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Abstract
Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, has been witnessing rapid urban transformation processes during the 20th century, which have had various kinds of impact on the evolution of its urban identity. This paper therefore attempts to investigate how the new urban concepts, which were introduced by modernization and globalization, caused a conflict of identities and how this has resulted in dividing Riyadh into opposing urban entities. The main challenge in establishing a cohesive urban identity in Riyadh is based on the long-term conflict between traditional forms of urbanism and modern ways of urban development. The paper thus investigates the urban transformation of Riyadh from the beginning of the twentieth century until the present day. The main objective of this historic analysis is to capture the various ways inhabitants have perceived surrounding urban environments and how this has been influencing urban planning activities. The applied methodologies include the evaluation of historic documents, such as official reports and plans.
Keywords: Riyadh, Urban Transformation, Urban Identity, Urbanism, Urban History.
INTRODUCTION
Today, Riyadh passes through a situation of urban uncertainty due to continuous transformation processes. This constant reconfiguration of urban structures increased the threat to its identity and increased the internal social resistance towards the newly introduced urban concepts that started prior to the 1970s (AI Naim, 2009). When Abecrombie visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in I960 he said: "whenever I went, I found the Arabians welcoming the 20'" century, but never with open arms" (Abecrombie, I960). This resistance never changed even when the whole of Arabia was exposed to extensive change in the 1970s. Dailey (1976) indicated this resistance of Saudis to Western influences in the 1 970s, when he wrote: "A matter of great concern to the Saudis is the influence of foreigners on the morals and social habits of the people ... The Saudis are probably quite right not wanting to be influenced by our ways, but it is difficult to see how it can be avoided if they are insistent on paying for hundreds of years of development in decades."
Many researchers noticed the hesitation towards the urban activities that took place at that time, for example in 1977 Costello indicated that among the Middle Eastern countries, Saudi Arabia had minimal...