Abstract

“Network societies” will never replace traditional communities. In today’s evolving global culture, the issues of cultural sustainability, identity, and belonging are being challenged. At the heart of this challenge is the difficulty of individuals’ spatial and social assimilation. Looking back, architecture and the constructed urban form have always faced dilemmas that continue to challenge communities. Thus, the challenge facing the traditional mechanisms of belonging is an urgent matter and is presented as a dilemma due to the transitional nature of today’s time period. Individuals as users and as architects need to rediscover the secure home and place, without which no community can be sustained. This book discusses Baghdad as an example of a city whose cultural stability was challenged over a short period of time, and should serve as a reminder to other cities of the importance of stability and belonging. The flow of information affects the flow of people’s inner space, which can no longer be thought of as internally controlled, and architecture should be aware of such changes and the dilemma it creates for the occupation of space. It concludes that architecture and the built form cannot afford to continue on its current path if society aims at sustaining its cultural and social capital. This is especially evident in the fact that architecture is closely linked to power, which has an important role in the stability of communities and their cultures. The role of iconic architecture’s transition to sovereign architecture plays an important role in changing the norms of the built form and asserting new rules. Thus, the role of the architect’s responsibility becomes increasingly important, and the question of good faith and freedom becomes central in relation to the ethical role of the architect and architecture in the social system.