Rethinking Walkways as Public Open Space in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia: A Spatial Equity and Quality Assessment Framework

Abstract

Urban development in Saudi Arabia has traditionally prioritized vehicular mobility while downplaying the importance of pedestrian activity. Contributing factors to the prioritization of the vehicle over the pedestrian include low-density development, auto-centric urban streets, inexpensive fuel, pervasive air conditioning, and an ingrained dependence on private vehicles. This has often made walking in Saudi Arabian cities inconvenient, unsafe, and limited to indoor environments. In cities throughout Saudi Arabia, the development of walkways was initiated primarily as an urban intervention to provide space for residents to walk for exercise and recreation. Walkways have been implemented across Saudi cities under municipal urban campaigns, reinforced by several ambitious policies, programs, and initiatives, such as the “Humanizing the City” initiative—a recent effort by Riyadh Municipality to promote more people-centered environments and activate the public realm to improve residents’ quality of life. These walkways are wide, longitudinal spaces intended to provide secure, comfortable, and attractive pedestrian environments. They are often built over street medians or along major arterials and are supported with sidewalk furniture such as benches, lighting, and landscape elements. Although these walkways offer relatively safe spaces for pedestrians, they are often disconnected from sidewalk networks and face accessibility barriers, raising questions about their sustainability, usability, and quality, particularly within the constraints posed by car dependency and a hot-arid climate. Despite case studies examining public spaces in Saudi Arabia—primarily focusing on design attributes or per capita availability— assessing the distribution and design quality of walkways remains a potential gap. This thesis addresses this gap by examining walkways as part of the public open space and evaluating their spatial equity and quality, using Al Khobar as a case study. Al Khobar, a mid-sized city in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province with over 650,000 residents, continues to expand its network of walkways across neighborhoods despite rapid urban growth, the lack of sidewalks on local streets, and car dependency. However, there is limited research on whether these walkways effectively attract and serve residents from diverse socioeconomic groups and backgrounds, and whether they create attractive and comfortable public spaces despite climatic extremes. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach, including GIS-based spatial analysis, site observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis, to assess their relative success. The thesis is divided into two main parts: (I) assess the spatial equity of walkways across Al Khobar’s districts, and (II) evaluate the design quality of walkways, guided by William H. Whyte’s principles of social urban spaces. Finally, the research develops recommendations and future strategies intended to advance the discourse on walkways in Saudi Arabia and enhance their spatial equity and quality as essential public open spaces.