Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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In a move to bring order to the growing cities, the municipalities subjected new
subdivisions to formulas which regulated the proportions of streets to building space,
percentage of built space within lots, and building type height. They relied excessively on
rationalistic by-laws planning in the layout of peripheral land, creating uniform and
monotonous streets and blocks.
The above approach culminated in the large-scale platting of zoned urban spaces and
the application of city master plans. Easy terms of land distribution policies enabled many
citizens to become landowners, some of whom lacked interest or the financial means to
develop their lots in the near future. However, with the increase in car ownership,
residences and other buildings were scattered amidst half-empty lots according to a mostly
market pricing system.
Although many citizens were able to obtain land under the government distribution
programs, their control over how to develop their parcels has become locked in obligatory
conditions under nationally standardized municipal guidelines. As such, the application of
traditional principles were discontinued. For example, the principle of shufa'a (the priority
given to a neighbor to buy property next door to them) was no longer sanctioned under the
new municipal controls or the legal system. Nor was subdivision of a property according
to Islamic inheritance law permissible. 7 Finally, the concept offina, a semi-private space
abutting the house, which traditionally belonged under the collective control of the house
owners, was now outlawed and replaced with rigid segregation of private and public (e.g.
street) uses.
E. Home Ownership
The influx of large numbers of people to the growing urban centers intensified the
demand for housing. Traditional methods of construction (based on meager credit and selfhelp)
fell short of meeting skyrocketing demand. Moreover, Islamic conventions have
slowed the adoption of Western-like credit institutions which helped in the creation of the
private housing sector in many countries. To help uplift the living standards of the Saudi
population, the government has invested substantially in the provision of healthy and
decent shelters. To fill the gap in credit housing markets, the central government
experimented with various housing programs, such as free and subsidized public housing
for government employees and subsidized private housing through the REDF, which gave