Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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A. The Formative Era, 1930s and 1940s
Royal Order number 8723 of 1937 (20 Rajab 1357 H) heralded the government's
preemptive right to the regulation of urban growth and development. It sanctioned the new
"Capital Trusteeship and Municipalities" (CTM) as the first formal statute concerning the
regulation of urban growth in the holy city of Makkah, which, during the 1930s and
1940s, was the holy and administrative capital of the Kingdom. The Order specified the
responsibilities of the newly-established municipalities. It specified regulations, measures
and procedures of guiding and monitoring town's new development, beautification works
conducive to scenic qualities; and designating the distribution of sellers in the suq area. It
also mandated that the municipality had the right to monitor housing development; protect
public spaces; widen streets; and create open areas for the public. The municipalities were
given the authority to develop zoning and building regulations and building codes. This
Order was followed in 1941 by the Roads and Building Statute which indicated the
authorities' need for some form of town planning under rising pressure for physical
improvements in Makkah city. "The statute concerns itself mainly with three issues:
planning procedures, building codes, zoning and the right-of-way. It was through this
statute that the setback concept was introduced in Saudi Arabia with the sole objective of
meeting the need for future street widening." 37 Along with the rise in urban growth, came
an increase in state intervention in urban development.
In 1345/1925, the government established Municipal Councils in major cities. The
General Regulation of Metropolitan Municipalities was issued in 1357/1937, the first selfstanding
regulation to deal with municipal organization. In 1382/1962, the Council of
Ministers issued resolution No. 808 which delegated the task of overseeing municipal
affairs to the Ministry of Interior (MI). The MTs Municipal Services Department was
transferred with the Council of Minsters' resolution No. 517 of Ramadan 1382/1962 to the
Agency of Municipal Affairs(AMA). The AMA's was entrusted with the function of
supervising the municipalities' various activities, including water and sewer systems,
drainage of rain water and discharge, and the responsibility of urban planning, direction
and control. In 1395/1975, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (MOMRA) was
established as an independent, high-level organ, a step that reflected the growing
significance of urban affairs at the apogee of the urbanization process. The MOMRA has
been charged with the development of municipal organizations at qualified urban
settlements and village clusters. By 1985, the ministry has grew to oversee 98