Opportunities and Challenges of Embracing Green City Principles in Saudi Arabia Future Cities

In the modern era, population and economic growth have accelerated urban sprawl in Saudi Arabia. This has placed tremendous pressure on the country’s natural resources, including water, energy, and raw materials. Hence, the conventional means of expanding the built environment is no longer appropriate, as it has been found to be one of major causes of climate change and global warming. In the early 1970s, the principles of sustainable development emerged in developed countries, in order to remedy this global issue. During this period, Saudi Arabia experienced dramatic development in all of its industries, but the principles of sustainable development were, to a large degree, overlooked. However, there is now an ambitious Vision 2030 for Saudi Arabia, one of the purposes of which is to promote greater sustainability in the country. This study seeks to assist decision makers to identify the challenges and opportunities of the current Saudi practices of city design, and their related operational aspects, and to enable the adoption of effective measures for implementing sustainable development principles. Employing an ethnographic research methodology, the fieldwork concerned includes a public perception survey, followed by a site inspection, in order to develop an insider’s view of the current level of sustainable practice in the city of Najran. A public survey is distributed to well-informed citizens, with the goal of obtaining their insights, and to assess their willingness to embrace green city practices. This is followed by a site inspection visit that seeks to obtain in-depth information regarding site design and operational practices. A checklist of sustainable criteria is adapted from well-known systems. The major outcomes of the study reveal that many challenges are encountered the application of green city principles. The paper offers effective approaches and strategic actions for overcoming these challenges.