Date of Award
1993
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Earth & Environmental Systems
Abstract
Saudi cities have experienced tremendous expansion during the last four decades because of population growth and economic development. These cities also experienced changes in their urban morphology, especially in their housing designs. Today, Saudi cities have two main distinguishing types of housing: (1) The traditional courtyard house, which has been in the region over many centuries. Its design is a reflection of the inhabitant's cultural, economic, and physical environment. (2) The non-traditional house, the villa, which reflects Western planning ideas. The villa is surrounded by a yard, which is within the neighbors' vision, inhibiting the resident's privacy. Thisdissertation examined the factors behind the changes in residential housing: from traditional to non-traditional housing. The city selected for investigation was Hofuf, Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire was developed and the participants were selected randomly from the residents whose houses had been demolished in the Al Na'athil traditional neighborhood because of urban clearance. The urban morphology of Hofuf before 1950 resembled the Islamic city model with its residential quarters, narrow-winding streets, centralized market, and courtyard houses. Today, Hofuf is dominated by broad straight avenues and villa dwellings. Chi-square and factor analyses were employed to interpret the data for this study. The results show that factors related to the changes in residential housing were: (1) growing economic standards of the community, which were demonstrated by enlargement of the home size, improvement in the occupancy status, and the procurement of loans from the Real Estate Development Fund; (2) adaptation of new technology in the architectural design, mainly air conditioning, helping to eliminate the need for the courtyard as a source of natural cooling; and (3) changes in social behavior. The social and kinship ties which emphasized family and tribal allegiances, very strong features in traditional neighborhoods, have been weakened in non-traditional neighborhoods.
Recommended Citation
Al-Mulhim, Mohammed Ali, "Urban Morphological Changes In Hofuf, Saudi Arabia: Impact Of Western Planning Ideas On Traditional Housing Design" (1993). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2177.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/2177