Humanization of Cities

There’s a unique transformation happening of parks becoming a part of entertainment and sports for many Saudi families and non-Saudis alike. Parks are going from empty and desolate, to crowded and teeming with various activities and people, and there is no doubt that these great changes taking place in Saudi cities, especially the city of Riyadh, one of the fruits of the “humanization” of cities, is one of the most important initiatives presented by the Ministry of Municipality, Rural and Housing, as part of the Quality of Life Program for the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. We notice that many neighborhoods in the city of Riyadh are enjoying sports tracks and spacious gardens, which is one of the aspects of the Green Riyadh initiative that added green areas to many streets and squares in the capital, in addition to the sports track that is under construction.

Urban planning is considered an integrated system that has a direct impact on people, starting from the level of strategic planning up to the level of local planning and urban design of neighborhoods and residential areas. That expansion hasn’t taken into account the activities that enhance the humanization aspects of cities, while its focus was dominated by meeting the functional and service needs, and this is what we’ve witnessed in static urban buildings.

A traditional model, boring planning style, land divisions that do not take into account the human dimension, and no proper control for urban designs in most of the city's neighborhoods, as most of them lack landscaping elements, pedestrian paths, and areas that express our cultural and educational message, although success in providing these components is considered an indicator of growth and urbanization in cities worldwide! Many cities of the world tended to enhance the human dimension in their strategic plans and development programs, as they limited the control of vehicles in street networks, opened the space to enhance pedestrian movement, and encouraged cycling by upgrading the elements of urban design to support this trend, and our beloved country takes the initiative to support the Quality of Life Program for the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

We must focus on the moral aspect of the human experience in the humanization of cities, to achieve noble ideas and a promising vision that looks at man before the place, to take engineering construction to another dimension, so that we, in turn, contribute to cultural awareness and the ability to build civilization and enhance the social, intellectual, cultural, and creative role, and the reconstruction of the land; To open economic doors whose main message is the sustainability of the place and its quality.