Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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free of charge. If such person was constructed a building on private land then his/her dwelling should
be demolished. However, if a person attempted building on public land, he or she was given the chance
to buy it and abide by current zoning regulations. Circulars 218/5 dated 18/7/1402 (waw) and 1528/11
(meem) dated 16/11/1401H (both based on Royal Decree no. 24422 dated 16/11/1401H 961) authorized
the creation of a special task force to review squatter settlements. Dwellings built before 1385H were
ordered to be demolished and dwellers were given instead a 400-m^ lot in a platted area. Royal Decree
no. 24422 dated 11/10/1400H. outlined measures to curtail the development of shantytowns.
22 This tendency toward militarization was aptly discussed in N. Safran. Saudi Arabia: The Ceaseless
Quest for Security (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1988).
23 in return for their war services against the Turks, Sharief Hussein's sons, Faisal and Abdullah were
rewarded by Winston Churchil, then head of the British Middle East Department, as monarchs for the
newly established Transjordan and Iraq, then under the British. See for example, E. Monroe, Philby of
Arabia (London: Quartet Books, 1980), 107.
24 The significance of Arar was further highlighted by the Gulf War incidents, for the town lies 63
kilometers from the Saudi-Iraqi border.
25 The ISF is a branch of the Ministry of Interior, while the National Guard is a separate entity directly
connected to the King, who holds the position of the Comman'der in Chief of the national security
apparatus.
26 Ministry of Interior, Urban Design and Community Development In Saudi Arabia: A Case Study:
Internal Security Forces Housing Project, Vol. 1 (Jeddah: Tihama, no date), 9.
27 Ministry of Interior, Urban Design and Community Development In Saudi Arabia: A Case Study:
Internal Security Forces Housing Project, Vol. 2 (Jeddah: Tihama, no date),. 13.
28 This is a high cost when compared to the cost of an average REDF loan of SR273,425 in Arar. A fair
comparison must include the cost of land (a highly fluctuating value), the cost of servicing and laying
infrastructure and social services, landscaping, construction standards, and other public utilities which
are comparable to those found in the ISFs project.
29 s. A1 Hathloul and A. Amroush, "The New Cities and the Regional Planning Strategies: The Cities of
Tapline in Saudi Arabia," Unpublished paper presented to the "New Cities" Symposium (Jubail Saudi
Arabia, Rabi'a Aththani 24-28,1409, December 3-7,1989), 29 (translated from Arabic).
Doxiadis Associates, Northern Region: Urban and Regional Plan and Program for Improving Existing
Conditions , Final (Revised) Report No. 5, Volume 1 (Athens, Greece: Doxiadis Associates, 1974),
220. Approximate translation from Arabic text.
Doxiadis Associates, Arar, Existing Conditions, Report No. 5 (1974), 223.
32 ibid, 220 (translation from Arabic).
33 The master plan based on the standard super block concept was used in Riyadh, which was largely
duplicated as the "base blue-print" for other Saudi towns studied by Doxiadis Associates.