Riyadh

944 Words2 Pages

Since 1950, Riyadh has become a popular destination for residents of the surrounding areas, which resulted in a significant increase of the population, the rapid growth in the city lead to a momentous changes in the city's built environment. Life of the government at that time did not exceed twenty years, the government departments did not have a great potential and the ability to deal with the such changes. Therefore they search for solution in the developed countries.

Solutions that have been provided to the city were based on western planning principles. Western experts failed to understand the implications of the Islamic city environment and the cultural, social and local conditions of the city. on the other hand, Saudi authorities and the people deal with these developments as a commodity like any other modern innovation, or they thought that such changes are necessary for modern life style. Changes that introduced to the city had affected the spatial arrangement of the city in a way that ignored the community's and local environment needs.

Although the first western planning scheme in the kingdom was built in the mid-forties in the East province, when the Arabian American company "ARAMCO" initiate the housing program for its employees, the Influential changes started in the 1950s, when the government decided to move their agencies from the western province to the capital Riyadh. The government established a new residential area (Almalaz) to reside agencies' employees . By founding Almalaz area, local authorities declare and acknowledge a new pattern of urban environment and new regulations for the residential unit.

The location of the new suburb was chosen to be outside the old city, it located about 5k...

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...e have been largely affected. Moreover, lack of privacy is another reason for not using the villa's outdoor spaces. Unfortunately, today the houses in Riyadh no longer have the traditional concerns on privacy and family life.

Works Cited

Al-Hemaidi, W. (2001). "The metamorphosis of the urban fabric in Arab-Muslim City: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia." Journal of Housing and the Built Environment 16(2): 179-201.

Eben Saleh, M. (2001). "The evolution of planning & urban theory from the perspective of vernacular design: MOMRA initiatives in improving Saudi Arabian neighbourhoods." Land Use Policy 18(2): 179-190.

Eben Saleh, M. (2002). "The transformation of residential neighborhood: the emergence of new urbanism in Saudi Arabian culture." Building and Environment 37(5): 515-529.

Costa, F. and A. Noble (1986). "Planning Arabic Towns." Geographical Review 76(2): 160-172.

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