Jeddah ‘Slum’ Demolition: An Investigation into Recent Urban Development in Saudi Arabia, 2020-2025

Abstract

Between October 2021 and 2022, a state-led urban regeneration project executed the largest and most rapid urban displacement in Saudi Arabia's modern history outside of religious site expansions. Approximately 34 million square meters was demolished affecting thirty-four neighbourhoods and displacing 500,000 residents, predominantly low income Saudi citizens and migrant workers, with minimal and unconventional notice procedures. This research investigates the multi-dimensional impacts of this displacement on affected long-term communities, examining both the historical formation of these neighbourhoods from the 1950s onward and the immediate aftermath of the slum clearance. The study addresses critical gaps in existing scholarship, the dominance of policy-centric perspectives over lived experiences, static real-time documentation, the loss of community heritage, and unidimensional impact assessment over comprehensive displacement analysis.