Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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The built form of present Huraimla embodies the accumulation of years of
political tides which forced its structures to the confines of walls. Its
expansion conformed to the size of its inhabitants, security, and their
superficial and limited vision to the planning of the town [sic], the similitude
of all other villages and cities of Najd up to recent time. The outcome was a
city of narrow alleys, short and meandering streets, some of which are deadends,
non-hygienic and/or covered/roofed, all followed no controls but
random expansion [sic]. 11
B. Urban Planning: Intervention In The Built Environment, The
Introduction Of Municipality
For the purpose of this case study, urban planning is defined as the objective
intervention in the built environment to attain a predetermined set(s) of social goals. On a
larger-scale, it involves the rational application of means to predetermined ends, to regulate
urban growth, given the prevailing means and considering competing alternative. Given
the first definition, the creation of the municipality in 1965 could be considered as the
benchmark for "modern" urban planning in Huraimla. The inauguration of the imarah
(principality), the establishment of a police power, public schools, and municipality
(baladyyah), have been an embodiment of the increasing role of the central state in the local
affairs, including the management of the urban development process. As a government
institution, the baladyyah derives its support and instruction from the Deputy Ministry for
Municipalities and Rural affairs at Riyadh. This means that decisions concerning local
urban growth and management must first be sanctioned by the central agency.
Simultaneously, the baladyyah also implements numerous circulars, decrees and
ordinances that are priori ratified and codified by the Council of Ministers. It also meant
that the customary building practices which characterized the traditional building processes
are subjected to nationally adopted municipal codes. Nevertheless, for the local population,
the establishment of the municipality has been perceived as synonymous with
"modernization."
To Al-Tua'is, as well as to many of Huraimla's inhabitants, the inauguration of the
municipality, with its technical modus operandi, constituted the deus ex machina which
often was perceived as a crucial step toward modernization of their archaic town. The
traditional compact form, with its tortuous, narrow circulation space and partially