Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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In Saudi Arabia, the state has contributed immensely to the production of space,
hence market models cannot be solely accounted for to fathom the transformation. The
internal organization of urban function and space has been greatly affected by the
government's views on how to allocate national resources mainly derived from oil. This
oil and its petrochemical by-products are a national, natural asset and the state deems that
the population should share in their bounty. To assure control, the monarchic
government has led the modernization, combining tradition with modern technology.
Foreign firms and think tanks were called upon for advice to plan and to lay the
foundation for "modern" cities in the Kingdom. The urban sphere was effectively used to
convey the central authority's efforts toward modernization. Yet, Western consultants'
comprehensive plans have carried with them values and conceptions peculiar to the West,
about its market processes, social-political convictions and climate. The Saudi economy
is a highly managed form of capitalism, an off-shoot that blurs state and tradition (which
cannot be separated from religion) and takes the present distribution of wealth as given.
No taxes are imposed by the government, which relies solely on oil wealth for its
expenditures. In return, the government has retained its prerogative to orchestrate
development while retaining traditional elements conducive to its power and control.
The aforementioned cultural attributes will be discussed in the following chapters as
I explore the major developments that caused the transformation of Saudi built forms. As
major themes, these cultural attributes will be examined in light of the changing role of
the state in the society at large and in modern urban development. I will focus on
government program impacts on the elements which characterized traditional built forms.
The inevitable emergence of the centralized nation-state with substantial powers and'
through profound modernization programs engendered itself on the society's urban
systems.