Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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developed land use. Another 13 square kilometers (3 per cent) is devoted to space for
public utilities, a heavily subsidized sector. The 'government and other public uses'
consume 18 per cent of the land. 62 Riyadh's approximately 349,600 residential units
consume 19 per cent of the developed city land (including the developed street network) out
of which the REDF has contributed 85,878 housing loans 63 . In addition, the governmentbuilt
residential stock amounts to more than 8,882 residential units by the various
government agencies. Monthly rents are levied on much of the government housing stock
or are deducted from employees' stipends (Figure 6.18). 64
According to the U.D. projections (Table: 6.5), the phenomenon of preponderant
government land uses will persist in the coming two decades. The 1989 UD lists
government-related land uses consuming 55 percent of Riyadh's current area. The UD's
projections calculate an additional area of 13,710 to the existing Riyadh's area of 49,550.
The UD assigns 63 percent of this additional area for government-related land uses (by
1995) within the 1995 "Urban Domain," while 50 percent of additional land uses is
earmarked for government control within the guidelines of the city by 2005.
E. Large-scale Development
The fourth feature of contemporary urban forms is the phenomenon of large-scale
development, especially by the government. As noted earlier, the 1970s had their share of
large-scale projects attesting to the government's considerable impact in the making and
conditioning of the modern, post-traditional urban form. Royal Decree number 1650 of
1975, which authorized the transfer of the foreign diplomatic embassies from Jeddah to
Riyadh, also authorized the creation of the government-sponsored Diplomatic Quarter
Agency in 1974 to plan the entirely new Diplomatic Quarter (D.Q.) 65 With the
completion of all construction stages, the D.Q. is equipped to serve a population of 22,000
working in and serving 120 world embassies. The prize-winning design of D.Q. has been
lavishly endowed with amenities. For instance, the D.Q. encompasses half of the City's
total park land of one square kilometer. Becoming a sort of windowcase dressing, the
D.Q.'s high-quality construction standards, which until now have reached a price tag of
approximately SR 2,158 million ($575.5 million), corroborate the government's power,
pride and economic strength. 66 The D.Q. is also an attempt to break away from Riyadh's
historical isolationism. Following the construction of the railroad during King Abdul-Aziz