© W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2014 DOI 10.1179/1350503314Z.00000000076 conservation and mgmt of arch. sites, Vol. 16 No. 2, May 2014, 105–16 Requalifying the Historic Centre of Doha: From Locality to Globalization Remah Gharib Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Over the past two decades, the fabric of Doha has been altered, as Qatar is considered to be one of the most rapidly developing nations in the world. The architecture and urbanism are evolving enormously, with new settle- ments, expanding infrastructure, and various architectural patterns deployed. Moreover, in the era of globalization, cities of the Arabian Peninsula are competing to place themselves in the international context, and it could be argued that in this milieu the Qatari government utilizes the high-quality urban interventions as a developing tool in this rivalry. This trend can be observed in the requalification of the historic centre of Doha that involved massive destruction of traditional heritage observed during the 1980s through to the present day. This discussion focuses on Souq Waqif, a tradi- tional open market which has been revitalized for the public, and Msheireb — Downtown Doha, an adjacent new development with reverence to Qatari history and culture. This paper investigates the role of urban design in reconstructing the historic centre of Doha and examining the local attitudes regarding what constructs an attractive, global, and emerging urban centre, addressing the cultural, socio-economical and physical impact of these projects with reference to different approaches to revitalization. keywords built heritage, historic centre, requalification, adaptive reuse, Doha, Qatar Introduction The revitalization of historic centres plays an important role in the conservation of social and urban continuity. It aims to employ regeneration and development through an effective and controllable management of historic areas. Revitalization of historic centres is a contemporary trend committed to sustaining heritage assets, applying effective economic investments to serve the community and thus maintain cultural identity. As Kevin Lynch (1972: 33) proposed, ‘if change is inevitable, then it should be moderated and controlled so as to prevent violent dislocation and preserve a max- imum of continuity with the past’. Urban requalification responds to this concern,