Hisham Mortada

Cultural Diversity of an Ancient Urban Element Hisham Mortada

The Cul-de-sac is a unique urban element, especially in traditional settlements that feature compact organic urban form. In addition to its countless social advantages, the cul-de-sac greatly contributes to humanizing harsh climatic conditions, the hot arid in particular. Though many urban historians and planners ascribe its origin to the old Muslim city, the cul-de-sac had been in existence for centuries in various parts of the world. This book explores the social and environmental dimensions of the cul-de-sac using historic and contemporary examples from various geographic contexts. It also examines in detail the physical aspects of the cul-de-sac in old Muslim cities, as well as contemporary Western cities.