The categories of private and public space have always been discussed in urban research, notably related to cities in the Arab world (Wippel et al. 2014, Cummings, van Richthofen & Babar 2019). The Sultanate of Oman has seen rapid modernization due to the sudden gift of oil and gas revenues with major effects on the transformation of urban spaces (Nebel, Scholz 2014). In the everyday life of urban Omani in Muscat, public and private space are increasingly being renegotiated. Spatial practices reveal that the division between private and public is becoming more complex. Simultaneously, the steady expansion of public space enables new stages and consequently encounters in urban settings that challenge previously unquestioned paths of social belongingness and (national) identity. This opens up the following research questions: How do young urban Omani negotiate publicness and situational identity in place and time? In its Vision 2040, the Omani government defines its economic, political, and social goals - while addressing in particular young nationals. The sultanate is aiming for greater international exposure to meet the growing pressure of youth unemployment through diversification of the economy (e. g. by strengthening tourism). And yet, Oman is still in the process of nation-building (Cummings 2019 in: Lenze, Schriwer). Many young Omani are guided by family-centered structures, especially when it comes to marriage. However, they have grown up in an ever more modernizing country, witnessing transformations that allowed them to become more mobile and globally exposed (e. g. due to studies abroad, the use of social media). In everyday urban life, encounters take place regardless of family affiliation, origin, or citizenship, resulting in situational identity references. The frictions arising in this context indicate social change and will be critically analyzed in the proposed paper. The findings are based on an in-depth qualitative empirical research during several field visits between 2019-2023.