Housing sector in Saudi Arabia : preferences and aspirations of Saudi citizens in the main regions
During the last few decades, Saudi Arabia, as one of the developing countries, has witnessed a noticeable and rapid development with regard to different development sectors and fields. This is mainly attributed to the increased revenues from oil exports. While, a huge increase in population numbers...
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| Tipo de documento: | tese |
| Data de publicação: | 2018 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositório: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/121019 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/121019 https://dx.doi.org/10.5821/dissertation-2117-121019 |
| Access Level: | Acceso aberto |
| Palavra-chave: | Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Arquitectura |
| Resumo: | During the last few decades, Saudi Arabia, as one of the developing countries, has witnessed a noticeable and rapid development with regard to different development sectors and fields. This is mainly attributed to the increased revenues from oil exports. While, a huge increase in population numbers has accompanied this development, as well as higher rates of migration to the cities. In addition, there has been significant governmental support given to the development of cities and raising the living standards of citizens (Bahammam, 2002). Of late, there has been a huge increase in the size and population numbers in Saudi Arabia, more specifically in the main Region and cities. Accordingly, and due to other economic and social changes, the housing crisis has become a more serious issue in Saudi Arabia. The main objective of this research was to explore the views of Saudi citizens regarding the current housing situation, how far their needs are matched, identifying their housing needs, preferences and aspirations with regard to future housing in the main Region of Saudi Arabia, as well as the various dimensions of the housing issue from the residents’ points of view. Moreover, the city of Jeddah was selected as a micro case study. This research is built upon a theoretical framework, achieved via the review of practical studies and previous reports related to the subject of this research. In addition, a descriptive analytical framework was used for the collection of the data relating to the main objective of this study, collected through questionnaires and interviews with residents and specialists. Then, it was analysed in order to determine results and final recommendations. The results demonstrated a low level of residents’ satisfaction and a lack of offered products that meet their needs and financial capabilities. Therefore, this contributes significantly to the difficulties of sourcing suitable housing and exaggerates the housing issue further. Moreover, the results also showed that, for ownership, residents generally prefer to possess detached houses, such as villas and duplexes. However, the most common type of housing in Saudi Arabia are apartments, despite there being less desire to own them as permanent houses. Furthermore, the desires relating to homeownership and matching financial capabilities were not entirely complimentary for most of the respondents. This is clearly reflected in the residents’ high expectations in terms of bigger houses as compared to their actual income. The respondents mainly carry the housing crisis, to higher property and housing units’ prices, on one side. On the other side, to the ministry of housing as an official authority in charge of the housing sector. This study recommends that more attention be paid to the promotion of cultural awareness among Saudi Arabia’s residents in order to eliminate misconceptions related to housing. Cultural misconceptions are linked to the ingrained cultural and social characteristics of the society. The main issue is promoting better use of space. In addition, a good option would be to speed up the process of providing new housing solutions that match both the housing needs and the financial capabilities of the citizens. This study is an attempt to help public and private housing authorities and sectors with regard to the development and improvement of the housing sector in Saudi Arabia through providing information that may aid better understanding in terms of the needs and desires of the residents. It may also help determine ways in which to provide suitable and affordable housing solutions. This, in turn, will create housing stability for the residents through the realisation of their expectations and better understanding of their problems, which will thus mitigate the overall housing issues. |
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