Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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34 it could also be attributed to the lack of (1) control, (2) clear perception of users and (3) the long-term
range of the Doxiadis plan. In the case of the ISF housing development, the authority was vested in
the Department of Housing in the Ministry of Interior whose planners maintained full control on
dispensing land and funds to house specific users, at one point in time.
Doxiadis Associates, Northern Region, Major Plans: Arar, Final Major Plan, No. 40, April, 1975.
(Athens and Riyadh, Doxiadis Association).
36 By forgoing the opportunity to synchronize population growth and demand for land, distributing free
land, and the provision of community services and the laying of infrastructure, the government missed
the chance to control urban sprawl.
37 See additional discussion in Chapter Five.
38 in autocratic political systems, planning firms are likely to be encouraged, if not explicitly requested to
stay aloof of local politics and distributional issues and to avoid information that might reveal
shortcomings on the part of their clients, e.g. a state.
39 An example of urban development with full programmed government control over the distribution of
land and suitable community services is the ISF housing development in Arar.
40 Doxiadis Associates, Northern Region, Major Plans: Arar, Final Major Plan, No. 40, April, 1975.
(Athens and Riyadh, Doxiadis Association), 40; Special Report, "Arar" Al-Baladiyat, No. (1989): 14-
21.
41 Special Report, "Arar" Al-Baladiyat, No. (1989): 14-21. The number of loans may not equal the
number of units. A loan may be obtained to build a multi-unit apartment building.
42 As discussed in the section on land tenure, Chapter Five, the government ministries share the
responsibility of the bulging modern Saudi urban forms. Because their urban projects call for the
construction of large compounds and communities, it is procedurally easier and cheaper for departments
to request peripheral parcels of land which are usually owned by the government rather than seeking
intown land, geared toward individual buyers in the private market. Moreover, its difficult to deal with
intown land when ownership is in the hand of many individuals.
43 MOMRA, Atlas of Saudi Cities, Existing Conditions (Riyadh: Deputy Ministry for City Planning,
1987), 29.
44 MOMRA, Atlas of Saudi Cities, The Urban Domain (Riyadh: Deputy Ministry for City Planning,
1989), 30.
45
Royal Decree No. 13 dated 9/1/1406H (c. 1986).
4^ The government's effort to inhibit urban sprawl goes back to 1977. Royal Decree 117 dated
25/8/1397H. addressed the need to come up with solutions to the problems. These efforts culminated
in Royal Decree No. 13 dated 9/1/1406H.