The importance of transportation networks and urban services in assessing the functional balance of human settlements: The case of the Makkah region in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision aims to accommodate 30 million Umrah pilgrims by 2030, while promoting sustainable cities through improved mobility in public spaces. This research assesses the balance and future stability of human settlements within the urban system of the Holy Makkah Province. Our inves...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198224002860 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1823864275111772160 |
|---|---|
| author | Amani Derbali Salma Dwidar Amal Abdelsattar Donia Abdelgawad Abdallah Farhi |
| author_facet | Amani Derbali Salma Dwidar Amal Abdelsattar Donia Abdelgawad Abdallah Farhi |
| author_sort | Amani Derbali |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision aims to accommodate 30 million Umrah pilgrims by 2030, while promoting sustainable cities through improved mobility in public spaces. This research assesses the balance and future stability of human settlements within the urban system of the Holy Makkah Province. Our investigation highlights the limitations of the region’s urban structure and suggests solutions for addressing their root causes by comparing the current state of the region’s population, which houses 132 urban centers, and an alternative model based on a gravitational urban law utilizing Reilly’s law of retail gravitation (1931), which manipulates data relevant to population and transportation networks. The investigation is then enhanced by additional factors such as the functional weight, retail services, and services related to pilgrims’ rituals. Our theory posits that Makkah Province is subject to the issue of urban primacy, evinced by the fact that the region receives a disproportionate share of the nation’s resources and services. This hierarchal study reveals potential gaps that require attention, as well as actions for the long-term preservation of the region’s urban balance, providing a more comprehensive understanding of future infrastructure amenities and services requirements. We suggested a participatory redistributive approach aiming to foster engagement of marginalized centers and attend to urban–rural linkages, which can serve the urban goals of the 2030 vision through a well-established urban infrastructure and equitable access to services for the regional population. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c76ee0b20557458db9d67778ac7271b1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2590-1982 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
| spelling | doaj-art-c76ee0b20557458db9d67778ac7271b12025-02-09T05:01:12ZengElsevierTransportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives2590-19822025-01-0129101300The importance of transportation networks and urban services in assessing the functional balance of human settlements: The case of the Makkah region in Saudi ArabiaAmani Derbali0Salma Dwidar1Amal Abdelsattar2Donia Abdelgawad3Abdallah Farhi4College of Architecture and Design, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11586, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author.College of Architecture and Design, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11586, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Architecture and Design, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11586, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Architecture and Design, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11586, Saudi Arabia; Alexandria University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Architecture Department, EgyptDepartment of Architecture, University of Biskra, AlgeriaSaudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision aims to accommodate 30 million Umrah pilgrims by 2030, while promoting sustainable cities through improved mobility in public spaces. This research assesses the balance and future stability of human settlements within the urban system of the Holy Makkah Province. Our investigation highlights the limitations of the region’s urban structure and suggests solutions for addressing their root causes by comparing the current state of the region’s population, which houses 132 urban centers, and an alternative model based on a gravitational urban law utilizing Reilly’s law of retail gravitation (1931), which manipulates data relevant to population and transportation networks. The investigation is then enhanced by additional factors such as the functional weight, retail services, and services related to pilgrims’ rituals. Our theory posits that Makkah Province is subject to the issue of urban primacy, evinced by the fact that the region receives a disproportionate share of the nation’s resources and services. This hierarchal study reveals potential gaps that require attention, as well as actions for the long-term preservation of the region’s urban balance, providing a more comprehensive understanding of future infrastructure amenities and services requirements. We suggested a participatory redistributive approach aiming to foster engagement of marginalized centers and attend to urban–rural linkages, which can serve the urban goals of the 2030 vision through a well-established urban infrastructure and equitable access to services for the regional population.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198224002860Sustainable citiesThe Hierarchy of Urban SystemUrban primacyUrban Bicephaly Makkah RegionReilly’s Law |
| spellingShingle | Amani Derbali Salma Dwidar Amal Abdelsattar Donia Abdelgawad Abdallah Farhi The importance of transportation networks and urban services in assessing the functional balance of human settlements: The case of the Makkah region in Saudi Arabia Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives Sustainable cities The Hierarchy of Urban System Urban primacy Urban Bicephaly Makkah Region Reilly’s Law |
| title | The importance of transportation networks and urban services in assessing the functional balance of human settlements: The case of the Makkah region in Saudi Arabia |
| title_full | The importance of transportation networks and urban services in assessing the functional balance of human settlements: The case of the Makkah region in Saudi Arabia |
| title_fullStr | The importance of transportation networks and urban services in assessing the functional balance of human settlements: The case of the Makkah region in Saudi Arabia |
| title_full_unstemmed | The importance of transportation networks and urban services in assessing the functional balance of human settlements: The case of the Makkah region in Saudi Arabia |
| title_short | The importance of transportation networks and urban services in assessing the functional balance of human settlements: The case of the Makkah region in Saudi Arabia |
| title_sort | importance of transportation networks and urban services in assessing the functional balance of human settlements the case of the makkah region in saudi arabia |
| topic | Sustainable cities The Hierarchy of Urban System Urban primacy Urban Bicephaly Makkah Region Reilly’s Law |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198224002860 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT amaniderbali theimportanceoftransportationnetworksandurbanservicesinassessingthefunctionalbalanceofhumansettlementsthecaseofthemakkahregioninsaudiarabia AT salmadwidar theimportanceoftransportationnetworksandurbanservicesinassessingthefunctionalbalanceofhumansettlementsthecaseofthemakkahregioninsaudiarabia AT amalabdelsattar theimportanceoftransportationnetworksandurbanservicesinassessingthefunctionalbalanceofhumansettlementsthecaseofthemakkahregioninsaudiarabia AT doniaabdelgawad theimportanceoftransportationnetworksandurbanservicesinassessingthefunctionalbalanceofhumansettlementsthecaseofthemakkahregioninsaudiarabia AT abdallahfarhi theimportanceoftransportationnetworksandurbanservicesinassessingthefunctionalbalanceofhumansettlementsthecaseofthemakkahregioninsaudiarabia AT amaniderbali importanceoftransportationnetworksandurbanservicesinassessingthefunctionalbalanceofhumansettlementsthecaseofthemakkahregioninsaudiarabia AT salmadwidar importanceoftransportationnetworksandurbanservicesinassessingthefunctionalbalanceofhumansettlementsthecaseofthemakkahregioninsaudiarabia AT amalabdelsattar importanceoftransportationnetworksandurbanservicesinassessingthefunctionalbalanceofhumansettlementsthecaseofthemakkahregioninsaudiarabia AT doniaabdelgawad importanceoftransportationnetworksandurbanservicesinassessingthefunctionalbalanceofhumansettlementsthecaseofthemakkahregioninsaudiarabia AT abdallahfarhi importanceoftransportationnetworksandurbanservicesinassessingthefunctionalbalanceofhumansettlementsthecaseofthemakkahregioninsaudiarabia |