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URBAN SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS In many cities of the world, long established and highly revered social and spatial traditions have become subject to both internal and external pressures for change. This book analytical examined a range of different built environments (traditional houses to modern apartment buildings) in the city of Damascus, with a focus on understanding spatial behaviour and how it is changing. The study applied semiotic, as well as architectural and geographical theories to describe, compare, and evaluate sampled urban environments. The study examined components of the built environment, both as urbanscape characteristics and, as signs and information systems. The importance attached to deconstructing and understanding our perceptions of synthetic habits makes the book a good target for researchers in the field of social sciences as well as for urban designers (as space maker) and architects. It is also a valuable resource for readers seeking insight into the corporeal appearance of our authentic living world.

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BS: Arch. Dept at Damascus Univ., Syria; MA:Urban Design at The Univ. of Kansas, USA; and PhD.:Geography at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. His research interests focuses on the urban context and includes decoding urban space syntax and space users´behavioral patterns. He is currently a faculty at the Arch. Eng.Program at SQU, Oman.

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