Green Sustainable Urban Systems: The Case of Jeddah

Abstract

The governments of cities around the world are taking the green city approach into account by turning their cities’ weaknesses into opportunities. The Saudi Vision 2030 continues to support the concepts of smart growth with the vision of promoting economic growth and development. At the same time, it ensures that natural resources continue to provide the resources and environmental services that strengthen the foundation of the country. The paper gives an overview of the concepts and principles of green cities and examines the available green sustainable urban tools that may be appropriate for Jeddah City. to help it transform into a green city. The current research adopts the triangulation model of mixed methods that include analytical literature review, questionnaire, and case study analysis. The paper reviews the most common and important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of the global Green Rating Systems (GRS) for sustainable cities. The analytical literature review for the tools' official technical manuals and professional exploratory surveys that preceded this research has been critical to confirm the applicability of the suggested system and its KPIs. The sustainable city in UAE has been selected as a case study to be analyzed and employed in developing the suggested SGRS. The results suggested a Saudi Green Rating System (SGRS) that includes eight categories (One required category, 6 mandatory credit categories, and one optional category) with thirty-one KPI, a total weight of 80 points. The suggested GSRS can aid the required transformation in Saudi Cities.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Questionnaire Results, by Authors

Classification	Statistical parameters				Scale				Frequency
Category	Mean	Mode	Median	Standard deviation	1–5	5–6	6–8	9–10	Agree	Disagree
Eco Vision	8.96	10	10	1.614	–	10	10	52
Land use planning & Built environment	8.99	10	10	1.682	4	−	14	45
Compact City Planning									68	4
Affordable Housing									67	5
Green Buildings									66	6
Urban Heat Island Mitigation									66	6
Infill and Redevelopments									67	5
Health & Well-being	9.33	10	10	1.3	2	−	10	60
Preservation and restoration of water bodies and eco-sensitive zones									68	4
Public green and open spaces									68	4
Accessibility to public green and open spaces									68	4
Environmental Monitoring									68	4
Solid waste management									66	6
Regional, recycled materials									66	6
Community Health									66	6
Safe community									67	5
Sustainable Mobility	8.89	10	10	1.896	5	−	13	54
Sustainable mobility plan									68	4
Barrier-free Accessibility									66	6
Access to mass transit facilities									68	4
Pedestrian network									70	2
transportation choices									66	6
Travel plan									69	3
Water, energy, & infrastructure	9.29	10	10	1.486	3	−	8	61
Water Efficiency Plan									70	2
Rainwater harvesting									67	5
Waste water treatment & reuse									67	5
Energy efficiency plan									68	4
Renewable energy									68	4
Green infrastructure									65	7
Food system									64	8
Information & communication technology	8.79	10	10	1.883	5	−	17	50
ICT applications									69	3
Equity & empowerment	8.57	10	10	1.934	4	−	15	51
Civic engagement									68	4
Environmental justice									64	8
Civil human rights									66	6
equitable services and access									62	10
Education opportunities									67	5
Local economy									67	5
Sustainable awareness									66	6
Employment opportunities									69	3
Innovation in city planning	8.89	10	10	1.858	8	−	12	52
Innovation in city planning									70	2
Innovation practices									67	5
Good governance									66	6
Total					72 participants

Appendix 2: Final Proposed SGRS—Source Authors

No	Category	KPI		Weight
I	Eco vision/required	No	Item	Required
II	Land use planning & Built environment	1	Compact city planning	4
		2	Affordable housing	4
		3	Green buildings	2
		4	Urban heat island mitigation	3
		5	Infill and redevelopments	2
Sub-total				15
III	Health & well-being	6	Availability & accessibility of public open spaces	4
		7	Environmental monitoring	2
		8	Community health	2
		9	Safe community	2
Sub-total				10
IV	Sustainable mobility	10	Sustainable mobility plan	Required
		11	Barrier-free accessibility	Required
		12	Pedestrian network	2
		13	transportation choices	2
		14	Travel plan	4
		15	Equitable services and access	2
Sub-total				10
V	Water, energy, & infrastructure Management	16	Water efficiency plan	5
		17	Energy efficiency plan	5
		18	Efficient infrastructure	2
		19	Preservation and restoration of water bodies and eco-sensitive zones	2
		20	Solid waste management	2
		21	Regional, recycled materials	2
		22	Food system	2
Sub-total				20
VI	Information & communication Technology	23	ICT Applications	5
Sub-total				5
VII	Equity & empowerment	24	Civic engagement	3
		25	Environmental justice	2
		26	Civil human rights	2
		27	Education opportunities	4
		28	Sustainable awareness	2
		29	Employment opportunities	3
Sub-total				16
VIII	Innovation in city planning/optional	30	Innovation practices	2
		31	Good governance	2
Sub-total				4
Total credits for the KPIs				80