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Geoinformation and Communication Technology (GeoICT) is being increasingly adopted to foster urban sustainability and smart cities. Despite the burgeoning utilization of GeoICT, the development of frameworks of components and guidelines is still at the infancy. This is due to the fact that GeoICT implementations are guided by contextual factors and there is no one size fits all approach. This paper focuses on the topic of leveraging GeoICT for smart sustainable cities by examining the Saudi Arabian experience using information from the literature, government websites, official documents, newspaper articles and personal interviews. This study reviews the definitions, typologies, and frameworks of implementing GeoICT and smart cities. It highlights case studies of smart city development in Saudi Arabia. A comparison of the Saudi case studies with frameworks and practices found in the literature is presented. This paper concludes with policy implications for Saudi Arabia and lessons for GeoICT and smart city development. It is concluded that local context has an influence on the implementation of smart cities, ICT infrastructure is necessary but not sufficient for developing smart cities and blending top-down with bottom-up approaches is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) is a $100 billion master-planned city under construction along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast. As part of a quartet of new planned ‘economic’ cities in the desert kingdom, the city’s goal is to provide 1 million jobs for the kingdom’s rapidly growing, youthful population and to diversify the Saudi economy away from the oil industry. The city is illustrative of a recent trend of mega-projects on the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf designed for a post-oil era and fits into broader global trends of economic development strategies. Designed to accommodate 2 million people, KAEC aims to be a global logistics and manufacturing hub that will feature an education zone, ‘industrial valley’, business district, resort area, sea port, and residential areas for various income brackets. Conceptualized as a modern, international, and socially progressive city, KAEC represents a departure from current Saudi social values and governance and a shift in the ruling elite’s priorities. In this paper we examine how the Saudi state seeks to re-invent itself through the construction of new cities and the recent pivot towards economic liberalism. We position the national and international ambitions manifested in KAEC within broader transnational trends in entrepreneurial urbanism and new master-planned cities. Though KAEC is still in the early construction phase, this paper offers a preliminary analysis of the master plan and potential challenges relating to governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: During the past decades, the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia has witnessed dramatic changes in its urban area, population and transportation. To better understand the relationship between urban growth and transportation, this paper aims to quantify and analyze the spatial–temporal relationship between urban growth and transportation for Jeddah using Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) approaches. In this paper, eight urban growth and transportation indices were developed to analyze the relationship between spatial–temporal urban growth and transportation changes: (1) annual urban spatial expansion index, (2) land use change index, (3) population density index, (4) transportation infrastructure expansion index, (5) road density index, (6) road area density index, (7) urban trips density index, and (8) modal split change index. The results show that in the past four decades (1964–2007), Jeddah has experienced a rapid population growth, a large spatial expansion, rapidly changing land use and expanding transportation infrastructure. As transportation infrastructure expands with population growth, this expansion has not been able to accommodate increases in travel demand. This has led to an increase in urban congestion. The analysis further shows that transportation infrastructure expansion has stimulated Jeddah’s urban spatial expansion and residential area growth. The enormous spatial expansion has also caused significant changes in the daily share of travel modes. The developed indicators in the paper bridge the knowledge gap between urban growth and transportation research, as the results of this study provide a rich understanding of the relationship between urban growth and transportation in rapidly growing cities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aims of this paper are to review the current practices of car parking standards in the UK, the USA, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA); to draw the main lessons learned from experiences of the UK and the USA; and to suggest suitable improvements in the standards of car parking requirements in the KSA. The paper follows a comparative approach in reviewing car parking standard requirements according to different types of land use in the UK, the USA, and the KSA. The article illustrates that transportation planners in the UK and the USA use parking policies, especially the application of car parking standards, along with other planning and transport measures to promote sustainable transport choices, to reduce reliance on cars, and to reduce traffic and air pollution. Local authorities in the UK and the USA have moved from requiring minimum standards for car parking to maximum standards. The aim of maximum parking standards is to decrease the number of trips made by private cars whilst seeking to maintain and enhance the viability of economic centres and support sustainable development. In the KSA, authorities still adhere to minimum car parking standards. Moreover, the car parking requirements are not correlated with city zoning systems. The paper concludes with some thoughts on how to improve the current parking requirements in KSA cities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper focuses on transformation in sustainable urban governance by examining the prospect of fostering sustainable development through top-down urban governance. It takes a case study of urban development in Saudi Arabia, which had been administered through a centralized framework devoid of the environmental assessment of policies and plans. Urban planning documents made limited references to the environment. Consequently, Saudi cities have been ranked low on environmental sustainability. However, recently, due to the political imperative of addressing the problems, low oil prices, and the Arab Spring, there has been a remarkable transformation in urban governance. The planning of some of the major cities has been decentralized and some policies implemented to curb unsustainable development. This article reviews these changes to investigate how top-down approaches might still be relevant in promoting sustainable development. It concludes that there is a need to implement a framework of legislation and administrative procedures integrated with strategic environmental assessment (SEA) to ensure proper sustainable institutionalised urban governance. The findings could serve as lessons for those operating under similar political contexts especially in developing countries. • Examines the prospect of fostering sustainable development through top-down urban governance • Examines urban governance in Saudi Arabia as a case study • Highlights the transformation in sustainable urban governance in Saudi Arabia • Top-down approach is relevant in promoting sustainable urban governance in some contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Globally, there has been a substantial increase in the number of people who are not able to buy their own dwellings due to the phenomenal appreciation of real estate prices. In line with this trend, a large proportion of the population in the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) also appears to have had neither the chance to own their chosen property nor benefit from the real estate appreciation. It seems that this situation has arisen because the financial system does not correspond to the non-traditional characteristics of their clientele. The cultural and religious heritage and the personal attitude towards borrowing are distinctly different in the KSA. These characteristics, which are explored in detail in this paper, affect how a client would engage with a financial institution in acquiring a loan/mortgage. Furthermore, the client’s lifelong needs – such as upgrading the dwelling – are not addressed by the conventional loan system. This paper proposes a framework for lifelong (ongoing) financing to address these issues. This framework was tested through a pilot study to assess the current state – and the attitude – of the banks and the Real Estate Development Fund (REDF) with regards to such a lifelong support framework. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Due to rapid urbanisation, population growth and limited supply of housing, the housing sector in Saudi Arabia is facing significant challenges. There have been attempts to provide large-scale housing projects to combat this issue. However, there are concerns that short-term policies to provide large quantities of housing can result in low-quality units which are underside by consumers. Therefore, understanding consumer preferences with regard to housing is crucially important if housing projects are to be successful in the long term. This paper explores consumer preferences for housing attributes in Saudi Arabia and compares these against the views of property professionals. Data was gathered via quantitative surveys from 752 housing consumers and 101 property practitioners from across Saudi Arabia. Descriptive analysis and the Mann-Whitney U test are used to determine the mean importance of the housing attributes and to compare the findings from each group. The results of the study provide an analysis on the importance of various housing attributes and highlights similarities and disparities in opinions. The analysis found significant differences between consumers' and property practitioners' views on what consumers believe are important housing attributes. Given this lack of alignment, the findings should offer housing providers with a better understanding of consumer preferences in the Saudi Arabia context. Highlights • Consumer preferences for housing attributes in Saudi Arabia are explored. • Consumer and practitioner opinions are compared. • There are significant discrepancies between consumers' and practitioners' views. • Consumers found many housing attributes more important than practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning authorities worldwide are increasingly employing e-participation to facilitate and strengthen public engagement in decision-making processes. However, little is known about the prospects of using Information and Communication Technology to foster public participation in urban planning in conservative Arab societies. This study investigates public willingness to participate in the urban planning process through the Internet and smartphones in Saudi Arabia. Data was collected through a questionnaire survey of residents of Dammam city and analyzed using descriptive (frequency distribution) and inferential statistics (z-tests and Chi-square). The study finds that most participants across all social and demographic groups are aware of e-participation in urban planning and have a significantly positive attitude towards it. Furthermore, they indicate more willingness to e-participate in planning at the local level or on issues that directly affect them. Also, in all stages of preparing urban plans, most participants preferred e-participation over the traditional mode through public hearings and seminars. The paper sheds light on the diffusion of ICT and its potential to facilitate public participation in urban planning in conservative and patriarchal developing countries. Integrating e-participation in urban planning can facilitate public engagement and collaboration with planning authorities to better serve the competing public interests and ensure inclusive urban development. • E-participation can facilitate and strengthen public engagement in decision-making processes • Understanding public willingness to e-participate in urban development is important • There is good prospect of public e-participation in urban planning in Saudi Arabia • The public is more willing to e-participate in planning at local level or issues directly affecting them • E-participation can facilitate public engagement and collaboration with planning authorities to foster inclusive development [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]