Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of Ph.D. Degree Doctoral program in Urban and Architectural Management and Valuation Title The impact of open spaces in the social life; the case of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Author Maher Mafoz A. Summan Director of the thesis Dr. Arc. Maria Pilar Garcia-Almirall Department of Architectural Technology (TA) Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, UPC Barcelona – España SEPTEMBER 2019 1 2 Table of Contents Table of Figures .............................................................................................................................................. 7 Table of Tables ............................................................................................................................................. 10 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................... 11 RESUMEN ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................................................ 17 AIMS & RESEARCH SCOPE .......................................................................................................................... 17 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 17 1.2 The hypothesis ................................................................................................................................................... 17 1.3 The research aims and objectives............................................................................................................... 17 1.4 Objectives specifications ................................................................................................................................ 18 1.5 The Context ......................................................................................................................................................... 18 1.6 Research methodology ................................................................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................................................. 27 CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH LOCATION ............................................................................................. 27 2.1 Saudi Arabia ........................................................................................................................................................ 27 2.2 Jeddah ................................................................................................................................................................... 28 2.3 Growth and development .............................................................................................................................. 28 2.4 Demographics: structure ............................................................................................................................... 30 2.5 Demographics: growth .................................................................................................................................... 30 2.6 Immigration ........................................................................................................................................................ 31 2.7 Immigration challenges .................................................................................................................................. 33 2.8 Family and social life ....................................................................................................................................... 35 2.9 Attitudes toward women ............................................................................................................................... 36 2.10 Planning Issues ............................................................................................................................................... 37 2.11 Open spaces: Social attitudes ..................................................................................................................... 37 2.12 Saudi Arabia: Recreation and Leisure .................................................................................................... 40 2.12.1 Recreation and leisure ........................................................................................................................................... 40 2.12.2 Leisure time growth ............................................................................................................................................... 40 2.13 Saudi Arabia: leisure time usage .............................................................................................................. 41 2.14 Recreation: demands by people ................................................................................................................ 43 2.15 Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................................................................... 47 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................................. 47 3.1- Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 47 Part One :Open Space Studies .............................................................................................................................. 48 3.2 Open public space ............................................................................................................................................. 48 3.3 Open spaces and city form ............................................................................................................................. 49 3.4 Mental and Social Wellbeing and Open Spaces ...................................................................................... 50 3.5 Open spaces in the Middle East countries ................................................................................................ 53 3.5.1 Social and Cultural Uses of Space ......................................................................................................................... 53 3.5.2 Planning, Design and Maintenance ..................................................................................................................... 55 3.6 Gender, Age and Ethnicity of Open Space Users .................................................................................... 58 3.6.1 Gender ............................................................................................................................................................................. 58 3.6.2 Age .................................................................................................................................................................................... 59 3.6.3 Ethnicity ......................................................................................................................................................................... 60 Part Two: Social Life Studies ................................................................................................................................ 61 3.7 The Social Dimension ...................................................................................................................................... 61 3.7.1 The Theoretical Antecedents of the Social Dimension of the Built Environment............................ 61 3.7.2 Social production and construction of urban space ..................................................................................... 62 3 3.7.3 The concept of the public sphere ......................................................................................................................... 62 3.7.4 The influence of digital space on the role of public space in social interaction ................................ 63 3.7.5 The concept of social exclusion ............................................................................................................................ 63 3.7.6 Public spaces and neighborhoods as sites for social interaction ............................................................ 64 3.8 Person and Place relationships ................................................................................................................... 65 3.9 Bonding and sense of place ........................................................................................................................... 65 3.10 Person, process and place dimensions ................................................................................................... 69 3.10.1 Person ..........................................................................................................................................................................