Managing Riyadh’s Urban Growth: Evaluating Residents Satisfaction with Current Neighborhoods and Shaping Future Growth by Examining Smart Growth Strategy in the Context of Rapid Urbanization

Abstract

Rapid urbanization and expansion are among the most significant urban challenges facing many major cities worldwide. Riyadh is one such city that has experienced rapid growth due to the economic boom of past decades, which led to the establishment of numerous ministries and company headquarters within the city. This growth resulted in the migration of many Saudi residents to Riyadh, prompting the rapid construction of neighborhoods and residential complexes to accommodate the increased population. However, this urban expansion occurred without community participation in shaping urban decisions, leading to scattered urban development. Today, Riyadh has set an ambitious target of accommodating about 10-15 million residents (about 7.1 million currently) by 2030. Such a decision may introduce new urban challenges for Riyadh. Accordingly, this study aims to first measure residents' satisfaction with residential neighborhoods resulting from previous growth and assess whether these neighborhoods provide all necessary services across various dimensions. Additionally, the study seeks to test one strategy for managing growth by adopting the principles of smart growth and understanding residents' preferences for this approach through proactive community involvement in urban decision-making for the upcoming growth. This study used two electronically distributed questionnaires to measure satisfaction with current neighborhoods and residents' preferences. The results indicated dissatisfaction in most dimensions of the neighborhoods. They also revealed residents' preference for many smart growth principles, with variations across the different principles.