Geospatial Analysis for Foreign Labor force Distribution and Housing Services in Kuwait, from 2003 to 2012
Abstract
Human influences on the urban environment depend on the population size, population concentration, and landuse organization. In Kuwait, the urban organization relies heavily on the population structure and concentration. Daily practices and occupations which result in changes in landuse in Kuwait lead to changes in the formation of the urban environment. Surveys and fieldwork were conducted, and interviews were performed, to analyze the population structure in Kuwait and the general organization of each province, specifically on housing foreign labor force. In addition, official data were analyzed to examine the population distribution and type of landuse in each province in Kuwait. Measuring the connection between the increase of immigration and general landuse was significant to measure the concentration of foreign workers in specific places which affected the demand on related services. Analyzing these data is important to reveal the changes in social organization which was associated with changing land use and alleviating pressure on general services. With the increase of low-wage workers in industrial and commercial areas, the congestion increases and leads to overcrowding in residential areas associated with these activities. Also the daily cleaning process is at a maximum in these areas. The demand on low-wage workers is not reflected in a beneficial way to improve the country's development status, but the government requires a lot of effort to prequalify these workers for a job. At the same time, the foreign workers reflect a different social background that might affect the social structure in Kuwait and must be taken into consideration. Also, uncontrollable outsider behaviors can affect the general structure of some cities especially in the context of the function of every province specifically on housing units and residential areas in Kuwait.