Between Nomadism and Settlement: The Architectural Transformation of the Arabian Desert, 1940s–1970s

DISSERTATION

The Arabian desert underwent a tremendous transformation in the twentieth century. The establishment of the modern state and the oil industry created the modern desert landscape. This transformation was supported by local governments, international agencies, and nongovernmental agencies. Their involvement aimed to modernize the desert and its people. The tribespeople of Arabia, the Badu, were perceived as an obstacle to modernization due to their nomadic structures and movements across national borders. The response was a project of sedentarization, where governments and international agencies incentivized nomadic tribes to abandon nomadism by providing housing and jobs in agriculture and oil companies. Modern architecture and experimental farms were used to sedentarize the Badu. In this dissertation, the resulting formal and informal settlements built in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia will be studied. 

Sarah Saad Alajmi