ORIGINAL ARTICLE The emergence of Al-Manarah Square as a new centre for the twin cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh Shaden Q. Awad 1 • Shadi S. Ghadban 1 • Samer R. Wannan 1 Ó Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Al-Manarah Square in the twin cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Palestine, is one example of modern urbanisation in a Palestinian context. During the twentieth century, the area was transformed from a dirty road that connected the two towns of Ramallah and Al- Bireh to a central space that evocated the major urban restructuring and transformations of both cities to an exclusive administrative and business centre with a high- end gated residential community. Thus, the aim of this paper is to study the transformation of Al-Manarah Square as a main node that connects Ramallah with its twin city of Al-Bireh. It also analyses the various dimensions of this square in the spatial configuration and urban development of both cities as a political and economic centre as well as a cultural milieu. The implemented methodology includes direct observations via site visits, fieldwork, documentation of all existing streets and buildings around the square, interviews with owners and other residents of the study area and surveys of the existing literature related to the subject. An analytical approach based on the Conzenian School has been applied to analyse the urban form, spatial layout and configuration of the square. Keywords Ramallah Á Al-Bireh Á Al-Manarah Square Á Urban morphology Á Conzenian School Introduction Al-Manarah Square in Ramallah and Al-Bireh is one example of modern urbanisation in a Palestinian context. The area was transformed from a dirt road that connected Ramallah and Al-Bireh at the beginning of the twentieth century to a central public space that provoked major urban restructuring and transformations of both Ramallah and Al- Bireh as administrative and business centres with intensive construction of commercial and residential spaces due to high demand during the last century. The aim of this paper is to investigate the emergence and transformation of Al-Manarah Square area as a main node that connects Ramallah with its twin city of Al-Bireh, as a political and economic centre and as a cultural milieu (Fig. 1). The paper encompasses three main parts: a his- torical review of the urban development of Al-Manarah Square, a review of public space literature and an empirical study of the area. The paper examines the spatial devel- opment of the structural and functional appearance of Al- Manarah Square between 1890 and 2010 and analyses the form of the square area by investigating the streets patterns, parcels (lots), building units, fabric, land and building utilisation; in addition, it identifies the main factors that have influenced the development of Al-Manarah Square area. Based on a field survey and documentation, the urban morphology is analysed to define the transformation pro- cesses of the fabric of the study area, elucidating the his- torical background of its spatial and functional structures and contextualising them for the present day. Notably, this study has several constraints, such as a lack of eye witnesses of the entire founding process of this square, a lack of sufficient documented evidence or studies relevant to the subject and scattered documentation of the square within the archives of both municipalities of & Shaden Q. Awad sqasem@birzeit.edu Shadi S. Ghadban sghadban@birzeit.edu; shadighadban@gmail.com Samer R. Wannan swannan@birzeit.edu 1 Department of Architectural Engineering, Birzeit University, P.O. Box (14), Birzeit, Palestine Urban Des Int https://doi.org/10.1057/s41289-018-0061-4