Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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construction permits issued by Riyadh, Arar and Huraimla' municipalities. The increase in
number of permits reflected the impact of massive public and largely government-led and
subsidized private investment in the cities' physical infrastructure, education and health
services, among others. For example, by 1989, Arar's residents received 6,646 REDF
housing loans which added to the city's residential stock of 7,975 units, most of which
were built on larger lots (i.e. 20 by 20 meters and larger) than the earlier ones. 41 During
the 1980s, the government embarked upon its large-scale development schemes, such as
the Ministry of Interior's 420-unit housing development for its ISF members which was
located outside the Doxiadis Plan (Figure 7.2). 42 The expansion of the city's residential
stock was paralleled by the expansion in government land. By 1987, Arar boasted a
population of 65,000 inhabitants, more than double the projected figure by Doxiadis
Associates for 1993. The combined effects of government spending and population
growth coupled with improved living conditions of the population, all translated in the
expansion of Arar's area. In 1987, the city reached a total area of 2,600 hectares (Table
7.3)43
Arar's development in the 1970s took the typical land subdivision approach., that is
the platting of outlying land to meet rapid population growth. Because there were no taxes
levied on property in the Kingdom, land owners kept land in their possession for long
periods of time with no incentive to develop. Buyers sought larger lots through the
government free land program or through the market at the city's periphery. This resulted
in the scattered, leap-frog development process, and inefficient urban sprawl characteristic
of most Saudi contemporary urban forms, in which considerable land lay undeveloped.
For example, in Arar, out of the total 10,930 lots comprising Arar's urban area, 3,560 or
33 percent remained undeveloped. 44 The end result was scattered land subdivisions semideveloped
and serviced at substantial per-unit costs.
In order to counter this inefficient, costly sprawl, the government halted the issuing
of land subdivisions in all Saudi cities 45 for two years during which deliberations by
government agencies facilitated the promulgation of the Urban Domain (Royal Decree
number 175 dated 18/9/1409H (circa 1989)). 46 The UD constitutes a set of guidelines
limiting peripheral land development to two domains for a town or a city. It identified
existing land uses, growth patterns and future needs for the two domains. The first domain
encircled the existing urban area limiting the area to be serviced by the government by 1415