector shut down. The basic unit for the residential schemes is the individual family house covering 40 % of the private plot. Low residential densities are the result.

Case-study Al Khoudh Al Khoud (phase 6) covers an area for about 2000 new residential and commercial plots. The area started to be developed in 2007 and thus allows a continuous observation of ongoing processes of urban growth and expansion, characteristic to Muscat Capital Area. Map of Greater Muscat Area The site was planned in the early 2000s by the Ministry of Housing in Muscat and is phase 6 within the Al Khoud residential development scheme. The site plan has a rigid layout of similar plots and a regulating street network. Construction started in 2007 and is still ongoing with a completion of 40% of roads completed and 27% of plots built in April 2012. In November 2010 when the first field study took place development in the area had become more dynamic and plots along the finished roads were being developed rapidly. Within only one year, at the end of 2011, building activities are to be observed in the inner zones, along secondary roads or even along not yet paved roads. Road construction work was pushed in 2010. To date (April 2013) the roads had not been developed completely and many houses could only be reached by improvised dirt track. Electricity is available on site, despite the fact that many connections are make-shift wires tapped from the main lines. Infrastructure in the sense of water and sewage connection is non-existent. The master-plan is homogeneous, dis-ambiguous and relatively easy to track in time and space. The rapid pace of development make it an interesting “live” object of research enabling to study not just he “result” but also the process. The actual form of Urbanization can be tested against the goals set in the master-plan. If the aim of the development is the critique can be developed out of the case-study itself. The development process can be traced in time thanks to satellite images. The earliest available satellite imagery goes back to January 2004. At the time of writing four distinct snapshots in time were available: March 2008, February 2011, March 2012 and April 2013. The first building activity is recorded on the satellite image of March 2008. As we can see on the chronologic map of Al Khoud of March 2008 1,1% of the plots were built while 40,5% of the roads were already built. This indicates that very few residential construction started before a minimum of roads were there. About one third of these houses were actually on one of the roads built. The others needed to travel the last 50 meters across improvised dirt tracks. The next available snapshot can be seen in the chronologic map of Al Khoud of February 2011. Here building activity slowly progresses with 5,2% of the plots built. Houses are randomly scattered around the site and only half of them are fully accessible by road. The road construction has not progressed and is still at 40,5% built roads. This is to remain for the next snapshot as seen in the chronologic map of Al Khoud dated March 2012. Here building activity has significantly increased with 26,7% of the plots built up. The most recent snapshot as seen in the chronologic map of Al Khoud dated April 2013 shows and increase in both developed plots and a second phase of road construction.

HOUSE TYPES IN RURAL-TO- URBAN AREAS URBAN AREAS House types in the rural areas studied in Fanja have undergone different changes during the phases of transformation. The process of transformation of housing types in Fanja for instance can be traced in phases A-D. The initial type of traditional mud-building has been analyzed in detail in studies on oasis settlements. The traditional house was adapted to the given physical condition of the site and responded to particular family’s needs. It might have been altered several times, differing in size and quality of construction according to the family’s capacities and importance in the village. Plots also differed in size and shape and were mostly built up in a way that the space in between the buildings formed the open space for access, and other outdoor related neighborhood activities. The buildings were built detached, shade and cooling was created by narrow passages. Thick mud brick walls, small windows and wind catching el- ements created a comfortable climate indoors.

DRIVING FORCE: Housing Policy Housing policy has been redefined in 1991 within the Muscat Area Housing Study carried out based on comprehensive surveys. A main goal of the Omani Government is to allow all Omani citizens to build their own house. Thus land is granted to them forming part of a public welfare system of the Sultanate. Housing Banks have been established to grant long term loans for construction of new houses or the purchase of existing ones. Social housing is provided to those Omani Citizens in need for. The Non Omani nationals (meanwhile (2012) more than 50% of the total population in Muscat Governorate) are excluded from the right to own property in the country, except in ITCs. Private sector activities however are essential for the implementation of the Omani housing policy. The land allocation system allows the plot owner to either built up his or her plot right after allocation or to wait two years before he or she may sell the plot on a free /private estate market. Many plot owners speculate on land. Land prices rapidly grow on the market as soon as the land is going to be serviced by roads and other infrastructure. This policy has led to a dual land market, on one hand side land is distributed practically for free and on the other hand land is sold on a highly speculative market. DRIVING FORCE: Priority for Road infrastructure Policies followed during the past four decades have been focussing on what might be called ’catching-up development’. Development in this sense meant rapid growth and expansion to improve the country’s lacking basic infrastructure, social and health facilities, as well as modern government and administration structures. This development is based on the discovered oil and gas reserves and thus opening a prosperous future. One major concern has been given in all five-year plans to the expansion and improvement of the road network. The priority for roadway projects and counts for high state expenses every year. DRIVING FORCE: Land allocation system Land for residential settlements in Oman is granted to Omani Citizens according Land Law. Land dedicated to residential development is divided into plots of in general 600 sqm. Very often in recent years, the plots stay practically unserviced for a long period, Plots are than distributed by lottery to persons who are eligible. This procedure developed in the early 1970ies to implement a social welfare system of land granting to Omani Citizens is nowadays hampering social equity among the urban Society: As land is only given to Omani Nationals and Non Nationals are not allowed to possess land (except in ITCs ) The system of land-allocation by lottery is socially unfair. Poor and middle income Omanis cannot develop the land according to their needs and often sell it at low prices. The land-allocation by lottery distorts the real-estate market, leads to massive land speculation and creates an ever larger demand for new land. The land-allocation by lottery cannot meet the future demand with the current demographic development. This procedure doesn’t allow to distinguish between people who are really in need and those who share already five or six plots within the family, it does not take into consideration the size of the familiy nor does it allow a choice of the plot’s location.

Building Types The Villa Settlement patterns in the expansion areas are based on the unit of self-standing buildings or villas. These buildings are constructed on the typical 20m x 30m plots governed by set-back rules. The building occupies the center part of the 600m2 plot. A perimeter wall surrounds the plot. The space in between villa and walls is sealed. The villas are two stories tall and have a flat accessible roof. The setback rules require 5m distance to the front and 3m to the sides. This perimeter space not available for construction is about half of the plot area. The villa typology requires vast amounts of land for the resulting dwelling units and is thus not dense at all. The typology of the walled and self-standing building, the lack of programmatic diversity, the long distances to commute and the lack of designed public space have a strong negative impact on the social life. The constant construction makes appropriation of public space almost impossible. The inhabitants are randomly brought together as their plots are assigned by lottery. Due to the reliance on cars, large social groups are isolated, amongst others children, teenagers, people without drivers license, economically deprived, handicapped and elderly people. The typology of the villa is the least suitable for the local climate as there is no self-shading possibility and all concrete walls are exposed during the day to solar and heat impact. The resulting energy loads for cooling and the respective carbon footprints are huge. The uniform proliferation of villas requires individuals to take construction loans. In comparison to shared or communal dwellings costs are considerably higher. The costs for the provision of infrastructure increases as the land use increases. The self-standing villa is the least sustainable forms settlements. Typologies: single, twin and XXL The self-standing buildings present throughout Muscat Capital Area differ considerably in size. Three categories can be distinguished: One or two story single-family homes that cover a footprint of up to 180m2 and about 35% of the plot area. These buildings offer a traditional Omani floor plan and cater one family’s needs. The single villa can be updated with a second story or a annexe building since the constructive space has not been exhausted. Two story semi-detached twin-villas with a total footprint of up to 300 m2 covering 50% of the plot area. These buildings respect the setback rules. These buildings are designed to house the family of the landlord and to offer an additional building of equal size to house other clan members or for rent. “XXL villas” with up to three stories covering more than 400m2 and 60% of the plot area by ignoring the setback rules. These buildings feature a luxurious main residence to the front and up to two apartments for rent in the back. These rental apartments refinance the luxurious main residence. These “XXL villas” overbuild the plot by 155%. The evolution of residential dwelling typologies correlates with building trends al over Oman. Buildings are no longer produced for the individual demand but increasingly for real-estate speculation. Rental and retail contribute to a secondary market economy dismantling the social aims of the land allocation process. The sprawl of self-standing houses undermines the actual purpose of housing. While the plots of 600m2 are generous the single villa would be sufficient to house even an extended family. The excessive available spaces leads to market distortion and excessive construction. Moreover twin and XXL-villas are not incorporated into the urban design schemes and stress the existing shared infrastructure such as water, sewage, electricity and parking spaces. The apparent construction density of these larger villas has to be correlated to the density per inhabitant. Mixed-use commercial buildings Mixed-use commercial buildings combine apartment houses with commercial rental spaces on the ground. Neon signs advertise the respective activity inside: small convenience store, barber shop, coffee shop, etc. These buildings stand 10 m apart. The apartments are designed for lower income Omanis or expatriate workers. The street-scape seamlessly blends into the parking spaces in front of these buildings. The buildings have two staircases and one elevator shaft linked by a central, dark corridor. The footprint is more or less square. The small rooms have small openings to one side only. The lower floors have poor natural ventilation and light. There are no balconies nor external shading to protect from the sunlight. The roof is flat and used for air-conditioning split units and satellite dishes. [process of transformation of housing types in Fanja, building phase A-D] Recently, the building typologies described can be found both in urban expansion areas and in rural-to-urban interfaces.