The Consequences of the Fragmentation and the Division of Residential Units: A Case Study of Ramadi City in Iraq

Table 1. General and gross population density of Ramadi City Neighborhoods, 2022

Sources: 1). Ministry of Planning, Central Statistical Organization, Anbar Statistics Directorate, Unpublished data, 2024. 2). Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works, General Directorate of Planning and Urban Development, Updated Master Plan (2013–2033), Map No. 6327J, 2013.

Table 2. Building materials by neighborhood

Source: Researcher’s work based on Questionnaire (1)

Second: Morphological effects

This includes both positive and negative impacts on the skyline, housing morphology, existing spaces, coverage ratios, and designs. The effects of fragmentation and subdivision on various morphological elements of Ramadi are diverse and include [6]:

Urban Effects: These effects significantly influence the fragmentation phenomenon. Economic, social, planning factors, and public interest considerations drive this process, leaving important impacts on the urban landscape. This section focuses on urban effects manifested through building form changes, such as building materials, architectural style, modifications, vertical extensions, skyline, coverage ratio, and available spaces [7].

Ramadi and the studied neighborhoods have witnessed a notable morphological transformation with the emergence of multi-story buildings exceeding two floors, which represents approximately 66% of the sample. There is also a shift to durable modern materials such as Halal stone, marble, and carved stone, in addition to traditional materials like brick, limestone, and cement used for foundations, walls, and roofs (see Table 2) [8].

This table indicates a significant change in many residential facades, their expansion trends, street frontage, and changes in residential systems, including the use of modern decorations and carvings in building designs. Residential plot areas have shrunk and divided into two or three parts after previously exceeding 500 m², especially in newer houses. This has likely contributed to urban fabric density, with buildings clustered tightly and open spaces sometimes eliminated, resulting in coverage rates reaching 100%. The questionnaire confirmed that 87% of surveyed fragmented residential units lack gardens and about 84% lack private garages, significantly affecting the exploitable spaces that serve urban residents' comfort [9].

This phenomenon also caused competition for space maximization, leading to the rise of apartment units. The researcher observed fragmentation into four two-story residential units sharing a central staircase. Most newer homes use colors, materials, and designs different from older houses, causing a visible disparity between modern and traditional residential units [10].

Commercial uses began encroaching on residential areas, leading to major urban changes such as the emergence of malls and commercial buildings adjacent to residential units. These mainly appeared along primary and arterial streets in the study area, such as Al-Mustawda’ Street, 20th Street, Fakrah Street, Al-Salam neighborhood, Al-Dhubbat, Omar Street, and the road linking the old housing area to Al-Riyadh neighborhood. New building materials and facade decorations, such as carbon, display screens, and commercial signs appeared. The city skyline on these streets rose to over 24 meters, especially on Al-Mustawda’, Fakrah, and 20th Streets. This has impacted the study area’s character, strengthened its urban fabric, and increased building interpenetration. Commercial use, with its capacity to pay higher rents and possibly higher land prices, has driven vertical expansion to maximize spatial units [11].

5.1 Effects on public buildings and city morphology

Fragmentation led to varied building designs and expansion in both service buildings and industrial workshops. Increased land use density due to subdivision or construction likely increased population density, raising demands for services either by renovating old structures or establishing new service institutions, often with multi-story designs such as schools, mosques, and health centers. Modern materials such as ceramic, marble, Halal stone, and carbon influenced building appearances, causing external changes in the study area [12].

5.1.1 Residential unit occupancy density

Occupancy density can be assessed through variables like the number of household members and the number of rooms actually occupied. Based on the survey, the average household size in Ramadi is over six persons, accounting for 70.3% of households [13]; those with fewer than six persons constitute 29.7% (see Table 3).

Table 3. Average number of rooms and their area per residential unit by Ramadi Neighborhood, 2022

Source: Survey, Appendix 1

The overall average number of rooms in the study area reached about 3,459, with an average room size of 200 m². The average number of rooms per unit is approximately 2.7, with crowding rates at 2.5 persons/room citywide. These statistics vary across neighborhoods, with the highest room count in Al-Jumhuri neighborhood (6,900 rooms, avg. room size 24 m²). Other neighborhoods like Al-Andalus, Al-Muallemin, Othman Bin Affan, and Al-Sahaba follow with around 5.5% and 5.3% of the total, and average room sizes of 20 m². These figures align well with the planning standard of 12-15 m² per room [14].

The average number of rooms per household is approximately 2.7, varying by neighborhood. For example, Al-Aramel, Al-Ijtima’i and Muhammad Al-Mazloom neighborhoods each have about 4.5 rooms per household, whereas Al-Sufiya Second records the lowest at one room per unit. These figures are influenced by the economic status of residents, plot size, and building floors. The planning standard considers 2 rooms per unit adequate. Crowding is also an important indicator, with an average of 2.5 persons per room, reflecting socio-economic and cultural comfort levels [15].

5.1.2 Pressure on services

Cities differ from rural areas by the availability of various services, whether community or infrastructure services. These services are a necessity for any human settlement and their distribution throughout the city, in terms of quantity and quality, follows planning and regulatory standards set by urban administrations to control growth or achieve sustainable development. These standards vary temporally and spatially.

Population or housing increases affect the number and distribution of service institutions, increasing pressure on them and impacting their efficiency and adequacy. The potential impact of fragmentation and subdivision on services is as follows:

1. Community services

Community services includes health, education, and recreation services that require movement toward them.

2. Educational services

Education is a fundamental pillar of societal progress and a measure of its advancement or backwardness. The availability of schools, scientific, technical, and professional staff contributes to building the society economically, socially, politically, and technologically. Development begins with education as the foundation of progress.

Educational services planning follows general standards such as spatial requirements for different levels: primary schools require no less than 6,000 m², secondary schools 9,000–11,000 m², and intermediate schools 8,000 m². Standards correlate school numbers with population sizes: one primary school per 2,000–4,000 inhabitants, one intermediate school per 5,000–15,000 inhabitants, and one secondary school per 18,000–70,000 inhabitants.

Therefore, there is typically a primary school per neighborhood, an intermediate school per residential district, and one or more secondary schools covering multiple districts.

The consequences of increased population density on education include:

• Difficulty in proper student management by teachers.
• Challenges in following daily assignments and limited laboratory and computer capacity leading to overcrowded classes and accelerated furniture wear Based on official data from the Directorate of Education in Al-Anbar (see Table 4), Ramadi includes 276 educational buildings distributed across the city’s sectors and neighborhoods. Notably, approximately 17% of these buildings were destroyed due to military operations after 2014: Primary schools numbered 304, intermediate schools 72, preparatory and secondary schools 102, vocational schools 6, and institutes 2 [16].

Applying planning standards (250 students per school) reveals:

• Primary schools: With 103,247 students and 182 buildings, each school has 567 students, exceeding planning norms. This led to double-shift systems and multiple schools sharing buildings, totaling 304 primary schools across 3,148 classes, averaging 33 students per class.
• Intermediate schools: 17,628 students over 31 buildings equals 568 students per building, prompting additional schools to share buildings, increasing to 72 buildings, stressing resources and staff (Table 4).
• Preparatory and secondary schools: 34,152 students over 52 buildings results in 656 students per building, surpassing the norm of 500, causing major pressure on facilities and staff.

3. Infrastructure services

Includes water, electricity, sanitation, solid waste collection, roads, and telecommunications. These services extend linearly throughout the city, ensuring availability to all residents. Service availability depends on per capita shares based on planning standards and represents a critical aspect of modern urban development and technological progress. This section examines fragmentation’s impact on water, electricity, and sanitation services in Ramadi [17].

4. Drinking water services

Water is vital for all living beings, with usage nearly doubling during the 20th century's population increases. Increasing demand and deteriorating water quality pose serious risks, aggravated by climate change. Many urban residents suffer from a lack of clean drinking water. As cities develop functionally and population grows, water services expand, being an essential and continuously increasing need. Ramadi’s main water source is the Euphrates River, alongside which several water projects supply parts of the city. The first drinking water project, currently called the Justice Palace Complex, delivers water via a main pipeline from Al-Warar Street to Al-Muallemin neighborhood, Cinema Street, and the Post Office. Due to population growth and new neighborhoods, the project's capacity was expanded to 500 m³/hour, along with the New Ramadi Warehouse project of similar capacity, together supplying 74.7% of the city’s drinking water needs. After the early 1980s, vertical tanks were built such as the warehouse tank, 20th Street tank, and the Water and Sewage Department tank near Sheikh Abdul Jalil Mosque on the main street. These tanks are currently out of service due to a connection with the old network.

In 1983, a water-pumping project was established by an Indian company, with a design capacity of 300 cubic meters per hour. However, due to the city's expansion, the growing population, and the resulting shortage in water supply, additional projects were initiated—most notably, the Greater Ramadi Project located in the Al-Warar area, which has a design capacity of approximately 6,000 cubic meters per hour. This project currently provides about 75% of the city’s water supply water services cover nearly 100% of the city, except for some neighborhoods, especially newer and remote areas away from main pumping stations. Coverage varies temporally and spatially, affected by pipe distribution, pipe age, treatment methods, and pumping techniques [18].

5. Sanitation services

The city is likened to a living organism that consumes food and water and expels waste. The method of safe waste disposal is as important as its provision.

Ramadi was equipped early on with a sewage network, primarily designed for rainwater drainage, not heavy wastewater. The old sanitation network, still operating in some neighborhoods like Al-Taqaddum and Al-Quds, is partly out of service due to being beyond its lifespan and due to illegal defects causing blockages and pipe corrosion.

Many neighborhoods lack proper sewage coverage. Wastewater is often disposed into settling ponds (especially for heavy wastewater), while other liquid wastes and rainwater flow into open drains or pools, causing urban residents’ discomfort and becoming breeding grounds for pests.

According to standards from related agencies in Ramadi, the per capita water share is 360 liters/day for an average family size of 7 persons. Based on the city’s population of 271,749, total water demand equals approximately 97,829,640 liters/day, distributed according to population size, proximity to water projects, and pipe conditions. This consumption varies annually based on water reserves and climatic conditions [19].

Comparing this to a 67% allocated water share per person results in approximately 66 million liters, roughly the city’s daily liquid waste output. The current disposal system uses stormwater and sewage pipes and open drains, often discharging into the Euphrates and Al-Warar rivers untreated, causing serious environmental damage affecting urban residents and waterfront areas, which are vital recreational spaces. Observations note declining water quality, color changes, and increased pollutant levels.

The degree of residents’ satisfaction with sanitation varies by neighborhood, with coverage rates not exceeding 70% in neighborhoods like Al-Muallemin, Al-Shuhada, Al-Adl, and Al-Aziziya, dropping below 30% in Al-Amin and others, primarily due to their recent development [20].