Spatial Sustainability in Historical Urban Centers The role of Spatial Distribution of Mosques in the Spatial Sustainability in Mosul Old City

Abstract

Abstract:The city represents a multi-systems physical entity associated with a range of relationships in various aspects, which organize space, time, meaning and means of communication through many elements. With the vast expanded rising of the concept of sustainability since the last decade of the 20th.Centaury, many trends are adopted in dealing with this concept within the urban environment. The idea of sustainable urban form, which refers to spatial and physical configuration whichaffects urban growth and capable of achieving compatibility with the changing and emerging needs, is the most dominant one. The elements of accessibility, proximity and functional mix are the basic meansof achieving sustainable urban form. In Islamic city, the mosque was a key element, which urban facilities were gathered around it, it was not just a religious center, but it was an organizer of the spatial configuration of the Islamic city.The multiple functions of the mosque vary from a religious center to a social, political, cultural and educational center. For many Islamic cities, the urban growth has led to establishment of many mosques, where the city of Mosul is a good example for such case. These mosques played the role of multi-purpose centers in the districts they found.The presented research tries to investigate the role of the spatial distribution of the Friday mosques in Mosul old city until the beginning of the 20th. Centaury in spatial sustainability. This will be done by adopting space- syntax approach and the concept of spatial sustainability focused on the spatial configuration of the city.Keywords: Friday Mosque, Spatial Sustainability, Sustainable Urban Form, Islamic City, Mosul.