Researchers ask for residents’ help as they seek to chart Doha’s past

These are some of the questions researchers want to pose to Doha residents of all ages as they embark on a new initiative to chart the changing face of Doha from the 1950s and 1960s to the present day.

‘Where Is Your Doha?’ is a study being led by University College London (UCL) Qatar, as part of its ongoing Origins of Doha Project.

Researchers want to delve into people’s memories of life in the city over the past 70 years, and attempt to show not only how Doha has developed and expanded, but also how this affected the everyday lives of people in the city at the time.

The team is using modern mapping techniques to digitize early information and statistics about Doha, to show how the city has grown, and also how neighborhoods have changed – with some expanding, others getting swallowed up by their neighbors, or just changing their name.

For example, an overlay of maps from the 1950s and ’60s shows how some districts have changed completely. Salata was once a peninsula jutting out into the bay of Doha, but it’s now entirely land-bound, following the reclamation of land from the sea to build other neighborhoods around it.

The initiative is part of a wider project, The Origins of Doha, which UCL is undertaking in collaboration with Qatar Museums Authority experts to unlock the secrets of Doha’s past.

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Researchers ask for residents’ help as they seek to chart Doha’s past