Household Relocation and the Restructuring of Social Relationships: Insights from Sharjah, UAE

Abstract

Cities in the Arabian Peninsula have undergone rapid quantitative and qualitative growth in recent decades. A previous study in Sharjah highlighted deterioration in the public realm of residential neighbourhoods. This paper provides preliminary findings on how the social health of neighbourhoods has also shifted in relation to changes in the physical environment. Based on a study of 11 households that relocated from older neighbourhoods in the 1970s and 1980s to newer areas, the research finds a significant decline in social capital. This decline appears linked to lifestyle changes, alterations in the physical fabric, and the interaction between the two.