The role of urban form in sustainability : the case study of a Riyadh city neighbourhood

Abstract

This study seeks to evaluate the current urban form of Riyadh for its performance in sustainability. As the Riyadh plan is based on a modular grid of square super block neighbourhood units (2x2km), which were designed by Doxiadis in the late 1960s, the study is conducted at the neighbourhood level, investigating the role of the urban neighbourhood in sustainability. The city is perceived as a source of social and environmental problems, which are reflected in their urban forms, and sustainable development as a concept has rejuvenated discussions around the city’s form. This research argues that, in a city of neighbourhoods like Riyadh, the sustainability of neighbourhoods is an essential part of urban sustainability. If a city’s neighbourhoods are not sustainable, then that city as a whole will not be sustainable. This study investigates whether Riyadh has been able to achieve this level of sustainability through its neighbourhood-based urban form. This study has adopted a qualitative case study approach to investigate a neighbourhood named Almoroj, examining it according to four main sustainable criteria (Compactness, Climate Related Design, Sustainable Transport, and Diversity) with eight sub-criteria (accessibility, density, thermal comfort, green spaces, variety of travel modes, streets design and connectivity, mixed land use, and variety of housing, demographics and social activities) that highly contribute to achieving a sustainable urban form. The results show that Almoroj is not fully sustainable and self-contained, and some criteria contribute to sustainability more than the others. The scale and independence of a neighbourhood unit are important, but are not enough to generate a sustainable city. While the urban form by itself is a crucial part of the solution, people’s behaviour is also another important factor in the achievement of urban sustainability.