Book on post-oil era published

Manama, Jan. 2 (BNA): Two Arabian Gulf University academics have participated in writing a book, "Knowledge-Based Urban Development in the Middle East," which has been published recently by an international publishing house located in the United States of America. Professor of Urban Planning at the Department of Natural Resources, Dr Ahmed El-Kholei and Head of Innovation and Technology Management Department, Dr Odeh Al-Jayyousi, co-authored a chapter of the book titled, "GCC Cities in the Post-Hydrocarbon Age: Challenges and Opportunities". The researchers observed that GCC countries are urban in nature, and that most GCC cities are located along the edge of the Arabian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula resulting from geopolitical and environmental factors. They pointed in their study to an increasing growth in current cities, due to the natural population growth and migration rates to the Gulf countries following the discovery of oil last century. The study shows that the infrastructure and human resources of GCC cities are one of the most important enablers of knowledge-based urban development, which explains the existence of a number of cities such as Dubai, Riyadh, Kuwait and Manama that have a relationship with the global economy and international financial institutions. The study reviewed GCC development strategies and plans which seek to diversify the economic base in attempts to transform the oil-based economy into an economy based on the production of knowledge and innovation. These attempts need to be fully integrated into their local and regional environments. The study provided examples of the experiences of advanced industrial countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and Australia, as well as recent industrial countries such as Singapore, in order to extract beneficial lessons and to summarise opportunities for Gulf cities to develop knowledge-based urbanisation and to transform into smart cities. The study concluded that current local, regional and global conditions are conducive to the transfer of knowledge and the production of innovative knowledge though the adoption of green economy concepts to address the risks of climate change. This transformation requires the development of institutions by building and strengthening global partnerships for the production of knowledge and innovation and the use of new and renewable sources of energy. It is noteworthy that the book was edited by the Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning, Dr Ali Abd AlRaouf, and was contributed to by Professor of Urban Planning and Urban Development at Queensland University of Technology in Australia, Professor Yigitcanlar.