PhD ThesisFunctionally and morphologically the geographical reality of
a town is the result of the interplay of socio-economic factors under
the influence of their regional and historical contexts. Function is
the decisive element in fashioning the overall pattern of the city.
It nearly always finds expression in one or other of the townscape
eloments. This physical expression, whether sholin in the street
system or in the building type, is constantly changing. The scale,
nature and timing of such changes and modifications are determined
by the socio-economic factors and technological development in each
phase of the city's growth. Functional changes influence both
traditional and modern forms and their readjustment in relation to
other constituent elements of the townscape. This dynamism and its
results is one of the special concerns of this study where new
forms are always emerging. The processes of development such as
peripheral land use expansion, and the decline and replacement of
buildings in the central area are good examples of the physical
changes of the Arab city
