Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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In the quest for modernization, the state's underwriting of massive public, infrastructure,
and large-scale urban development has satiated the urban network with immense financial
backing. The intent has been to transform the traditional medina to meet the modern
functions introduced as part of the modernization of the society. In the process, traditional
urban qualities were obscured and the resulting contemporary built form is an expression of
modern urban development process.
The modernization of the built environment has served several basic cultural
purposes. It has served as an outlet for government spending, avowed by public officials
as a sine qua non step to prepare Saudi nationals for an active future economic
independence. The improvement of the Saudi population's health, living, and educational
standards, and provision of massive, modern infrastructure are sought to lessen the
country's economic dependence on the oil sector. At the same time, massive funding of a
newly built environment has served as a means for redistribution of the swelling national
treasury to what was once predominantly poor, illiterate population. From this perspective,
the form of the Saudi city should not be seen as an engine for economic growth primarily,
rather it is better understood as a means for collective consumption, a means for
redistribution of oil wealth to the population, for sociopolitical stability and for cultural
integrity in the transition to modern urban life in Saudi Arabia.