TITLE:
Enhanced Public Open Spaces Planning in Saudi Arabia to Meet National Transformation Program Goals
AUTHORS:
Abdullah Addas
KEYWORDS:
Planning, Public Open Spaces, National Transformation Program, Municipalities, Saudi Arabia
JOURNAL NAME:
Current Urban Studies,
Vol.8 No.2,
April
29,
2020
ABSTRACT: Public open spaces offer social, health, environmental and economic
benefits to cities and their residents. As planners seek to realize these
benefits and respond to human demand, different approaches have emerged;
ranging from the opportunistic use of land as it becomes available, to more
systematic methods. In Saudi Arabia, the current approach is predominantly
opportunistic and purely quantitative, which presents a challenge to the
Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (MoMRA)
as it seeks to meet the National Transformation Program goal of increasing
public open space per capita from 3.4 m2 to 3.9 m2.
This study set out to identify ways of improving the planning and design of
public open spaces in Saudi Arabia, by reviewing 20 open spaces (five each in
Taif, Hail, Tabuk, and Abha) and interviewing municipality officers. The
findings of this review indicate that MoMRA and the municipalities in Saudi
cities need to adopt a system of collaboration to support the implementation of
public open spaces, by: 1) introducing
qualitative design guidelines in order to reduce dependence on the square meter
measure and encourage smart design and location of open spaces within the urban
fabric; 2) creating incentives for further connectivity of public spaces at the
city-wide level; and, 3) improving the functions of open spaces to match
community needs through a more participative approach, including citizen
engagement. Responding to these key challenges will require the capacity to be built in both MoMRA and the municipalities,
to unblock the expertise that local planners and designers have in the urban
transformation of Saudi cities and to ensure that decision-making processes are
effective. These changes will benefit from a public open space typology, and a
system and network to be implemented country-wide.