Cementing its capital status for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 and experiencing heavy flows of migrants into the city from rural and foreign grounds, all of which in parallel with a great surge in monetary supply in the hands of the ruling class given the recent oil discovery; what followed for Riyadh in fast-paced transformations and urban practices was like no other. Riyadh has become a capital city comprised of an ever-expanding monotonous suburbia, large scale sub-cities with a clear emphasis on economic corporate gains for the monarchy rather than consumer needs and most importantly, ‘liberal enclaves’. A term derived from the work of Hammond (2012) to describe the urban forms produced to host foreign professionals in Riyadh and around the Kingdom. This research seeks to look analytically and critically into the realm of enclave urbanism in the context of Riyadh and the set of factors that one can’t help but discern when looking into the evolution of the Riyadh Master Plan and the institutions that accompanied it up until today. Top-down autocratic bureaucracies, strict religious politics and all whilst trying to maintain a foreign and international appeal for investment and economic prosperity, are the primary factors gathered in this research to have paved the way for a capital of fortified boundaries and places of entitlement for the elite in order to bypass any local frictions but yet, secure the state's economic prosperity schemes. A realm of enclaves in Riyadh symbolised by the Diplomatic Quarter built in the 1980s and the more recent development of King Abdullah Financial District as the Kingdom ventures into a new era of global recognition are the basis of this research for Riyadh. In this ever expanding capital, these enclaves have emphasised a discourse of autocratic management, urban fear and segregation, where they face many challenges of societal frictions and governance till today. This research sheds light on the repercussions of these case studies on Riyadh’s society and urban form by, also, exploring the theoretical and empirical evolution of enclaves in the world and more specifically in the East-Asian context. And finally, this research strives to conclude and provide some useful insight for cities around the world venturing into a similar disposition of grand scale endeavours of enclaves.
Il consolidamento della condizione di città capitale per il Regno dell’Arabia Saudita istituito nel 1932 e i pesanti flussi migratori nella città da aree rurali e dall’estero sono avvenuti simultaneamente alla crescita di una immensa disponibilità finanziaria nelle mani della classe dirigente a seguito della scoperta petrolio. Le trasformazioni frenetiche le pratiche di pianificazione che seguirono a Riyadh, per molti aspetti, non hanno eguali. Riyadh si è espansa in una mastodontica e monotona suburbia, fondata sui vantaggi economici per la monarchia piuttosto che sui bisogni dei sudditi, ed ha sperimentato “enclave liberali”. Quest’ultimo è un termine derivato dal lavoro di Hammond (2012) per descrivere le forme urbane prodotte per ospitare professionisti stranieri a Riyadh e in Arabia Saudita. Questa ricerca osserva in modo analitico e critico alcune enclave nel contesto di Riyadh e dell’insieme di fattori legati all’evoluzione del piano generale di Riyadh e alle istituzioni che lo hanno governato. Burocrazie autocratiche ad ogni livello, rigide politiche religiose e potere assoluto, si devono confrontare con la ricerca e il costante appello internazionale per investimenti e prosperità economica. Questa ricerca studia lo sviluppo di questi nuovi insediamenti fortificati in quanto interessanti dispositivi spaziali di gestione delle contraddizioni di uno stato tradizionale alle prese con modernizzazione e globalizzazione. Due enclave di Riyad particolarmente simboliche sono considerate: il quartiere diplomatico costruito negli anni ‘80 e il più recente sviluppo del King Abdullah Financial District. Queste enclave hanno enfatizzato la pianificazione e gestione autocratica del potere, paura e segregazione della diversità, facendo emergere molte sfide e frizioni per la governance della società saudita di oggi. Questa ricerca mette in luce le ripercussioni di queste enclave sulla forma urbana e sulla società di Riyadh, esplorando anche le riflessioni che ne possono derivare più generalmente per contesto est-asiatico. E infine, questa ricerca, si sforza di concludere e fornire interpretazioni utili per le città che sperimentano lo sviluppo di simili enclave.
A kingdom of paradoxes : the planning and making of fortified liberal enclaves in Riyadh
SALAMEH, LANA
2016/2017
Abstract
Cementing its capital status for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 and experiencing heavy flows of migrants into the city from rural and foreign grounds, all of which in parallel with a great surge in monetary supply in the hands of the ruling class given the recent oil discovery; what followed for Riyadh in fast-paced transformations and urban practices was like no other. Riyadh has become a capital city comprised of an ever-expanding monotonous suburbia, large scale sub-cities with a clear emphasis on economic corporate gains for the monarchy rather than consumer needs and most importantly, ‘liberal enclaves’. A term derived from the work of Hammond (2012) to describe the urban forms produced to host foreign professionals in Riyadh and around the Kingdom. This research seeks to look analytically and critically into the realm of enclave urbanism in the context of Riyadh and the set of factors that one can’t help but discern when looking into the evolution of the Riyadh Master Plan and the institutions that accompanied it up until today. Top-down autocratic bureaucracies, strict religious politics and all whilst trying to maintain a foreign and international appeal for investment and economic prosperity, are the primary factors gathered in this research to have paved the way for a capital of fortified boundaries and places of entitlement for the elite in order to bypass any local frictions but yet, secure the state's economic prosperity schemes. A realm of enclaves in Riyadh symbolised by the Diplomatic Quarter built in the 1980s and the more recent development of King Abdullah Financial District as the Kingdom ventures into a new era of global recognition are the basis of this research for Riyadh. In this ever expanding capital, these enclaves have emphasised a discourse of autocratic management, urban fear and segregation, where they face many challenges of societal frictions and governance till today. This research sheds light on the repercussions of these case studies on Riyadh’s society and urban form by, also, exploring the theoretical and empirical evolution of enclaves in the world and more specifically in the East-Asian context. And finally, this research strives to conclude and provide some useful insight for cities around the world venturing into a similar disposition of grand scale endeavours of enclaves.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/140578