Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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of the older city. The political security under King Abdul-Aziz guaranteed order needed to
facilitate economic progress and specialization in the society. The relative political stability
coupled with improved economic conditions under King Abdul-Aziz triggered a city-ward
migration, hence increasing the demand for more dwellings. Riyadh was soon to grow
beyond its walls. H. St. J.B. Philby wrote:
In olden days people had been forced to congregate together in towns and
villages for mutual protection against the prevailing insecurity and had built
walls and kept them in repair. The peace of modern times had resulted in an
universal flight to the palm-groves with the resultant break-up of the village
community, which was now satisfied with Riyadh as the great shoppingcenter....
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Riyadh's rising prosperity came with the King's decision to keep it as the political
and administrative capital of the nation-state but at the cost of crowding. The royalty stood
at the apex of the new wealthy class eager to abandon the compact, walled center. King
Abdul-Aziz was the first to set the fashion for this desert suburbanization. In 1938, at his
behest, a new palatial complex, al Murabbaa', was built to accommodate his growing
administration, two miles northwest of the walled town. The royal compound included a
spacious mansion, a royal guest house, administrative buildings and a garage for himself
and his royal entourage. The royal suburb was linked by a concrete motor track to the old
town. For the first time ever, the automobile was imposed on the pre-industrial urban
form, and accounted for in subsequent development (Figure 6.4).
One more reason behind this spate of early immigration was the improvements,
though meager, in beter services made available by the fledgling government. This resulted
in attracting local migrants to the new national capital seeking the hospitality of the royalty,
city services, and work opportunities. Shantytowns emerged in the vicinity of the city in
addition to the nomads who camped in the open space within the walled city. In such a
desert environment, water had a crucial factor in the fueling of city-ward migration. The
increasing oil royalties enabled the King to order the installment of motor-driven pumps to
obtain water from deep grounds, hitherto inaccessible by animated means. As new water
supplies were tapped using the new technology, herdsmen and ruralites alike rushed to the
growing captial. D. van der Meulen, a Dutch diplomat who spent time in the Kingdom
from 1940 to 1952 captures the situation of the day. He wrote