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Doha, the capital of Qatar, used to be a small fishing and pearl diving village. It’s now Qatar’s largest city with skyscrapers and a fast-growing urban area. Doha is investing heavily in education, culture, and sports. The vast majority of Qatar’s population lives in metropolitan Doha.
Oil was discovered in Qatar in 1937, and development began after World War II. Modern urbanization soon followed, and the country now has the highest per capita income in the world.
After winning the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Doha has a new motivation to develop its infrastructure. The Qatar government is investing in new stadiums and improved public transportation systems.
Location
Sep. 3, 1972, Landsat 1 (path/row 175/42) — Doha, Qatar
Aug. 1, 1987, Landsat 5 (path/row 163/42) — Doha, Qatar
Nov. 2, 1992, Landsat 5 (path/row 163/42) — Doha, Qatar
Sep. 15, 2001, Landsat 7 (path/row 163/42) — Doha, Qatar
Sep. 12, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 163/42) — Doha, Qatar
Sep. 10, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 163/42) — Doha, Qatar
Sep. 15, 2021, Landsat 8 (path/row 163/42) — Doha, Qatar
Doha, Qatar Additional Imagery & Stories
New Airport
Construction started on Hamad International Airport (HIA) in 2004 with a huge land reclamation project. Sand from the seabed was used to build new lan...
Pearl-Qatar
The Pearl-Qatar is 32 kilometers of new coastline extending into the Persian Gulf. It is so named because Doha began as a pearl fishing village in the...
Urban Growth
This image series reveals more details about the expansion of Doha’s road network. Roads are arranged concentrically around the old city’s center. Low...
References
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Flint, Sunshine, 2012, Living in—Doha: BBC Web page at http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20121030-living-in-doha. (Accessed November 12, 2014.)
Kable, 2014, Hamid International Airport (HIA), Qatar: airport-technology.com Web page at http://www.airport-technology.com/projects/doha/. (Accessed November 12, 2014.)
Md Properties, 2014, Pearl Island Living—Why This Luxurious Hot Spot Is on Everyone’s Mind: QatarLiving Web page at http://www.qatarliving.com/moving-qatar/posts/pearl-island-living-why-luxurious-hot-spot-everyones-mind. (Accessed November 12, 2014.)
Online Qatar, 2018, Qatar Information Guide—Hamad International Airport: online Qatar, accessed April 19, 2018, at https://www.onlineqatar.com/info/qatar-airport.aspx.
The Pearl-Qatar, 2015, The Pearl-Qatar Web page: accessed April 19, 2018, at http://thepearlqatar.com.
Raven, Hannah, 2014, Infrastructure Works Completed at the Pearl Qatar: Construction Week Online, available at http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-30234-infrastructure-works-complete-at-the-pearl-qatar/. (Accessed November 12, 2014.)
Rizzo, A., 2013, Metro Doha: Cities, v. 31, p. 533–543.
Scharfenort, Nadine, 2013, Large‑Scale Urban Regeneration—A New “Heart” for Doha: Arabian Humanities, available at http://cy.revues.org/2532. (Accessed November 12, 2014.)
Weidmann, Florian, Salama, Ashraf M., Thierstein, Alain, 2012, Urban Evolution of the City of Doha—An Investigation into the Impact of Economic Transformations on Urban Structures: Middle East Technical University Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, v. 29, no. 2, p. 35–61. (Available online at http://jfa.arch.metu.edu.tr/archive/0258-5316/2012/cilt29/sayi_2/35-61.pdf.)
Wilkinson, Justin M., 2010, Doha, Qatar: NASA Earth Observatory, available at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=47966. (Accessed November 12, 2014.)