TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... 12
Chapter I: Introduction .................................................................................................................. 13
1.1. Research Goal: ................................................................................................................... 15
1.2. Research Problem: ............................................................................................................. 15
1.3. Research Questions: ........................................................................................................... 16
1.4. Research Objectives: .......................................................................................................... 16
1.5. Research Methodology: ..................................................................................................... 16
1.5.1: Using GIS to identify suitable locations for affordable housing: ................................... 17
1.5.2: Using questionnaire to identify housing demands profile: ............................................. 20
1.6. Research case study: Jeddah City ...................................................................................... 23
1.7. Research Time Table: ........................................................................................................ 24
Chapter II: Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 25
2.1. Affordable housing; International case studies: ................................................................. 26
2.2. Introduction on GIS: .......................................................................................................... 31
2.2.1. What is GIS?[11] ........................................................................................................ 31
2.2.2. Top Five Benefits of GIS: ........................................................................................... 31
2.2.3. What can we do with GIS? ......................................................................................... 31
2.2.4. The Geographic Approach: ......................................................................................... 32
2.2.5. Raster and Vector data: [13] ....................................................................................... 33
2.2.6. GIS in housing case studies: ....................................................................................... 34
2.3. Use of GIS in Land-Use Planning & Housing; International case studies: ....................... 35
1

2.4. Sustainability and Sustainable building methods .............................................................. 38

2.5. Prefabricated houses as a proposed sustainable alternative housing solution ................... 38
2.5.1. Types of prefab buildings: .......................................................................................... 39
2.5.2. Quality, lower cost and better environmental protection: ........................................... 42
2.5.3. Advantages of prefabricated housing: ........................................................................ 43
2.5.4. Disadvantages of prefabricated housing: .................................................................... 43
Chapter III: Existing Housing Condition ...................................................................................... 44
3.1. A Brief history about housing in Saudi Arabia:................................................................. 45
3.2. Population Housing and Household Characteristics 2003-2004: ...................................... 46
3.3. Population Housing and Household Characteristics 2013-2014: ...................................... 50
3.4. Existing condition of housing in Saudi Arabia: ................................................................. 52
3.5. Causes of low housing ownership in Saudi Arabia:[23] .................................................... 53
3.6. Jeddah Municipality Housing Objectives: ......................................................................... 54
3.7. Housing formation in Jeddah city: ..................................................................................... 54
3.8. An over view on residential market in Jeddah during 2013-2014: .................................... 57
3.8.1. Apartments & villas average sales prices: ................................................................ 57
3.8.2. Apartments & villas annual rent: .............................................................................. 59
3.9. Housing supply and demand in Jeddah City: ..................................................................... 61
3.9.1. Housing supply: .......................................................................................................... 61
3.9.2. Housing demand (Jeddah municipality): .................................................................... 62
3.10. Unplanned Settlement Formation in Jeddah City: ........................................................... 64
3.11. Unplanned Settlements Categories in Jeddah City: ......................................................... 65
2

Chapter IV: Data Model & Geodatabase ...................................................................................... 67

4.1. Data Model: ....................................................................................................................... 68
4.2. Geodatabase of the current study: ...................................................................................... 68
4.2.1. Definition of Geodatabase: ......................................................................................... 68
4.2.2. Layers:......................................................................................................................... 69
4.2.3. Mechanism: ................................................................................................................. 70
Chapter V: GIS analysis................................................................................................................ 73
5.1. GIS analysis Results: ......................................................................................................... 74
5.2. The 5 Factors Analysis of the 3 Steps Proposed Areas for Affordable Housing:.............. 88
1st Step (90-100%): Fig 5.16 ................................................................................................. 88
2nd Step (80-89%): Fig 5.27 .................................................................................................. 97
3rd Step (70-79%): Fig 5.39 ................................................................................................ 105
Chapter VI: Housing Demand Profile......................................................................................... 115
1st Cluster (General Information): ........................................................................................... 115
2nd Cluster (House Ownership): .............................................................................................. 116
3rd Cluster (Housing Demand Profile): ................................................................................... 117
4th Cluster (Prefabricated Housing): ....................................................................................... 120
Chapter VII: Summary................................................................................................................ 123
Chapter VIII: Conclusion & Recommendations ......................................................................... 124
8.1. Conclusion: ...................................................................................................................... 124
8.2. Recommendations: ........................................................................................................... 126

Glossary: ..................................................................................................................................... 129

References: .................................................................................................................................. 131

LIST OF FIGURES:
Fig 1.1. Research Methodology Flowchart ................................................................................... 17
Fig 1.2. Explanation of category weight & value. ........................................................................ 19
Fig 1.3. 1st & 2nd cluster of the questionnaire. .............................................................................. 21
Fig 1.4. Example of questions in the 3rd cluster of the questionnaire. .......................................... 21
Fige1.5. the 4th cluster of the questionnaire. ................................................................................. 22
Fig. 1.6. Jeddahs regional location .............................................................................................. 23
Fig 2.1. The 5 steps of Geographic approach. .............................................................................. 32
Fig 2.2. Relation between GIS, spatial analysis/modeling/decision support & policy analysis ... 35
Fig 2.3. Wooden prefab assembled in factory .............................................................................. 40
Fig 2.4. Steel cage prefab wall components ................................................................................. 41
Fig 2.5. Steel cage prefab sight installation .................................................................................. 41
Fig 3.1. Growth in Saudi population since 1973 till 2013 ............................................................ 46
Fig 3.2. Apartments. & Fig 3.3. Villas......................................................................................... 47
Fig 3.4. A Floor in a Villa or Traditional House .......................................................................... 47
Fig 3.5. Owned & Fig 3.6. Rented ................................................................................................ 48
Fig 3.7. Provided by employer ...................................................................................................... 48
Fig 3.8. Public Network & Fig 3.9. Public Sewage Network ....................................................... 49
Fig 3.10. Ditch Disposal ............................................................................................................... 49
Fig 3.11. Population distribution. Source: http://www.cdsi.gov.sa/english.................................. 46
Fig 3.12. Percentage of Households of the total Households in the three major cities.....47
Fig 3.13 Expected GDP growth at current prices in KSA (2010-15E).47
Fig 3.14. UN population division, http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/unpp/Panel_profiles.htm .......... 518
5

Fig 3.15. Only 30% of Saudi population own homes. Source: Zawya ......................................... 52
Fig 3.16. Expected growth in Jeddah population from 2015-2024............................................... 55
Fig 3.17. The diversity of house types and the number of households in addition to referring in
light color to Saudis and dark color to non-Saudis. ...................................................................... 56
Fig 3.18. Distribution of house owning. Source: Jeddah urban observatory ................................ 56
Fig 3.19. Percentage of Planned vs unplanned areas in Jeddah City ............................................ 57
Fig 3.20. Comparison of apartments prices during 2013 and first quarter. ................................. 58
Fig 3.21. Comparison of villas prices during 2013 and first quarter of 2014 ............................. 59
Fig 3.22. Increase in apartment rent south and west areas of the city in 2014 ............................. 60
Fig 3.23. The average villa rents increase in q1 2014 & q3 of 2013 ............................................ 61
Fig 3.24. Completed Stock and future supply of house units in Jeddah City ............................... 62
Fig 3.25. Early unplanned settlements in 1948..61
Fig 3.26. Early unplanned settlements in 1956..61
Fig 3.27. Early unplanned settlements in 1971..62
Fig 3.28. Early unplanned settlements in 2007..62
Fig 3.29. Unplanned settlement areas in Jeddah and the 5 different categories of these areas. ... 66
Fig 4.1. Data Model. ..................................................................................................................... 69
Fig 5.1. Jeddah in orthogonal grid (500m*500m) ........................................................................ 75
Fig 5.2. Road network accessibility. ............................................................................................. 76
Fig 5.3. Services: a) Health services. ............................................................................................ 77
Fig 5.4. Services: b) Education services. ...................................................................................... 78
Fig 5.5. Services: c) Retail services. ............................................................................................. 79
Fig 5.6. Public Utilities: a) Electricity. ......................................................................................... 80
6

Fig 5.7. Public Utilities: b) Water availability. ............................................................................. 81

Fig 5.8. Public Utilities: c) Sewage. ............................................................................................. 82
Fig 5.9. Density: a) Demographic density .................................................................................... 83
Fig 5.10. Density: b) Building density. ......................................................................................... 84
Fig 5.11. Land Price ...................................................................................................................... 85
Figure 5.12. Suitable Housing Areas (2D)................................................................................... 86
Figure 5.13. Suitable Housing Areas (3D)................................................................................... 87
Fig 5.14. 1st, 2nd & 3rd step of suitable locations for affordable housing (2D). ............................ 89
Fig 5.15. 1st, 2nd & 3rd step of suitable locations for affordable housing (3D). ............................ 90
Fig 5.16. 1st step locations............................................................................................................. 91
Fig 5.17. Roads distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which means high
potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1-10. ............................................ 92
Fig 5.18. Health service distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which means high
potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1 -10. ........................................... 92
Fig 5.19. Education service distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which means
high potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7.1 -10. ................................... 93
Fig 5.20. Retail service distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which means high
potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1 -10. ........................................... 93
Fig 5.21. Electricity public utility distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which
means high potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1-10. ......................... 94
Fig 5.22. Water public utility distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which
means high potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1-10. ......................... 94

Fig 5.23. Sewage utility distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which means high
potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1 -10. ........................................... 95
Fig 5.24. Population distribution and density among all pixels was within the (H) value which
means high potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1 -10. ........................ 95
Fig 5.25. Building distribution and density among all pixels was varying from (L) which varies
from 0-4, (M) from 4, 1-7 and (H) from the7, 1 -10. .................................................................... 96
Fig 5.26. Land price suitability within the (H) value which means high potential for affordable
housing and which varies from the 7, 1 -10. ................................................................................. 96
Fig 5.27. 2nd Step locations. .......................................................................................................... 98
Fig 5.28. 2nd Step location + Sewage availability. ........................................................................ 99
Fig 5.29. Road distribution among all pixels was mainly within the (H) value which varies from
the 7, 1-10. .................................................................................................................................. 100
Fig 5.30. Health service distribution among all pixels was mainly within the (H) value which
varies from the 7, 1-10. ............................................................................................................... 100
Fig 5.31. Education service distribution among all pixels was mainly within the (H) value which
varies from the 7, 1-10. ............................................................................................................... 101
Fig 5.32. Retail service distribution among all pixels was mainly within the (H) value which
varies from the 7, 1-10. ............................................................................................................... 101
Fig 5.33. Electricity public utility distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which
varies from the 7, 1-10. ............................................................................................................... 102
Fig 5.34. Water public utility distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which varies
from the 7, 1-10........................................................................................................................... 102

Fig 5.35. Sewage public utility distribution among all pixels was varying from (L) value which is
from 0-4 and the (H) value which varies from the 7, 1-10. ........................................................ 103
Fig 5.36. Population distribution and density among all pixels was within the (H) value which
varies from the 7,1 -10. ............................................................................................................... 103
Fig 5.37. Building distribution and density among all pixels was varying from (L) which varies
from 0-4, (M) from 4,1-7 and (H) from the 7,1 -10. ................................................................... 104
Fig 5.38. Land price suitability within the (H) value which varies from the 7, 1 -10. ............... 104
Fig 5.39. 3rd Step Locations. ....................................................................................................... 106
Fig5.40. Roads distribution among all pixels was varying from (L) which varies from 0-4, (M)
from 4,1-7 and (H) from the 7,1 -10 ........................................................................................... 107
Fig 5.41. Health service distribution among all pixels was mainly within the (L) value which
varies from the 4- 7. .................................................................................................................... 107
Fig 5.42. Education service distribution among all pixels was very close to (M) but mainly
within the (H) value which varies from the 7, 1-10 .................................................................... 108
Fig 5.43. Retail service distribution among all pixels was varying between all values and it has
got bigger value between (M) and (H) 6, 5 to 10........................................................................ 108
Fig 5.44. Electricity public utility distribution among all pixels was nearly within the (H) value
which varies from the 7, 1-10. .................................................................................................... 109
Fig 5.45. Water utility distribution among all pixels was varying from (L) which varies from 0-4,
(M) from 4,1-7 and (H) from the 7,1 -10. ................................................................................... 109
Fig 5.46. Sewage utility distribution among all pixels was varying from (L) which varies from 04, (M) from 4,1-7 and (H) from the 7,1 -10. ............................................................................... 110

Fig 5.47. Population distribution and density among all pixels was slightly near to (M) and
mainly within the (H) value which varies from the 7, 1 -10 ....................................................... 110
Fig 5.48. Building distribution and density among all pixels was varying from (L) which varies
from 0-4, (M) from 4,1-7 and (H) from the 7,1 -10. ................................................................... 111
Fig 5.49. Land price variety among all values, but mainly within the (L) value which varies from
the 0-4. ........................................................................................................................................ 111
Fig 5.50. 3rd Step locations + Road network. .............................................................................. 112
Fig 5.51. 3rd Step locations + Health services. ............................................................................ 113
Fig 5.52. 3rd Step locations + Sewage. ........................................................................................ 114
Fig 6.1. Percentage of House Owning. ....................................................................................... 116
Fig 6.2. Causes for not owning a house. ..................................................................................... 117
Fig 6.3. House property type....................................................................................................... 117
Fig 6.4. Percentage of monthly salary spent on house rent. ....................................................... 118
Fig 6.5. Preferred location for house owning. ............................................................................ 118
Fig 6.6. Causes affecting selection of house location. ................................................................ 119
Fig 6.7. House Type Preference. ................................................................................................. 119
Fig 6.8. Acceptance of House Owning through Bank. ............................................................... 120
Fig 6.9. Would you own a prefabricated house? ........................................................................ 120
Fig 6.10. Knowledge about Prefabricated housing. .................................................................... 121
Fig 6.11. After knowing about prefabricated houses, would you own one? .............................. 121
Fig 8.1. The 3 measured eras of development.121
Fig 8.2. Implementation of the research 3 steps on Jeddahs structural plan..122

10

LIST OF TABLES:
Table 1.1: Factors distribution according to weight and value: .................................................... 18
Table 2.1: The difference between Raster & Vector Data ............................................................ 34

11

Abstract
With more than 40% of the Saudi population not owning the houses they live in, housing
problem in Saudi Arabia has become one of the most discussed issues with a great demand to
solve this problem. This research proposes locations and solutions for housing problem in the
city of Jeddah by using a solution method divided to two main phases,
First Phase: Using geographic information system (GIS) and creating a geodatabase that is based
on the evaluation of chosen factors and finding suitable locations for affordable housing as a
result of the analyzed data.
Second Phase: Creating an electronic questionnaire which identifies the acceptance among
Saudis to an affordable housing proposal, housing demand profile has been created through this
questionnaire and resulted in a majority acceptance among participants to the research proposal
& the most preferable locations for affordable housing.
The end result which was the sum of both first and second phase was finding suitable locations
for a new accepted affordable housing proposal in Jeddah city.

12

Chapter I: Introduction

1.1. Research Goal.

1.2. Research Problem.
1.3. Research Questions.
1.4. Research Objectives.
1.5. Research Methodology:
1.5.1: Using GIS to identify suitable locations for affordable housing.
1.5.2: Using questionnaire to identify housing demands profile.
1.6. Research case study: Jeddah City
1.7. Research Time Table.

13

The republic of Korea was 40 percent urbanized in1970 and 78 percent urbanized by 1990. What
took the United States 90 years to accomplish took Korea 20 years and Brazil 30 years
(Henderson 2002).
As growth in Saudi Arabia is estimated to rise in the coming years, the cost of living will also
escalate accordingly. Henderson emphasized this point by stating Although bigger cities offer
higher productivity because of scale economies, residents of bigger cities are burdened with
higher costs of living for housing, food, public utilities, commuting, and so on (Henderson
2002).
In this research we will have an idea about practicing planning theories (innovation diffusion),
technics (GIS), and implementations (sustainability and affordability) for presenting the existing
housing condition in Jeddah city and finding suitable locations by using geographical
information system GIS, proposing a sustainable and affordable housing pattern and trying to
adapt social acceptance by practicing the innovation diffusion for the proposed alternative.
The study also investigates public knowledge and public awareness regarding this issue. Since
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is still under development, its much easier to apply the concept of
sustainability to new construction rather than demolishing old buildings or retrofitting existing
buildings.
Housing is one of the most important subjects worldwide in general and in Saudi Arabia in
particular, it is the basic need of people, and it is often identified with the word shelter, it is an
important requirement for human beings, in the physical protection and the psychological
security.
Saudi Arabia has a shortage of owning residential housing, particularly at low and middle
income people. House prices in many areas of the country have risen considerably faster than

14

household incomes, this rapid appreciation has raised concerns that housing is heading for a
crisis because of the expansion of the population. Since the majority of households are unable to
purchase houses with these high prices, with the balance of estimates suggesting that just 30
percent of Saudis own their own home, and with noticing that the demand for affordable housing
has largely increased in the past decades in Saudi Arabia due to the increase of population,
inflation and variation in income levels. This resulted in a gap between supply and demand and
understanding the needs of the current market so we came to a conclusion that: Affordable
housing is a national-level problem, but the solutions are local [1].

1.1. Research Goal:

Finding suitable locations in Jeddah for affordable housing using GIS.
Key words: Housing location, suitable construction, affordable housing, Jeddah city, GIS.

1.2. Research Problem:

UN Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat has said that affordable housing
should be put back at the Centre of cities, both in terms of planning and policy, and geographical
location. He made the comments Housing affordability is becoming one of the most important
problems worldwide [2].
In Saudi Arabia, there has been a declining income from oil production that continued during the
nineties, which has led to reduction in government revenues. As well, the influx of rural and
desert population into urban areas have exacerbated the problem of providing affordable housing
to the populace [3].

15

Countries that have reformed or grappled with housing, like Singapore, Thailand, Tunisia, and
Turkey, all referenced that quality of affordable homes are the output of a comprehensive
national strategy that involves data, urban planning, income mixing, financing and targeted
subsidy [1].
Unfortunately in Saudi Arabia a larger number of Saudis do not own their own houses, while one
fourth of Jeddah s population is living in slums and unplanned areas that is due to that fact that
private investors hold their undeveloped and centrally located plots of land resulting in abnormal
increase in land price, making housing non affordable for most of the people.

1.3. Research Questions:

What are the factors that determine the suitable location for affordable house in Jeddah?

Where are the potential locations for affordable houses in Jeddah?

Is a prefabricated house an acceptable solution from the Saudi population point of view?

1.4. Research Objectives:

Determining the existing condition of housing supply-demand in Jeddah city.

Creating a geo data base used in finding suitable locations for affordable housing.

Analyzing slums and unplanned areas for the purpose of finding potential locations for
affordable houses.

Propose to the housing market in Jeddah city a new residential housing concept.

1.5. Research Methodology:

Figure 1.1 shows the plan that was followed to reach the final results of this research.
As mentioned previously this research had two main objectives which are:
16

1. Identifying suitable locations for affordable housing in Jeddah City; this was
accomplished by using GIS.
2. Presenting prefabricated housing as an alternative option for housing demands through a
questionnaire that was distributed electronically.

Fig 1.1. Research Methodology Flowchart

1.5.1: Using GIS to identify suitable locations for affordable housing:

To reach this goal two main steps were needed:
1) Creating Geodatabase.
2) GIS analysis.
1) Creating Geodatabase:
a) Designing Data model which is defined as a form of flow chart that describes, conduct
and process data analysis.
b) Data collection and analysis: the data needed for this part of the research were in the form
of GIS layers and Excel sheets, they were collected from many governmental sectors

17

including Municipality of Jeddah; Department of GIS, Department of slums and

unplanned areas & Department of Strategic planning, Ministry of labor; Department of
statistics and Ministry of education; Department of projects development.
All ministries received letters from the Faculty of Environmental Design requesting the
information needed and the ministries were delivered all available information.
c) Output of the data collected was analyzed using GIS.
2) GIS analysis technique:

Dividing Jeddah city to orthogonal grid made up of pixels each one is equal to 250,000m2
(500m*500m) which is almost equal to the smallest slum area in Jeddah.

Choosing 5 major factors for selection affordable housing locations in Jeddah by using
GIS and those factors are:
1- Accessibility (road network accessibility): Regional road, Main road & Secondary
road.
2- Service: Health services, Education services & Retail services.
3- Public utilities: Electricity, Sewage, Water availability.
4- Density: Demographic density & Building density.
5- Land price.

All 5 factors have different values and those values are the sum of the weighs that have been
given to each category of these factors. (Table 1.1)
Table 1.1: Factors distribution according to weight and value:

18

Each location was given a value according to the weight scored in each category; the
value depended on the GIS buffer that was determined at 500m, which indicates the
distance of the location from the surrounding facilities.

The weight of each category was divided as following: (Fig 1.2)

H =10-9-8-7 =500m

M = 7-6-5-4 = 1000m

L = 4-3-2-1 > 1000m

Example of the total value calculation:

3H 2M 4L = (3X10) + (2X7) + (4X4) = 60 POINTS

1001-MORE METER

501-1000 METER

0-500 METER

Fig 1.2. Explanation of category weight & value.

19

11

GIS analysis using spatial analysis for all previously mentioned data was uploaded and
values were calculated for each grid.

1.5.2: Using questionnaire to identify housing demands profile:

A web-based survey was formulated & distributed on Saudi residents of Jeddah city. The survey
consisted of quantitative and qualitative questions that were analyzed and the results were to
support the suitability of the chosen locations. The targeted participants were from different
groups and different ages such as planners, architects, engineers, doctors, students, employees,
married & single. The web-based survey was designed in Arabic language to reach wider Saudi
participants.
The questionnaire was formed of four clusters according to the information required:

1st cluster: included general information questions about the participants e.g. age, gender
& educational level. (Fig 1.3)

2nd cluster: was concerned about wither the participant owned a house or not, in case the
participant owned a house he/she was takes directly to the 4th cluster. (Fig 1.3)

3rd cluster: included questions about the aspiration of participants who did not own
houses, in addition to questions about the preferred location, type & size of future house.
It also included questions that indicate the publics knowledge about prefabricated
houses. (Fig 1.4)

4th cluster: the final cluster gives a brief information about prefabricated housing,
followed by repetition of the question regarding the acceptance of owning a prefabricated
house after knowing more about it. (Fig 1.5)
20

Fig 1.3. 1st & 2nd cluster of the questionnaire.

Fig 1.4. Example of questions in the 3rd cluster of the questionnaire.

21

Fige1.5. the 4th cluster of the questionnaire.

22

1.6. Research case study: Jeddah City

Located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia.
It is the largest city in Makah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second
largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city of Riyadh. (Fig. 1.6)

Fig. 1.6. Jeddahs regional location

Jeddah like other cities has experienced a shortage of affordable housing. The government has
provided financial help but, despite these efforts, housing prices have continued to increase. The
expected growth of population and household units in the next 20 years added to the present
shortage will generate a major gap between demand and supply.

23

1.7. Research Time Table:

24

Chapter II: Literature Review

2.1. Affordable housing; International case studies.
2.2. Introduction on GIS.
2.2.1. What is GIS?
2.2.2. Top Five Benefits of GIS.
2.2.3. What can we do with GIS?
2.2.4. The Geographic Approach.
2.2.5. Raster and Vector data.
2.2.6. GIS in housing case studies
2.3. Use of GIS in Land-Use Planning & Housing; International case studies.
2.4. Sustainability and Sustainable building methods.
2.5. Prefabricated houses as a proposed sustainable alternative housing solution
2.5.1. Types of prefab buildings.
2.5.2. Quality, lower cost and better environmental protection.
2.5.3. Advantages of prefabricated housing.
2.5.4. Disadvantages of prefabricated housing.

25

This chapter covers what is included in the literature regarding the main components of this
research such as affordable housing, use of GIS in affordable housing & prefabricated houses.

2.1. Affordable housing; International case studies:

Housing is universally known to be the second most important human need after food, it is more
than just a shelter, it fulfils several socio-economic objectives that include offering investment
opportunities, providing privacy & enhancing ones social and cultural status in the community.
According to UN estimate (Peoples and the Planet 2005) about 1.3 billion urban residents
currently live in inadequate housing. In many cities in the developing world, more than onequarter of all residents live in shanty towns, squatter settlements or slums. In these cities the
housing sector has to cope with an average additional demand for some 18 million housing units
per year[3].
Based on this information both developed and third world countries have been attempting to
present plans and policies to solve this problem, some of these countries succeeded in their
mission while others continue to struggle.
Nigeria is one of the countries that have been struggling with the problem of inadequate and
affordable housing since the oil boom era in the 1970s, although the Nigerian government
presented stale goal statements such as (housing for all by 2000) and many policy directives on
affordable housing the problem of housing persisted due to the following reasons:
1. Limited land supply and acquisition obstacles.
2. Housing finance constraints.
3. Inadequate physical planning.
4. High cost of building materials.
5. Lack of proper coordination between public agencies and laws.
26

In 2007 a study was conducted to identify the reason behind the persistence of the housing
problem in developing countries used Lago, Nigeria as a case study. It was concluded that to
solve this problem the government should be directed towards providing facilities rather than
directly executing housing construction, with proper definition of the roles of both governmental
and private agencies[3].
In 2004 a cautionary case from Ahmedabad, India was presented in which a private developer of
housing in India stopped constructing affordable housing for low-income groups after receiving
public sector help. The paper critically examined the policy advice of enabling markets and
market-based actors to provide affordable housing in developing countries. It argues for more
cautious, circumspect and varied approach because enabling strategies focused on market actors
can produce highly uncertain outcomes. In addition, it emphasized that policy-makers need a
better understanding of how the informal and formal sectors can overlap. Enabling informal
developers can be even trickier because public support can reduce their flexibility and incentives,
as well as impacting on the expectations and opportunities of the home-buyers [4].
More successful examples of affordable housing solutions include the Singapore experience
where the government managed to change the numbers of people owning houses from less than
one-third of the population to 93% over which 83% were supported directly or indirectly through
the government. In his article published in the post forum report of the Jeddah 2013 economic
forum Dr. Liu Ker, Director of RSP Architects, Planners and Engineers, summarized the steps
that made Singapore capable of transforming itself in to the following;
1. Research: which is an important step in identifying the problems and needs of the people
collecting information about the possible solution.

27

2. Urban planning: the second step in the process which ensured that Singapore was not
only a place that worked efficiently but also a place that respected its history, heritage &
environment.
3. Creation of self-sufficient new towns: planners and policy makers concluded that to
insure affordable houses and communities it is important for towns to be self-sufficient
with minimum number of population of about 200,000. The Singapore government
started creating 23 of these towns, it assigned only 45% of the space for housing while
the rest was left for infrastructure, shops, parks & schools.
4. Mix incomes throughout the new towns: to prevent ghettos from developing, planners
were careful to mix all scoops of the community in the new towns, by mixing poof and
rich families they assured the societies remained aspirational.
5. Relocation with consent into better houses: between 1960 & 1985the government of
Singapore relocated families that were living in informal houses into housing estates, by
1985 Singapore had achieved zero percent homelessness.
At the end Dr. Ker concluded that A happy population is a competitive one [1]
Another example of a successful solution for the affordable housing problem is the one Mr.
Ballobh Kritayanavaj Senior Vice President, Government Housing Bank, Thailand mentioned in
the same forum, he said There is no housing shortage in Thailand. He mentioned that his
country was facing serious shortages of affordable housing, in its 90th particularly in Bangkok.
However, today the problem had been eradicated and there was no housing shortage in Thailand.
The objectives of the Thailand Government included:
1.

Establishing a PPP (private public partnership) in producing affordable housing.

Since 90s, government delivered 800,000 low cost housing units of market
28

quality, with private developers providing about 50% on government-provided

land. Over one thousand private-sector developers of all sizes had produced an
average of 160,000 new homes a year, and since 2008 government produced a
total of only 500,000 dwelling unit.
2.

Creating a competing system among private banks to give loans to low income
and middle class families.

This resulted in 2013, home loans as a percentage of GDP stood at a healthy 20%, while the ratio
of home loans to all loans was 16% [1].
The United States of America is one of the leading countries in regards to affordable housing, the
idea of affordable housing started in the beginning of the 20th century, and it was called
affordable housing cooperative movement. The objective of this movement was to obtain decent
housing for low- & moderate families at an affordable price, with effective resident control.
The advantages of the affordable housing cooperative include [5]:
1. It provides contemporary housing advocates with an alternative that reinforces joint
ownership of property.
2. It empowers low & moderate income families.
3. They are contrary to the traditional welfare mentality prevalent in so much of subsidized
rental housing because with co-ops residents not only take responsibility of their action
but also experience direct consequence of these actions on the cost & quality of their
housing.
The circumstances and methods of the affordable housing cooperative movement vary from
decade to decade but it aided in developing the general affordable housing movement & its
contemporary policies.
29

The affordability of affordable housing ordinarily results from private or public subsidy or other
government actions, affordable housing in the United States is funded under either civic
organizations, supply side or tax expenditure policies.
Federally there has been a shift in the policy of affordable housing support from supply-side
subsidy programs (in which the government subsidizes project-based housing construction)
towards demand-side orientation (in which the government subsidizes the tenants of affordable
housing). However, there is an increase in the formation of affordable housing policy at a local
level and a trend toward investing local resources in affordable housing programs; these local
jurisdictions dont necessarily follow the federal move of demand-side subsidy. As an example,
New York City invests heavily in affordable housing but does so almost exclusively through
supply-side subsidy. New York City serves as an obvious case study in examining the
fundamental orientation of large cities with respect to affordable housing by devoting $6.4
billion of local resources in supply-side based affordable housing in the citys Ten Year New
Housing Marketplace Plan [6].
The Goals of New York City for affordable housing include:
1. Revitalizing and restoring the citys neighborhoods and to enhance its overall economic
health.
2. Providing justice for those who face high housing cost after tax dollars support
construction in an area [7].
3. Combat poverty [8].
4. Integrating low-income households into newly high-income neighborhoods to avoid lowincome families from being displaced with developments [9].
5. Intergenerational entitlement & long-term economic planning [10].

30

2.2. Introduction on GIS:

2.2.1. What is GIS?[11]
A geographic information system (GIS) is a technological tool for comprehending geography
and making intelligent decisions. A good GIS program is able to process geographic data from a
variety of sources and integrate it into a map project
Another definition to GIS is a computer-based system for capturing, storing ,manipulating,
analyzing and visualizing spatially referenced data and integrating it with other computer based
information; a tool kit for the modeling and analysis of complex research, management and
planning problems; and, a system to support decision makers by enabling them to structure
problems and identify potential solutions for evaluation'.
2.2.2. Top Five Benefits of GIS:
GIS benefits organizations of all sizes and in almost every industry. There is a growing
awareness of the economic and strategic value of GIS. The benefits of GIS generally fall into
five basic categories:
1. Cost Savings and Increased Efficiency
2. Better Decision Making
3. Improved Communication
4. Better Record keeping
5. Managing Geographically
2.2.3. What can we do with GIS?
GIS gives us a new way to look at the world around us by mapping where things are, mapping
quantities & densities, finding whats inside & nearby and finally by map changing.

31

2.2.4. The Geographic Approach:

Geography is the science of our world. Coupled with GIS, geography is helping us to better
understand the earth and apply geographic knowledge to a host of human activities. The outcome
is the emergence of The Geographic Approacha new way of thinking and problem solving that
integrates geographic information into how we understand and manage our planet. This approach
allows us to create geographic knowledge by measuring the earth, organizing this data, and
analyzing and modeling various processes and their relationships, the Geographic Approach also
allows us to apply this knowledge to the way we design, plan, and change our world (Fig. 2.1).

Fig 2.1. The 5 steps of Geographic approach.

GIS is being used as a platform to help planners to reach their goals of creating livable
communities and improving the overall quality of life while protecting the environment and

32

promoting economic development. GIS tools can provide the necessary planning platform for
visualization, modeling, analysis, and collaboration [12].
2.2.5. Raster and Vector data: [13]
The first step in converting map information into a form that can be read by a computer is to
describe the shapes and locations of features using a series of numbers. Computers store
information in sequences of binary digits (bits), which form a code for every possible number or
letter it is these numerical values which are used to translate map information into digital form.
This applies in both vector and raster formats.
I.

Raster Data: In raster data the entire area of the map is subdivided into a grid of tiny
cells. A value is stored in each of these cells to represent the nature of whatever is
present at the corresponding location on the ground. Raster data can be thought of as
a matrix of values. The major use of raster data involves storing map information as
digital images, in which the cell values relate to the pixel colors of the image.

II.

Vector Data: In vector data the features are recorded one by one, with shape being
defined by the numerical values of the pairs of x & y coordinates.

A point is defined by a single pair of coordinate values.

A line is defined by a sequence of coordinate pairs defining the points through which
the line is drawn.

An area is defined in a similar way, only with the first and last points joined to make
a complete enclosure.

Vector data can be thought of as a list of values.

Both types of data are very useful, but there are important differences the characteristics below
are broad generalizations which do not necessarily apply in all circumstances. (Table 2.1)
33

Table 2.1: The difference between Raster & Vector Data

2.2.6. GIS in housing case studies:

GIS has become an essential tool for planners and decision makers and many countries has
adopted this technology especially after clarifying the strong relation between GIS and spatial
factors which helped planers on solving existing problems and taking decisions for future.
For the British experience with the GIS they have understood and identified and discussed three
problems that helped them in a proper understanding for GIS and these three points are: [14]

The first of these problems is the need to examine the relationship between GIS and
spatial analysis, policy analysis, spatial decision support systems and spatial modeling
(Fig 2.2)

34

Fig 2.2. The relation between GIS and spatial analysis/modeling/decision support and
policy analysis

The second problem is to examine the current and the emerging role; function and
positioning of GIS within organizations.

The third problem is the need to examine GIS and its role as an 'information integration
tool' in the context of information management within organizations and the need to
ensure that internal operational systems can be used in conjunction with externally
derived information from the census and various other 'strategic' information resources.

2.3. Use of GIS in Land-Use Planning & Housing; International case studies:
Historically planning decisions on urban growth had been made in a typically top to down
fashion through institutionalized structures and methods. Planning decision making was based on
one-dimensional application of a single criteria. However for some time now, multi-criteria
decision making methods have been used in association with GIS. The marriage of multi-criteria
analysis & GIS in to what has been called a melting pot integrating special data & human
35

knowledge via a given model offers the opportunity to put technology into work[15].
Governments & other kinds of organizations involved in urban planning have been using GIS in
various types of demographic, socioeconomic & geospatial data analysis [16].
In 1997 Merwe et al, presented a case study based in South Africa, the study discussed the use of
GIS-aided land evaluation and decision-making in regulating urban expansion. Multi-criteria
analysis was performed using IDRISI GIS package to evaluate development suitability of four
land use categories according to appropriately measured and weighed criteria. The study
concluded that for GIS technology to be widely accepted it is important to incorporate public
participation in this type of decision making process [17]. In our study we included a
questionnaire that represents the public opinion, it will be incorporated into the GIS data analysis
to give a more realistic perspective to our study.
A good example for incorporating public opinion in urban planning is Singapore master plan that
was done using GIS. Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore's national land use
planning agency, relies on GIS to find new ways to minimize development constraints. The
result of the URA's GIS-based planning can be seen in two key plans, the concept plan and the
master plan. Both of which provide a comprehensive, forward-looking, integrated framework for
sustainable development. The 2008 master plan was unique in that it took suggestions from
Singapore's citizens into consideration before it was finalized. Since the URA could easily
publish maps and plans on the Internet, the agency invited the public to give feedback on the
rough draft of the master plan. From May through August 2008, more than 40,000 people visited
the master plan Web site to view and comment on the GIS maps of the master plan [18].
In 2009 Khadr et al used GIS in constructing area based physical deprivation index in Cairo
government. The research provided an overview of slum challenge, using four of the basic GIS

36

layers for the governorate of Cairo and the principle small areas mantiqas. The proposed index
was a composite index of four main dimensions characterizing physical attributes, sources of
pollutions, available services and security of each mantiqa. Validation tests of the index revealed
the ability of the proposed index to capture slums identified by the current governmental official
list of slums in addition to other areas that were as equally deprived but not included in the
official list of slums [19].
Perhaps the most notable problem in the rapid pace of urbanization in the developing world is the
need for housing and the provision of related services. The quality of planning and decision
making processes can be substantially improved when suitable data are appropriately and
efficiently handled. Thomson & Hardin reviewed the development of remote sensing and
geographic information system (GIS) techniques for urban analysis, then they applied these
techniques to evaluate several types of planning related information in a raster based (GIS) to
identify potential low income housing sites in the eastern portion of the Bangkok Metropolitan
Area [20].
In 2006 Alshalabi et al used high spatial resolution remotely sensed data, Geographical
Information System (GIS) and Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) using analytical hierarchy process
(AHP) to evaluate the possible location of building sites and to support decisions making in the
location of additional housing areas in Sanaa city. The central theme of their paper was to
explain the process of developing a prototype GIS application to provide a system for supporting
location decisions with respect to the implementation of urban master plans. GIS was used based
on a set of criteria derived from the spatial aspects, environment, policies and national and local
physical plan [21]. In 2007 Natividade-Jesus et al presented a decision support system for
evaluation of new housing locations in Portugal, they used GIS to integrate a problem editor, a

37

data base management module, a set of multiple criteria decision aid methods & a Humancomputer interface [22].

2.4. Sustainability and Sustainable building methods

Sustainable building methods include the full use of the site design, passive solar design, natural
light and ventilation Lack of public awareness and understanding of the language and the
meaning of sustainable housing may cause lack of public support. Sustainability or sustainable
design is simply a rephrasing of some of the forgotten values of traditional architecture and
urbanism" [23].
In developing countries, like Saudi Arabia, which have been experiencing a rapid rate of
urbanization, sustainable concept intervention is essential due to the scarcity of resources [24].
This research reports on an exploratory survey on understanding the potential of the
implementation of sustainable affordable housing (prefab) in Saudi Arabia.
The main problem is that more than half of respondents were not aware of prefab housing and it
is obvious that Sustainable housing implementation requires strong support from the public,
government and the housing industry.

2.5. Prefabricated houses as a proposed sustainable alternative housing solution

The rising demands on affordable housing in Saudi Arabia and the increasing interest of
developers to invest in affordable housing projects mandates a clearer understanding and
appreciation of the cultural values of the local society and their acceptance to different
approaches in solving this problem. Unfortunately the resent way of dealing with affordable
housing as products or commodities have only resulted in less than appealing and depressing
38

environments that do not meet basic needs or satisfy the preferences of potential users, that is
due to the consideration of cost reduction as the one single determinant factor. Other crucial
factors such as lifestyles of the targeted populations, people satisfaction of their current houses
and residential environments, and their aspirations and preferences In future houses are always
oversimplified or superficially addressed [23].
There have been many attempts to identify the causes of housing problem in Saudi Arabia and
the definition of affordable housing but unfortunately not as much attention has been given to
presenting applicable solutions to solve this problem, one of the aims of our study is to present
prefabricated housing as a constructional solution for housing problem in Saudi Arabia.
Prefabricated housing, also called manufactured housing or prefab housing refers to a
construction process where the housing components (e.g., walls, floors, balcony, stairs, etc.) are
prefabricated in batches in factories, and then shipped to sites for assembly where they can be
put ready for transfer to another location or mounted on the ground through masonry
groundwork [25].
2.5.1. Types of prefab buildings:

Wooden frame Prefab House Construction:

Prefab houses are constructed from the inside out., they are manufactured in the following order
in a couple of days or less, the floors are assembled first, there is usually a wood frame under the
floor for attachment of wall panels, Wall panels are attached next with bolts and nails, Panels are
insulated and windows cut out before the panels are attached.
Once the house structure is in place, the plumbing, electrical wiring and drywall (including the
ceiling) are installed.

39

The roof, typically constructed in another part of the factory, is set on top of the walls. In some
prefabs, workers attach the roof on-site after the rest of the house is constructed.
Exterior and interior finishes are added, including siding, cabinets, vanities and backsplashes,
walls are also painted. (Fig 2.3)

Fig 2.3. Wooden prefab assembled in factory

Steel cage prefab (research proposal):

The walls of the prefab houses are formed by steel tubes & columns that are connected by
sandwich panels composed mainly of cement boards and aluminum plates. (Fig 2.4)
Although the complexity of the pre-fabricated housing components and off-site procurement cost
vary from project to project, from one country to the other, one common feature of prefabricated
housing is off-site production plus on-site installation/assembly (Fig 2.5). In some sectors of the
construction industry where the construction process is sufficiently repetitive, the concept of
prefabricated housing can be applied to achieve greater productivity, higher quality and lower
cost for construction projects. In such cases, housing components such as exterior walls, floors,
doors, windows, or even stairs and batch-rooms can be made in factories. On-site workers only
have to assemble them to build the house.

40

Fig 2.4. Steel cage prefab wall components

Fig 2.5. Steel cage prefab sight installation

41

2.5.2. Quality, lower cost and better environmental protection:

Prefabricated houses have been adopted by many countries including Malaysia, Singapore,
Argentina, USA, Japan and Turkey. Standardization and pre-assembly within construction
industry has been proven to be successful in some projects including Hong Kong airport.
Laing et. al. (2001) claimed that standardizing the construction process can create value for the
consumers, which is one of the essential goals of marketers [26]. For example, reducing
construction period, optimum cost and high quality can be achieved with mass production of
houses. Moreover, user satisfaction and ease of maintenance and replacement all indicate that
standardization and prefabrication bear significant potential for the future [27].
Although prefab housing is a well-known alternative worldwide, no studies have been found
about the knowledge of the Saudi consumers about the possible use of prefabricated housing as
alternative housing solution, and this is another aim of our study.
As mentioned previously, the affordable housing provided to the user in Saudi Arabia has
followed a traditional approach since the need for such type of housing emerged in Saudi Arabia
due to the population increase and variation in income level.
This considers the cost reduction as a major factor and does not take other factors into account,
the social traditions, lifestyle and norms of people in Saudi Arabia are not considered at present
by all parties neither at the housing research level nor at the professional level. The research
work that is undertaken on affordable housing in Saudi Arabia showed the absence of the
lifestyle from the existing housing properties, and this is one of the advantages of prefabricated
housing, where customers from both governmental or private sectors have the freedom of
choosing the suitable housing design without any extra cost. A study published in 2007 explored
the possibility of further evolving the prefab housing design from mass repetitive production to

42

mass customization level to meet more flexibility and variability then whats already available,
they proposed a web-based design system that can provide information filtering questionnaires to
2.5.3. Advantages of prefabricated housing:
Less time, less cost, easy way for construction, save on materials, reduce labor costs, reduce
Errors, easy planning and easy construction, faster building draws, great productivity, high
quality, better environmental protection, less materials waste & disposal [28].
2.5.4. Disadvantages of prefabricated housing:
Possible complexity of the components, variation of off-site procurement cost from project to
project, upfront Costs, transportation and assembly issues, finding land, design limitations in
some cases, labor unions and regulatory hurdles [25].

43

Chapter III: Existing Housing Condition

3.1. A Brief history about housing in Saudi Arabia.
3.2. Population Housing and Household Characteristics 2003-2004.
3.3. Population Housing and Household Characteristics 2013-2014.
3.4. Existing condition of housing in Saudi Arabia.
3.5. Causes of low housing ownership in Saudi Arabia.
3.6. Jeddah Municipality Housing Objectives.
3.7. Housing formation in Jeddah city.
3.8. An over view on residential market in Jeddah during 2013-2014.
3.8.1. Apartments & villas average sales prices.
3.8.2. Apartments & villas annual rent.
3.9. Housing supply and demand in Jeddah City.
3.9.1. Housing supply.
3.9.2. Housing demand (Jeddah municipality).
3.10. Unplanned Settlement Formation in Jeddah City.
3.11. Unplanned Settlements Categories in Jeddah City.

44

In this chapter we discuss the current situation of housing in Saudi Arabia including causes of
low house ownership and Jeddah Municipality objectives to solve this problem.

3.1. A Brief history about housing in Saudi Arabia:

In Saudi Arabia the housing problem started to appear conspicuously during the 1980s due to the
economic boom that resulted from high oil prices that was followed by a declining income from
oil production that continued during the nineties, which has led to reduction in government
revenues. As well, the influx of rural and desert population into urban areas have exacerbated the
problem of providing affordable housing to the populace. Although, the recent boom in oil prices
and the flourishing economy led to a surge in the construction of housing environments where
many projects are currently undertaken by government agencies and through many private sector
initiatives. However, it has been reported that about 40 percent of the Saudi population still do
not own a house and live in rented homes with relatively improper conditions, while some 20
percent own a house, but in poor neighborhoods. A study published in 2013 reported that Saudi
families, especially in Jeddah, view the real estate market negatively. They consider it to be
extremely bad due to difficulty of purchasing a housing unit according to their financial abilities.
This point of view is further augmented by the fact that about 60 percent of the Saudi families
will not be able to own their private homes for five years at least under the static economic
conditions and the fluctuating prices of real estate and construction.
Many factors contribute in the housing problem in Saudi Arabia and the in ability of most of the
Saudi population to own houses; they include high land prices, lack of labor availability, the high
prices of construction material and material standards in addition to design quality and design
changes. Due to the difficulty in reducing land price, there has been increasing demand for
affordable housing.
45

3.2. Population Housing and Household Characteristics 2003-2004:

Saudi Arabia population increased almost 7 million within 10 years and 22 million within 40
years and this is due to better health conditions, immigration and other factors.

Fig 3.1. Growth in Saudi population since 1973 till 203

According to the general department of statistics and information in Saudi Arabia the percentage
of housing units occupied with Saudi households by governorate, the type and property of
housing unit in addition to sources of public utilities are presented in the following figures (Fig
3.5-10). According to these charts the highest percentage of the Saudi population in the city of
Jeddah live in apartment units, most of which are rented by the occupants.

46

1. Housing type:

Fig 3.2. Apartments.

Fig 3.3. Villas

Fig 3.4. A Floor in a Villa or Traditional House

Figures 3.2, 3 & 4 shows the case of three different categories of housing units occupied with
households and type of housing unit in Saudi Arabia.

47

2. Housing property type:

Fig 3.5. Owned

Fig 3.6. Rented

Fig 3.7. Provided by employer

Figures 3.5, 6 & 7 shows the number of housing units occupied with households and type of
house ownership in Saudi Arabia.

48

3. Public utilities:

Fig 3.8. Public Network

Fig 3.9. Public Sewage Network

Fig 3.10. Ditch Disposal

Figures 3.8, 9 &10 show the number of housing units occupied with households and type of
public utilities in Saudi Arabia.

49

3.3. Population Housing and Household Characteristics 2013-2014:

Saudi Arabia has witnessed a growth in Saudi population and this growth mainly in three regions
Jeddah (Mecca), Riyadh, and Dammam where over 60% of the nations residents & households
are clustered (Fig 3.11 & 12).

Fig 3.11. Population distribution. Source: http://www.cdsi.gov.sa/english

The housing market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) continues to expand on the back of
high economic growth, favorable population demographics, and increasing urbanization.

Fig 3.12. Percentage of Households of the total Households in the three major cities.
Source: http://www.cdsi.gov.sa/english/

50

KSA has been benchmarked with similar countries in terms of GDP, population and income
levels. Based on this comparison, only 30% of the Saudi population own homes, a ratio well
below that of most developed and many emerging economies, while the global average stands at
70% (Fig 3.13).

Fig 3.13. Expected GDP growth at current prices in KSA (2010-15E).

Source: http://www.cdsi.gov.sa/english
While the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for population is 2.3% between 2005 and
2010 has decreased in a small value to become 2.2% between 2010 and 2015 and 2.2% for rate
of urbanization between 2010 and 2015 (Fig 3.14)

Fig 3.14. UN population division, http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/unpp/Panel_profiles.htm

51

3.4. Existing condition of housing in Saudi Arabia:

KSA has been benchmarked with similar countries in terms of GDP, population an income
levels. Based on this comparison, only 30% of the Saudi population own homes, a ratio well
below that of most developed and many emerging economies, while the global average stands at
70% (Fig 3.15)

Fig 3.15. Only 30% of Saudi population own homes. Source: Zawya
Despite being one of the worlds wealthiest countries Saudi Arabia is facing the following
numbers:

It has a need to produce about 800,000 Dwellings by 2020; Experts declared that
there is a need for 2.4 million additional housing units between 2013 and 2020; the
additional housing unit cost will be SR1.3 trillion to build.

Total nongovernment investment required would be more than SR900 billion, which
would be added to the SR250 billion earmarked by King Abdullah for construction5.

The average monthly salary in Saudi Arabia was about SR6.000 or SR72.000 a year,
homes cost almost ten times as much SR700.000 on average. By contrast In the US a
home is considered affordable if it costs three times its occupants salary and most
American housing is affordable on these bases. Saudi Arabia has one of MENAs
lowest homeownership rates amongst citizens in Middle East and north Africa5.
52

3.5. Causes of low housing ownership in Saudi Arabia:[23]

Several reason could be included when discussing the reason behind low percentage of house
ownership in Saudi Arabia. One of the main causes of this problem is the rapid growth in the
population, most of which occupy the major cities of the Kingdom such as Riyadh & Jeddah. In
addition to the growth of the original population of these areas, the migration of citizens from
rural to urban areas seeking better education, occupational opportunities and other facilities adds
to the preexisting problem of increase population.
With the fast growth of the development in the Kingdom there was always a need for foreign
expertise and workers, in addition to the amount of foreigners arriving annually in Hajj season all
of which increase the population.
The government has been aiming to solve the housing problem for many years, several attempts
were made, most of which failed to target the problem due to the gap between theory and
practice regarding governmental housing problems, the following section discusses in details
Jeddah municipality housing objectives.
The final reason behind low percentage of house ownership amongst Saudis in the increasing
land prices. Private investors hold their undeveloped and centrally located plots of land. As a
result, prices of land increased in up normal way, pushing the price of affordable housing out of
the reach of most people and become scarcely available [1]. Indeed, too much land that could be
used for building affordable houses upon was owned by wealthy individuals who were reluctant
to allow it to be developed. On the other hand one quarter of Jeddah s population is living in
slums and unplanned areas due to the enormous prices of land and, high percentage of Saudis do
not own houses[29].

53

3.6. Jeddah Municipality Housing Objectives:

Jeddah Municipality has defined the following strategic objectives to tackle Jeddahs housing
challenges:

Enable the provision of a diverse range of high-quality housing options meeting the needs
of all residents.

Improve the functioning of Jeddahs private housing and housing finance markets.

Increase the provision of affordable and middle-income housing.

Develop tailored and innovative financing mechanisms for provision of affordable

housing.

Increase the participation of the private sector in the provision of affordable housing.

Work collaboratively with relevant Ministries, organizations such as the JDURC, and the
private sector to provide a robust solution to Jeddahs housing challenge.

By following these strategies there is a great possibility the housing problem will be solved. Our
role as urban planners is to help in applying these strategies through identifying suitable
locations for affordable housing, presenting innovative housing options to solve this problem,
which are the main goals of this research.

3.7. Housing formation in Jeddah city:

Jeddah population in 2014 is 3976368 million and by 2024 central department of Statistics &
Information expects that Jeddah population will be 4832455 million. (Fig 3.16)

54

Fig 3.16. Expected growth in Jeddah population from 2015-2024

Based on governmental researches Jeddah municipality found that People in Jeddah live in
different house types diverse from villas to apartments or sharing family house or other types
which can be categorized as following:

60 per cent live in apartments.

4 per cent occupy a floor in a house.

24 per cent live in traditional houses.

9 per cent live in villas. (Fig 3.17)

These figures are similar for both Saudis and non-Saudis. However, the proportion living in
villas is much higher for Saudis than for non-Saudis.
On the other hand a remarkable number of Saudi citizens which exceed the threshold of 50% are
renting houses; while 41% own their houses, and 6% are living in provided houses by employer.

52 per cent live in rented housing.

41 per cent own their own home.

6 per cent live in a provided house by employer. (Fig 3.18)

55

Fig 3.17. The diversity of house types and the number of households in addition to
referring in light color to Saudis and dark color to non-Saudis.
Source: Jeddah urban observatory

Fig 3.18. Distribution of house owning. Source: Jeddah urban observatory

According to Jeddah municipality, there are more than 50 unplanned settlements in Jeddah city
which occupy over 4,800 hectares. Unplanned settlements of Jeddah house over a million people
(Fig 3.19).

56

Fig 3.19. Percentage of Planned vs unplanned areas in Jeddah City

3.8. An over view on residential market in Jeddah during 2013-2014:

3.8.1. Apartments & villas average sales prices:
Jeddah residents in particular and others noticed that villas and apartment prices have increased
during 2014.

Apartments prices:

Specialist figured that increment in an average almost around 13% of which is in its highest level
ever reached during same year. Prices for apartments increased marginally 1, 3%, and the highest
sales rates has noticed in the western part of the city which is sar5, 760 per sq. m. while eastern
part of the city registered a rate of sar4,116 per sq. m (which is higher than the per sq. m of villas
in this area). (Fig 3.20)

57

Fig 3.20. Comparison of apartments prices during 2013 and first quarter.

Villas prices:

Once again villas prices has increased during 2014 in an average 6, 8% Especially in the western
part of Jeddah which recorded increment average of about 10% to SAR 6,669 per sq. m., while
northern part of Jeddah increased in an amount almost about 3% to SAR 4,428 per sq.m While
prices in north east of the city have remained relatively stable (Fig 3.21).

58

Fig 3.21. Comparison of villas prices during 2013 and first quarter of 2014

3.8.2. Apartments & villas annual rent:

Apartments average rent:

Residents of Jeddah especially who dont own house also noticed that apartments average rent
was not stable and vary from different locations within the city, some areas has registered
increase in rent like southern part of Jeddah which registered up to 29,000 per annum, and
western side of the city has witnessed increase in rent around 30% above other areas, while areas
to the east have decreased in average rent (Fig 3.22).
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Fig 3.22. Increase in apartment rent south and west areas of the city in 2014

Villas average rent:

Residential market related to villas rent witnessed less changes between 2013 and 2014. Villa
rents increased 2.4% in west area of Jeddah almost (SAR 180.000 per annum) and it is the only
area which witnessed an increase in rent in Jeddah. Villas to the west of Jeddah are able to
achieve rents up to 40% higher than anywhere in the city, as this area is popular in expatriates
and higher quality villas (Fig 3.23).

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Fig 3.23. The average villa rents increase in q1 2014 but remain below those records in q3
of 2013.

3.9. Housing supply and demand in Jeddah City:

3.9.1. Housing supply:
A study carried out by the JDURC showed that families with a yearly household income below
SR96.000 have severe difficulties finding housing to meet their needs. In 2008, the average cost
of one hundred square meters of raw (unserved) land in Jeddah was 2.24 times the average
family income, while one hundred square meters of serviced land (land with electricity, roads
and water) cost on average 19.4 times The current lack of supply is partly due to a lack of
government control over private sector real estate developers, but also due to the developers
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themselves, who cater primarily for the more affluent classes and do not perceive middle and low
cost housing projects as being sufficiently profitable, as a result it is needed to ensure that lowerincome, middle income and worker groups do not resort to land-grab or living in unplanned
settlements or on unserved land contrary to planning regulations. (Fig 3.24)

Fig 3.24. Completed Stock and future supply of house units in Jeddah City

3.9.2. Housing demand (Jeddah municipality):

The total housing demand in Jeddah can be split into two types: immediate deficiency and future
demand.
Immediate housing deficiency is 283,000 housing units, this is made up of:

80,000 affordable housing units suitable for low-middle income residents who are
inadequately housed in planned areas.

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151,600 replacement housing units to accommodate the population to be decanted

from the unplanned settlements.

51,500 housing units to accommodate that population growth since 1428 (2007) that
has not already been met.

In addition, total future demand will be for 670,000 housing units over the next 20 years. Twothirds of this will be required for low- and middle-income residents.
To meet immediate deficiencies (283,000) and future demand (670,000) Jeddah needs to provide
a total of 953,000 housing units for its residents by 1450 (2029). Figure 3.25 represents what the
housing industry will need to provide until 1450 (2029) and how it can be provided if affordable
and replacement housing is phased over 10 years.

Fig 3.25. The demand for deferent housing types for 20 years in Jeddah city.
Source: Jeddah urban observatory, Household Consulting Analysis

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3.10. Unplanned Settlement Formation in Jeddah City:

According to the 2009 Jeddah Municipality report the Unplanned settlement formations in Jeddah
city have passed through four stages for time period lasted for six decades. The first unplanned
settlements existed in 1948 when Jeddah municipality demolished Old Jeddah Wall. It existed
outside the city wall developed to support the growing pilgrim movement. (Fig 3.25).
The second stage was in 1956 when expanding urban land of Jeddah, unplanned settlements
became as part of the urban area of Jeddah. (Fig 3.26)

Fig 3.25. Early unplanned settlements in 1948.

Fig 3.26. Early settlements in 1956.

The third stage was 1971, Unplanned settlements started to exist in remote locations outside the
urban area of Jeddah. (Fig 3.27), while the final stage was in 2007, after the new expanding
urban, unplanned settlements became a part of the urban area of Jeddah. (Fig 3.28).

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Fig 3.27. Early Unplanned Settlements in 1971.

Fig 3.28. Early settlements in 2007.

3.11. Unplanned Settlements Categories in Jeddah City:

To aid in prioritization, unplanned settlements have been categorized into four groups as follows:

Category 1: Settlements those are conducive to partnership with private developers

due to their economic potential, for example, strategically located settlements.

Category 2: Settlements those are not conducive to partnership with private

developers due to their low economic potential.

Category 3: Areas with potential to improve and develop by using their own assets,
for example, those with a vibrant local economy.

Category 4: Areas in need of immediate maintenance and face-lifting. Provide welllocated affordable and social (Fig 3.29)

65

Fig 3.29. Unplanned settlement areas in Jeddah and the five different categories of these
areas.

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Chapter IV: Data Model and Geodatabase

4.1. Data Model.
4.2. Geodatabase of the current study.
4.2.1. Definition of Geodatabase.
4.2.2. Layers.
4.2.3. Mechanism.

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This chapter discusses the Data Model used in this research in addition to a description of the
Geo Data Base by definition, layers used in the study & the mechanism abopted.

4.1. Data Model:

Data model is defined as a form of flow chart that describes, conduct and process data analysis,
this chart does not describe all steps in details all steps, but it gives highlights on each steps and
spots out the process. This data model can be made by using ArcGIS -Model Builder tool, which
provides professional method to design Model structure. Figure 4.1 shows the structure of the
data model for this research; the blue Bubble indicates data insert (parameter), yellow Bubble
indicates data analysis, and green Bubble indicates output from the analysis.

4.2. Geodatabase of the current study:

4.2.1. Definition of Geodatabase:

The geodatabase is the native data structure for ArcGIS and is the primary data format used for
editing and data management. While ArcGIS works with geographic information in numerous
geographic information system (GIS) file formats, it is designed to work with and leverage the
capabilities of the geodatabase [30].

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Fig 4.1. Data Model.

4.2.2. Research geodatabase:

The following layers where included in the geodatabase of the current research:
1) Land use.
2) Districts.
3) Road network including:

Regional road,

Main road.

Secondary road.

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4) Population density.
5) Buildings density.
6) Ministries, governmental facilities and sub municipalities.
7) Slums boundaries and category.
8) Contour lines and valleys.
9) Sea boundary.
10) Governmental zones.
11) Jeddah Municipality boundaries.
12) Future projects zones.
13) Sectors.
14) Public services including:

Health services,

Retail & shopping centers.

Education location for both males &females.

15) Public utilities including: Phone, Sewage, Water, Electricity & Regional high
voltage towers.

4.2.3. Mechanism:

1- Creating a Geodatabase which includes all factors and sub-factors for our special
analysis:
In this step we create an empty Geodatabase using ArcCatalog to hold our GIS layers
(feature classes) that contain spatial data and attribute data needed for our analysis.

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 Having different types of factors (5) and sub-factors (5) we have to divide our
Geodatabase into feature data sets, each one should carry a single factors layer.
The raw data we got has all types of a single factor on the same layer (for example: road
layers contain regional, main and secondary roads on the same layer) so we need to
separate them into three layers, that will be easier for our analysis.
Select by attributes is used to separate our numerous layers.

2- Exporting Jeddah municipality boundary layer to Auto-Cad then dividing it to

500X500m size pixels:
In this step we export the boundary of Jeddah to CAD format using export to CAD
tool, that will be easier to divide into pixels 500 X 500 m. and form it as closed
polygons.
After dividing Jeddah's boundary into pixels we import it back to GIS format.
The polygon layer of Jeddahs pixels will be saved in our Geodatabase to save the
spatial data analysis values for each pixel.

3- Creating fields into the new pixels layer attribute:

When the pixels layer imported from CAD format, it has an empty attribute table with
only the fields that carries the geometric data of the pixels such as shape length, shape
area and type.
We need to create the fields that carry the analysis data related to each sub- factor in
our study.
each sub-factor will be represented into two fields in pixels attribute table, one field
(text type) carries the a letter that refers to the value of the pixel related to that sub-

71

factor (H ,M and L), the other field (long integer type) carries the number of the score
of letters ( H=10 , M = 7 , L=4 ) .
we create at last a field that carries the total values of each pixel which calculated
from the summation of scores of each pixel.

4- Selection by location & data entry:

Now we have a Geodatabase contains the layers of factors and sub-factors and the
pixels layer with empty fields.
our analysis depend on the distance between the pixels and sub factors (within 500 m or
less = H , 500 1000 = M , more than 1000 = L)
For example we need to select all pixels within 500 m. from each factor e.g. regional
roads.
Selection by location is implemented, and giving all selected pixels the H or 10 values
in the field represent roads factor.
By selecting pixels within 1000 m and give them M value and pixels within 500m and
give them H value that means the all non- value pixels will be more than 1000 m and
we can give then L value.
repeating same step for all sub- factors three times for ( H,M and L)

5- Using field calculator to sum the values of all sub-factors into summation field:
After finishing the data entry for all fields we need to give a total score for each pixel.
We use a field calculator, to sum the total & final score for each pixel.
Showing our final data by use symbology to show the variation of pixels values.

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Chapter V: GIS analysis

5.1. GIS analysis Results.
5.2. The 5 Factors Analysis of the 3 Steps Proposed Areas for Affordable Housing.
1st Step (90-100%).
2nd Step (80-89%).
3rd Step (70-79%).

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In this chapter we discuss the results of the GIS analysis in which the best location for affordable
housing projects in addition to extended explanation of the first three steps identified.

5.1. GIS analysis Results:

After dividing the city of Jeddah in to orthogonal grid made up of pixels each one is equal to
250,000m2 (500m*500m) (Fig 5.1) GIS was used to select affordable housing locations in the
city according to the five major factors:
1. Accessibility (road network accessibility): Regional road, Main road & Secondary road.
2. Service:
a) Health services,
b) Education services &
c) Retail services.
3. Public utilities:
a) Electricity,
b) Water availability &
c) Sewage.
4. Density:
a) Demographic density.
b) Building density.
5. Land price.
Figure 5.2-5.11 present geographic representation of the distribution of each factor & sub-factors
over the city of Jeddah according to the weight scores explained previously. After analyzing the
weight of each of the five factors individually, the total value of each pixel was calculated by the
sum of weighs of all the factors. According to the results of this equation the pixels of Jeddah
city were divided into 5 steps that represent the suitability and availability of each location for
affordable housing projects (Fig 5.12 & 13). First three steps were further analyzed to explain the
suitability of each step, the bottom two were excluded from the next analysis due to their need
for extensive upgrading.
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Fig 5.1. Jeddah in orthogonal grid (500m*500m)

75

Fig 5.2. Road network accessibility.

76

Fig 5.3. Services: a) Health services.

77

Fig 5.4. Services: b) Education services.

78

Fig 5.5. Services: c) Retail services.

79

Fig 5.6. Public Utilities: a) Electricity.

80

Fig 5.7. Public Utilities: b) Water availability.

81

Fig 5.8. Public Utilities: c) Sewage.

82

Fig 5.9. Density: a) Demographic density

83

Fig 5.10. Density: b) Building density.

84

Fig 5.11. Land Price

85

Figure 5.12. Suitable Housing Areas (2D)

86

Figure 5.13. Suitable Housing Areas (3D).

87

5.2. The 5 Factors Analysis of the 3 Steps Proposed Areas for Affordable
Housing:
The final result of the GIS analysis for the five factors determining the suitability of residential
areas for affordable housing was formed of five steps of suitability:
1st Step: Being the most suitable locations with total value between 90-100%.
2nd Step: With total value between 80-89% indicating that a few of the factors did not
score high & need to be modified.
3rd Step: With total value between 70-79% indicating that more factors need to be
modified.
4th & 5th Step: Being the least suitable location, with values less than 70% were excluded
from this analysis because of the amount of work need to develop them is much more then
step 2 & 3 and will need longer time.
The five components of the evaluation of the top three steps will be discussed in details with
explanation of the reason behind choosing sustain locations in step 1 and explaining the factors
need to upgrade steps 2 & 3 to the level of step 1(Fig 5.14 & 15).
1st Step (90-100%): Fig 5.16
As mentioned previously this group was found to be the most suitable group of locations for
affordable housing at the time being. Road network (Fig 5.17) & services (Fig 5.18, 19 & 20)
covered all pixels in this step and there value were a range of category H scores. When viewing
the results of the public utility factor, electricity & water availability got maximum value (Fig
5.21 & 22) in all pixels, while sewage availability has variable values most of which were still on
the high end (Fig 5.23). Both densities (demographic & building) and land price also had
variable values but the summary of the general major values were high (Fig 5.24, 25 & 26).
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Fig 5.14. 1st, 2nd & 3rd step of suitable locations for affordable housing (2D).
89

Fig 5.15. 1st, 2nd & 3rd step of suitable locations for affordable housing (3D).
90

Fig 5.16. 1st step locations.

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Fig 5.17. Roads distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which means high
potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1-10.

Fig 5.18. Health service distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which means
high potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1 -10.

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Fig 5.19. Education service distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which
means high potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7.1 -10.

Fig 5.20. Retail service distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which means
high potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1 -10.

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Fig 5.21. Electricity public utility distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value
which means high potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1-10.

Fig 5.22. Water public utility distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which
means high potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1-10.

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Fig 5.23. Sewage utility distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which means
high potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1 -10.

Fig 5.24. Population distribution and density among all pixels was within the (H) value
which means high potential for affordable housing and which varied from the 7,1 -10.

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Fig 5.25. Building distribution and density among all pixels was varying from (L) which
varies from 0-4, (M) from 4, 1-7 and (H) from the7, 1 -10.

Fig 5.26. Land price suitability within the (H) value which means high potential for
affordable housing and which varies from the 7, 1 -10.

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2nd Step (80-89%): Fig 5.27

In this group all factors varied from M and H with one major problem which is the insufficiency
in sewage (Fig 5.28), the rest of the factors showed efficiency and were mainly in H evaluation.
Road network (Fig 5.29) & services (Fig 5.30, 31 & 32) covered all pixels in this step and there
value were a range of category H scores except for health services which had values ranging
between H & M.
Public utility factor, electricity & water availability got maximum value (Fig 5.33 & 34) in all
pixels similar to 1st step, while sewage availability has variable values including L value in some
areas (Fig 5.35) which resulted in excluding this group of locations from the first step.
Demographic density varied in values with high general major values (Fig 5.36) building density
on the other hand also varied but with major character for its evaluation in L range, that is due to
the informal and unplanned settlements and in this zone (Fig 5.37).
Finally land price also had variable values in all pixels but the major values were M and high
(Fig 5.38).

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Fig 5.27. 2nd Step locations.

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Fig 5.28. 2nd Step location + Sewage availability.

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Fig 5.29. Road distribution among all pixels was mainly within the (H) value which varies
from the 7, 1-10.

Fig 5.30. Health service distribution among all pixels was mainly within the (H) value
which varies from the 7, 1-10.

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Fig 5.31. Education service distribution among all pixels was mainly within the (H) value
which varies from the 7, 1-10.

Fig 5.32. Retail service distribution among all pixels was mainly within the (H) value which
varies from the 7, 1-10.

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Fig 5.33. Electricity public utility distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value
which varies from the 7, 1-10.

Fig 5.34. Water public utility distribution among all pixels was within the (H) value which
varies from the 7, 1-10.

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Fig 5.35. Sewage public utility distribution among all pixels was varying from (L) value
which is from 0-4 and the (H) value which varies from the 7, 1-10.

Fig 5.36. Population distribution and density among all pixels was within the (H) value
which varies from the 7,1 -10.

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Fig 5.37. Building distribution and density among all pixels was varying from (L) which
varies from 0-4, (M) from 4,1-7 and (H) from the 7,1 -10.

Fig 5.38. Land price suitability within the (H) value which varies from the 7, 1 -10.

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3rd Step (70-79%): Fig 5.39

This step has major problems and there for needs upgrading of most of its factors to become
sufficient for affordable housing.
Road network covered all pixels in step3 (Fig 5.40) and its value varied mainly between category
L and M which indicates inefficiency and a need for upgrading the value of road.
Health & retail (Fig 5.41 & 43) values varied between all categories with the general character in
the L range. On the other hand education as the only service that got a high value in all pixels
(Fig 5.42) which means all areas within the 3rd step are efficient in education with the need for
only a slight improvement.
From the utility factors, electricity was the only one with maximum value (Fig 5.44) in all pixels,
while water & sewage had variables values most of which were in the M & L category (Fig 5.45
& 46).
Population distribution and density got varied values in all pixels but the general major value
was high which means all areas within step 3 need improvement (Fig 5.47).
Building density showed variation in evaluation (Fig 5.48) starting from L, M and H and the
major character for its evaluation is M due to the informal or unplanned settlements and slums in
this zone.
Finally, the values found in the land price factor were variable (Fig 5.49) in all pixels but the
major values are (L) which means land price still needs to be improved.
Figures 5.50, 5.51 & 5.52 represent the 3rd step areas in addition to the three major factors that
suffer from insufficient distribution in this step.

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Fig 5.39. 3rd Step Locations.

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Fig5.40. Roads distribution among all pixels was varying from (L) which varies from 0-4,
(M) from 4,1-7 and (H) from the 7,1 -10

Fig 5.41. Health service distribution among all pixels was mainly within the (L) value which
varies from the 4- 7.

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Fig 5.42. Education service distribution among all pixels was very close to (M) but mainly
within the (H) value which varies from the 7, 1-10

Fig 5.43. Retail service distribution among all pixels was varying between all values and it
has got bigger value between (M) and (H) 6, 5 to 10.

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Fig 5.44. Electricity public utility distribution among all pixels was nearly within the (H)
value which varies from the 7, 1-10.

Fig 5.45. Water utility distribution among all pixels was varying from (L) which varies
from 0-4, (M) from 4,1-7 and (H) from the 7,1 -10.

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Fig 5.46. Sewage utility distribution among all pixels was varying from (L) which varies
from 0-4, (M) from 4,1-7 and (H) from the 7,1 -10.

Fig 5.47. Population distribution and density among all pixels was slightly near to (M) and
mainly within the (H) value which varies from the 7, 1 -10

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Fig 5.48. Building distribution and density among all pixels was varying from (L) which
varies from 0-4, (M) from 4,1-7 and (H) from the 7,1 -10.

Fig 5.49. Land price variety among all values, but mainly within the (L) value which varies
from the 0-4.

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Fig 5.50. 3rd Step locations + Road network.

112

Fig 5.51. 3rd Step locations + Health services.

113

Fig 5.52. 3rd Step locations + Sewage.

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Chapter VI: Housing Demand Profile

1st Cluster (General Information)
2nd Cluster (House Ownership)
3rd Cluster (Housing Demand Profile)
4th Cluster (Prefabricated Housing)

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1st Cluster (General Information):

42% males & 58% females responded to the questionnaire with a total of 656 responses. Ages of
the applicants ranged from 20-60 years of age with the maximum number of responses coming
from people in the age range of 31-40 years, which is the age group of interested. 68% of the
participants were married with higher education dominating the response to the degree of
education (41% Bachelor degree, 29% Maters degree & 16% PhD). When replying to the
question regarding monthly income the highest percentage answered between SAR 5000-10,000,
only 15% had incomes of more than SAR 20,000.

2nd Cluster (House Ownership):

This survey showed that only 36% of the population owned houses, while the larger percentage
of 64% of the participants did not own houses which coincides with the general percentage
mentioned previously (Fig 6.1). The results showed that 85% believe that the reason behind not
owning a house till now is a combination of increase in both land price and the expenses needed
for construction (Fig 6.2)

Fig 6.1. Percentage of House Owning.

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Fig 6.2. Causes for not owning a house.

3rd Cluster (Housing Demand Profile):

In this part of the survey information regarding the housing demand of the population was
collected. 61% of the surveyed group rented the houses they are living in at the time, and the
average monthly spending on housing was almost equally distributed amongst the provided
options (Fig 6.3 & 4)

Fig 6.3. House property type.

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Fig 6.4. Percentage of monthly salary spent on house rent.

When asking about the preferred location for future house owning 60% chose south of Jeddah,
while the next highest percentage was for the group who believed that the location is not
important (Fig 6.5), almost half of the participants stated the proximity of the house to places of
interest as the most important factor in choosing a house to buy, price of the house followed with
22% of the choices (Fig 6.6).

Fig 6.5. Preferred location for house owning.

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Fig 6.6. Causes affecting selection of house location.

Due to the private nature of the Saudi community it was important to identify the type of housing
That the population prefers, previous studies show that the Saudi population prefer private house
i.e. Villas over shared properties such as apartments. This survey followed the same perception
with more than 60% of the group preferring villas over apartments (Fig 6.7). It was clear from
the survey that people do not mind the idea of banks facilitating their ownership (Fig 6.8).

Fig 6.7. House Type Preference.

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Fig 6.8. Acceptance of House Owning through Bank.

4th Cluster (Prefabricated Housing):

After determining the peoples preferences in relation to their future houses, they were asked
wither or not they would accept to live in a prefabricated house, 50% of the group accepted the
idea and obviously had a good impression about it (Fig 6.9), this assumption was based on the
following question, where the participants were asked about the extent of their knowledge about
prefabricated housing, almost half of them had a positive response and chose the second option
(Fig 6.10).

Fig 6.9. Would you own a prefabricated house?

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Fig 6.10. Knowledge about Prefabricated housing.

The nest step in this cluster was to expose all the participants to information regarding
prefabricated housing, that was achieved via visual image of an example of a prefabricated house
model & written information that the participants were asked to read. After reading the
information regarding prefabricated housing the question regarding the acceptance of owning a
prefabricated house was repeated and the change in results was monitored. After the tutorial the
percentage of people who accept owning a prefabricated house increased from 50 to 77 percent
which emphasizes the importance of advertisement and spreading information to promote for any
product (Fig 6.11).

Fig 6.11. After knowing about prefabricated houses, would you own one?

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The final question was asked to the group of participants who insisted on not owning a
prefabricated house, they were asked to mention the reasons behind there answer, many replies
were repeated by participants, and they include comments related to:
1. Education: Because it is not known before, it is not durable, might be destroyed because
of weather, I dont trust it, it is not safe, it is not durable and not strong, it is made up
from material might cause cancer, safety reasons like thieves can enter house easily and
water can be absorbed easily from walls, I have no idea about it, I still do not trust its
durability and ability to stand the test of time & It is not used in KSA so I am not familiar
with it.
2. Design: I like my house to be designed by my taste, it might be broken, new concept
which we know nothing about it and we dont know its advantages and disadvantages, is
it safe against traffic accidents or strong wind or even electricity conducting
3. Regulations: I would like to see it in reality first, it is not guaranteed from government
and contractors, it could be destroyed by bad weather (rain-wind), to make it work I
propose to make a sample in every region in the Kingdom and then study the results.

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Chapter VII: Summary

Providing affordable housing for the middle and low income population has been one of the
main concerns of the Saudi Government for a very long time. It has been found that only 40% of
the Saudi population own houses while the majority live in rented homes. It is our role as planner
to help in solving this problem, and the main objective of our research was to participate in
providing solutions for the housing problem in Jeddah city. This research was based on two main
goals, the first goal was to use GIS to identify suitable locations for affordable housing project.
Jeddah city was divided into pixels, five main factors were chosen, geodatabase was created &
GIS was used to analyze and identify the suitable locations according to specific values given for
each factor. The final result of the GIS analysis was the division of Jeddah into five steps of
suitability. The 1st step was for locations that are ready for affordable housing project at the time
being, while the 2nd & 3rd step needed modifications that were mentioned in the research. The
second goal was to use an electronically distributed questionnaire to identify the housing demand
profile of the Saudi population that did not own houses in addition to presenting a new
technology of affordable housing that is prefabricated housing. 65% of the participants in the
questionnaire did not own houses which follows the general statistics for house ownership in
Saudi Arabia, the results of the questionnaire showed that the Saudi population are willing to
adopt this method of construction.

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Chapter VIII: Conclusion & Recommendations

8.1. Conclusion.
8.2. Recommendations.

8.1. Conclusion:
Studying Jeddah by dividing the city to pixels (almost 5300 pixel) instead of studying it through
districts and making evaluation and analysis to each pixel individually resulted in clarifying the
existing situation of the city in terms of road network, services, public utilities, density, and land
prices, thus providing actual results that can be applicable and achievable at the same time.
The output results of the analyzed data where accurate due to the accuracy of the input data and
the analysis process at the same time. No implementation of complicated equations or difficult
formulas resulted in very accurate analysis to carefully chosen factors.
The five steps resulted in the research analysis where divided in to two categories, the first
category is achievable for the time being and the second category that included the bottom two
step which had too many problems and are in need for severe efforts to be upgraded, as a result
three development steps were implemented and two steps were excluded.
Consequently, the scope of our research was narrowed toward the potential locations for
affordable housing in Jeddah that was provided through an accurate analysis which studied in
depth the three steps and divided results as following:

First step which has got all high potentials in terms of the evaluation factors and got the
maximum weight among all analyzed steps in Jeddah.

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Second step has got high potentials in most factors but it has one major insufficiency in
one category which needs to be handled and then to be suitable for affordable housing.

Third step has got insufficiency in most factors and in a deep need to be upgraded to
become suitable for affordable housing.

First and second steps can be short term plans for affordable housing projects, while third step
can be long term plan, and thus definitely after implementing an upgrading plan for most of its
factors.
The research concluded through its data analysis that some ministries are practicing their duty on
their best way possible such as ministry of electricity and ministry of education both of which
provide a wide range of services distributed among the city.
On the other hand, the questionnaire that was presented in the research has clarified the
acceptance of new housing ideas among Saudi society in terms of quality and durability and this
is a result of the high demand among Saudis for house owning when house owning became a
dream for most of the citizens.
Prefabricated houses is widely used worldwide and it is time to change the societys dependence
on one adapted idea when other comprehensive concepts could replace it. We truly believe that
that is what will happen in Saudi Arabia in terms of the size of the dwelling unit and the type of
constructional materials.

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8.2. Recommendations:
By studying satellite images of Jeddah city starting from the oldest which belongs to year 2000
till the time being, the era has been divided to two parts, from 2000 till 2007 as first era, and
from 2007 till 2014 as second one, and this division was made to calculate the difference in the
percentage of the development.
The study of these images concentrated mainly on the structural mass of the city, the research
has reached the following results:

2000 Jeddah structural mass was 390776730, 91m2.

2007 Jeddah structural increase mass was 88530664, 6 m2 with a 22, 7% increase in mass.

2014 Jeddah structural increase mass is 88026532, 8 m2 with an 18% increase in mass.

Figure 8.1 represents the three measured eras and concluded the increment in the structural mass.
By adding our research potential housing results (first step, second step, and third step) to the
previous figure we reached to the recommendation of the future development areas which are
adjacent to the evaluated ones through the research analysis evaluation, and which is also located
within the city boundary not out of the city and the total space of the areas is as follow:

Total area of 1st step pixels out of structural mass = 6406631.6 m2

Total area of 2nd step pixels out of structural mass = 40931582.8 m2

Total area of 3rd step pixels out of structural mass = 170970943 m2

This result leads us to the conclusion and recommendation that affordable houses can be within
Jeddah city (Fig 8.2), and that what was mentioned in our research problem, UN SecretaryGeneral and Executive Director of UN-Habitat has said that affordable housing should be put
back at the Centre of cities, both in terms of planning and policy, and geographical location.
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Fig 8.1. The 3 measured eras of development.

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Fig 8.2. Implementation of the research 3 steps on Jeddahs structural plan.

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Glossary:

Innovation Diffusion: Signifies the spreading of innovation through a process of social

acceptance which may lead to a partial or total adoption of an innovation by a community2

Affordable housing: The definition of affordable housing varies across economies, but
generally it includes a financial component (the share of income devoted to housing).

Affordability is defined as housing costs that consume no more than 30 to 40 percent of

household income; the definition should also include minimum standards for basic amenities.

Master Plan: A plan giving comprehensive guidance or instruction, comprehensive longterm strategy, general plans for achieving an objective.

Prefabricated housing (Prefab)Also called Manufactured housing or prefab housing refers

to a construction process where the housing components (e.g., walls, floors, balcony, stairs,
etc.) are prefabricated in batches in factories, and then shipped to sites for assembly where
they can be put ready for transfer to another location or mounted on the ground through
masonry groundwork.

Allocation The issue of resource allocation arises as societies seek to balance limited
resources (capital, labor, land) against the various and often unlimited wants of their
members. Babylon

Distribution n. act of distributing or portioning something out; particular group to which

something is distributed Babylon

Demarcation: The determining and marking off of boundaries.

Topography: The relief features or surface configuration of an area.

Demographics: The statistical data of a population.

Geospatial: Having to do with geographic space.

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Planning area: A series of connected lines encompassing a group of streets and the students
living on those streets.

Polygon: An enclosed area of three or more connected lines.

Spatial: Having to do with the space around you.

Thematic map: A map with a theme depicting certain features or events, such as a density
map.

Momra: ministry of municipalities affairs in Saudi Arabia

The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a useful measure of growth over multiple
time periods. It can be thought of as the growth rate that gets you from the initial investment
value to the ending investment value if you assume that the investment has been
compounding over the time period CAGR = ( EV / BV)1 / n 1 where:
EV = Investment's ending value
BV = Investment's beginning value
n = Number of periods (months, years, etc.)

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