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Dr. Naif Alghamdi د. نائف الغامدي

Assistant Professor

Faculty member عضو هيئة تدريس

كلية العمارة والتخطيط
Building No. 32, 2nd Floor , Office No. 2105
المنشورات
فرضية
2012

In search of the heart of modern day Riyadh: An evidence-based approach

Alghamdi, N . 2012

Historical centre Urban Centrality Syntactic analysis City Centre Growth Riyadh Saudi Arabia

Riyadh is a dynamic city characterised by its rapid growth (Struyk, 2005). This raises a number of concerns. One of which is the issue of centrality. The historical centre has long been regarded as the heart of Riyadh. However, the commercial strip of Riyadh has emerged over the last few decades as a hub of commerce, growing influence. It is a sprawling metropolis, which seeks to usurp the position of the historical centre of Riyadh. Accordingly, this research seeks to question the centrality of both these areas. In order to undertake such a task, an evidence-based approach was employed to highlight the characteristics embodied in a historical centre contrasted with a much needed investigation on the impact of rapid growth, which may have tilted the scales against the continuance of the historical area’s centricity. The methodological approach of this study utilises six layers of information to paint a more definitive picture of the loss or gain of centrality. These layers were: the syntactic analysis, the land-use analysis, the urban elements analysis, the human activities analysis, the historical analysis and finally the future planning analysis. One of the most significant findings to emerge from this study is that assessing the centrality of a city is extremely complex. What was uncovered in our analysis of Riyadh was that there are in fact two prominent centres of modern Riyadh; the historical centre (HC) and the commercial strip (CS). At the domestic level, the characteristics of the HC meet the criteria of regarding it as the prominent centre of modern Riyadh. However, it can be argued that at a global level, there is a shift in the phenomenon of centrality in Riyadh from the HC into the CS. The implication is indeed very serious, since the rapid growth of Riyadh has a clear impact on the HC. Globally speaking, the ever-growing expansion of the CS simultaneously weakens the HC through appropriating much of the social and economic activities. Recommendations are also provided for the Higher Commission for the Development of Riyadh to overcome some issues of the HC, which may go some way in bridging the ever-widening gap between the HC and the CS.

نوع عمل المنشور
Unpublished Master's Thesis
مدينة النشر
London, UK
نوع الفرضية
Master's Thesis
المدرسة
The Bartlett, University College London (UCL)
مزيد من المنشورات
publications

This paper’s primary goal is to propose a methodological strategy to document and protect modern heritage buildings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This is essential because these structures are part of…

بواسطة Naif Alghamdi *, Mohammed Mashary Alnaim, Fahad Alotaibi, Abdulaziz Alzahrani, Faisal Alosaimi, Ali Ajlan, Yazeed A Alkhudhayri, Abdullah Alshethri
2023
تم النشر فى:
MDPI
publications

The main purpose of this research is to address three important questions concerning sustainability reporting in universities: what to report, why reporting is necessary, and how reporting should…

بواسطة N Alghamdi
2020
تم النشر فى:
Springer International Publishing AG
publications

The demand for tertiary education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been increasing. As a result, the Kingdom is expanding its higher education sector, through which twenty public universities…

بواسطة N Alghamdi
2018
تم النشر فى:
Springer International Publishing AG