Core and periphery : the effects of peripheral urban development on a traditional Maltese village centre : a case study of Ghaxaq

Abstract

The post-war period in Malta was characterised by rapid urban growth, brought about by population growth and higher standard of living. The result was an urban sprawl from the inner harbour region towards the hinterland. Villages and rural towns which were in the past surrounded by countryside and agricultural land coalesced into one urban mass. This urban growth expanded more rapidly with the improvement of transport amenities, both by the public transport and the increasing number of private cars. The narrow, winding streets that characterise the village form, were not adequate to the increasing motor traffic. Therefore, a road which by-pass the main body of the village was the solution to the problem. Initially, the aim of the bypass road was to take the unnecessary though-traffic from the village core. However, during the eighties and nineties building development of mixed uses spread on both sides of the bypass road. Consequently, the bypass developed to such an extent that it is now becoming an alternative focal area, the new centre of the modern Maltese village. The main theme of this dissertation focuses on the rising competition between the old traditional village centre and the peripheral development. The main argument is that the development of bypass is detrimental to the vitality of the traditional Maltese village centre, taking the village of Ghaxaq as a case study.