Sustainability and Identity as Main Controlling Factors for Designing Public Parks, Khalbooh Park – Case Study

Abstract

Oman started its modern era in 1970. The government carried out an extensive agenda of infrastructure development and urban expansion. Unfortunately, the guidelines of urban planning issued in 2000 were not applied. Thus, providing community landscape spaces did not meet the standards. This research aims to support students, researchers and professionals in the field as well as to draw the local authority’s concern to the value of landscape design from a moral perspective. Moreover, this paper showcases a model of re-designing a landscape space based on identity and sustainability. The research methodology relies on reviewing the relevant references. Furthermore, three relevant government officials have been interviewed. Accordingly, a questionnaire was prepared and handed out to the visitors of a selected case study. Consequently, a project to redesign the park was prepared by three students supervised by the author. The paper successfully revealed all the issues with the present design of the park as a model for national or regional parks. In addition, this research demonstrates an example of designing a landscape area that addresses a broad sector of visitor needs. Moreover, the final venture responds to two of the contemporary design trends; identity and sustainability.