The Morphology and Image of West Bay in Doha, Qatar

West Bay is a business district in Doha. Since the 1990s, its skyline has been the city's iconic image, epitomizing the modernity and prosperity of Qatar. Three decades of development solidified its urban form, requiring a critical evaluation of its physical/functional attributes and their impact on the user experiences of the area. We investigate West Bay’s urban morphology and functional dynamics to highlight its design and planning deficiencies. These give rise to the view of West Bay as a ‘nonplace urban realm’ dedicated to vehicular movement at the expense of pedestrians (Webber in Explorations into Urban Structure, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1964). We review West Bay’s historical location, development, and political, social, and economic significance during the rapid urbanization of Doha. Urban morphology research provides the framework for examining West Bay’s physical form, focusing on the interactions between components—block size, land use, building heights, and pedestrian shed analysis—that are conducive to a walkable city. We review the imageability of West Bay for users, following Lynch’s method (Lynch in The Image of the City, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1960). The paper finds critical challenges for West Bay. Based on this, the paper contributes to our understanding of the urban environment and user experience of contemporary developments like West Bay.