Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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regulations. Unlike the Tapline Houses area which were designed according to the villa
model (e.g. the house is situated amidst a yard), the new plan enabled residents to use the
modified Arabic house style (e.g. building around a courtyard without set backs). The
combination of using new building materials and traditional space organization resulted in
the hybrid architecture found in the ahiyaa sha'abiyah. The "Arabic house" characterizes
the early phase of rapid urban growth in most Saudi settlements, marked with austere
adaptation to modern construction technology and convenience (Figure 7.6). The 1960s'
plan also allowed for the provision and expansion of commercial uses, public office space
and services and devised a hierarchy of road systems.
Still, the plan, as did its Tapline predecessor and the 1973 Doxiadis plan, could not
foresee the rapid population growth of the 1960s and the spate of urban growth brought by
the 1970s construction boom. Arar's municipality subdivision plan failed to pay due
respect to the environmental context and did not associate economic development with the
physical growth it projected. Moreover, physical planning as practiced by municipalities in
many Saudi settlements paid little attention to larger social and economic forces. During the
1960s, Arar's growth persisted at high population growth rates of 4.6 percent, reflecting
the proliferation of jobs in the government sector and the private sector, an expansion
which paralleled the modernization programs of the government. In addition, the city was
benefited by the steady increase of traffic on the Tapline highway, the gateway to Saudi
Arabia's Eastern and Middle regions. Shops branched from King Abdul-Aziz Road to
King Faisal and Talhah Bin Azzubair streets, while the process of building squatter
settlements persisted, reflecting the steady urbanization process steps ahead of physical
planning measures (Figure 7.7).
E. The Doxiadis Plan, 1970s
A1 Hathloul and Amroush contended that the preparation of the 1974 Doxiadis plan
"conformed to the ambitious developmental programs espoused by the government during
the 1970s for all Saudi cities. It was hoped that the production of these [master] plans
would coordinate, accommodate for and guide cities' long-term growth." 29 As a regional
center, Arar was one of these cities deemed important enough to be studied by Doxiadis
Associates. Between 1965 and 1973, Arar witnessed a 4.6 percent population growth.
Moreover, during the same period Arar, although enjoying an increasing number of
government services, experienced uncontrolled urban development due to the lack of