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Urbanisation and Migration in Saudi Arabia: The Case of Buraydah City
Thesis submitted for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
at the University of Leicester
by
Ahmad Mohammad Al Bassam
Department of Geography
University of Leicester
December, 2011
ii
Urbanisation and Migration in Saudi Arabia: the case of Buraydah City
Ahmad Mohammad Al Bassam
ABSTRACT
This thesis is an examination of urbanisation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
region and a further examination of urbanisation in Saudi Arabia; more specifically, the
drivers, patterns and consequences of migration urbanisation are addressed. The case
study examines the experiences of migration and urbanisation in Buraydah City in Saudi
Arabia and focuses on three groups of migrants; namely, urban to urban migrants,
villagers and Bedouin from desert areas in order to gain the perspectives of different
types of migrants experiencing the same migration. The study adopts a multi-
dimensional approach to understanding such processes in that it considers the political
and socio-cultural aspects as well as the economic aspects as factors. The MENA region
is experiencing one of the fastest rates of urbanisation in the world and is unique
because it has rich and poor nations as well as nations that are experiencing conflict.
These factors have led to mass migration within and from outside the region, directly
impacting urbanisation. Moreover, Buraydah City in Saudi Arabia is used as a case study
because it is a medium-sized city and most urbanisation is being witnessed in cities of
this size, and has been neglected in the literature. Urbanisation in Buraydah City was
investigated through a field study which involved a questionnaire, interviews and oral
histories and the results were analysed using SPSS and NVivo software. Moreover, a
general mapping of patterns of urbanisation and population growth in MENA and Saudi
Arabia using GIS. The results of the study suggest that although there is diversity within
MENA in terms of urbanisation as a result of its economic diversity, government policy
and conflicts, on the whole the region shows universality. The study also showed that
Saudi Arabia has similar drivers of urbanisation to that of MENA; however, in contrast,
the consequences for migrants were found to be positive. The main driver was the
search for work; the specific reasons behind this driver differed from country to country.
The study also found that besides differences in drivers and consequences between the
migrant groups, there were also generational differences.
iii
Acknowledgements
First and foremost all thanks are to Allah for giving me this opportunity to study. My
heartfelt thanks go to Professor Michael Bradshaw and Dr Caroline Upton, without them
this study would not have been possible, they have provided valuable guidance and have
inspired me, but most of all I thank them for their patience and encouragement. I would
also like to thank the staff at the Department of Geography for their invaluable
assistance. My gratitude goes to my examiners Dr Tim Hall and Dr Gavin Brown for their
criticisms and contributions have improved the standard of this thesis.
The field study in Saudi Arabia would not have been possible without help from staff at
Al Qassim University and the staff at the Buraydah Infirmaries. I would especially like to
give my utmost gratitude to the Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning who were
unwavering in their assistance and provided me with useful data. I must not forget
Professor Rshood Al Khraif and Dr. Muhammad Al Rabdi for their support in providing
valuable materials. A special thanks to Dr. Easa Alshmmry who provided inspiration.
Finally, thanks to my family who are behind me in every step of the way, especially my
father for his support. Very special thanks to my wife, for her patience, understanding
and encouragement and my lovely daughters Awrad and Adb, who made this study
worthwhile.
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List of Abbreviations
ANOVA: Analysis of Variance
ARAMCO: Arabian American Oil Company
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency
GaWC: Global and World City
GCC: Gulf Cooperation Council
GCMR: Greater Cairo Metropolitan Region
GDP: Gross Domestic Product
GIS: Geographic Information System
IFS: Islamic Financial Services
ILO: International Labour Organisation
IMF: International Monetary Fund
IOM: International Organisation for Migration
MENA: Middle East and North Africa
MOMRA: Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs
OPEC: Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
SR: Saudi Riyal
UAE: United Arab Emirates
UGBP: Urban Growth Boundary Policy
UN: United Nations
UNEP: United Nations Environment Programme
UNICEF: United Nations Children’s Fund
USA: United States of America
USD: United States Dollar
v
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements......................................................................................................iii
List of Abbreviations...........................................................................................................iv
Table of Contents................................................................................................................v
List of Figures.....................................................................................................................xi
List of Plates.....................................................................................................................xiii
List of Tables....................................................................................................................xiv
CHAPTER ONE...............................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................1
1.1 Urbanisation.................................................................................................................1
1.2 Aims and objectives......................................................................................................5
1.3 The study area..............................................................................................................6
1.3.1 The Middle East and North Africa..........................................................................6
1.3.2 Saudi Arabia...........................................................................................................7
1.3.3 Buraydah City.........................................................................................................8
1.4 Urbanisation in the Developed and the Developing World..........................................8
1.5 Urbanisation in the Middle East and North Africa......................................................10
1.6 Urbanisation in Saudi Arabia......................................................................................11
1.7 Urbanisation in Buraydah City....................................................................................14
1.8 Rationale for the Study...............................................................................................15
CHAPTER TWO............................................................................................................19
LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................................19
2.1 Introduction................................................................................................................19
2.2 Urbanisation ...............................................................................................................21
2.3 Urbanisation in the Developing World........................................................................22
2.3.1 Drivers for urbanisation in developing countries..................................................23
2.3.2 Migration..............................................................................................................24
2.3.3 The consequences of migration...........................................................................25
2.4 Urbanisation and Urban Geography in MENA.............................................................26
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2.4.1 Urbanisation in MENA..........................................................................................27
2.4.2 Migration to, from and within MENA...................................................................30
2.4.3 The cities in MENA................................................................................................33
2.4.4 Global urban geography applied to MENA’s cities...............................................34
2.4.5 Traditional urban geography in MENA................................................................36
2.5 Urbanisation and urban geography in MENA: Poverty in MENA..............................37
2.5.1 Poverty and slums in MENA’s cities......................................................................38
2.5.2 Cairo: A case study................................................................................................39
2.6 Urbanisation and urban geography in MENA: The oil rich Gulf States........................41
2.6.1 Dubai: A case study...............................................................................................43
2.6.2 Spatial zones: The impact of socio-political and economic divisions..................46
2.7 Urbanisation and urban geography in MENA: The conflict zones...............................47
2.7.1 Urbicide.................................................................................................................47
2.7.2 Cities of conflict....................................................................................................48
2.8 Urbanisation and urban geography in Saudi Arabia..................................................50
2.8.1 Urban Geography in Saudi Arabia........................................................................53
2.8.2 Significance of Medium-Sized Cities in MENA and Saudi Arabia.........................57
2.9 Conclusion...................................................................................................................59
CHAPTER THREE..........................................................................................................62
METHODOLOGY..........................................................................................................62
3.1 Introduction................................................................................................................62
3.2 Appropriate Methodology..........................................................................................63
3.3 Data Collection Methods............................................................................................64
3.3.1 Questionnaires.....................................................................................................64
3.3.2 Interviews.............................................................................................................69
3.3.3 Oral Histories........................................................................................................72
3.4 Ethical Considerations.................................................................................................73
3.5 Primary Data Analysis Tools........................................................................................74
3.5.1 SPSS......................................................................................................................74
3.5.2 NVivo....................................................................................................................75
3.6 Geographic Information Systems (GIS).......................................................................77
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3.7 Limitations of the Methodology.................................................................................77
CHAPTER FOUR...........................................................................................................80
URBANISATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA..........................................80
4.1 Introduction................................................................................................................80
4.2 Urbanisation in the Developing World.......................................................................80
4.3 Patterns of Urbanisation in MENA..............................................................................82
4.4 Drivers of Urbanisation in MENA................................................................................88
4.4.1 Population Patterns in MENA...............................................................................89
4.4.2 Comparison of Population Growth Patterns in MENA with Other World
Regions.............................................................................................................................91
4.4.3 Migration in MENA...............................................................................................93
4.4.4 Rural to Urban Migration in MENA......................................................................97
4.5 Urban Geography in MENA......................................................................................100
4.6 Conclusion................................................................................................................105
CHAPTER FIVE...........................................................................................................107
URBANISATION IN SAUDI ARABIA.............................................................................107
5.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................107
5.2 Population................................................................................................................108
5.3 Migration………………………………………..…….......……………………………………....……………..112
5.3.1 Bedouin Migration and Sedentarisation………..………………………….…………..…...114
5.4 Urbanisation and Government Policy.......................................................................115
5.4.1 Historical Phases of Urbanisation and Government Policy…………....……….116
5.4.2 Decentralisation……………...…………………………………………………………….………120
5.4.3 Development Plans………………………………….........…………………………….……….123
5.5 The Urban Geography of Saudi Arabia......................................................................125
5.5.1 Settlement Size and Number…………………………………....……………………….……130
5.6 Consequences of Rapid Urban Growth in Saudi Arabia............................................136
5.7 Conclusion.................................................................................................................138
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CHAPTER SIX.............................................................................................................141
URBANISATION AND MIGRATION IN BURAYDAH CITY...............................................141
6.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................141
6.2 Buraydah City in Developing World Context............................................................142
6.3 Drivers of Urbanisation............................................................................................143
6.3.1 Population Growth……………………………..……………………………………………..…..144
6.3.2 Migration………………………………………….……………………………………………………146
6.3.3 Geographical Location………………………………………………..………………………….150
6.4 Government Policy and Buraydah City………………………………………………………………..154
6.4.1 Development Plans…………..……………………………………………………………………155
6.4.2 Land Management Strategy………………………………..…………………………………156
6.5 Patterns of Urbanisation………………………………………………………………….………………….157
6.6 Consequences of Urbanisation in Buraydah City………………………………………………...162
6.7 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..167
CHAPTER SEVEN.......................................................................................................169
PATTERNS AND DRIVERS OF MIGRATION IN BURAYDAH CITY...................................169
7.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….…………………….169
7.2 Demographics Characteristics of Migrants………………………………………………….………170
7.2.1 Age....................................................................................................................170
7.2.2 Household Size..................................................................................................172
7.2.3 Marriage...........................................................................................................173
7.2.4 Education.........................................................................................................173
7.2.5 Economic.........................................................................................................173
7.2.6 Employment.....................................................................................................174
7.3 Patterns of Migration………………………………………………………………………….……………..174
7.3.1 Sources of Migration…………………………...……………..………………..……………..175
7.3.2 Migration Destination Points in Buraydah City……………..……..…………….…178
7.4 Drivers of Migration…………………………………………..……………………………………………….181
7.4.1 Employment……………………………..…………….……………………………………………182
7.4.2 Education…………………...………………………………………………………….…………….183
7.4.3 Family and Marital Influences……………………...…………………………….…………185
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7.4.4 Drivers for Bedouin Migrants………………………………………………………………………….186
7.4.5 Drivers for Village Migrants…………………………………………………………………………….190
7.4.6 Drivers for City Migrants…………………………………………………………………………………192
7.5 The Migration – pre-migratory emotions .................................................................. 194
7.5.1 Negative Feelings about Migration…………………………………………………………………..195
7.5.2 Positive Feelings about Migration…………………………………………………………….………198
7.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................199
CHAPTER EIGHT.........................................................................................................202
THE EXPERIENCE OF MIGRATION AND URBANISATION IN BURYDAH CITY.................202
8.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................202
8.2 Experiences of Urbanisation for Migrants................................................................203
8.2.1 Urban Experiences.............................................................................................204
8.2.2 Housing…………………………………………………………………………………….……..…………210
8.2.3 The Experience for Bedouin Migrants………………………………………......….…………215
8.2.4 The Experience for Village Migrants…………………………………………………..……...…226
8.2.5 The Experience for City Migrants………………………………………………….…..….…...…229
8.3 Out Migration – Intentions.......................................................................................231
8.4 Conclusion.................................................................................................................234
CHAPTER NINE…………………………………………………………………………………..………………..…236
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................236
9.1 Introductio................................................................................................................236
9.2 MENA........................................................................................................................238
9.2.1 MENA and Developing World.............................................................................240
9.3 Saudi Arabia..............................................................................................................241
9.4 Policy Implications....................................................................................................246
9.5 Recommendations for Future Study.........................................................................248
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BIBLIOGRAPHY.........................................................................................................252
Appendix 1...............................................................................................................283
Appendix 2...............................................................................................................284
Appendix 3...............................................................................................................291
Appendix 4...............................................................................................................295
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List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Multidimensional Approach to Urbanisation and Urban Geography in MENA.2
Figure 1.2: World urban population from 1950-2050........................................................4
Figure 1.3: Countries of the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA)…....................7
Figure1.4: Map of Saudi Arabia and Buraydah City in Al Qassim region...........................8
Figure 1.5: World urban population by developed and developing regions, 1950-2050..9
Figure 1.6: Population Growth in the MENA Regions: 1950, 2007 and 2050...................11
Figure 1.7: Percentage of urban population in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Morocco 1950-2050..........................................................................................................................13
Figure 3.1: Map of Location of Sample Neighbourhoods in Buraydah City....................67
Figure 3.2: An example of the SPSS interface..................................................................75
Figure 3.3 Methodology process – qualitative and quantitative data.............................64
Figure 4.1: Percentage Urban (%) by World Regions in 2009…………………………..…........…81
Figure 4.2: Urban annual growth rates by World region 2005-2010……………..…...........…82
Figure 4.3: Urban Annual Growth Rate 2000-2005, 2005-2010........................................84
Figure 4.4: Map of Rural and Urban Annual Growth Rate (%) in Countries of MENA, 2005-2010………………………………………………………………………………………………...….........…...85
Figure 4.5: Population densities of small countries in MENA..........................................86
Figure 4.6: Percentage of Urban Population and GDP Per Capita in MENA, 2010…........88
Figure 4.7: Ratio of Population Size from 2000 to Population Size 1950…………..............92
Figure 5.1: Population growth in Saudi Arabia: 1932-2004….....................................….108
Figure 5.2: Populations by Region, 1974, 1992, 2004……………………………………...….......109
Figure 5.3: Map of Density of population in Saudi Arabia in 2004................................110
Figure 5.4: Percentage of Urban Population in Saudi Arabia 1950-2050.......................116
Figure 5.5: Photo of Traditional Mud Houses................................................................117
Figure 5.6: Photo of Gridiron system Al Malaz ...............................................................119
Figure 5.7: Bureaucratic hierarchies of government departments for built environment....................................................................................................................122
Figure 5.8: Photo of high-rise Residences above traditional houses…………................….126
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Figure 5.9: A popular Arab house of transitional stage…………….………….………….......…….128
Figure 5.10: An example of a Villa in Riyadh....................................................................129
Figure 5.11: Apartments in Riyadh…………………………………………………………………..........…129
Figure 5.12: Map of Percentage of urbanisation in the administrative regions of Saudi Arabia, 2004.....................................................................................................................131
Figure 5.13: Numbers of Towns for Each Region 1974, 1992 and 2004.........................133
Figure 5.14: Primary Cities Share of Urban Population for Respective Region (Riyadh, Al Qassim, Makkah and Ash Sharqiyah)…………………………………………………..……….............….134
Figure 5.15: Oil reserves in Ash Sharqiyah region by year of discovery..........................135
Figure 6.1: Map of Population in Al Qassim Area, 2004..................................................145
Figure 6.2: Map of towns and villages surrounding Buraydah City……………...........…….149
Figure 6.3: Date traders in Buraydah City.......................................................................151
Figure 6.4: A scenary of Camel fair in Buraydah City………….……………………......…….…….151
Figure 6.5: Map of major roads linking Buraydah City with other major cities in Saudi Arabia..............................................................................................................................153
Figure 6.6: King Abdul Aziz road, 1950…………………………………………..........….…………….….154
Figure 6.7: King Abdul Aziz road, Buraydah City.............................................................154
Figure 6.8: Map of phases of growth of the Buraydah City from 1819-2009….........……160
Figure 6.9: Photo of Main Road, Buraydah City 1950s……………………………………..........….161
Figure 6.10: Photo of fly tipping on waste ground between housing areas....................163
Figure 6.11: An example of flooded areas between roads in Buraydah City……........……164
Figure 7.1: Age distribution by interviewees’ place of origin..........................................171
Figure 7.2: Map of pattern and levels of migration from regions to Buraydah City by head of household....................................................................................................................177
Figure 7.3: Map of Desert, Villages in close proximity to Buraydah City and Cities of origin of migrants to Buraydah City...........................................................................................177
Figure 7.4: Map of neighbourhoods in Buraydah City....................................................180
Figure 8.1: Obstacles to all migrants securing employment..........................................208
Figure 8.2: Positive aspects of migrants’ place of origin expressed by all migrant groups. The overlap demonstrates the relationships between the various reasons indicated by respondents.....................................................................................................................233
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List of Plates
Plate 6.1: A Photo of waste ground between housing areas..........................................165
Plate 8.1: A photo of poor quality roads and paving in Buraydah City............................205
Plate 8.2: An example of a Villa under construction in Jomeanah, Buraydah City..........211
Plate 8.3: Apartments under construction in Buraydah City……………………………….......…212
Plate 8.4: A place for raising cattle on the periphery of Buraydah City..........................223
Plate 8.5: Photo of Bedouin Tent in an Urban Area, Buraydah City...............................223
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List of Tables
Table 3.1 Quantitative and qualitative data sources.........................................................64
Table 3.2 Sub Groups from Total Population...................................................................68
Table 4.1: Percentage of Urban Population in MENA Countries, 1950-2050...................83
Table 6.1: Population of Buraydah City, 1834 – 2010.....................................................144
Table 6.2: Average annual population growth rate (%) of Buraydah City compared to the Al Qassim Region and Saudi Arabia...............................................................................146
Table 6.3: Estimated future population of Buraydah City and Al Qassim region with percentage of Al Qassim population living in Buraydah City (2010-2050)......................146
Table 7.1: Number of People per Migrant Household by Place of Origin......................172
Table7. 2: Region of origin of migrants before migration to Buraydah City....................176
Table 7.3: Relationship between education and place of origin.....................................183
Table 8.1: Type of housing and household monthly income...........................................212
1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
2.1 Urbanisation
This study presents an analysis of urbanisation in the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA), in order to understand the trends, causes and consequences. Furthermore, it
presents a detailed analysis of the patterns and processes of urbanisation in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and in particular of the patterns, trends, causes and
consequences of urbanisation and migration in Buraydah City in Saudi Arabia. Buraydah
City has been selected as the case study because it is experiencing rapid urbanisation as
a result of internal migration within Saudi Arabia and that it is a medium-sized city, the
latter is relevant because most urbanisation in MENA is taking place in cities of this size.
The study examines MENA in the context of the developing world and the countries of
MENA within the context of the region itself, in terms of rapid urbanisation, its drivers
and consequences, with particular reference to urban geographies and the experience of
migrants.
The central argument of this study is that the nature of urbanisation in MENA is different
and distinct from that experienced elsewhere in the ‘developing world’; at this point it
should be noted that MENA as a whole is considered economically to be in the low and
middle income bracket by the World Bank (2009d) and can be compared to other
regions in the same category, such as Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Although
there are significant differences in the nature of urbanisation within MENA due to the
fact that it is comprised of rich and poor countries as well as countries experiencing
conflict, the states in the region share common characteristics that distinguish them
from other developing economies; these include a large young population, high
unemployment, language, culture and religion.
However, there are other implications in the examination of urbanisation and urban
geography besides the economic as suggested by Yacobi and Shechter (2005) that
2
urbanisation is a political and socio-cultural as well as economic complexity, and
Shechter and Yacobi (2005) say that Middle Eastern cities are economic, socio-cultural
and political complexities. Therefore, this study adopts a multidimensional approach
(Figure 1.1) to understand the processes of urbanisation and migration in MENA, and
Saudi Arabia. More specifically, as part of the analytical framework the study will
examine the social, cultural and political aspects of urbanisation and the urban
geography, as well as the economic aspects in Buraydah City, a medium-sized city in
MENA.
Figure 1.1 Multidimensional Approach to Urbanisation and Urban Geography in MENA.
According to Pacione (2009) although every city has an individual character, all urban
places have common characteristics such as residential areas, commercial areas and
infrastructure, moreover, all cities share similar processes and problems of urbanisation.
It is these common characteristics that are the result of the interaction between
economic, social, demographic, political and cultural factors that shape the urban
geography (Pacione, 2009). Not only do these factors play their role in the process of
urbanisation and influence the urban geography, they also have an effect on migrant’s
perception and experiences of the urban geography. Because this study is concerned
3
with examining specifically, urbanisation and migration in Saudi Arabia, it is imperative
that these influencing factors are considered.
It is one of the main motivations of this study to examine migration and urbanisation in a
medium-sized city, something that has clearly been neglected in the literature regarding
MENA and Saudi Arabia. Moreover, this neglect is more serious because not only the
literature, but also national governments in the region, neglect cities of this size. The UN
suggested that reformed urban planning must give more attention to small and medium-
sized cities, especially in developing countries where too much planning focus is centred
on large cities (United Nations, 2009b). In regards to the latter, this study shows that one
of the issues that have affected urbanisation and the urban geography in Saudi Arabia
has been centralised planning and financial neglect of small and medium-sized towns
and cities. Further justification is that it is a phenomenon of MENA that there has been a
large increase in the populations of medium-sized towns (Dumper and Stanley, 2007), in
other words, much of the urban experience is taking place in cities of this size.
In support of the above, much of the literature is focussed on large cities in the region
such as Cairo, Dubai, Jeddah, Riyadh and Tehran (Khraif, 1992, Elsheshtawy, 2008, Bloch,
2010, Pacione, 2005, Fahmi and Sutton, 2008, Madanipour, 2006) and well-known
conflict zones such as Palestine and Lebanon (Graham,2002, Ramadan, 2009). Therefore,
it is felt that these major urban centres are not entirely representative of the region.
Urbanisation typically occurs when certain changes take place. The first change is the
movement of people from rural to urban areas to engage in work that is non-rural; the
second, which is of particular relevance to this study, are the related changes in
individuals’ lifestyles as a result of leaving rural areas, and the third is population
increase, which is often blamed as a cause of problems associated with urbanisation,
such as overcrowding (Brunn et al., 2008). Kaplan et al., (2004) suggested that
urbanisation occurs predominantly when countries evolve from agrarian to industrial
economies. As an attractor of migration, urban areas are the result of investment, which
creates job opportunities through attracting businesses and therefore, become magnets
for migrants (United Nations Population Division, 2008a). However, business may not be
4
the only factor that migrants to a city; it has been suggested by Brunn et al., (2008) that
cities serve different purposes; some are centres for trade and commerce (such as
Buraydah City) some are transportation centres and some provide specialised services
for recreation, government and religious pilgrimage. Additionally, the rate of
urbanisation and the economic and demographic characteristics of urbanisation differ
from one country to another (LeGates, 2006).
The rapid increase of the world's urban population coupled with the slowing growth of
the rural population has led to a major redistribution of populations (United Nations,
2008b). In 1800, three per cent of the world’s population was urbanised, by 1900 it was
14 per cent (Population Reference Bureau, 2010) and by In 1950, 29 per cent of the
world’s population lived in urban areas (Figure 1.2); by 2000 the proportion of urban
dwellers had risen to 47 per cent (United Nations, 2008c). In 2006, there were almost
400 cities around the world comprising more than one million residents; furthermore,
about 70 per cent of these were in developing countries (Cohen, 2006). The increase has
continued until the present time and has now reached about 50 per cent; based on
current figures the United Nations expects it to reach 60 per cent by 2030. By 2050 the
share of the urban population of the world is expected to be around 70 per cent (United
Nations, 2008b, pp: 74-75).
Figure 1.2: World urban population from 1950-2050. Source: United Nations (2008c).
0 5
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75
U rb
an p
o p
u la
ti o
n (
% )
Year
5
1.2 Aims and objectives
This study aims to identify the distinguishing elements of the processes of urbanisation
and urban geographies in MENA, and more specifically the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
using Buraydah City the case study. The study is based on the hypothesis that the MENA
region as a whole is witnessing a distinctive process of rapid urbanisation in comparison
to other developing world regions, and within its borders there is diversity of such
processes, moreover, this diversity in the region also extends to urban geographies.
Within MENA the countries are diversified, some are economically successful, some are
poor and some are plagued by conflict, therefore, the drivers and consequences of
urbanisation and the nature of urban geographies may be different.
This study seeks to identify the processes of urbanisation, with an emphasis on migration
as one such process, and the distinct urban geographies of the region and how such
processes are taking place in a medium-sized city in MENA. Moreover, there is a focus on
urbanisation and migration and the resulting urban experiences of migrants in Saudi
Arabia, using Buraydah City as a case study where the different narratives about the life
of migrants in the city are examined. Because of the lack of empirical studies of
urbanisation and migration in Saudi Arabia, specifically in medium-sized cities, this study
aims to achieve the following:
1. To identify urban geographies and the processes of rapid urbanisation in the Middle
East and North Africa region and explain the distinguishing elements of urban geography
and urbanisation in MENA through achieving the following objectives:
To conduct a review of existing academic research on the trends, causes and
consequences of urbanisation, with particular reference to ‘developing world
urbanisation’ and the nature of urban geographies in the states of MENA.
To conduct an empirical study of the patterns and processes of urbanisation and
migration, and a study of the distinct urban geography in the countries of the
MENA region.
6
2. To identify the distinguishing elements of rapid urbanisation and urban geography in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and explain these elements through the following
objectives:
To conduct a detailed analysis of urban geography and the patterns and
processes of urbanisation and migration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to
include analysis of the structure of the urban hierarchy and a mapping of the
urban geography of the country.
To conduct a comparative analysis of urbanisation and urban geography
between Saudi Arabia and other countries in MENA.
3. To present a detailed analysis of urban geography and the drivers and consequences
of urbanisation and migration in Buraydah City, through the following objectives:
To conduct a case study of urbanisation and migration in Buraydah City.
To examine migrants’ experiences of migration and urban life.
1.3 The study area
This section describes some key geographical characteristics of the research areas for
this study, namely MENA, Saudi Arabia and Buraydah City. Moreover, it provides an
overview of the geography of the study area.
1.3.1 The Middle East and North Africa
According to the World Bank classification (2010c), the MENA Region includes 21
countries (Figure 1.3): seven in the Arab Gulf (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar,
United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Yemen), and 14 other countries (Algeria, Djibouti,
Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, West
Bank and Gaza). Three of the world's major religions; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
originated in the region, and MENA contains some of the world's oldest cities (Fahimi et
al., 2007). For the purposes of this study, the West Bank and Gaza will be considered
together as Palestine and Malta will be excluded, as it is part of the European Union.
7
Figure 1.3: Countries of the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA). Source: World Map (2008).
1.3.2 Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is located in the Middle East. The Kingdom is surrounded by the Red Sea
and the Arabian Gulf to the west; the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to the east;
Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan lie to the north; and to the south, Yemen and the Sultanate of
Oman (Figure1.4). The country occupies four fifths of the Arabian Peninsula, an area of
more than 2,250,000 square kilometres (Foreign Ministry, 2008). In Saudi Arabia, there
are 13 administrative regions.
8
Figure1.4: Map of Saudi Arabia and Buraydah City in Al Qassim region. Source: Digital Vector Maps (2006).
1.3.3 Buraydah City
Buraydah City is the capital of Al Qassim and is located in the north central area of the
region (Figure 1.4). Buraydah is located between latitudes 26º 44´ and 26º 18´ north, and
between longitudes 43º 52´ and 43º 51´ east and lies between 600 and 650 metres
above sea level. The city is the largest in the region, occupying an area of about 600
square kilometres and is located at an important point at the junction of major trade
routes in the Kingdom. On the parameters of the city are the towns of Al Butayn to the
north, Al Asyah, At Tarafiyah and Al Rubaiah to the east, Unayzah to the south and Al
Bukayriyah to the west (Hassan, 2006).
1.4 Urbanisation in the Developed and Developing World
Over the period 1950 to 2050 (Figure 1.5) the global urban population is anticipated to
have tripled to reach 6.49 billion (United Nations, 2008c). While urbanisation has slowed
9
down considerably in developed countries, in developing countries the rate of
urbanisation is continuing to rise because of continuous economic development.
Evidence of increasing urbanisation in the developing world is that in 2000, the urban
population in developed countries was 0.9 billion, while in developing countries it was
1.9 billion. In 2005, there were 3.2 billion urban residents in the world, about four times
as many as in 1950 (Brunn et al., 2008, p: 6) and by 2020, one billion of the global urban
population is expected to be living in developed countries and 3.25 billion in developing
countries (United Nations, 2008c).
At this point it is important to note that although the United Nations report that there is
no established convention for designating “developed” and “developing”, they do follow
a common practice that would place the countries of MENA as developing nations,
except for Israel which is considered developed (United Nations, 2010a). This has been
adopted for this study because much of the data about countries are taken from the
United Nations.
Figure 1.5: World urban population by developed and developing regions, 1950-2050. Source: United Nations (2008c).
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
5500
6000
6500
7000
U rb
an p
o p
u la
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th o
u sa
n d
s)
World Developed regions Developing regions
10
Urbanisation and city growth in the developing world are characterised by the rapidity of
urban change, urbanisation outpacing industrialisation and a high rate of urban
population growth, because of both migration and natural increase (Abidemi, 2007),
indeed, high fertility rates are a contributory factor (United Nations, 2008c). It has only
been relatively recently that the developing world has started to pay attention to the
rapidity of urbanisation; and the consequential need for increased investment in rural
development to stem the rate of urbanisation (Tibaijuka, 2007).
1.5 Urbanisation in the Middle East and North Africa
The MENA region consists of three sub-regions; North Africa, Western Asia and the
Arabian Peninsula (MESH, 2008). Urbanisation in the region is attributed to rapid
population growth and migration because of economic growth. The rate of natural
increase of population for MENA was 1.9 percent in 2010, higher than the world at 1.2
per cent, and although the rate for MENA is higher than other developing regions, such
as Latin America at 1.3 per cent, it is exceeded by Western and Eastern Africa at 2.6 and
2.7 per cent respectively for the same year (Population Reference Bureau, 2010, pp: 6-
8). The reasons for high population growth rates are very high fertility rates in the
region, combined with decreasing mortality rates. In 2009, the highest fertility rates
were in Yemen at 5.5 births per female, Palestine at 4.6 and Saudi Arabia 3.9; this was in
sharp contrast to the United States at 2.1 and the United Kingdom at 1.9 (Population
Reference Bureau, 2009, p: 8).
Economic prosperity in the region from oil revenues has had an effect on urbanisation
and migration in MENA. The region experienced increasing elasticity of GDP growth with
respect to poverty reduction during the oil boom (World Bank, 2003c), leading to
urbanisation and internal and international migration (Adams and Page, 2001). The
population more than doubled between 1970 and 2001, rising from 173 to 386 million
people. By 2002, the population of MENA was growing by two per cent per year, and in
the same year about 60 per cent of MENA’s population lived in urban areas (Roudi-
Fahimi et al., 2002, p: 4).By 2009, 73.2 percent of MENA’s population were urbanised
(United Nations, 2009e).
11
As stated previously, MENA comprises of three sub-regions; the Arabian Peninsula,
Western Asia and North Africa and this study will show that there are different
experiences between them in terms of economy, population growth, urbanisation and
migration. In 2007, 50 per cent of the population growth in MENA was from the
Western Asia region from countries such as Jordan and Syria, North Africa, which
includes Libya and Algeria, accounted for 36 per cent in the same year. These figures are
in contrast to the contribution to population growth from the Arabian Peninsula, where
the relative proportion of population growth is expected to increase from 14 per cent in
2007 to a projected 18 per cent in 2050 (Roudi-Fahimi and Kent, 2007, p: 5) (Figure 1.6).
Figure 1.6: Population Growth in the MENA Regions: 1950, 2007 and 2050. Source: Roudi-Fahimi and Kent (2007).
1.6 Urbanisation in Saudi Arabia
Rapid urbanisation has been due to the exploitation of oil and its role in economic
activity and started a process of rapid urbanisation in Saudi Arabia. According to Glasze
and Alkhayyal (2002), this affected Saudi Arabia in two ways: first, it assured growing
8% 14% 18%
42% 36%
34%
50% 50% 48%
1950 (104 million) 2007 (432 million) 2050 (692 million)
Arabian Peninsula North Africa Western Asia
12
individual prosperity for many Saudi citizens and second, it financed the development of
a modern transport, health care and education infrastructure. This has resulted in a
sharp increase in urbanisation since the 1950s, and although since the 1980s the rate of
urbanisation has slowed down, it is still projected to continue to increase (United
Nations, 2008c). However, according to Al-Hathloul and Edadan (1995) other factors, in
addition to the wealth from oil have contributed to the high rate of economic growth
and the level of economic development that is unique to Saudi Arabia, such as
historically it has never been under the influence of colonial control and (more
importantly) it has not suffered from political instability. This political dimension has
been a significant factor in urbanisation, with the firm political will of a stable
government and economic resources; Saudi Arabia has been able to develop a modern
urban economy relatively quickly. This study will show that the positive experiences of
urbanisation for internal migrants is a reflection of the success of government policy
related to managing such a rapid pace of urbanisation.
However, this positive start has been undermined by recent problems that have
emerged in Saudi Arabia. According to Karam (2010) Saudi Arabia is sitting on a housing
time bomb, the country is not able to meet its housing demand and currently there is a
shortage of approximately two million homes. The main reason for this has been a
virtually non-existent mortgage market that only benefits the rich and those who already
own property; in fact, only 30 per cent of Saudis own their own homes. Al-Hathloul and
Edadan (1995) say there are many developments and urban strategy plans in place, such
as Master Plans and Action Area Plans; however, their implementation has been
unsatisfactory and has led to the unstructured growth of cities. It was argued by
Daghistani (1993) that the reason these Master Plans are not suitable for
implementation is that although they are effective in terms of creating a vision of how a
city should look in the future, they do not consider the long-term strategy and the timing
of the development that is required.
More recent Development Plans (since the Third plan in 1980) have recognised the
problem of regional disparity; and disparity within regions, especially between rural and
urban areas, which has been one of the drivers of rural to urban migration, and
13
addressing such an imbalance has been addressed by the Saudi government in the
Seventh Development Plan by stemming rural to urban migration (Ministry of Economy
and Planning, 2001). In 2007, Saudi Arabia reached a high level of urbanisation, with
more than 80 per cent of its population living in urban areas (United Nations Population
Division, 2008b). In 1950 it was 21 per cent and the figure is expected to reach 90 per
cent by 2050 (United Nations, 2008c) (Figure 1.7).
Figure 1.7: Percentage of urban population in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Morocco 1950-2050. Source: United Nations (2008c).
Disparity in the country has also presented itself in the form of urban primacy. There are
very few primate cities in the Kingdom, Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, and they have
been the recipients of political attention in terms of development and investment.
However, there is clear evidence presented in this study that the government has
responded to this issue, reflected in the growth and prosperity of small and medium-
sized cities.
In comparison to other countries in MENA, rates of urbanisation in Saudi Arabia are
higher; for example in Egypt, between 1950 and the present day, the level of
urbanisation increased from 32 per cent to 42 per cent, in Syria it rose from 30.6 per
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
U rb
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% )
Saudi Arabia Egypt Syria Morocco
14
cent to a forecasted 53 per cent, and in Morocco it rose from 26 percent to 55 per cent
(Figure 1.7) (United Nations, 2008c). These countries share a commonality with Saudi
Arabia and the Gulf in that they have also shown a stabilisation of urbanisation over
recent years. However, Saudi Arabia has not been plagued by any of the problems such
as massive urban sprawl and slum settlements. Indeed, this study shows the Kingdom
shares many similarities with its neighbours while at the same time there are many
differences.
1.7 Urbanisation in Buraydah City
Buraydah City is the most important city in the Al Qassim region, because it is the capital
and the headquarters of the Governor, the Local Council, and regional branches of
government departments (Hassan, 2006). The city is also home to many of the region’s
services including hospitals and institutes of higher learning. Buraydah City is one of the
fastest growing urban areas in Saudi Arabia and bears witness to the process of
urbanisation in striking and visible ways. In the last 50 years the city has experienced
significant change, which has coincided with the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia and a
resulting increase in revenues, which have been the main factors leading to the
transformation of the area in general and of Buraydah City in particular (Al-Mosalam,
2005).
The availability of education, continued trade and prosperity has meant Buraydah City
has become one of the largest commercial cities in the area; moreover, there has been
continuous population growth, much of it resulting from the migration of people
attracted by the available work and facilities (Al-Rabdi, 2001). Buraydah City hosts the
largest date market in the world; it attracts many buyers and sellers from within the
Kingdom and buyers from other countries in the Gulf region (Ageel, 2008). Additionally,
it has the world’s largest camel market, which employs many migrant workers who then
settle in Buraydah City (Buraydah Municipality, 2005).
Buraydah city has attracted a very high level of migration, especially from rural
populations and nomadic Bedouins. According to Al-Rabdi (2005), although the Bedouin
15
are traditionally a homogenous group, they are well integrated into Buraydah city life
and form a part of Buraydah's heterogeneous society. The nomadic Bedouin are
significant to the study because nationally they are mostly concentrated in the desert
areas to the North of Buraydah City.
In 1962 the population of Buraydah City was 35,000; the population had doubled to
70,000 by 1974, but by 1992 the population experienced a sharp increase and reached
more than 248,000. This increase has continued and in 2004 where it had reached over
379,625, 37.2 per cent of the population of Al Qassim (Division of Population Statistics,
1962-2004). The recent 2010 census gives the population at 467,410 (Division of
Population Statistics, 2010).
This rapid population growth and urbanisation is taking place in what is a medium-sized
city, this in itself is a significant factor as much of the urbanisation in the Kingdom, and in
the region, is taking place in cities of this size. The information presented above focuses
on the political and economic dimensions of urbanisation in the city, however,
urbanisation has consequences that affect the experiences and personal lives of those
migrating to cities that are both causing and witnessing such processes. Therefore, there
are social and cultural dimensions to be considered as well, not only are such social
factors the consequence of urbanisation and part of urban experience, but they are also
contributory factors to migration and consequently, urbanisation. Thus, this study
adopts a multidimensional approach in understanding the causes, trends and
consequences of migration in Buraydah City.
1.8 Rationale for the Study
In comparison to other developing world regions, MENA is distinctive; the region
stretches across a vast area from Western Sahara in the west to Oman and Iran in the
east and is composed of a myriad of developed, developing and underdeveloped nations
(World Bank, 2010d). Within MENA there are poor countries such as Egypt that
neighbour rich countries such as Israel; Saudi Arabia, also a wealthy nation, is a
neighbour of Yemen, a poor country. Besides the economic disparity there are also some
16
countries that are plagued by conflict. Moreover, although MENA may have different
experiences of urbanisation within, due to the aforementioned factors, as a whole there
are also common characteristics which are different to other regions of the developing
world.
This study will highlight these distinct aspects in comparison to wider global patterns.
Moreover, the study is valuable in showing that an academic approach to urbanisation in
the developing world does not necessarily follow the assumptions of current theories,
that such processes are unique in MENA and indeed Saudi Arabia. It is also important for
the governments of the MENA region to understand the driving forces behind rapid
urbanisation and population growth. Furthermore, given the recent civil unrest in MENA
which has been partly blamed on issues such as housing shortages and living conditions,
it is important to understand the reasons behind the consequences of rapid
urbanisation.
What takes place in MENA politically, socially and economically can have wide reaching
implications for surrounding countries. Most studies on MENA focus on issues such as
education, social studies, health, politics and population growth; however, there is a lack
of examination of the phenomenon of rapid urbanisation, along with its causes and
consequences. Saudi Arabia is experiencing the highest rate of urbanisation in MENA and
therefore warrants research. The study argues that although there are differences
between the countries in MENA, in terms of the experience of urbanisation, there are
also common experiences between them. In light of this, Saudi Arabia displays
differences such as being wealthy, having substantial urban planning strategies and
being a major recipient of migrant workers, however, it shares many common traits with
the rest of the region; for example, housing shortages, underdeveloped mortgage
markets, a large young population and centralised government.
A further justification is that previous studies about migration within MENA and Saudi
Arabia have focused on migration to the larger cities and to some extent have neglected
the small and medium-sized cities such as Buraydah City, thus, there is a need to study
migration to small and medium-sized cities in the Kingdom. However, this is not the only
17
rationale for studying a medium-sized city, MENA is characterised mostly by cities of this
size, and the literature has shown that much of the urban life, trade, education and
migration is taking place in these cities.
For Buraydah City, it has been shown that there has been little in the way of studies of
rapid urbanisation and its consequences, and more specifically the experiences of
different types of migrant, especially the Bedouin. Although the author has found studies
examining migration to Buraydah City (e.g. Alayoubi and Alshabaan, 2009), these studies
are about migrants generally and only focus on the urban consequences, such as housing
issues and unplanned development of urban areas. Therefore, there is a need to
examine the motivations and experiences of the migrants and their migration trends.
Moreover, with most cities globally, migrants come from rural areas and other cities;
however, in Buraydah City there is the added phenomenon of Bedouin migration directly
from the desert. Therefore, it is important to address these three groups individually.
18
Structure of the Thesis
Chapter Four: Urbanisation in MENA
Chapter Three: Methodology
Chapter Seven: Patterns and Drivers of migration
in Buraydah Cit
Chapter Six: Urbanisation and migration in
Buraydah City
Chapter Five: Urbanisation in Saudi Arabia
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Literature review
Chapter Eight: The Experience of Migration and
Urbanisation in Buraydah City
Chapter Nine: Conclusion
19
Chapter Two
Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
This literature review analyses theories, models, patterns and processes of urbanisation
and urban geography with the aim of identifying a gap in our knowledge of the urban
geographies of the MENA region, and specifically of medium-sized cities within the
region. In reference to the latter, there has been a dramatic increase in populations
living in small and medium-sized towns in MENA (Dumper and Stanely, 2007). The
chapter first addresses urbanisation in the world and then addresses theories and
patterns pertaining to the developing world, before moving on to discuss urbanisation
and urban geography in the MENA region, the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia.
According to the IMF MENA has its poorer countries such as Yemen and Egypt, two of
the poorest countries in the region in terms of GDP per capita (International Monetary
Fund, 2010), and richer countries such as the Gulf States with a more positive experience
of urbanisation. Moreover, the region is plagued by conflict in some areas; which can
affect migratory patterns. In addition, urbanisation has been occurring in tandem with
globalisation, which has had significant effects on the type and pace of urbanisation
experienced.
In the examination of urbanisation and urban geography, urban theory can be
considered as a set of explanations which show how cities are formed, how cities
function and how cities change (Hubbard, 2006). According to Hall (2001 p.1), it has to
be determined whether changes in urban areas are simply piecemeal or gradual
changes, or whether changes are “more fundamental processes of transformation”. Hall
(2001) does caution that, when we consider such significant transformations we must
not always take the visual evidence and the discourse of change at face value; rather we
should be objective in considering the significance of urban change as it varies between
20
cities and with regards to how these changes affect the character of urban life. In
addition to such concerns, this chapter considers the economic, political, cultural and
social factors that affect, and are affected by, changes in urbanisation and urban
geography.
Cities have a strong influence on the social life of people because they are the initiating
and controlling centre of economic, political and cultural activity. They grow organically
but do not occur spontaneously and thus represent the influences of previous cultures
that have impacted on present day experiences. The literature discussed also highlights
the importance of remembering that there is an interrelationship between geography,
history, economics and political science; we should not see the city as a physical entity if
we want to arrive at a concept of urbanism as a mode of life (Levy, 2008). Therefore,
with consideration of the abovementioned ideas, this study, as well as the review of the
literature, adopt a multidimensional approach, i.e. looking at all factors –economic,
political and socio-cultural, as such factors are responsible for urbanisation and urban
geography in medium-sized cities in the region. Yacobi and Schechter (2005 p.500) said
in relation to studying the Middle East: “We would welcome any future work that brings
our suggestion here, namely to integrate political economy with the study of urban
development and city life, to bear on more specific research on urbanism in the Middle
East.” Moreover, Brunn et al. (2008) present a model of urban geography which shows
the interaction between political, cultural, environmental and economic geography
which come together to form the urban geography in the context of space and place,
drivers and outcomes, patterns and processes and human interaction.
These writers have supported an inter-disciplinary approach to studying urban
geography in MENA, namely between the economic, political and socio-cultural. Indeed,
this study aims to look at the drivers or motivators for migration to urban areas, and the
consequences or experiences of urban life, where it is appropriate to adopt a
multidimensional approach.
21
2.2 Urbanisation
Urbanisation is a relatively recent trend, according to Pacione (2009, p: 68); indeed, at
the end of the nineteenth century only North West Europe, the United States and Britain
had levels of urbanisation of more than 25 per cent. Rapid urbanisation first manifested
in the developed world as a response to industrialisation (Sclar et al., 2005). The
burgeoning industries in the United States and Europe required labour, prompting
migration from rural areas to industrial centres and leading to housing requirements for
the new labour force. In Europe, in 2006, approximately 75 per cent of the population
lived in urban areas (European Environment Agency, 2006). Despite the figures, in the
developed world where urbanisation was first experienced, there is an emerging shift
towards counter urbanisation, a process of internal migration away from major cities
first observed in the USA and later in Britain, Canada, Western Europe and Australia. As
urbanisation reaches high levels in developed nations, it is inevitable that the migration
from rural to urban areas will be much slower than in the developing world
(Schmidhuber and Shettya, 2003). The developed world is classified by the World Bank
as industrially advanced countries and high income countries where people enjoy a high
standard of living, however, they exclude Israel, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates,
Singapore and Hong Kong; as for developing countries they are those with a low or
middle level GNP per capita and include the aforementioned five countries (World Bank,
2004).
Consistent with the view that financial factors are not always solely responsible for the
growth of cities, Smith (2001) argues that the assumption of an economic view point
should be replaced by the view that nations are responsible for the formation and
reconstitution of transnational relationships, and that people are the actors shaping
transnational urbanism: in other words, they influence urbanism across national
boundaries, and are not passive objects controlled by economic logistics. It is in fact the
local social structure, politics and taxation policy that are the factors influencing urban
change, but these can also make cities important loci of political and economic activity,
more so than the nation state (Pacione, 2001).
22
Moreover, there have been propositions explaining how cities are formed as a result of
social interests and values; although great importance should be ascribed to
technological and economic factors (Castells, 1983). Pacione (2001) argues that urban
change is influenced by historical and local factors that are mediated by other general
forces for change. Such local factors can include the local geography, according to Kim
(2008), spatial inequalities in relation to cities generally arise for two main reasons based
on two geographical features: the first feature relates to the natural resources a city has
and its geographic location in relation to sea ports and rivers, and the second feature is
related to the concentration of human interaction. Economic development can benefit
from of these characteristics of geography, and resulting spatial inequalities may even be
advantageous as productivity increases.
2.3 Urbanisation in the Developing World
The majority of the world’s population is comprised of urban dwellers living in
developing world cities (Kaplan et al., 2004) and this is reflected by high rates of
urbanisation in these countries (Constantino-David, 2001), by 2030, 78 per cent of urban
dwellers are expected to live in the developing world (Burdett and Sudjic, 2007, p: 58).
Veron (2007) stated that such growth is faster in the developing world than anywhere
else, and attributed this to rapid population growth contributing to urbanisation from
two sources; firstly, through natural increases in urban areas and secondly, as a result of
the mass exodus from rural areas, due to (perceived) economic opportunities. However,
Cohen (2004) proposes caution when examining urban change in the developing world
by questioning the traditional distinctions made between rural and urban which are
becoming increasingly obsolete in view of the characteristics of the global economy.
According to Akporji et al. (2009) only some developing countries have shown political
commitment to dealing with urbanisation. There are a number of reasons for this which
includes government disengagement from urban and housing sectors and a lack of safety
net programs and policies to alleviate poverty, leading to inequality in wealth, resources
and housing distribution (Durand-Lasserve, 2006). Spatial inequality is another problem
now found in many developing countries (Kim, 2008) supported by the United Nations
23
(2009a) who say that in poorer cities spatial forms are shaped by low-income households
who try to secure land that is affordable and in a good location, these areas are referred
to as peri-urban areas which lead to new urban forms where most rapid urban growth
taking place.
2.3.1 Drivers for urbanisation in developing countries
An examination of economic, technological and political factors as drivers for
urbanisation is intrinsic when formulating urban theory, and is currently necessary in the
context of non-western or developing countries. Politically and economically speaking,
there is unquestionably great diversity amongst the countries and cities of the
developing world. Some, like the countries of OPEC, have become wealthy because of oil
revenues, and others, like many African states, have suffered from economic and social
deprivation. Other factors leading to diversity are the built environment, ethnic diversity,
economic policy, differing histories, geographic location and culture.
Although natural population growth is a major contributing factor to urbanisation,
migration, especially rural to urban migration, has also been an important factor (Masika
et al., 1997). Kainth (2009) identified the most significant factor driving migration to be
better employment opportunities; Kainth (2009) also suggested there are push and pull
factors; push factors included unemployment and poor economic conditions and the pull
factors are better opportunities for employment, higher wages, improved working
conditions and better facilities. Migrants have also been encouraged by the information
that they have received from friends and relatives who have already migrated to a city
(Kok and Collinson, 2006). Moreover, the characteristics of migrants also has an effect on
the causes of migration, according to Islam and Siddiqi (2010) age, education,
occupation, income and family affect migration drivers.
If we examine the developing regions as a whole we find similarities in terms of drivers
for migration to urban areas. These are based on perceptions of the urban environment
in contrast to the rural one, for example; opportunities and services in urban areas
related to employment and education; better shelter public services, and centres of
culture and technological development (UNEP, 2002), for example, migration from rural
areas to cities frequently occurs in Latin America because migrants are searching for
24
better public services (McSweeney and Jokisch, 2007) and because of a deterioration of
rural living standards (Almandoz, 2006). In fact, the disparity in incomes between
farmers and urban workers has increased, in Asia, for example, the percentage of
farmers’ income in relation to urban workers was 97 percent in 1990, decreasing to 73
percent by 2002 (Fernando, 2008 p.9).
The fact that employment is a pull factor, migration to urban centres is not necessarily
related to demand for labour in those urban centres (Veron, 2007). Received
understanding of the relationship between urbanisation and the development of an
economy is predominantly based on the premise that there is an excess of urbanisation,
which leads to issues of not finding work, however, Bertinelli and Strobl (2007) question
this approach, because they are unsure whether the relationship between urbanisation
and development in developing countries follows the same patterns as those identified
from the history of industrialised nations.
2.3.2 Migration
The varying situational contexts applied to developing countries raises a number of
issues in respect to the issue of migration to urban areas, both internationally and
internally as discussed here. Kainth (2009) recognised that migration is a global
phenomenon that is driven by social and cultural factors and not just economic factors,
and it is one that usually takes place from less economically developed areas to more
economically developed areas. Although migration generally has been the result of a lack
of development among certain nations, the idea has been put forward by Laczko (2008)
that migration may actually contribute to development. In support of this, not only does
migration benefit the individual, but also supports development, especially for relieving
labour pressures; in fact, rural to urban migration is seen as economically beneficial to a
country because it allows human resources to move around internally (Bhuyan et al.,
2001). However, according to Bhuyan et al., (2001), the rate of migration often exceeds
job creation in urban areas, and this places pressure on industry as well as urban
services.
Although rural to urban migration seems to increasingly be the most common form of
internal migration, especially in Asia; it should be remembered that in other areas such
25
as Latin America and Egypt, there is high urban to urban migration (Deshingkar and
Natali, 2008). This fact is often neglected and may also be the case that internal
migration can take place with people moving from cities back to rural areas (DeWind and
Holdaway, 2008), a form of reverse migration.
2.3.3 The consequences of migration
There are a number of consequences of migration; some are viewed negatively, such as
the increase in slum dwellings on the fringes of cities, whilst others are more positive,
such as improvements to healthcare and education for the inhabitants of the more
established cities. The growth rate in rural populations in the developing world is
predicted to become negative at -0.71 per cent somewhere between 2025 and 2050
(United Nations, 2009e). As a result, government spending is mostly targeted on urban
areas, neglecting rural areas. This section will focus on the broader negative and positive
consequences of rural to urban migration in the developing world, as identified in
existing literature.
Much of the literature on the consequences of rural to urban migration reveals a
negative interpretation of the facts. Some of the disadvantages mentioned by Andersen
(2002) are crime, pollution and congestion. Additionally, Bloom and Khanna (2007)
reported that although rapid urbanisation may increase incomes, it also increases
urban poverty. There are concerns that the size and densities of urban populations in
developing countries may lead to health issues, unsustainable environments and even
civil unrest (Brockerhoff, 2000). However, it has been suggested that these problems are
not solely due to population pressures but rather because of inadequate responses from
local governments, lack of accountability, poor management, improper deployment of
community resources and lack of private-sector involvement (Brockerhoff and Brennan,
1998). Alternatively, it has been suggested by Kok and Collinson (2006) that providing
the receiving areas are economically strong then migration will not have the
aforementioned negative impacts, moreover, they also refute the idea that migration
creates urban unemployment, rather unemployment is simply moved from the rural to
the urban.
26
However, there is one area where governments in the developing world can be credited
with the positive outcomes of urbanisation that is in the provision of healthcare, where
according to Schmidhuber and Shettya (2003), this has had a positive impact on the age
structure of urban populations and their families, something that will doubtless attract
migrants. Furthermore, the process of urbanisation has also helped to reduce overall
poverty figures for countries; this however, does not necessarily mean that urban
poverty does not exist, as Ravallion et al. (2007) suggest. Indeed, it may simply mean
that rural poverty has decreased as the population has transferred to urban centres
through migration.
Another benefit of urbanisation appears to derive from the fact that it is cheaper to
provide services such as water and electricity when people are gathered together in
urban areas and the economies of scale in cities increase economic opportunities and
income. In support of this Henerson (2002) suggests that a defining characteristic of
urbanisation in the developing world is the high concentration of populations in very
large cities, or the phenomenon of urban primacy; describing this as an advantage
because it reduces infrastructure costs. This notion has also been considered by
Brockerhoff and Brennan (1998) who went on to state that there is an argument that in
developing countries living conditions are far better for people who live in larger cities
than smaller cities, town and villages. However, there has been a suggestion by
Brockerhoff and Brennan (1998) that the gap between large cities and medium-sized
cities, in terms of living conditions, is closing as medium-sized cities witness
improvements. However, in contrast to the idea that a concentration of people living in
urban areas actually reduces costs, there is the argument that urbanisation causes an
increase in resource consumption per capita (Shen et al., 2005).
2.4 Urbanisation and Urban Geography in MENA
This section presents a general introduction to the processes of urbanisation in the
MENA region and identifies existing research findings on the urban geography, which
results from such processes. The study of MENA’s urban geography includes a study of
towns and cities, their morphology and the spatial patterns that result from different
27
urban processes. There is a wide variation in urban geography and urbanisation in the
region because of a wide array influences such as conflict, wealth from oil and poverty.
The review of the literature shows that there is socioeconomic and political diversity
within MENA, the region has politically and economically open as well as isolated
countries, and this diversity has given rise to different urban issues, such as slums (Davis,
2006, Fahmi and Sutton, 2008, Stewart et al., 2004), the effects of conflict on the urban
(Ramadan, 2009, Graham, 2002, Fregonese, 2009), and rapid urbanisation in Dubai
(Bloch, 2010, Davis, 2007). However, there are similarities within MENA that have a
significant influence on urbanisation and migration. The literature shows that MENA, as
a whole, is characterised by rapid population growth, rapid urbanisation, a large young
population, high unemployment, housing shortages, low level of private sector
involvement in the housing provision and underdeveloped mortgage markets. All of
these factors together are distinctive to the region and have significant implications for
urbanisation and the urban geography; therefore, it is necessary to address the region as
a whole, as well as the diverse attributes within.
2.4.1 Urbanisation in MENA
There is no question that the MENA region is currently experiencing urbanisation in a
similar way to that of other developing regions; however, because MENA is so
economically and politically diverse (as discussed above), the drivers behind urbanisation
are subject to variation. It is important when examining the urban landscape in MENA, to
consider how the economic, political and cultural complexities interact with the
landscapes; ideally, there should be a wider, cross-disciplinary examination or a more
integrative approach to urbanism for MENA (Shechter and Yacobi, 2005) because such
an approach has not been applied to the region.
Although the cities of MENA are very diverse, they also share a commonality in terms of
history, culture, language, political organisation and spatial structure; however, their
distinctiveness is gradually eroding because of globalisation and neoliberal and
international politics (Silver, 2010). A similar point is presented by Dumper and Stanley
(2007) who say that there is a high degree of differentiation at the city level and
superficial similarities, such as culture and religion, are superseded by the sub areas of
28
MENA which are differentiated in terms of geography, climate and economy. They also
state that despite this internal differentiation and the hardening of borders, MENA is still
well interlinked and shares religious, linguistic and historic experiences that mean the
region lends itself to being studied as a whole.
Yacobi and Shechter (2005) also consider that the region should be studied as a whole,
as they state that the region and the nature of urbanisation is an economic, political and
socio-cultural complexity. Unfortunately, this factor is only given limited attention by
academic researchers who although state that urbanisation in MENA is a complexity that
involves all three disciplines, they do not explain the intricacies or functionality of this
complexity. Hall (2001) supports the idea that there should be a multidimensional
approach, stating that the ramifications of changes to urbanisation are not only
economic but are also social, cultural and political. Therefore, urbanisation in MENA is
often approached from the viewpoint of economics, politics or socio-cultural influences
separately; or where they are considered together they lack depth.
Indeed, each dimension has significant and specific impacts on urbanisation and urban
geography in the region, as Yacobi and Shechter (2005) have said; economic factors are
important because they determine the volume and quality of the built environment;
political factors are related to the local and state government policies which shape urban
spaces; and socio-cultural factors incorporate two important elements, first, socio-
cultural transformations affect perceptions of urban space and second, socio-cultural
transformations shape urban space itself (Yacobi and Shechter, 2005). In support of the
gap identified in the literature, Unay (2011) reports that much of the literature related to
MENA is about political science and international relations and is motivated by the many
conflicts in the MENA region. Unay (2011) also states that political economics looks at
links between the political (conflicts, political ideologies) and the economic (production,
trade, investment, finance); in this sense MENA is unique because complex political and
economic trends have been intermingled. It is shown in later sections of this review how
political and economic trends have an effect on the urban geography in MENA.
Rapid economic growth in the Middle East from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s was
associated with large increases in real income per capita, industrialisation and
29
urbanisation (Narayan and Smyth, 2007). The labour force totalled some 104 million
workers in 2000 and is projected to reach 185 million by 2020. As a result, 80 million new
jobs will need to be created in the next decade (Yousef, 2004). Unfortunately, population
growth and urbanisation are taking place in a region (i.e. MENA) that is generally
performing poorly economically, has non-diverse economies, high unemployment and
political instability.
An example of the negative effect of poverty and unemployment is that the balance of
rural poverty is set to shift to urban poverty as there is high unemployment among the
young in countries such as Morocco, Yemen and Egypt (Egset, 2000), an example of this
urban poverty is Morocco where the growth of the urban labour force is greater than the
rate of employment expansion, leading to unemployment, which in turn exacerbates
urban poverty (Bishay, 1998). In MENA generally where there has been an increase in
labour, which is increasingly young and educated (World Bank, 2003b) and there has
been an associated increase in demand for housing and in turn the associated housing
development has increased demand for labour (Baharoglu et al., 2005).
The above issues are due to poor governance, which have also been blamed for some of
the problems associated with rapid urbanisation. It was asserted by El Araby (2002) that
management policies lacked a comprehensive understanding of urban governance in the
region, and that this could be a threat to the long term quality of urban areas, in
developing regions generally. Together with the current problems related to growth in
service provision and problems related to social, political and architectural change,
officials also face the problems of overcrowding, insufficient infrastructure and changes
in means of production (Dumper and Stanley, 2007). In his study of the GCMR (Greater
Cairo Metropolitan Region), El Araby (2002) said that one of the problems of urban
governance was that the government was unable to understand the frustration of the
public and translate their needs into a workable policy. The United Nations (2008a) in
their analysis of the governments of North Africa said that a colonial past had created a
rigid civil service bureaucracy and a hierarchy with a distant and authoritarian
relationship with the public.
30
Moreover, the United Nations (2008a) commenting on governance in MENA, found that
the main problem was that government power was very much centralised across the
entire region; however, there have been moves towards decentralisation. Tosun and
Yilmaz (2008) also agree that the region has highly centralised government structures. In
the Middle East and Western Asia governments have started to recognise these issues
and give them priority; such responses include local elections in Saudi Arabia, Mayoral
elections in Jordan and the constitutional reforms in Bahrain in 2002 (Adib, 2007). There
has been even more pressure to reform with the recent civil unrest and revolutions
taking place in the Middle East and North Africa. For example, according to The
Economist (2011) the Kings of Jordan and Morocco have witnessed the demise of other
presidents in the region, and therefore, they need to pre-empt any demands in order to
stifle possible unrest.
In summary, the literature has shown that MENA is an economic, political and social
complexity and that this multitude of factors has an influence on the urbanisation and
urban geography of the region. Moreover, due the diversity within the region these
factors have generated different experiences for different countries, something
addressed in more detail later in this chapter, therefore, any examination of the region
warrants a multidimensional approach. Despite the diversity the review has also justified
treating the region as an entity due to commonly shared factors that also have a major
impact on urbanisation and the urban geography.
2.4.2 Migration to, from and within MENA
Because the MENA region is so economically diverse within, as previously suggested,
there are countries that are economically successful that are labour importers, such as
countries in the Gulf, and there are countries which are low economic performers and
have to become labour exporters, such as Morocco. El Gawady and El Din (2008) stated
that high unemployment in the non-oil producing countries of MENA has been a concern
for public policy and has been attributed to low education levels. Unfortunately, these
non-oil producing countries hold about 80 percent of the region’s population. This has
caused migratory movements to, from and within MENA. In relation to emigration, in
2010, MENA had an emigrant stock of 18.1 million, over five percent of the total
31
population, popular emigration countries include Morocco, Egypt and Syria; and in terms
of immigration within the region, there are 12 million immigrants from countries such as
those mentioned above and Libya, Yemen, Jordan and the West Bank and Gaza (Ratha et
al., 2011 p.29).
MENA has a low incidence of poverty in comparison to other developing regions because
of remittances to be sent back to the region (Adams and Page, 2003). A key destination
point for regional migrants has been the Gulf States, taking the pressure off labour
markets and redistributing wealth within the region in the form of workers’ remittances.
Morocco for example has long had a policy of encouraging emigration so that it can
manage unemployment levels at home, a policy that was imitated by other countries in
North Africa (Baldwin-Edwards, 2005), although it has been suggested by the World Bank
(2010b) that in 2009 and 2010 there has be a significant decrease in remittances due to
the economic downturn, something the country depends on more than any other
country in the region. Moreover, according to Gubert et al. (2009) the prediction is that
in the future the demographic pressure will remain because of increase in youth and
people living longer which will lead to an expansion of the working age population.
In fact, intra-regional migration in MENA is seen as a substitute for the reform that is
needed to alleviate labour pressure, however, migration is no longer sufficient to solve
the current unemployment situation, even if oil prices were to peak, it would not be
enough to absorb the region’s labour force; this is compounded by the fact that Europe
is not as welcoming as it used to be (Sullivan and Nadgrodkiewicz, 2008). Furthermore,
the recent civil unrest in the region has brought more uncertainty for the future of
migration and remittances, and this uncertainty is worsened by the global financial
situation (Mohapatra et al., 2011). It has been suggested by Stanley (2003) that a way
forward for MENA in terms of development would be to increase interconnectivity
between its countries to create a fertile crescent of interlinked cities; conjoined in terms
of labour flows, capital, trade and services.
According to Fargues (2002) theories of international migration are based on economic
and social factors as drivers for migration, however, looking at MENA over the last 50
years has shown that migration is also significantly influenced by international political
32
issues, especially conflict. An example of how political instability and conflict can
seriously affect outbound migration from a country is Lebanon, where according to
Fersan (2010, p: 16) it is mostly educated people that migrate from the country, referred
to as a “brain drain”. In MENA it has also been the case that economic factors
themselves have lead to conflict. The result of not meeting economic challenges has
been dramatically illustrated by recent uprisings against governments across the region.
For example, it has been suggested by Klein (2011) that high unemployment among
Egyptians, approximately a quarter, is often given as the reason for the recent
revolution.
Although oil wealth is often singled out as the sole factor responsible for the need to
attract migrants, according to Madbouly (2009) there are a number of other features of
the Gulf countries that attract foreign labour such as low indigenous participation in the
work force, especially among women, small indigenous populations, locals not being
inclined to work in the private sector, and low education levels. According to Colton
(2010), the locals of Gulf countries in the past were too low in number and insufficiently
educated to meet local labour needs; however, governments still had to look after their
indigenous populations by heavily subsidising the public sector and employing nationals.
This influx of labour into the Gulf States has lead to rapid urbanisation (Al-Katheeri,
2006).
There has been a suggestion by Fargues (2008) that all MENA countries excluding GCC
and Libya are now both destination and origin countries, this is a shift away from the
situation between 1960 and 1990 where the region was divided into destination
countries like the oil rich Gulf States, and origin countries which was the rest of the
region. A very important point to note is that even the large oil producers such as Saudi
Arabia and Kuwait have their own domestic unemployment issues.
It would certainly be inaccurate to classify all of the migrant workers in the Gulf as one
group; according to Rhys (2010) they are a complex group, and they may be
distinguished from each other by where they come from, the type of work they do and
the type of visa they have. The destination cities also vary amongst different migrant
groups; some prefer those cities that have been cultural centres for hundreds of years;
33
whilst others, driven by the demands of the new construction industry prefer the newer
cities that have emerged with globalisation, to service the global market.
The recent uprisings in the region have also had an impact on migration, for example,
the conflict in Libya has created a mass exodus of migrants fleeing to their own
countries, and third country nationals fleeing as well. According to the IOM by the end of
August, 2011 a total of 972295 people had fled Libya to neighbouring countries,
including Italy and Malta (International Organisation for Migration, 2011b p.1). People
fleeing the conflict in Libya also have an economic impact. According to Santi et al. (2011
p.8) there were over 92,000 Tunisians in Libya in 2010 and in 2011 over 41,000 had
returned home and this will significantly reduce the remittances received by Tunisia.
2.4.3 The cities in MENA
The cities of MENA are as diverse as the region itself; MENA has some of the oldest cities
in the world such as Baghdad, Tunis, Cairo and Damascus, and most of these cities have
a historic core, which displays Islamic architecture, and a spatial design suited to Islamic
societies. According to Atash (1993), as the cities in MENA have grown the traditional
core has become surrounded by urban areas that are very different to the core in terms
of town planning and design.
While there has been much written about the Islamic influences on the shape of cities
there has been little discussion about the role that is played by economic reforms,
regional politics and social-cultural changes in shaping cities in MENA (Shechter and
Yacobi, 2005). Given that most of the population of MENA is urbanised and it is
experiencing rapid urbanisation, it is surprising that there is such a gap in the research.
Shechter and Yacobi (2005) say that research into urbanisation in the West has
undergone change over the last twenty years, the city is now studied as a socio-political
arena focussing on the strong influences of capitalism, nationalism and globalisation on
urban spaces; as a result of this approach there is a better understanding of the re-
organisation of urban regimes and the movement of people that is shaping city life; we
now understand how complex social relations influence urban planning and policies, the
problem is that this change in the approach to research has yet been applied to MENA.
34
It is true that the approach to studying cities in MENA is moving away from the
traditional ‘Oriental’ or ‘Islamic’ city focus, however, there is still some way to go until
cities such as Damascus are studied in a comparative manner, moreover, this delay is
surprising because there is an abundance of research and interest in politics in MENA
(Shechter and Yacobi, 2005 p.183). Furthermore, there is frequent debate among
academics about whether or not it is useful to use the term ‘Islamic’ when studying the
cities of MENA, because there is an idea that this term involves a romanticised vision of
cities in MENA; however, it has been considered a useful approach because it shows how
Islamic culture and law shaped the urban form (Dumper and Stanley, 2007).
In further support of a different approach, in researching the cities in MENA it is better
not to homogenise the experiences as simply being “Middle Eastern”, or to employ one
monolithic approach to understanding the production of space, rather, the variety of
shared experiences responsible for shaping cities in the Middle East should be elicited
(Shechter and Yacobi, 2005 p.184).
According to Shechter and Yacobi (2005) globalisation is noticeable in the cities of MENA
in the commerce, business and leisure districts; the buildings in these areas are often
representative of a postmodern global vision, ignoring the essence of their surroundings
in terms of their aesthetic, moreover, as polarisation of the urban environment is
created by buildings such as shopping malls and designer boutiques, the less affluent
take part in this consumption through window shopping. However, the experience is
mostly negative for the less affluent, Silver (2010) states that the wealth enjoyed by
Westerners and Arabs in shopping malls and pleasure palaces in the Middle East, is in
stark contrast to the poverty of informal housing areas in Cairo and the refugee camps of
Beirut.
2.4.4 Global urban geography applied to MENA’s cities
It is apparent in MENA’s cities that the urban geography is affected by their position as a
part of a global urban geography. However, it should be noted that it is not the intention
of this study to examine in depth about how cities in MENA form part of a world city
network or to address the gaps in this area for MENA, however, it will be shown that
MENA does exhibit qualities of other world or global cities. Furthermore, according to
35
Hall (2001 p.4) it is better to “think of cities having different roles and positions in the
world economy” meaning it is not possible to look at the processes that shape cities by
only looking within them, we must also look at the processes beyond their boundaries
because of the influence on urban development exerted by a city’s position in the world
economy (Hall, 2001).
Despite this reality, much of the Global and World City (GaWC) literature (Pacione, 2001;
Sassen, 2001; Kaplan, 2004; Brunn et al., 2008) neglects many of the countries in MENA.
In fact, according to Bassens et al. (2010 p.36) if the cities of MENA were looked at
through the ‘Sassen/GaWC lens’ then they would not be considered as networked in
transnational flows. Examination of Taylor’s (2004) work on world city networks shows
considerable neglect of MENA; his model from 2001 which was called the ‘international
economy as a mosaic’ (Taylor, 2004, p.29) only included Egypt and Israel from the MENA
region; in another model Taylor (2004 p.30) referred to ‘cities as nodes in a global
economy’ and the only city from MENA was Cairo. In the lowest category of world cities,
Gamma, of which there are 35 cities, there were no cities from MENA at all (Beaverstock
et al., 1999 p.445).
In addition; the study of networks in relation to transnational urbanism for cities of the
Middle East has been scattered and undeveloped, even though network trends and
processes are emerging in the region (Stanley, 2005). Bodenstaff (2008) argues that
although global city criteria do not apply to non first-world countries, cities in MENA do
form connections to some extent; however, they have no global command functions;
moreover, Bodenstaff (2008) provides the example of Cairo and states that it is not a
global city because it has failed to attract outside investment, does not have a strategic
vision and does not have financial resources.
However, there is an argument that cities in MENA are part of a global financial network.
Bassens et al. (2010) argue that Islamic Financial Services (IFS) provided by the countries
of MENA may provide a different economic process for looking at world city formation.
However, although global networks of banking and finance are the most powerful, they
should not be considered in isolation. There are other forms of power within networks
and hierarchies that have significant influence, such as the exchange of communication,
36
mentioned above, and facilitation; examples include religious places like Mecca and
Rome or cultural centres such as Hollywood (Massey, 1999).
According to Graham (2006) after the events of September 11th, 2001 there has been a
further change in the perception of cities in MENA, more specifically, there has been a
reworking of imaginative geographies which have separated the so called US ‘homeland’
from those cities in MENA that are perceived to be sources of terrorists threats. The
imagined urban geographies in the US need to be reworked to address the idea of a
threat to international security; meanwhile, the imagined geographies of Arab cities
have been reworked to construct an idea that they are simply ‘terrorist nests’. These two
imagined geographies are being treated together in the form of an integrated
‘battlespace’ (Graham, 2006 p.255). However, recent developments in the region i.e. the
Arab Spring may change this perception that the region is simply a home for terrorists.
Gardner (2011) states that the removal of undemocratic regimes removes one of the
grievances of terrorists, however, he also states that terrorist organisations may try to
exploit the situation.
2.4.5 Traditional urban geography in MENA
In terms of the structure and space of the cities in much of MENA, many are based on
classical urban geography and are centred around the citadel structure, predicated on an
Islamic spatial form influenced by religion. The centre was the traditional citadel, or
residence of those in power, surrounded by a walled city; containing the mosque,
schools and the market, and limited open public spaces (Silver, 2010). There is a
recognition of the role of both climate and Islamic jurisprudence when discussing the
shaping of the cities in MENA, for example enclosed courtyards, narrow streets, slatted
windows, high walls between residences and specific points of entry for guests (Dumper
and Stanley, 2007). There are indeed three views of the city and the template for their
design: firstly, that the cities should be bound by geographical territoriality (Amin and
Thrift, 2002), expressing their walled boundedness, as with the citadel; secondly an
intention to suppress reference to the geographical and see the city as “a space of
flows”, a more modern approach; and thirdly a decision to accept and integrate both
37
aspects of a city (Stanley, 2005 p.190). All three approaches are present in the MENA
region.
Moreover, there has been recent urban renewal in the region whereby the “modern”
(colonial) and the “traditional” (Islamic) are being renovated and rediscovered by locals
and international investors who are interested in preservation, however, the negative
side of this has been the removal of existing residents replaced by people who are more
affluent, this reshaping of these cities such as Beirut, Damascus and Jaffa is principally
motivated by ideas of local identity and nostalgia (Shechter and Yacobi, 2005 p.186).
However, it has been claimed by Atash (1993) that cities in MENA are fragmented due to
the fact that they are comprised of different components, i.e. the historic cores (Islamic),
the colonial quarters, post colonial urban development’s and squatter settlements, each
of these fragments has its own character and is a unique economic and social
environment; there are two main problems with this, firstly, the historic core is losing
economic, political and cultural significance and secondly, the new developments have
no cultural identity and are not linked with the historic core.
The current urban fabric of older cities in MENA has also been affected by government
policies and rapid population growth. As the traditional core of the cities deteriorates
and the upper working classes move into the colonial areas vacated by Europeans, the
poor are left in the cities’ inner cores in dilapidated conditions, with in-migration from
rural areas prompting the appearance of squatter settlements on their periphery (Atash,
1993).
2.5 Urbanisation and urban geography in MENA: Poverty in MENA
This section will focus on the concerns of the poorer nations within the MENA region in
relation to urbanisation and urban geography; the principle two being the consequences
of out migration from the poorest cities, and the unimpeded rapid development of slums
within the boundaries of the cities. Due to the volume of literature found it is possible to
highlight some of these issues using Cairo as an example case study (as discussed above
Egypt has been included in a number of studies into urban poverty in the developing
38
world). The evolution of cities in the face of poverty brings up a number of issues,
relating to planning, the limited availability of low cost housing and the government’s
role in the provision of services to areas of informal housing.
2.5.1 Poverty and slums in MENA’s cities
Privatisation in MENA has brought about the creation of city spaces that can best be
described as informal; this has been a result of a change in the relationship between the
state and their citizens because governments are less able to provide services, thus
people take the responsibility to find housing upon themselves to build their own
housing, in places such as Cairo and Alexandria it is also a part of urban life for the
middle and lower-middle classes (Shechter and Yacobi, 2005). In support of this Bayat
and Denis (2000) say that there is a move away from state planned and managed
urbanisation to more private and spontaneous urbanisation by the people themselves,
challenging assumptions made about informal cities and their association with political
and social problems. However, according to Shechter and Yacobi (2005) the informality
i.e. informal housing, should not be considered as separate from the formal economy
and construction, in MENA the informal and formal are interlinked in a way that
embodies the urban experience, this informality is actually accepted by governments
and used to mitigate their responsibility.
However, governments are to blame for the housing situation in the region, according to
Baharoglu et al., (2005) the problem in terms of housing in MENA is more about
affordability than availability, also supported by Fahmi and Sutton (2008), who identifies
this as the main problem in Cairo and North Africa as a whole. The latter point is in
contrast to Latin America, where housing availability is the problem (Balchin and
Stewart, 2001). However, these studies are based on large cities and there is no
information available for this issue in relation to medium-sized cities in MENA
specifically.
Alternatively, it has also been suggested by Saidi (2007) that both housing availability
and affordability have contributed to the problem of housing in MENA, that financing
facilities for housing are inadequate and there is no access to finance for people in low
to middle income brackets; additionally, housing market growth has been impeded by a
39
lack of an adequate legal framework that protects property rights. As a response to
these housing issues, Keivani et al. (2008) in a study about the public management of
urban land in Iran suggested that that governments could improve low and middle
income housing provision by providing land in parallel with markets and those
governments should develop property rights.
It has been shown more recently that the housing crisis in MENA can be partly the cause
of significant civil unrest. There is strong evidence that the living conditions of the people
have been poor prompting discontent. It has been asserted that an estimated 35 percent
of the population of the Arab world are not satisfied with their standard of living, and in
Yemen this figure is as high as 53 percent (Breisinger et al., 2011 p.1). However, in
relation to the rest of the developing world MENA has the lowest urban poverty and is
atypical in its relatively low incidence of slums (Baker, 2008).
2.5.2 Cairo: A case study
A classic example of a city that has negative urban experiences as a result of poverty is
Cairo. It has been suggested by Fahmi and Sutton (2008) that there are often
generalisations made about the housing crisis and slums in Cairo that conceal
considerable variation in the urban processes. As is also suggested by Pacione (2005), in
Cairo the poor live in the old central part of the city which is overcrowded and has poor
facilities (Fahmi and Sutton, 2008).
However, despite housing problems, the people of Cairo do have a number of choices
when it comes to housing. According to Davis (2006) this is a reflection of the complexity
of the urban in the city, their choices include: renting, if they want a job in the centre,
this is secure but they can never buy; being centrally located in informal housing;
squatting on publically owned land on the outskirts of Cairo, there are disadvantages
which are the high cost of commuting and poor infrastructure; or finally, buying a site for
a house in one of the semi-informal developments on land purchased from Bedouin or
peasants, this gives residents a legal tenure but no building authorisation.
Again, the issue of affordability and not availability arises in this case. There has been a
rapid increase in the population of Cairo so it would make sense that the associated
40
housing problems are related to availability, however, according to Fahimi and Sutton
(2008) there are many vacant dwellings in Cairo with estimates ranging from the
hundreds of thousands to the millions, which can be found in most districts. In contrast,
Cohen (2004) suggests that because of rural to urban migration and rapid population
growth in Cairo there is a shortage of housing in the City. Fahmi and Sutton (2008) say
that newly-wed couples cannot afford to buy or rent and although rentals may be
affordable to many, the up-front money is too much; this is also an issue for the lower-
middle classes who comprise the majority of Cairo’s population.
The result of this housing situation is that a large proportion of Cairo’s population live in
communities and slums, in fact Cairo as a mega-city owes it physical development to
informal settlements (Harre-Rogers, 2006) and despite the fact there is a need to
address the housing needs of the those on limited incomes, the government policy has
encouraged the building of luxury housing, this has created a large disparity between
supply and demand of housing for the poor (Fahmi and Sutton, 2008).
In response to the aforementioned problems, Egypt’s population and demographic
policies were formerly to establish new urban centres in the desert designed to attract
people away from Greater Cairo and redistribute the country’s population more evenly
around the country. Many of these new cities are located within 40 km of Greater Cairo
and can therefore, benefit from service provision and the larger economy of Greater
Cairo, however, there are towns that have been built that are designed to be
economically independent of Greater Cairo in order to reduce the need for people to
commute (Stewart, 1996).
Unfortunately, these strategies of building new towns, which are a mixture of new town,
low-cost housing schemes and overspill estates to the east and west of Cairo, has failed
because they have failed to persuade people to move to these areas, although they have
attracted factories and jobs; the main reasons for this is because these areas lack
sufficient educational and social infrastructure and interestingly, people prefer to stay in
a familiar environment in Greater Cairo; rather than a desert city with monotonous
architecture (Fahmi and Sutton, 2008).
41
However, there is evidence of the move to decentralisation that is taking place in Cairo,
a study by Stewart et al. (2004) showed that there was significant decentralisation,
mainly related to population change in the metropolitan area where people have moved
to newly created towns in the desert, and as a result there has been a significant
increase in population density in the new areas. Their study also identified specific urban
characteristics which showed areas of density decline in the poorer central areas of Cairo
from which people moved for better housing; areas of increasing density which is
primary urban growth on the periphery, where people were encouraged to move using a
ring road as an incentive, and finally, stable areas which appeared in a ring around the
central unpopulated areas. People, mostly middle class, stay in these areas because of
good housing conditions and the population and urban expansion remains stable
because there is no more room for further housing construction. These stable areas are
a representation of polarised land use and population density, 90 percent of urban areas
are targeted at the more affluent and only 10 percent are for the poor, this is a legacy of
colonialisation and the inheritance of the post colonial affluent few (Davis, 2006).
2.6 Urbanisation and urban geography in MENA: The oil rich Gulf States
In contrast to the poorer countries of MENA, is the experience of the urban inhabitants
of the oil rich Gulf States; such as Dubai, Qatar and Sharjah, which has not always been
positive. The oil producing states of the Gulf region have experienced significant
economic and social changes, however, this change has not only been due to oil but also
to the modernisation of economies and political reform which has resulted in
uncontrolled urban growth which has been accentuated by the presence of foreign
workers, influencing both the shape and character of cities in the region (Mokhtar and
Abdelghani, 2011). This rapid change has meant that planning practice is always ahead of
planning theory in rapidly urbanising contexts; this is because future plans have to
continuously change to keep pace with the pressures of development and contextual
changes (Ouf, 2007).
A significant aspect of the urban geography in the Gulf States has been the creation of
spaces by migrants, Kellett (2003) states that most analysis of settlements has focussed
42
on areas designed by specialist professionals for affluent populations. However, a study
of self-made environments, or informal spaces, (i.e. made by migrants) in and around
cities has been neglected. Kellett (2003) suggested three main attributes of these
informal spaces which are: spaces are conceived and built by occupants independent of
professional advice, occupation and construction take place at the same time because of
necessity, and finally, these places are often undergoing a process of dynamic change
and the occupants show creativity and initiative with limited resources. The spaces that
are created by migrants are local but have global links. Although the global / local
dichotomy is receiving a lot of attention; in this interaction the global is a space of
sameness where economic flows take place, and the local is a place of difference and
struggle. It has been suggested by ElSheshtawy (2008) that this idea is inaccurate
because it presents limitations; there is a need to adjust the theory to also include the
regional, national and supranational, short of global. For example Benton-Short et al.
(2005 p.957) argued that ‘global immigrant destinations are the nodes from which
complex linkages are formed with the economic periphery’. This was further supported
by Price and Benton-Short (2007) who observed large scale immigration to be creating
new and more immigrant destinations which are often overlooked; these are
destinations that have different forms, are often diverse and are linked through
transnational connections.
In relation to the above assertions regarding immigrant destinations with different
forms, a distinctive characteristic of the urban geography of the oil rich Gulf States is that
there are hidden spaces, which have, according to ElSheshtawy (2008), been forgotten.
In studying these spaces ElSheshtawy (2008) employed a theoretical framework that
encompasses the idea of the ‘everyday’ and the transnational connections which
connect the global and the local. He found that these processes were taking place in
these forgotten spaces. More specifically, these forgotten spaces in the area of study,
Dubai, had low-income migrant communities that exchanged information and money
with their countries of origin and these areas are affected spatially by a concentration of
these migrants and their activities; this is evidenced by the presence of shops,
restaurants and other service outlets that service this expatriate group. In relation to
this, Allen (1999 p. 54) talked about the difficulty of grasping the whole of a city because
43
it is not a single entity and mentions ‘many worlds within cities’ meaning by moving
through city streets we enter different worlds.
2.6.1 Dubai: A case study
Dubai was developed very quickly and was founded on oil wealth and has been shaped
by its pursuit of economic growth, much of the need to increase housing and business
capacity in Dubai was due the influx of expatriate workers and tourists (Bloch, 2010).
There has been competition among 21st Century metropolises for urban primacy; this
included Dubai which has undertaken an urban revolution to gain rank in the ‘world
urban hierarchy’, however, closer analysis of urban restructuring in the Emirate shows
that it has resulted in detrimental social problems, in its pursuit of icons and vertical
cities, Dubai may be on course to serious social consequences (Acuto, 2010 p.272). The
relevance of the case of Dubai is that it has been suggested by Bloch (2010) that building
practices in Dubai are influencing suburbanisation in the rest of the Middle East, as well
as Asia and Africa.
Pacione (2005) suggests that urban expansion occurred over four phases in Dubai: slow
growth and limited physical expansion because of limited economic growth, compact
growth based on a master plan which introduced zoning and a road systems; in line with
the pre-oil economy, planned suburban growth because of availability of capital and
finally, in a period from 1980 until 2005, a period of rapid urbanisation in terms of
diversity. However, recent economic developments may add another phase to this
process. According to Bloch (2010) the global economic crisis brought about an end to
Dubai’s economic boom towards the end of 2008 which resulted in a slowdown in
construction, that real estate development will no longer, for the time being, be an
economic priority.
There are now plans to develop the city in a planned phase next to existing built up areas
instead of having leapfrog developments, a central element of this urban development,
and part of the overall strategy to establish Dubai as a global hub for commerce, is to
build ‘cities within cities’; these involve mega projects comprised of: Internet city, Media
city, Festival city, Dubai Marina and International city (Pacione, 2005 p.262). Davis (2007
p. 53) states that these individual mega projects should not be considered as stand alone
44
“crazy” projects but are part of building the Dubai brand, moreover, Davis (2007 p. 53)
cites a quotation by George Katodrytis which states: “Dubai is the prototype of the new
post-global city, which creates appetites rather than solves problems”.
A problem in Dubai encouraged by political, economic and social conditions is urban
densification; this densification makes it logical to abandon residential areas and move
to cheaper high-rise housing mixed up with the current high-rise developments. This
creates ecological voids where detached homes should have been (Wilson, 2010). In
support of this, the urban geography of Dubai has been described by ElSheshtawy (2008)
as fragmentary because it is composed of many, disconnected centres separated by
multi-lane highways; and because of this there is little significant pedestrian circulation
or conventional urban fabric.
Although there are spaces created by migrant groups, it is not reasonable to say that it is
only the behaviour of the expatriate communities that are responsible for the creation of
the spaces in Dubai. The position of the city’s land development policy and housing
policy makes a clear distinction between the citizen and the expatriate; each group is
allocated different spaces, which leads to spatial segregation on ethnic lines, in some
areas of the old city people have moved out because Indians and Pakistanis have moved
in (ElSheshtawy, 2008). Pacione (2005) says that land allocation policy in Dubai is based
on a distinction between expatriate and citizen housing needs, for the nationals there
are policies aimed at meeting local housing needs and replacing dilapidated houses and
the allocation of new housing plots to which citizens are entitled, and expatriate needs
are to be met by the private sector.
Moreover, housing policy in Dubai has been greatly responsible for physical
development in the following ways: housing plots are allocated to individuals and not
families, thus increasing the land area required for citizens, new housing plots have been
located on the periphery encouraging suburbanisation and so-called ‘dormitory
communities’ and the government’s discouragement of low cost expatriate housing
(Pacione, 2005 p.262). More generally, economic and ecological complications in Dubai
have been made worse by rapid expansion, a top-down approach to urbanism and the
building of single-phase mega projects, this has, for example, created landscape issues
45
that are unable to respond to socio-cultural, economic and environmental changes
(Wilson, 2010).
Evidence of this is that the design of spatial form has not always been successful in
Dubai; there have been complaints from local residents that developers abandoned
plans to build social and recreational spaces. According to Wilson (2010) this is a case of
building the towers first with social spaces and requirements being only afterthoughts. It
has been claimed by Acuto (2010) that the pursuit of distinguishing Dubai in the world
city network by creating novel icons has only resulted in a conurbation of construction
sites and monotonous ‘hypercomfortable and hyperexclusive’ spaces which are designed
to seduce the visitor, however, this has failed to create any ‘sense of urban cohesion and
vitality’ (Acuto, 2010 p.282). Moreover, there is also the sense that Dubai is a large
building site void of community spirit (ElSheshtawy, 2008).
It has been suggested by Acuto (2010) that one aspect of vertical cities such as Dubai is
not only the creation of inhuman dimensions but also the endeavour to create a city
within a city where its urbanism is an attempt to create comfort zones for expatriates,
who only stay temporarily, to the detriment of locals. However, this architectural
megalomania is not irrational if Dubai is to be a luxury consumers’ paradise for the
whole of the Middle East and South Asia (Davis, 2007).
It has been suggested by Pacione (2005) that in contrast to many of the industrialised
cities of the west which are trying to effect urban regeneration, Dubai is in the process of
urban generation. According to Davis (2007 p.51) Dubai is the “new global icon of
imagineered urbanism”. Indeed; a very significant point is that although Dubai faces
common problems with the developing world, such as providing infrastructure in the
context of rapid urbanisation, it is different in that it has economic strength, political
stability, no legacy of industrial dereliction, no urban sprawl and clear development
planning to create a twenty-first century city (Pacione, 2005). However, post 2008 the
economic crisis faced by Dubai places doubt on the country’s political stability in relation
to handling the crisis, in fact according to Bloch (2010) the government were in denial of
a pending crisis despite warning signs.
46
2.6.2 Spatial zones: The impact of socio-political and economic divisions
The fragmented and segregated nature of cities has led to a discussion amongst theorists
of a spatial zoning strategy that occurs as a part of the city design. This kind of zoning is
often based on wealth and poverty, but social status, nationality of origin and political
relations all influence the existence of different areas within the cities inhabited by
different groups.
The relevance of such zones was discussed by Nagy (2006) in relation to Doha, Qatar,
where the urban landscape consists of a multiplicity of cultural spaces with transnational
populations. However, despite the fact such spaces exist here, Nagy (2006) suggests that
cities in the Arabian Peninsula do not have ethnic spaces surrounded by rigid
boundaries, it is easy for people who are not residents to enter these spaces and use the
services within; for example Arab or European customers visiting an Indian barber: this is
in sharp contrast to Sao Paolo which is characterised by a city of walls (ElSheshtawy,
2008). Social, political and economic relationships between groups is played out in
neighbourhoods of cities around the world and these relations show themselves in
spatial form e.g. segregation, shanty towns and ethnic enclaves, in fact it is the policy of
the government that Qatari housing areas are distinct from expatriate housing areas
(Nagy, 2006).
The tendency towards spatial zones that may be socially exclusive relates to strong
concerns about the exertion of the socio-political influence of expatriate workers in the
Gulf area generally. Despite their need for migrant workers, the Gulf States have reacted
to the potential disadvantages of the mass influx of migrants from Asia, as physically
manifested within urban areas. It has been argued by Winckler (2010) that in many
industrialised nations the immigrant population can become the majority and take over,
and he mentions the policies of the Gulf States, whereby the ruling royal families do not
allow the nationalising of immigrants. Dito (2008) stated that in consideration of the size
of the migrant population in the Gulf States, the concern has moved away from labour
market issues to concerns about identity and foreign workers creating democratic
imbalances. However, the Arab Spring of 2011 has significant implications for foreign
workers in MENA. According to Douglas (2011) the unrest has implications for the
47
composition and size of foreign workers in the Gulf States, mainly because, for example,
the uprisings in Syria and Egypt will cause more Arabs to seek work in the Gulf countries,
or even embolden foreign workers to demand more rights.
Beyond the cultural and social impact, Rahman (2010) questioned whether the presence
of migrant workers is an economic asset or a security risk; he suggested that migrant
workers in the Gulf region are considered to be a security risk and as a result Gulf
countries have become stricter in their recruitment policies. Bahrain and the Secretary-
General for the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) consider foreign labour as a threat to the
region’s future; however, this view is not shared by the ILO (International Labour
Organisation) that believes migrant workers are not appreciated and are underpaid.
2.7 Urbanisation and urban geography in MENA: The conflict zones
One characteristic of MENA that cannot be ignored in terms of its impact on urban
geography is its many conflict zones. This has had a direct effect on the processes of
urbanisation, patterns of migration and urban spatial form. The latter will now be
addressed with an analysis of how different conflicts in the region have negatively
affected urban areas, sometimes referred to as urbicide.
2.7.1 Urbicide
Ramadan (2009 p.156) defines urbicide as ‘violence against or killing the city’, in
reference to the destruction of cultural symbols and everyday places during the
genocide in Bosnia. This urbicide as a concept is useful for interpreting the links between
urban space and political violence (Fregonese, 2009). Perhaps the most well-known case
of conflict impacting urban geography is Israel and the occupied territories. According to
Graham (2002 p.642) the claim by Ariel Sharon that invasion of the occupied territories
sought to destroy terrorist infrastructure was unfounded, and that the real intention of
Sharon’s invasion was to ‘destroy the urban, civil and infrastructural foundations of the
proto-Palestinian state’ also termed as a process of ‘urbicide’. Ramadan (2009) also
mentioned ‘urbicide’ when discussing the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in
northern Lebanon. More specifically, the invasions were intended to undermine the
48
modernisation and infrastructure of Palestinian cities by destroying water tanks,
electronic communications, roads, houses and hospitals; they are part of a wider
destruction targeted at Palestinian areas, which includes impeding the development of
Palestinian settlements inside Israel and the building of numerous Jewish settlements in
the West Bank and Gaza (Graham, 2002).
Iraq also provides an example of how the urban is used in warfare. According to Graham
(2004) Iraq was a modern and highly urbanised society that has been put back to a pre-
industrial age by sanctions, bombing and state violence. It has been argued by Riley
(2011) that the battle and counter insurgency in Sadr city, Iraq is a clear example of
violence against an urban area, the people who live there, and therefore, urbanity itself
when examined in light of literature on urbicide.
However, the impact of conflict on the urban geography does not end with the invasion
of urban areas. According to Ramadan (2009) there are spaces in some countries where
the law of that country does not apply, he provides an example of a Palestinian refugee
camp in Lebanon, it was destroyed by the conflict but following the conflict it was
vandalised and looted, there was complete destruction in addition to what happened
militarily. As a result Ramadan (2009) highlighted that within Lebanon there was a space
that was not Lebanon, i.e. there was a void in terms of sovereignty and legality, which
encouraged the ‘urbicide’. These spaces have been referred to as ‘sovereignties of
extraterritoriality’ by Weizman (2007) where sovereign law is deliberately suspended.
This type of space was also identified by Bayat and Denis (2000 p.185) in Imbaba, one of
Cairo’s informal settlements, which was ‘taken over’ by an Islamist organisation called Al
Gama’a al-Islamyya which created a state within the state in Egypt.
2.7.2 Cities of conflict
Perhaps the best example of a divided city in MENA as a result of conflict is Beirut which
exhibits urban polarisation. As Beirut’s population became more segregated in terms of
religious belief, it created antagonistic enclaves separated by a no man’s land known as
the green line, dividing the Christian East from the Muslim West (Ramadan, 2009).
According to Silver (2010) urban division is a predictable and unavoidable sequence
where insecurity leads to ethnic violence and then internal partition. It has been
49
suggested by Schechla (2009) that although there has been extreme physical destruction
and economic loss because of military conflict, cross border conflict and internal conflict
has affected even those major cities in the Middle East that are far from these battles,
because of the involuntary displacement of millions of refugees.
Schechla (2009) states that together with the physical changes to cities as an indirect
result of conflict, there is also the problem of social cohesion due to an unequal
distribution of resources, compounded by the movements of labourers from poorer
countries. This is very apparent in Baghdad, Iraq where before the US-led invasion that
toppled Saddam in 2003, Sunni, Shiite and Christians lived together, however, after the
invasion and the resulting sectarian violence, neighbourhoods were divided over faith
lines (Turner, 2011). However, Schechla (2009) also cites urbanists, who argue that as a
result of conflict the constant reshuffling of populations and new construction of housing
represent positive growth for a city. There are other problems in the region more
generally that are associated with political conflict. In Iran urban planning has also been
affected by political conflict. Tehran went through a period that can be divided into
three phases, they were the revolution phase (1979 - 1988), reconstruction phase (1989
– 1996) and the reform phase (1997 – 2004) each one of these phases had its own
approach to urban planning (Madanipour, 2006). Although Tehran has a master plan for
urban development (1968) its implementation was disrupted by the revolution and any
growth since has been was piecemeal; in the reconstruction phase in the 1990s some of
the original limitations of the master plan were relaxed, this phase included giving more
responsibility to the municipality.
All of the problems mentioned above as associated with conflict and its consequences
have an effect on urban areas. Schechla (2009) states that these issues present common
challenges for urban policy makers because they always have to be ready to
accommodate population shifts that are incremental and abrupt. Basra in Iraq has
experienced population movements, and according to the United Nations (2006) the
problems of housing shortages and inadequate municipal services are compounded by
population movements and displacement. Moreover, Basra has many informal
settlements that appeared during the wars and sanctions which has created a city with
no proper urban structure, finally, in post-war countries such as Iraq there are numerous
50
complex problems to meet the ever changing needs of a growing population and the
master planning approach in this respect, can be deficient (United nation, 2006).
2.8 Urbanisation and urban geography in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has been transformed into a modern developing nation during the 70 years
since its creation; its towns and cities have been transformed by rapid urban growth, this
rapid growth has indeed been due to wealth generated by oil (Ashwan, 1990). By 1981
Saudi Arabia had become one of the richest, most important countries in the world.
Interestingly, according to Lindsey (2006), the country has developed more rapidly than
any country in modern history. Urbanisation in Saudi Arabia was further prompted by
the introduction of development plans during the 1970s, and rapid urbanisation
continued throughout the 1970s and the 1980s. However, during the 1990s there was a
gradual decline in terms of urban development, partly due to the Gulf war and low oil
prices (Al-But’hie and Eben Saleh, 2002).
According to Basha (1988), urbanisation in Saudi Arabia has been distinctive in the
developing world in that it has developed through a number of phases; the traditional,
modern, rapid growth and stabilised growth phases. The traditional stage was before the
discovery of oil; the country was poor and was the least urbanised in the Middle East.
The modern phase followed on from the discovery of oil and was characterised by the
associated development. The rapid growth phase coincided with a rapid increase in the
price of oil in 1974, which greatly increased the country’s wealth, causing cities to
become centres for consumption rather than production. Finally, there was a stabilised
growth phase, which was marked by the decrease in the price of oil in the mid-1980s
(Basha, 1988).
In consideration of urbanisation and development in Saudi Arabia, the country’s five-
year development plans have placed an emphasis on reducing regional disparities. These
regional disparities have been often blamed for problems associated with urbanisation.
For example, it has been suggested by Henerson (2002) that investment in public
51
services in areas outside of the main cities is too low. This is the case in Saudi Arabia
where there has been a major issue of urban primacy and the need for decentralisation.
However, this is not to suggest that the major urban centres are immune to problems. A
study by Mandeli (2010) showed that there are management issues in relation to urban
management in Saudi Arabia; they cite the case of Jeddah where problems are related to
the numerous agencies involved and the conflicts between them and they suggest
legislation as a solution.
These primate cities not only receive attention by the government but much of the
literature related to urbanisation and urban geography in Saudi Arabia is about a few of
the major urban centres, for example: Garba’s (2004) study about the need for improved
urban governance of Riyadh, Mandeli’s (2010) study of the urban management problems
in Jeddah, Glasze and Alkhayyal’s (2002) about the re-emergence of traditional spatial
forms in Riyadh, Struyk’s (2005) work related to the quality of housing in Riyadh, Al
Otaibi’s (2004) work on housing in Jeddah, the International Organisation for Migration’s
(2010) study of migration to Riyadh, Jeddah and Medinah, and Al-Hemaidi’s (2001) paper
on the built environment in Riyadh, interestingly, Al-Hemaidi (2001 p.179) states that
“The aim of this paper is to identify and analyze the types of built environment in Riyadh,
as an example of Saudi Arabia’s cities”, this is unfortunate that a writer would consider
the capital as representative of other cities in the Kingdom.
Any examination of the causes of urbanisation in Saudi Arabia cannot ignore the issue of
migration. According to Basha (1988) there are two major factors that have cause
substantial population growth in Saudi Arabia in large cities; firstly, internal migration
and secondly, international labour migration. Al-Sheikh (2000) examined the effect of
migration on Riyadh, and found that because many migrants came from other cities their
economic situation did not improve and newer migrants had the same income as
migrants who arrived much earlier. However, the story does not necessarily end in
urbanisation as it has been shown by Khraif (1992) that some migrants will return to
rural areas and there are a number of influencing factors that determine a migrant’s
intention to stay such as having parents in the rural areas or home ownership in the city.
52
Al Amoudi (1994) studied the drivers for rural to urban migration to Jeddah and focussed
on the characteristics of migrants and their destination points, this study found that
there was an overall positive experience for migrants living in an urban environment,
moreover, it was found these migrants readily changed their external appearance and
way of speaking. It should be noted that the flow of population from rural areas has also
been influenced by factors such as land grants, the availability of recreational services
and public utilities as well as the desire of some to live away from the strict social
constraints that characterise a rural existence and Bedouin settlements (Alkhraif, 2007b).
In terms of the demographics of migrants to Riyadh, it was found that they were
generally young (Alsakran, 1995).
According to Al Sharif (1994) much of the internal migrants come not only from villages
and rural areas but also from the desert, the consequences of this have been an increase
in traffic congestion and higher rents. A significant proportion of internal migrants in the
Kingdom are Bedouin, their migration and subsequent sedentarisation have had a
significant impact on urbanisation and urban geography. The Bedouin were first settled
as part of policy to unify the Kingdom and also to ensure that they were available for
military service (Dar al Liwa, 2000). The concerted efforts of governments to settle their
Bedouin populations have been met with resistance, in the case of the Bedouin in the
Negev, forced sedentarisation meant that the Bedouin actually held onto their culture
and traditions by adapting them in a new urban environment (Abu-Saad, 2008), even
adapting houses in urban areas to their culture (Dezuari, 2009), although it has been
claimed by Ben-Israel (2008) that the Negev Bedouin adopt a more Islamic, non-tribal
culture in the urban environment. However, the concerted effort to sedentarise the
Bedouin was not the only driver of change. Another aspect leading to the decline of the
nomadic lifestyle of the Bedouin was the mechanisation of the nomads’ movements and
commercialisation of their activities (Abdalla et al., 1999). Furthermore the provision of
communication networks, mechanised agriculture, provision of health facilities, schools
and finally the transfer of power from the tribal chief to the central government (Heady,
1972), all aided urbanisation.
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2.8.1 Urban Geography in Saudi Arabia
According to Alkhedheiri (2002) many of the problems experienced as a result of the
urbanisation process in Saudi Arabia can be blamed on poor planning resulting from the
adoption of Western urban planning strategies (specifically those of the United States),
the result was a grid iron pattern of housing characterised by the square lot, villa type
houses and setbacks, all influenced by American housing styles which was completely
alien to Saudi culture and traditional urban planning. This idea has been supported by Al-
Hemaidi (2001) who says that there has been cultural conflict as a result of foreign
planning principles. Moreover, Mubarak (2004 p.585) states that in Riyadh
“Contemporary urbanized areas are alien to the cultural experiences of most
inhabitants”.
Eben Saleh (2001) also criticises this modern, Western intervention, he says there is a
noticeable difference between traditional or vernacular design and the modern design of
houses in Saudi Arabia and there has been much debate about the success of each, with
traditional styles seen as a way of creating environments that are safe and provide a
sense of place, and vernacular designs as unidentifiable and unsafe. Moreover, in the
examination of urbanisation it is important to consider housing because according to Al
Otaibi (2004) the style, age and aesthetics of housing are representative factors of a
community’s character.
However, there is an argument (Glasze and Alkhayyal, 2002) that shows that the
western-influenced villa design confined within gated compounds represents a
resurgence of fragmented settlement patterns found in old towns, these authors say
that new compounds in Riyadh that have several villas may represent a revival of
sociospatial patterns because these compounds follow a principle of spatial seclusion of
different cultural and religious groups. These writers say that such organisation is a
principle of many Arab towns, especially Riyadh that was once a collection of clusters of
courtyards houses.
One area where the rapid urbanisation experienced by Saudi Arabia has had a significant
impact is on the identity of certain towns’ communities. Al-Hathloul and Mughal (1999),
who examined the impact of rapid and unprecedented urbanisation on community
54
identity using Al-Badai, a small town in the administrative region of Riyadh, addressed
this issue. Their study found that existing towns are finding it difficult to retain their
cultural identities, and that in an attempt to solve this problem some towns have used
the architecture of buildings, which incorporates the traditional Saudi lifestyle of
traditional settlements, and landscape architecture using traditional and indigenous
shrubs and trees.
However, these solutions may be superficial. Al-Hathloul and Edadan (1995) say that
local authorities in Saudi Arabia have a narrow view of urbanisation, tending to focus on
the visible aspects of urban areas for a quick fix solution to urban problems. Although, to
be fair Saudi Arabia has witnessed rapid urban growth never before seen in the Arabian
Peninsula and this has put pressure on the agencies responsible for urban planning and
management (Daghistani, 1993).
Physical evidence that urban planning has not been completely successful has been
presented by Aina et al. (2008) in their analysis of changes in land use and land cover in
Riyadh, they state that urban growth management strategies have not been successful
which confirms the urban theory of coalescence and diffusion. Mandeli (2008) studied
urban planning and management in Jeddah and found that although such plans have
created a high quality infrastructure in some major urban centres; longer-term problems
continue especially uncontrolled developments on the edge of cities. In relation to this,
Mubarak (2004) examined the socio-economic and political factors of urban morphology
in Riyadh and said that government policy has created dysfunctional urban sprawl by
allocating large housing plots and very wide roads.
On a national level, the concentration of the urban population in the primary cities has
led to neglect of the peripheral regions and the failure to take advantage of the natural
resources of those regions. This neglect has led to a marked regional imbalance in the
development of the country, resulting in a disproportionate concentration of urban
populations in the primary, larger urban centres, which has caused regional disparities
(Alkhedheiri, 2002). Evidently, there is a necessity to decentralise urban management, as
it is clear that this has contributed to the urban problems; however, throughout the
country in many cities the effort to decentralise the municipalities has been minimal.
55
Henderson (2010) states that inequality is enhanced by government policies favouring
certain cities or by local government policies, encouraging migrants not to migrate by
only offering poor living conditions.
Having primate cities, however, is certainly not unique to Saudi Arabia; in fact according
to Pacione (2009 p.78) the ‘primate city phase’ is the first stage of urbanisation where
the economic activity is concentrated in a limited number of primate cities. However,
Pacione (2009) also describes the first sub-phase of the primate city phase and says that
such cities attract much of the inter-regional migration; this is not the case in Saudi
Arabia because it has been the cities close to the oil fields that have attracted most of
the migrants.
This regional disparity within the Kingdom was in fact recognised by the government
who said in their development plans that the potential for conflict between local
development objectives and national economic objectives persisted, however, the
government provided explanation and justification for this conflict which results in
regional imbalances, their reasons included the need to concentrate industrial activities,
the cost of addressing imbalances and that disparity may in fact be beneficial
(Alkhedheiri, 2002). However, it was noted by the Ministry of Economy and Planning,
when discussing the success of the eighth development plan, that it is essential to align
the National Spatial Strategy with the municipalities’ services strategy to ensure that the
development among the Kingdom’s regions is balanced (Ministry of Economy and
Planning, 2008a).
An example of this disparity is Riyadh, because of rapid development, rapid population
growth and the introduction of the car; Riyadh passed through some significant changes
and became one of the fastest growing cities in the Middle East (Aina et al., 2008).
Riyadh has risen as the dominant city because it is the capital and therefore has received
considerable attention in terms of urban planning and urban development (Alkhraif,
2007b). Moreover, Riyadh is considered to be the centre of urban activity as
geographically it sits on the crossroads of the urban concentrations of the east and the
west of the country (Al-Hemaidi, 2001).
56
People migrating to more developed primate cities further compounds the problem of
regional disparity as governments are more inclined to invest more time and money into
those areas, additionally, there may be an absence of links between the two types of
area, with the result that the lesser developed areas are not influenced by social and
technological change, furthering regional disparity (Alkhedheiri, 2002). Regional disparity
is not unique to Saudi Arabia in the region it is also found in Iran where rural to urban
migration has led to a change in the hierarchy of the urbanisation system and a
geographical pattern that is inharmonious and uncoordinated (Fanni, 2006).
Hassan (2001) stated that the country faced housing shortages due to an influx of
migrant labour between 1970 and 2000, and despite the improvement in management,
there were still urban-related problems in Riyadh, such as the spread of squatter
settlements and a further increase in the demand for housing (Garba, 2004). Moreover,
Karam (2010) says that there is a housing shortfall of 2 million homes and that only 30
percent of Saudis own their own home. Indeed, it is not only the migrant inflows from
overseas that have increased the demand on housing but also from internal migrants
from rural areas and the desert (Al Sharif, 1994).
In the past, as suggested by Mubarak (1999), there has been a significant decrease in the
government’s commitment to housing and this combined with a poorly developed
private housing sector has led to housing that is custom built and self-financed,
moreover, the government need to consider cultural attributes, family structure and
financing methods when approaching housing policy.
More recently, there have been some significant developments in terms of housing in
the Kingdom. Opoku and Abdul-Muhmin (2010) say that because there has been
significant growth in the Saudi housing market, an increase in the cost of housing, and a
decrease in disposable incomes, there has been more of a preference towards housing
for the low-income market. This has resulted not only in a change of preference for
types of dwelling but also a change in preference for tenure options; moreover, these
preferences differ within different subsections of society. According to Al Otaibi (2004)
referring to housing in Jeddah, it has been a central goal of government plans to provide
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the country’s citizens with safe and decent housing and this goal is echoed throughout
the public and private sectors.
Foreign labour has played a significant role in shaping the urban environment, according
to Al Gabbani (2009) the creation of spaces is taking place Riyadh, Jeddah and Makkah,
which has to a certain extent, created culturally divided cities in the Kingdom based on
nationality. However, it has been suggested by Bourland et al. (2006) that although the
expatriate population of Saudi Arabia is large and has contributed significantly to
population growth and therefore urban population growth, it has not had the expected
effect on urbanisation, because the majority of the expatriate workforce receiving low
incomes, an average of SR 2,354 in 2000, and ordinarily they do not purchase properties,
most of them are males and share rented apartments with other males. Moreover, they
tend to live in the older parts of cities (Al-Gabbani, 2009).
In relation to the abovementioned spaces, the global cities literature demonstrates how
external links with other countries have been shown to have significance in shaping the
urban environment. However, Saudi Arabia has been neglected by the majority of
researchers. Of those that have considered Saudi cities, Price and Benton-Short (2007)
have identified Riyadh and Jeddah as examples of three of the world’s largest immigrant
destinations. Saudi Arabia has more foreign born migrants than Canada or the UK and
when we also consider all the factors that make global cities e.g. accumulation of capital,
command points of world economy, headquarters for large companies and hubs for
global transportation; it is clear that Riyadh and Jeddah have such features. According to
Silver (2010) it is surprising that the cities of Mecca and Medina have been bypassed by
the global city discourse because they are global religious centres. In fact cities in MENA
“manifest the same tensions as cities of other regions between global markets and
informal economies, state collectivism and privatization, tradition and modernity,
religiosity and secularism, nationalism and universalism” (Silver, 2010 p.348).
2.8.2 Significance of Medium-Sized Cities in MENA and Saudi Arabia
From the review of the literature it has been clear that there is a significant gap in the
research about medium-sized cities in relation to urbanisation and migration, this
neglect may for some reason suggest that urban centres of this size have very little
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significance, however, it will now be shown that medium-sized cities have equal
significance to large cities in Saudi Arabia, as well as the MENA region as a whole.
There are very few primate cities in MENA but there are also many medium-sized cities,
in fact according to Dumper and Stanley (2007) there has been sharp increase in the
population of small and medium-sized cities across the region. According to Al Rabdi
(2008), in Saudi Arabia the population of medium-sized cities will increase in the future,
not only because of natural increase but also because of the influx of local and foreign
migrants, moreover, medium-sized cities will gain a greater share of their region’s
population and therefore, a greater share of the urban population.
An interesting dynamic also related to urbanisation in medium-sized cities is migration
from cities of this size from major cities. According to the Ministry of Economy and
Planning (1995) reverse migration, in this case from large to medium-sized cities, is
taking place across Saudi Arabia suggesting an improvement in services and social
facilities (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 1985) and work opportunities in cities of
this size, and discontent with the busy and expensive life in major cities. Moreover, it has
also been suggested by the Ministry of Economy Planning (1985) that when people
return to their region of origin they do not necessarily go back to their rural place of
origin. This process has been addressed by Falkingham et al. (2011) who say that return
migrations out from large cities is due to economic and social forces such as poverty and
the length of stay in the city.
Due to the aforementioned disparity between major urban centres and smaller cities,
the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (2000) endeavoured to enhance the role
played in development by small and medium-sized cities to overcome the imbalance. In
fact in support of this, in terms of economic activity the Ministry of Municipal and Rural
Affairs (2000) say that the manufacturing industry have moved to medium-sized cities
from larger cities. Therefore, it is important to understand the urbanisation and urban
geography of these cities because they will have an impact on the countries future as
much as the major cities.
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2.9 Conclusion
This chapter revealed that the region has its own experience of processes and patterns
of urbanisation; unique qualities included housing issues, population growth and a high
youth population; it has also shown that political governance has had a huge impact on
failures and successes. More importantly, however, it is distinct in its patterns of
migration, more specifically inter- and intra-regional which plays a significant role in
urban processes. Much of the theory that is available regarding urbanisation cannot be
readily applied to such a diverse region.
The first most noticeable aspect of the literature is that although it covers urbanisation
processes and urban geography in MENA and the drivers, patterns and consequences,
there is a distinct neglect of these processes with regards to medium-sized cities. This is
evidenced by the fact that all distinctive patterns and processes of urbanisation and
examinations of urban geography are conducted in relation to large archetypal cities
such as Cairo and Tehran and city states like Dubai. MENA is characterised by having
many medium-sized cities and very few primate cities; therefore most people in MENA
are experiencing urbanism in cities of this size.
The literature also revealed that there was a considerable focus on the economic factors
in urbanisation and the urban geography of MENA and a neglect of the political and
socio-cultural factors. However, it is also apparent that there is increasing recognition
that processes of urbanisation and urban geography have to be considered in light of the
political, social and cultural and not just the economic or developmental, this is
evidenced by an increase in literature related to these areas, but also by considerable
criticism of the Global / World cities literature that focuses primarily on economic
aspects of cities, a result of which is an almost complete neglect of the cities in MENA.
Additionally, the literature does show some evidence that there is a lack of
multidimensional examination of urbanisation and urban geography in MENA, although
there is evidence that the economic, political and socio-cultural are considered together,
most of the literature can be grouped according to these areas, there needs to be more
a more multidimensional conversation. Another criticism put forward in the literature is
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that for too long MENA has been considered in light of Oriental or Islamic approaches
which lead to an outdated impression of many of the countries in the region.
This review has also highlighted the importance of the need to examine the lived urban
experience, almost all of the theories specific to the region; especially those related to
the urban geography, are related to distinctive characteristics, i.e. rich oil states, poor
countries with slums and conflict zones, all considerations of these aspects are often
discussed partly in terms of the lived urban experience. Moreover, there was an
indication that socio-cultural changes and variations affect how people perceive their
urban environment; this has implications, for example, when studying why people of
different cultural backgrounds migrate to a city.
In the case of Saudi Arabia there is a lack of research into internal migration for
economic reasons. There have been studies focusing on the internal migration of the
Bedouin in Saudi Arabia (The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World
Factbook, 1992); however, these studies are dated and relate to Saudi Arabia in general.
They do briefly discuss the economic problems that may cause migration. There is
however, a lack of discussion about what it is that which attracts migrants to the cities;
indeed, the wider economic success of Saudi Arabia, its amenities and infrastructure are
clearly well suited to accommodating such migrants. Moreover, there has been research
into the effects that migrants have had on society, especially in the Gulf States, but there
has not been proper analysis of effects on migrants’ lives or more in-depth analysis of
different types of migrants. Literature on Qatar showed how social relationships
between different social groups significantly impacted on spatial form, but this
highlighted a lack of attention to the different social groupings of individuals within a
country, something lacking in the literature.
Moreover, in relation to rural to urban migration within Saudi Arabia much of the
literature also focuses on migration to major urban centres, for example Al Amoudi’s
(1994) study of migration to Jeddah, Al Amoudi’s study is similar to this study in terms of
the aims and objectives, however, there are major differences, firstly, there is only a
focus on migrants generally and secondly, it is about Jeddah, a major city in Saudi Arabia.
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Alkhraif’s (2007b) study of urbanisation in Saudi Arabia also focuses on migration;
however, it is also for the Kingdom generally.
Although when examining the literature about urban geography in MENA there is
mention about networks of cities or world city networks (e.g. Yacobi and Schechter
(2005)), much of this is related to the major urban centres in the region such as Dubai
and also conflict cities (for example spaces within spaces). While this is appropriate for
examining urban geography in MENA and is included in Chapter Four as part of the
general trends in urban geography, this study is more concerned with the trends, drivers
and consequences of urbanisation and migration at the medium-city level and is not
specifically concerned with finding out if and how medium-sized cities link into any
regional or global network, although this is a subject for any future research.
In summary, there is a lack of study of the political and socio-cultural factors that affect
the drivers and consequences of urbanisation and urban life (experiences and
perceptions) in medium-sized cities in MENA. These socio-cultural factors in relation to
drivers and consequences of migration/urbanisation can be considered in terms of socio-
cultural reasons for migrating to urban areas, influences on urban landscape and
influences on perception of urban life and space. In light of the above-summarised
points, this thesis positions itself as a study that contributes to the knowledge of urban
geographies in MENA, more specifically, it contributes to the understanding of medium-
sized cities which this literature review has shown to be neglected, the approach to this
understanding will be multidimensional through a social, political as well as economic
perspective.
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CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
The literature review revealed that there was insufficient study about the trends, drivers
and consequences of the processes of urbanisation and urban geography for medium-
size cities in the MENA region. Moreover, it was also found that there was a lack of
emphasis on the social, cultural and political aspects of the aforementioned processes;
the stronger emphasis in the literature was on the economic. Overall, there is a lack of
study of the social, cultural and political factors in relation to drivers and consequences
of urbanisation, and how these factors affect and are affected by urban geography in
medium-sized cities in MENA. Yacobi and Shechter (2005) suggest that there is more
awareness of complex social relations in relation to urban planning and policies in the
West, however, this understanding has not fully made an impact on cities in MENA
which are economic, social cultural and political complexities, unfortunately, there has
been insufficient discussion about how these issues shape cities. These writers (Shechter
and Yacobi, 2005) do recognise the role of the economic but also stress that cities in
MENA are political and socio-cultural complexities as well.
The main aim of this study is to analyse rapid urbanisation, its drivers and consequences
and urban geography in the Middle East and North Africa, and more specifically the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study aims to provide a detailed analysis of the processes
of urbanisation, including migration and the urban geography in Buraydah City. The
study employs both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. This chapter presents
the primary research methodology employed and justifies the research instruments
adopted. A visual representation of the methodology is presented in Figure 3.3. The field
survey took place between 1 May 2009 and 30 September 2009.
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3.2 Appropriate Methodology
In order for a researcher to achieve the aims of a study, it is important to select the
appropriate methodology. There are two kinds of research methodology, quantitative
and qualitative; they can be used separately or viewed as complementary. Qualitative
research is becoming increasingly popular because it is particularly relevant for studying
social situations because of the pluralisation of life worlds, no longer are more
traditional social equalities relevant, there is now new emphasis on the diversity of
milieus, lifestyle and subcultures (Flick, 2009). Qualitative methods include interviews,
observations and analysis of archival documents, while the quantitative method includes
experiments and quantitative surveys (Osborne, 2008). Qualitative research typically
examines behaviour, meanings, attitudes, opinions and experiences and is designed to
acquire an in-depth opinion from the subjects.
To achieve the aims of this study, it is important to gain a deeper understanding of the
motivations and experiences of the migrants, and qualitative methodologies allow the
researcher to explore feelings and experiences using interviews and discussion; such
methods are being increasingly employed by geographers (Limb and Dwyer, 2001).
Qualitative techniques are now very much part of geographical studies because
researchers typically do not want to focus exclusively on quantitative data, which do not
yield much ‘insight into human experience’ (Robinson, 1998, p: 408). Quantitative
research, on the other hand, is a research strategy that emphasises statistics and
numbers and is more of a deductive approach; having a view of social reality that is
external, objective and constant (Bryman and Teevan, 2005) rather than internal and
subjective.
The research methods adopted here were determined by the aims of the study. The
aims and objectives require that there is a review of the existing literature discussing
urbanisation in MENA, Saudi Arabia and Buraydah City and an empirical study of the
same phenomenon; these form both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the research
(Table 3.1). The primary research relates to collating a detailed analysis of the drivers
and consequences of urbanisation and migration in Buraydah City by conducting a case
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study of the trends, drivers and consequences of urbanisation and migration and the
political, social and cultural aspects of the urban geography. Three methods were
chosen: questionnaires, interviews and oral histories.
Table 3.1 Quantitative and qualitative data sources
Data Type MENA / Saudi Arabia Buraydah City
Quantitative Literature review – books, journals and previous studies World Bank data – periodical reports United Nations – Population Statistics Division Population Statistics (Saudi Government) – census data CIA – Statistics Ministry of Finance and National Economy – reports
Literature review – books, journals and previous studies Buraydah infirmaries – migrant data Division Population Statistics (Saudi Government) – census data Libraries – Riyadh / Buraydah maps and pamphlets Primary Data – interviews and questionnaires
Qualitative Literature review – books, journals and previous studies. World Bank data – periodical reports United Nations – reports Ministry of Economy and Planning (Saudi Arabia) – development plans Saudi Municipalities – maps and local publications
Literature review – books, journals and previous studies Buraydah infirmaries – migrant data Libraries – Riyadh / Buraydah maps and pamphlets Primary Data – interviews, questionnaires and oral histories
Source: Author (2011).
3.3 Data Collection Methods
For this study, a multi-method approach was adopted to collect both quantitative and
qualitative data. The research instruments chosen were questionnaires, interviews and
oral histories. This section will provide an overview of these methods, their advantages
and potential disadvantages, and a justification of their appropriateness in achieving the
aims of the study.
3.3.1 Questionnaires
There were a number of reasons for using questionnaires which will now be discussed.
Questionnaires are often useful when they are used with other research instruments,
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this is because a multi-method approach is more appropriate because one type of
approach is often not enough (Gillham, 2000). The questionnaires gathered data related
to demographics and when migrants moved to the city, how often they have moved and
their reasons for migration, this data is complimentary to the qualitative data that is
gathered from the interviews and oral histories.
Another advantage of questionnaires is that they are quicker and cheaper to administer
(Bryman, 2008). However, one disadvantage of the questionnaire is that the researcher,
or others involved, may introduce bias to the study (Oppenheim, 1992). Other
disadvantages of questionnaires include the lack of ability to prompt or probe, and that
the respondent may read the questionnaire as a whole before completing the questions,
meaning that the questions may not be treated independently (Bryman, 2008).
The questionnaires used both open and closed questions. It is common for many surveys
to mix open and closed questions because they seek to gain both descriptive and
analytical answers (Kitchin and Tate, 2000). Closed questions are typically preferable for
a survey (Bryman, 2001) where quantitative analysis of the data is intended, as the
respondent is given a choice from predetermined answers (Kitchin and Tate, 2000).
However, there are disadvantages to using closed questions; i.e. they may not reveal
attitudes and feelings and respondents do not have the opportunity to explain their
answers (Bryman, 2008), or respondents are limited in their responses and are unable to
qualify their answers in response to closed questions (Walonick, 2007). This is
compensated for here by the use of open questions. To overcome the disadvantages
there was an opportunity for additional comments on the questionnaire; for example,
the ‘no’ response for ‘did your family migrate with you?’ if followed by an opportunity to
state why. It should be remembered however, that open questions also have their
disadvantages; they can be time consuming because respondents may talk for longer
and the responses have to be coded for analysis, and finally, the recording of responses
may vary between those conducting the questionnaire, mainly due to the difficulty of
recording verbatim the respondents’ answers (Bryman, 2008).
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In relation to the open questioning used in the questionnaires, they are an indispensable
tool in human geography for gathering primary data about people’s behaviour and
attitudes (Flowerdew and Martin, 1997), they have certain advantages, mainly to gain
detailed and in-depth qualitative information. By using open questions the respondents
have more scope to elaborate and initiate a general discussion or provide answers that
would not have been predicted by the researcher (Robinson, 1998). Moreover, although
most open questions in a questionnaire require simple and factual answers, it is
sometimes the case that the researcher requires more free-ranging responses, allowing
the researcher to uncover the unexpected and the unknown (Gillham, 2000). Care must
be taken in the design of the questionnaire, so as not to include too many questions, as
this may cause respondents to rush their answers (Milne, 1999), result in response
fatigue, or result in the questionnaire not being answered at all (Bryman, 2008).
For the purpose of this study only three types of migrant (desert, village and city
migrants) from within Saudi Arabia will be considered. Additionally, dividing the migrants
into these three sub groups should reveal different experiences of migration instead of
simply looking at migrants as a single group. Moreover, there must be consideration of
the relationship between migration and the variables at the place of destination.
It was decided before the field study that there should be approximately 100
respondents to the questionnaire. The researcher identified four neighbourhoods with
the highest populations of migrants; this information was obtained from the infirmaries
(local health centres that have information about peoples’ place of birth and where they
grew up). This type of sampling was chosen to set the proportions for each of the three
types of migrant because any random sampling may miss certain identified migrant
types, and it ensured that non-migrants were not questioned. The migrant
neighbourhoods were Aldahe, approximately 10 square kilometres with 2000
households and a migrant population of approximately 30 percent, Alaskan,
approximately 8 square kilometres with 2619 households with a migrant population of
approximately 20 percent, Alngaa, approximately 4 square kilometres with 890
households and a migrant population of approximately 80 percent, and finally
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Jomeanah, approximately 13 square kilometres with 490 households and a migrant
population of approximately 90 per cent (Figure 3.1).
Figure 3.1: Map of Location of Sample Neighbourhoods in Buraydah City. Source: Author’s survey (2009).
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This provided a total of 2276 identified migrants; to extract the sample from this
population the stratified sampling method was employed. The reason for using this
method is that it is appropriate for sampling a group that is comprised of sub-groups; in
this case, Bedouin, village and city migrants, and the resulting sample should reflect the
distribution of the total population (Bryman, 2008). Table 3.2 shows how the stratified
sampling was calculated for the migrant population:
Table 3.2 Sub Groups from Total Population
Migrant Type Number of Migrants
Bedouin 910
Village 684
City 682
Total 2276
Source: Author’s survey (2009).
The next stage was to calculate the percentage of each sub-group within the population:
Bedouin 40 per cent
Village 30 per cent
City 29.9 per cent
It was mentioned previously that approximately 100 respondents would be required,
which would provide a sample size of approximately 4.4 per cent; however, generally the
larger the sample the greater the accuracy, as the sample size is a compromise between
accuracy and resources available in the field work (Rice, 2003). Thus, it was decided to
increase the sample size to five per cent, which provided 115 respondents. Using 115
respondents provided the following proportions of the three sub-groups:
Bedouin 45 (40 per cent)
Village 35 (30 per cent)
City 35 (29.9 per cent)
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The above groups were further divided into those who have arrived in the last ten years;
and migrants who have lived in Buraydah City for longer than ten years. The reason for
the latter subdivision is that the drivers for migration and experiences of urban life may
have differed at various points in history. In the sample, there is an almost even
distribution of migrants who have been in Buraydah City longer than ten years, and
those who have been in the city less than ten years.
The questionnaires consisted of five sections (see Appendix 2), with a total 28 questions
developed with two elements; firstly, the quantitative element used to gather
information about demographics, migratory patterns both to and within Buraydah City,
type of tenure and housing status, and drivers for migration; and secondly, the
qualitative element, which focused on the migrant’s experiences of urban life and
intentions to migrate from Buraydah City.
For the questionnaires, there was a pilot study to test their design, clarity of questions
and presentation. Each questionnaire was tested on five people to check: if they
understood the questions; if there was any ambiguity; what the likely response rate was;
and how long they took to answer it. Furthermore, the questionnaire was given to two
lecturers at the researcher’s university to check if the questions related to the aims of
the study. There were no changes made as a result of the pilot study, beyond altering a
few words and approaches that may be potentially viewed as culturally insensitive.
Finally, the pilot survey also served to minimise error; because there were two other
assistants involved in the field study, it was important to brief them first to ensure that
the questionnaire was administrated in a standard way.
3.3.2 Interviews
Over recent decades, there has been debate in the geography arena about the use and
validity of semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Many geographers are moving
to these more intensive methods in order to investigate social processes in geographical
patterns; moreover, interviews can be used to address a wide range of subjects
(Longhurst, 2003). Advantages of qualitative research are that information gained from
interviews allows motives to be discerned, and makes interpretation easier; however,
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the key disadvantages are that the interviewer may inject their bias and the process is
subjective as opposed to scientific (Robinson, 1998). Qualitative interviewing is
appropriate for a narrative of biographical approach where the researcher wants a
discussion or specific stories told by the interviewee (Mason, 2002). Responses from the
subjects would be more likely to contain more information, such as feelings about, and
reasons for, migration to Buraydah City. The process is more of an indirect way to access
or probe for in-depth information and allows the respondents more scope to elaborate.
Interviews can produce rich data and insights into feelings and opinions (Westat, 2002).
This approach has been criticised, however, in that interviewers may impose their own
views/bias, and that it is therefore a subjective process (Robinson, 1998). Interviews may
contain a mix of unstructured or semi-structured questions because they are
conversational and each one can probe for different information according to the
experiences of the interviewees, additionally they are designed to create a dialogue
rather than to interrogate (Flowerdew and Martin, 2005).
The disadvantages of interviews are that they are more time consuming and costly
(Opdenakker, 2006) and appointments need to be administered and contingency plans
must be in place for cancelled appointments. It should also be remembered, that
interviewing is a complex process and the researcher must understand the dynamics and
various strategies beforehand (Kitchin and Tate, 2000). These dynamics are particularly
important for consideration in different cultural contexts, if the respondents (particularly
in this case Bedouin and villagers) feel that there are unequal power relations then they
can hold back in cooperating with the researcher. Moreover, interviewers must exercise
flexibility when administering interviews for different types of people or circumstances.
If the respondents feel the researcher has a certain amount of power (the researcher is a
lecturer and lecturers in Saudi Arabia are held in high regard) then the respondents may
tell the researcher what they think they want them to hear (Flowerdew and Martin,
2005). In light of this, the researcher should exercise humility and accord the
respondents’ full respect.
The interviews endeavoured to acquire information about the consequences of
migrating to Buraydah City itself, any problems the migrants face in settling down,
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opinions about the quality of urban life, work opportunities and the overall drivers for
migration. The interview follows a semi-structured format and the questioning was
conducted by the researcher. Moreover, the interviews were conducted face-to-face to
take advantage of social cues such as body language and tone of voice (Opdenakker,
2006); this allowed the interviewer to record these emotional cues that accompanied
the responses in order to gain a more in-depth insight into the interviewees’ feelings and
opinions about migration to Buraydah City. Prior to the interviews permission was
sought and appointments were made. The interviews consisted of 18 questions and each
lasted for approximately one hour. The interviews with the Bedouin were conducted in
their homes. The interviews were recorded in writing due to cultural sensitivity; the
reasons they were not recorded digitally were suspicion and worries about jealously,
something found in Arab culture. In fact interviewing in different cultural contexts,
especially in less developed countries, requires researchers to be sensitive to the power
relations that exist between interviewer and respondents (Flowerdew and Martin,
2005).
There were 60 interviews, 20 for Bedouin, 20 for villagers and 20 for migrants from other
cities. The sample was taken from the same population identified from the infirmaries
information; it involved different people from the questionnaires, and the respondents
were chosen randomly, as long as they fit the above criteria. Each group was divided
equally into those who have migrated to Buraydah City in the last ten years and those
who have lived in Buraydah City for longer than ten years. This sub-categorisation was
done for the same reasons as with the questionnaires; i.e. that different points in history
may yield different findings. As a contingency against cancellations, missed
appointments and non responses, an additional 10 respondents for each group was
identified (this high number was due to the researcher’s previous experiences with the
target group). A copy of the interview questions is available in Appendix 3.
Pilot interviews were conducted to ensure the clarity of the questions and to check their
duration. The assistance of two lecturers at the researcher’s university was sought for
this. There were four pilot interviews in total and the main finding was that some of the
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questions had to be changed because of cultural etiquette; this was due to some
subtleties in the Arabic language.
3.3.3 Oral Histories
Oral histories have been defined by Bryman (2008) as mostly an unstructured interview
where the respondents are asked to recall and reflect on events from their past. Oral
histories are very much a personal account based on personal experience and
perceptions (Charlton et al., 2006). Because oral histories are different in terms of
narrative form, orality and subjectivity and the relationship between researcher and
respondent, this is considered strength instead of a weakness (Portelli, 2006). It should
be remembered, however, that information gathered from oral histories may be as
reliable or unreliable as other methods of research; oral histories have been known to
produce some spurious information and the respondents’ view of the experience under
examination may have changed due to subsequent events (Ritchie, 2003).
The oral histories were conducted after the respondents had been identified as being
migrants who are senior citizens above the age of 65; again, this information was
obtained from the infirmaries. Oral histories were used to gather historical qualitative
information from 24 migrants; eight from each migrant group. The oral history
information was recorded in writing, again, because of cultural reasons. It has been the
case that people can be deterred from being interviewed because someone ‘thrusts a
microphone two inches from a person’s mouth’ (Howarth, 1999) and culturally, it was
difficult to audio record the respondents in this study because they felt it was an
invasion of their privacy. Indeed, many of the respondents specifically requested that
there should be no recording; therefore, the researcher took written notes throughout
to ensure uniformity of the research method. The oral histories were conducted in the
participants’ households, so as to ensure they were relaxed in a familiar environment. In
their homes they also have access to documents and photographs from their past. They
were informed beforehand about the purpose of the oral history.
There were nine questions pertaining to life before migration, the migration itself and
life after migration. Each oral history interview lasted for approximately one and a half
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hours. The central issue of migrating to Buraydah City was discussed to gather historical
information. The questions were designed to allow the respondents to talk in depth and
at length about their experiences. A sample of the oral history questions is available in
Appendix 4.
3.4 Ethical Considerations
Ethics are important to protect all of the participants of a study, and in some countries
they are particularly important because of ethnic diversity (Flick, 2009). The researcher
took into account the ethical considerations of Islamic, Arab and more specifically,
Bedouin culture. Gender issues were also considered; because of cultural reasons, it was
not possible to interview women as the researcher is a male and this is simply not
allowed in Saudi culture, even more so in Bedouin and village culture. There were female
respondents to the questionnaires as no direct contact was involved, and often the
questionnaires were completed in the presence of the women’s relatives. When
interviewing the Bedouin, sensitivity was required, as they vary in terms of their social
etiquette and are suspicious about outsiders, especially those asking questions about
their personal life. Because they have very different customs to other Saudis, the
researcher had to be careful when talking to them.
Ethics always require that research is based on informed consent and that participants
are not misled about the aims of the study (Flick, 2009). To obtain the participants’
informed consent they were informed that their privacy would be protected in the
study. They were provided with a participation consent form and a participant
information form (Appendix 1), which included information about their right to
participate voluntarily and the right to withdraw at any time, the purpose and
procedures of the study, and the assurance of confidentiality and anonymity. Finally, the
university’s ethical review process was conducted and the research was approved before
the researcher could continue with the field survey.
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3.5 Primary Data Analysis Tools
There are advantages to using software for analysing qualitative data. Firstly, it is far
quicker to manage, search and display data, however, this has to be taken in
consideration against the time it takes to decide a program, installation and learning
how to use it; secondly, it increases the quality of qualitative research (Flick, 2009). This
study aimed to use both quantitative and qualitative methods; as a result, a combination
of tools was used to analyse the data. The tools used were SPSS, for quantitative
analysis, and NVivo for qualitative analysis.
3.5.1 SPSS
The SPSS program is specifically designed to perform statistical operations and facilitate
data analysis, and is most widely used in statistic analyses; moreover, there is
considerable information available about its use (Miller et al., 2002). It can analyse
quantitative data very quickly (Bryman and Cramer, 2001) and was used for the analysis
of quantitative data from the questionnaires of the household survey, using appropriate
statistical techniques. Additionally, SPSS -15 was used to carry out quantitative analysis
of the relationships between the studies variables. The tests that were used were: the
Chi-square test to compare two or more groups, Mean, Median and Mode test, T-Test to
test if the means of the three groups are statistically different from each other and
finally; ANOVA to test whether or not the means of the three migrant groups are equal
(Figure 3.2).
75
Figure 3.2: An example of the SPSS interface. Source: Author (2009).
3.5.2 NVivo
NVivo is a program used to assist in qualitative data analysis; it can help analyse the
qualitative data from the interview transcripts, from participant observation, field notes,
audio recordings and other documents (Skinns and Sanders, 2007). Coding allows words
or phrases that are in the text to reveal a sense of people’s collective feelings at a
particular time (Walsh, 2003). In this study, in order to categorise the data into
meaningful concepts, categories and themes, coding was conducted. The researcher
considered initial categories using open coding, and then moved on to a more systematic
reflection of the data to create a new list of categories. To put it another way, axial
coding was applied to place the categories and concepts into core themes, this was
undertaken by direct examination of the data. Axial coding allows various codes to be
grouped around a common word that has a variety of meaning – in other words
thematic area. Ideas were organised and coded in an NVIVO interface.
This software allows the researcher to identify the way data and ideas are linked. It
employs sets for grouping data and attributes for organising ideas that occur in the data.
76
The system helps to identify commonalities, differences, frequency and patterns in the
ideas, opinions and experiences obtained from the interviews (Skinns and Sanders,
2007). Importantly, it removes the need to conduct these tasks manually allowing the
researcher more time to explore the trends (London School of Economics and Political
Science, 2006).
The researcher can change the method of analysis to suit their requirements. However,
this method is resource intensive. NVivo is not able to code themes, perform analysis or
interpret the results; the researcher must perform these tasks. Another disadvantage is
that it may encourage attempts to quantify qualitative data, or to separate or abstract
the qualitative data from its original meaning or context (Skinns and Sanders, 2007). This
study employed the NVivo 7 analysis of the transcripts from the interviews and oral
histories to uncover the relationships between the ideas expressed.
It should be noted that the respondents were individually referenced in this study. The
following is an explanation of these references:
1. Interviews
I = Interview
B = Bedouin
V = Village
C = City
<10, >10 = less than and longer than 10 years with date
Example:
(I B > 10 DA 20/7/09) I = Interview, B = Bedouin, >10 = longer than 10 years, DA
respondent number and date
(I V < 10 VA 20/7/09) I = Interview, V = Village, <10 = less than 10 years, VA = respondent
number and date
77
(I C > 10 AD 20/7/09) I = Interview, C = City, >10 = longer than 10 years, AD = respondent
number and date
2. Oral History
(OH Bedouin 7 20/7/09) OH = Oral History, Bedouin, Respondent number 7 and date
3.6 Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
A GIS is an information system that allows users to store, compile, analyse, retrieve and
also display mapped data. A GIS uses data from maps, satellite images and aerial photos;
and is particularly useful in urban demographic studies (Falbo et al., 2002). The system
can display data in the form of maps and illustrate an important phenomenon, and such
maps are a good mechanism for describing objects and their attributes. These
techniques can represent particular models of the real world (Bernhardsen, 2002). A GIS
can show how cities grow and change dynamically, and also illustrates urban sprawl
(Maguire et al., 2005). In this study GIS techniques were used to illustrate the spatial
distribution of the urban areas in MENA and Saudi Arabia. GIS were also used to show
the spatial distribution of migrants in Buraydah City. A disadvantage of GIS is that if the
data is handled inappropriately it can lead to inappropriate geographic outcomes, which
is detrimental to understanding how the geographic data can be fully utilised and
treated (Galati, 2006).
3.7 Limitations of the Methodology
Limitations in geographical research, such as the power relationship between research
and respondent, can either provide a limited or exaggerated response and is a
particularly issue in this study. Because of Saudi culture, the respondents, especially the
Bedouin, may treat the researcher with either respect or suspicion; or indeed the
researcher’s assistant may also be perceived in different ways, which could affect the
responses received. Moreover, Saudi culture is rife with suspicion and concern about
jealously; therefore, some people are reluctant to give too much information. All of
78
these factors may amplify the common problems associated with the relationship
between researcher and respondent.
Another issue, also related to culture, is that only a limited number of females could be
interviewed; however, women’s experience of migration and urbanisation is invaluable
in this study. It has been suggested by Gluck (2006) that historians would like to recover
women’s voices, that this is an important way of empowering women and is even a way
of documenting their experiences of subordination, something that is relevant to the
decision making in terms of migration and urbanisation.
79
Figure 3.3 Methodology process – qualitative and quantitative data.
Methodology
QuantitativeQualitative
Urbanisation, Migration
and Urban Geography in
Buraydah City
Urbanisation, Migration
and Urban Geography in
MENA and Saudi Arabia
Review of Existing
Literature
Field survey
Review of Existing
Literature
Questionnaires
Oral histories
Interviews
Data
Analysis
80
CHAPTER FOUR
URBANISATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
4.1 Introduction
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is currently experiencing distinctive and
rapid urbanisation, which has placed the urban infrastructure under pressure over the
last 10 years (Bjerde, 2008). According to the Australian Trade Commission (2009), the
MENA region had a population of 320 million in 2009, which is predicted to reach 430
million by 2020, of which 280 million are projected to be urbanised. This will represent
an increase of 65 percent for the urban population, in comparison with the rural
population increase that is projected to be only 8.5 percent. In terms of GDP, over the
next five years, MENA is predicted to be among the fastest growing regions in the world,
due primarily to the revenues from oil and gas; MENA has 70 percent of the world’s oil
and 46 percent of the world’s gas reserves (Australian Trade Commission, 2009).
Moreover, this chapter presents the distinct urban geographies that are found within
MENA, although the region shows similarities in terms of patterns of urbanisation and
the resulting urban geographies generally; there is also a wide variety of urban
geographies in the region as a result of different economic, political and socio-cultural
factors, prompting a multidimensional approach. These factors manifest themselves in
striking ways in a region that has political instability, conflict zones and extreme poverty
and wealth.
4.2 Urbanisation in the Developing World
In order to highlight the distinctive characteristics of urbanisation in MENA it is
necessary to examine the region in a developing world context for comparative
purposes. Urbanisation in the developing world is not a uniform phenomenon; there are
81
a number of different processes taking place, which have led to the rise of different
structures of cities in the developing world (Pacione, 2001).
In 2009 the region with the highest percentage of people living in urban areas was North
America with 81.9 percent; followed by Latin America, 79.3 percent, and Europe, 72.5
percent, whilst MENA stood at 73.2 percent (Figure 4.1) (United Nations, 2009e).
Figure 4.1: Percentage Urban (%) by World Regions in 2009. Source: United Nations (2009e).
Between 2005 and 2010 in terms of the rate of urbanisation, MENA possessed a growth
rate of 2.4 percent, and is only exceeded by Sub-Saharan Africa at 3.71 percent. MENA’s
rate of urban growth was very close to that of Asia which stood at 2.28 percent.
Between 2005 and 2010, Latin America, another developing region, had a relatively low
rate of urban growth at 1.6 percent; a figure closer to the 1.31 percent of North America
for the same period (Figure 4.2).
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
U rb
an P
o p
u la
ti o
n %
82
Figure 4.2 Urban annual growth rates by World region 2005-2010. Source: United Nations (2010c).
Another negative consequence of rapid urbanisation in the developing world is the
proliferation of slums and many regions are increasingly faced with such a problem
(Baker and McLain, 2009). In fact, one in three urban dwellers (or one billion people) the
equivalent to one sixth of the world’s population, live in this environment. Moreover,
the housing needs of the urban poor are often overlooked in the preference for
economic development and land use (Kotter, 2004).
4.3 Patterns of Urbanisation in MENA
Upon examination of the patterns of urbanisation within MENA it can be seen that the
region as a whole does not have a collective experience, individual countries exhibit
different patterns of urbanisation, supported by the fact that the region is characterised
by poverty, wealth and conflict. It has been forecast by the United Nations (2008a) that
by 2030 5 countries in MENA will have an urban population of more than 90 percent:
Kuwait 98.7 percent; Qatar 96.9 percent; Israel 93 percent and Lebanon 90 percent
(Table 4.1). Indeed, in 2009 the countries in MENA that exhibited the highest urban
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4 U
rb an
A n
n u
al G
ro w
th R
at e
( %
)
83
population were Kuwait, Qatar and Israel, of which the ranking has remained the same
since 1990 (United Nations, 2008c, 2009e).
In 2000, countries with a lower percentage of urban population were Yemen 26.3
percent; Egypt 42.6 percent and Syria 51.6 percent (Table 4.1), by 2005 there was an
increase to 28.9 percent in Yemen; 42.6 percent in Egypt and 53.2 per cent in Syria
(United Nations, 2008c) and in 2010, Yemen 31.8 per cent; Egypt 43.4 per cent and Syria
55.7 per cent (United Nations, 2010d). In 2007, Cairo was the most populated city in
MENA with a population of 11,893,000 (United Nations, 2008c).
Table 4.1: Percentage of Urban Population in MENA Countries, 1950-2050
Country
Algeria Bahrain Djibouti Egypt Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Morocco Palestine Oman Qatar Saudi Syria Tunisia UAE Yemen
22.2 64.4 39.8 31.9 27.5 35.1 71.0 37.0 61.5 32.0 19.5 26.2 37.3 8.6
79.2
30.6 32.3 54.5 5.8
30.5 82.3 50.3 37.9 33.7 42.9 76.8 50.9 74.9 42.3 27.3 29.4 44.0 16.4 85.2
36.8 37.5 73.5 9.1
39.5 83.8 61.8 42.2 41.2 56.2 84.2 56.0 85.7 59.5 49.7 34.5 54.3 29.7 88.4
43.3 43.5 77.7 13.3
43.5 86.1 72.1 43.9 49.7 65.5 88.6 59.9 94.8 73.7 70.1 41.2 62.4 47.6 89.4
46.7 50.6 80.7 16.5
52.1 88.1 75.7 43.5 56.3 69.7 90.4 72.2 98.0 83.1 75.7 48.4 67.9 66.1 92.2 76.6 48.9 57.9 79.1 20.9
59.8 88.4 83.3 42.6 64.2 67.8 91.4 78.3 98.2 86.0 76.4 53.3 71.5 71.6 94.9 79.8 51.6 63.4 77.8 26.3
66.5 88.6 88.1 42.8 69.5 66.4 91.7 78.5 98.4 87.2 77.9 56.7 72.1 71.7
82.1 54.9 67.3 78.0 31.8
71.9 89.4 90.6 45.0 74.0 67.3 92.2 79.8 98.6 88.6 80.3 61.0 74.1 73.3 96.5 84.2 59.0 71.2 80.0 38.2
76.2 90.6 92.0 49.9 77.9 70.5 93.0 82.0 98.7 90.0 82.9 65.9 77.2 76.4 96.9 86.2 64.0 75.2 82.4 45.3
80.1 91.8 93.2 56.3 81.2 74.3 93.9 84.3 98.9 91.3 85.2 70.9 80.3 79.5 97.3 88.1 69.2 78.8 84.7 52.8
83.5 92.8 94.2 62.4 84.1 77.8 94.6 86.4 99.0 92.4 87.2 75.4 83.0 82.3 97.6 89.7 73.9 82.0 86.7 60.2
Source: United Nations (2008c and 2009e).
For Saudi Arabia the increase in the country's percentage of urban population has been
steady from 72.6 percent in 1985 to 79.8 percent in 2000 and 82.1 percent in 2010, and
the for the UAE 80.3 percent in 2000 and 84.1percent in 2010 (United Nations, 2010d).
In relation to the rate of urbanisation, an interesting point to note is that both Qatar and
the UAE are resource-rich with wealthy economies related to the oil and gas industries
84
and are geographically small, which explains their high urbanisation rates. In contrast,
Yemen has a poorer economy with a large geographic area, however, all three countries
have demonstrated the fastest growing urban populations, in fact between 2005 and
2010 Yemen has exhibited the highest rate of urbanisation in the region at 4.86 percent
in comparison to approximately 2.4 percent for all MENA (Figure 4.3)(United Nations,
2008c).
Figure 4.3: Urban Annual Growth Rate 2000 – 2005, 2005 – 2010. Source: United Nations (2008c).
Figure 4.4 illustrates the rural and urban growth rates in the countries of MENA between
2005 and 2010, there are a number of countries that are projected to have a negative
growth in the rural population for the same period; namely Djibouti -1.4 percent; Algeria
-3.1 percent; Tunisia -0.07 percent and Iran -0.26 percent (United Nations, 2008c).
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
5.5
U rb
an A
n n
u al
G ro
w th
R at
e
2000-2005
2005-2010
85
Figure 4.4: Map of Rural and Urban Annual Growth Rate (%) in Countries of MENA, 2005-2010. Source: United Nation (2008c).
86
It may be misleading, though, to look at the percentage of urbanisation in isolation. The
aforementioned countries that show a high percentage of urbanisation are often smaller in
size with high population densities. For example, in 2008, Kuwait, a small country in the
region, had one of the highest percentages of urban populations in MENA, at 98 percent,
and did not have a high population density like that of Palestine and Lebanon (Figure 4.5).
There is no apparent relationship between population density and the percentage of
urbanisation. This is further proven by two other small countries Qatar and Djibouti which
had a percentage of urban population of 100 percent and 87 percent respectively; however,
with lower population densities (Population Reference Bureau, 2008a).
Figure 4.5: Population densities of small countries in MENA. Source: Population Reference Bureau (2008a).
In terms of the economic dimension of patterns of urbanisation there is a relationship
between GDP and urbanisation. In line with the rapid urbanisation, the annual GDP growth
for MENA in 2010 was 4.085 per cent, and the figure for 2011 is projected to be 5.080 per
cent (International Monetary Fund, 2010). In 2005 the Arabian Peninsula experienced a
ISRAEL
PALESTINE
BAHRAIN QATAR
KUWAIT
LEBANON
DJIBOUTI
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000
P o
p u
la ti
o n
( th
o u
sa n
d s)
Land Area km2
87
higher percentage of urban population at an average of 77.3 per cent, Western Asia at 73.6
per cent and Northern Africa at 64.9 percent (United Nations, 2008c). It appears that the
most economically strong sub-region, the Arabian Peninsula, has the highest percentage of
urban population compared to Northern Africa, considered economically poor, with the
lowest percentage of urban population.
This is further illustrated by a closer examination of the relationship between GDP per capita
(expressed in thousands USD) and the percentage of urban population in 2010 for individual
countries (Figure 4.6). Qatar, for example, showed the highest GDP per capita in MENA at
74.4 together with the second highest percentage of urban population at 95.8 percent.
Kuwait had a GDP per capita of 32.5 and an urban population of 98.4 percent, moreover,
Libya which is also an oil producer, had 77.9 percent urbanisation and a GDP per capita of
12 (Figure 4.6).
In contrast, the poorer countries of MENA showed lower percentages of urbanisation; for
example, in 2010, Yemen had the lowest GDP per capita in MENA at 1.2 and the lowest
urban population at 31.8 percent; and Syria had a GDP per capita of 2.9 and an urban
population of 55.7 percent, and finally, Egypt with a GDP per capita of 2.8 and only 43.4
percent urbanised, for the same year (Figure 4.6) (United Nations, 2010d, International
Monetary Fund, 2010).
88
Figure 4.6: Percentage of Urban Population and GDP Per Capita in MENA, 2010. Source: United Nations (2010d) and International Monetary Fund (2010).
4.4 Drivers of Urbanisation in MENA
Combinations of economic, political and socio-cultural factors have contributed to rapid
urbanisation in MENA. In terms of demographics, the region has witnessed rapid population
growth and has experienced an increase in population greater than any other region in the
world. It has already been mentioned that MENA is characterised economic diversity; this
has led to a significant rate of internal migration, which has contributed to urbanisation.
DJIBOUTI
ALGERIA EGYPT
LIBYA
MOROCCO TUNISIA
IRAN
IRAQ
ISRAEL
JORDAN
LEBANON
KUWAIT
SYRIA
QATAR
UAE
OMAN BAHRAIN KSA
YEMEN 0 2 4 6 8
10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76
30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
G D
P P
e r
C ap
it a
(t h
o u
sa n
d s
U SD
)
Percentage Urban
89
Besides internal migration, there has been a significant amount of external migration both
to and from the region, this is mainly due to economic factors, and it has had an effect on
the culture and urban landscape in some recipient countries.
4.4.1 Population Patterns in MENA
In 2010 the total population for MENA stood at 385.1 million (Population Reference Bureau,
2010). Although the population of the region as a whole is increasing, there are distinct
differences in the population growth rates between the regions and countries of MENA. The
region with the lowest population ratio increase is Northern Africa; however, this figure is
skewed by Libya because it has a high percentage of foreign-born workers, 11 percent of the
total population, due to the oil industry; and none of the other countries in Northern Africa
has a foreign-born population exceeding one percent (Roudi-Fahimi and Kent, 2007).
However, this has now changed with the recent uprising in Libya, it is reported that out of
2.5 million foreign workers, 700,000 fled the country prior to the crisis (Mohapatra et al.,
2011 p.5) increasing to 994198 in September of 2011 (International Organisation for
Migration, 2011a). In contrast, the Arabian Peninsula, for example Kuwait, Qatar and the
United Arab Emirates, had a population growth ratio of 7 between 1950 and 2007, the
highest in MENA (Roudi-Fahimi and Kent, 2007). This coincides with a population growth
rate for this sub-region of 3.1 percent in 2007; this is not only the highest in MENA, but the
highest for any region in the developing world, and higher than the developing world as a
whole (Dito, 2008).
In 2000 there were 16 cities in MENA with a population of more than one million (United
Nations, 2004) and by 2010 there were 32, of which three, Tehran, Baghdad and Cairo, had
a population of more than five million (United Nations, 2010d) and the number over the 1
million mark is projected to be 38 by 2015 (United Nations, 2008a). In 2010 Iran had eight
cities with a population of more than one million including the capital Tehran, followed by
Saudi Arabia with four cities, including Riyadh (United Nations, 2010d). The region also has
two megacities, those with an urban agglomeration of more than 10,000,000 residents, in
Tehran and Cairo (Bjerde, 2008); (Ziv and Cox, 2007).
90
The different population growth experiences can be partly explained by the different
economic situations in each of the three distinct sub-regions and the countries within
MENA. It can been seen that the poorest area of MENA, Northern Africa, has experienced
lower population growth at 1.5 percent between 2005 and 2010, the more economically
successful area of the Arabian Peninsula had an average population growth rate of 7.3
percent for the same period, with individual countries experiencing very high population
growth such as Bahrain 11 percent, United Arab Emirates 12.3 percent and Qatar 15.2
percent for the same period (United Nations, 2010d). However, Saudi Arabia, despite being
one of the richer Gulf States, has exhibited an average population growth rate of 2.7
percent between 2005 and 2010, below the average of 11 percent for the three sub regions
combined (United Nations, 2010d); this was in clear contrast to the other Gulf States.
There are two distinctive attributes of the countries of the Gulf States that have contributed
to their demographic situation, namely improvements in health services and the presence of
foreign workers. Kuwait, for example, had an infant mortality rate of 10 per 1000 (under five
years of age) in 2009, this was low compared to an average for MENA of 33 for the same
year (World Bank, 2010f). Moreover, life expectancy in the Gulf States is among the highest
in the region; for example Emiratis and Kuwaitis had a life expectancy of 78 years in 2009
(World Bank, 2010f). Therefore, it appears that the relationship between population growth
and wealth of a country is mutually reinforcing; on the one hand economic success improves
health care, lowering infant mortality, thus contributing to the increase in population, while
on the other hand, an increase in foreign-born workers greatly increases the population
whilst at the same time contributing to economic success.
Another factor that has affected population change in MENA has been an increase in fertility
rates brought about by social and economic change such as improved health services.
Although MENA had a high total fertility rate in 2009 of 2.7 (births per woman), it was not
the highest in the developing world; in fact it was exceeded by Sub-Saharan Africa at 5.0 and
South Asia at 2.8 for the same year, interestingly, MENA’s total fertility was the exact
average for the developing world as a whole (World Bank, 2010f). However, in parallel with
a rapid increase in MENA’s population, the region has witnessed an overall decrease in
fertility rates (Population Reference Bureau, 2001).Only three countries in MENA have
91
shown an increase in fertility rates between 2005 and 2008: Iran, Kuwait and Israel
(Population Reference Bureau, 2008b). Despite these decreases, one third of the region’s
population is under the age of 15 and in the next 15 years these young people will become
of childbearing age. Additionally, the elderly population, 60 years and above, is also
increasing (Population Reference Bureau, 2001).
The vast majority of MENA’s population is Muslim and traditionally there was much
importance attached to the role of the family as it provides mutual social and economic
support; and it is thought that this cultural dimension slowed MENA’s transition to lower
fertility rates. In Israel, for example, Muslim women had on average four children in 2005 in
comparison to Jewish women who had an average of 2.7 and Christian women 2.2; it is
believed that the recent decrease in fertility rates is due to delayed marriage and an
increased awareness and acceptance of family planning practices (Roudi-Fahimi and Kent,
2007) particularly in Egypt and Morocco (Fargues, 2006).
4.4.2 Comparison of Population Growth Patterns in MENA with Other World Regions
In the period between 1950 and 2000 the population of MENA increased from 100 million to
380 million; a ratio of population size increase of 3.7, greater than any other region in the
world, whilst Asia experienced a ratio of 2.6 and Europe only 1.3 for the same period. Sub-
Saharan Africa had the closest rate of increase to MENA, a ratio of population size of 3.6
(Figure 4.7) (Population Reference Bureau, 2001, p: 1). By 2008 the population of the region
was approximately 363.7 million, an increase of nearly 14 million in one year (Population
Reference Bureau, 2008a).
92
Figure 4.7: Ratio of Population Size from 2000 to Population Size 1950. Source: Population Reference Bureau (2001).
High population growth is a problem in the developing world, according to the United
Nations (2010b). Population growth, particularly when not associated with equivalent rates
of economic growth, creates an unsustainable demand for public services such as education
and healthcare, and much like MENA there has been a dramatic increase in the number of
young people. Moreover, the developing world is home to two thirds of the global
population over 60, half of whom are living in Asia; although the number of older people as
a percentage is currently higher in the developed world (United Nations, 2009c). The
increase in the elderly population is also taking place in MENA; for example in Egypt the
number of those who are 60 years and over is forecast to increase from the 4.3 million
recorded in 2000, to 23.7 million by 2050, and in Saudi Arabia the rise is expected to be
from one million to 7.7 million (Madbouly, 2009). In terms of young people, MENA is
characterised by a swelling young population, especially of those aged between 16 and 24
years (World Bank, 2009b, p: 9).
3.7 3.6
3.2
2.6
1.8
1.3
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
MENA Sub-Saharan Africa
Latin America Asia North America Europe
Ratio of Population Size
93
Examining the period from 1990 to 2008, the annual average population growth for MENA
was two percent; again this was the second highest rate after Sub-Saharan Africa at 2.6
percent, the lowest growth rate occurred in Europe and Central Asia at 0.1 percent.
However, this was the only region in the developing world that is projected to experience an
increase for the period 2008 to 2015 (World Bank, 2010d, p: 64).
4.4.3 Migration in MENA
Migration has an effect on urbanisation in a number of ways. Migrant workers can be
involved in property development in a host country and they also need to be
accommodated. The movement of labour can also have a very strong effect on the
population dynamics of a country; an example of which is Qatar where the vast majority of
its population are expatriate workers, and an increase in population has resulted in an
increase in urbanisation. Furthermore, expatriate workers can have an effect on the type of
urbanisation that takes place; for example South Asian workers in Saudi Arabia choose to
squat in older buildings in the centres of towns and cities. The most apparent relationship
between migration and urbanisation is the effect of rural to urban migration, whereby those
seeking better opportunities in urban areas require housing.
MENA is quite distinctive in terms of migration in comparison to other developing regions.
There has been migration both within MENA and to and from MENA. The North African sub
region of MENA provides an example; there has been emigration from North Africa to
Europe and countries in North Africa depend on workers’ remittances from intra-regional
migration to the oil-producing Gulf States. Moreover, in MENA there is also forced migration
due to conflict, for example from Iraq and Palestine and more recently Syrian refugees
fleeing into Turkey from the advancing Syrian army (Hadid, 2011) and refugees from the
unrest in Libya and Tunisia fleeing to Europe (Lambert, 2011). These migratory movements
have been in a continuous state of flux, and the region has had the highest share of migrant
populations in the world (Baldwin-Edwards, 2005). Countries with high emigration include
Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Palestine and
Yemen; whilst countries with high immigration include Libya and the Gulf States (World
Bank, 2009a).
94
It has been shown that significant increase in the labour market directly affects migration
within countries, in particular rural to urban migration and intra-regional migration to the
Gulf States as well as inter-regional migration. Between 2000 and 2010 an estimated 40
million people joined the workforce in MENA, an increase of 40 percent. This expansion of
labour is currently the fastest in the world (World Bank, 2007, p: 27). This increase in the
labour market has been attributed to population growth, however, this may not necessarily
be a problem; the region’s population growth can drive economic growth if new entrants to
the labour market are productively employed, for this there needs to be reform of the
public sector and less government constraints placed on the private sector (Sullivan and
Nadgrodkiewicz, 2008).
The working age population in MENA is also increasing rapidly and the region has the
highest economically active-to-inactive ratio in the world. This dependency ratio, i.e. the
ratio between the total number of people below the age of 15 and above the age of 60
against those of working age, was 0.6 in 2006 and 0.56 in 2008 (World Bank, 2006, 2010a, p:
64). Because of the youth bulge in the region there is particularly a problem with
unemployment among the young, in some countries between 20 and 25 percent, this
situation will be further compounded in the short term by the civil unrest in the region,
however, it is yet, at the time of writing, to be realised and assessed (Akhtar, 2011).
Additionally, although the region has weathered the global economic crisis relatively well
(Akhtar, 2011), there is still an indication that the economic crisis has weakened further the
region’s ability to create new jobs (World Bank, 2009b).
The inflow of workers’ remittances, a reflection of workers emigrating from the region for
work, suggests that MENA overall is more of an importer of labour than an exporter. The
clear evidence for this suggestion is the fact that, as a region, MENA has received the lowest
amount of workers’ remittances than any other developing region in the world except Sub-
Saharan Africa (Roudi-Fahimi and Kent, 2007). In fact in 2008 MENA received 33.8 billion (US
$) and there was a decrease in remittances by 6 percent in 2009 and estimates for 2010 are
less promising (World Bank, 2010g p. 28 - 29). Indeed, there has been a tightening of
Europe’s immigration rules due to new inflows of migrant workers from Turkey, Asia and
the new member states of the European Union (De Silva and Silva-Jauregui, 2004). In light of
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the more recent civil unrest in MENA, it is predicted that the growth in the flow of
remittances will reduce by half in 2011 (Mohapatra et al. 2011).
The main destination point for migrants from within MENA has always been the Gulf States;
the vast majority of migrants come from Egypt and the Mashrek countries, e.g. Iraq, Syria,
Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon (World Bank, 2009c). Indeed the Gulf States are also a
magnet for foreign workers from outside MENA. It is estimated that there are between 15
and 20 million migrants working the GCC countries, namely Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar,
Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, these countries are heavily dependent on foreign labour
(International Trade Union Federation, 2010), for example Qatar’s foreign-born population
is 85 percent; and 90 percent of the labour force is foreign (US Department of State, 2010),
in 2010 Saudi Arabia had approximately 7.3 million migrants, the highest among the Gulf
states (International Organisation for Migration, 2010 p.209). Further evidence of a high
percentage of foreign workers in the Gulf States is the outflow of workers’ remittances to
their home countries. In 2008, Saudi Arabia had an outflow of remittances of more than 15
billion (US $) the fourth largest remittance sending country globally, followed by Oman with
more than 5 billion (US $) (International Organisation for Migration, 2010 p. 211).
However, the Gulf States are losing their appeal for expatriate workers because of an
increase in the cost of living due to high inflation. Therefore, the Gulf countries are less able
to absorb MENA’s excess labour force, thus increasing levels of unemployment in the region
(De Silva and Silva-Jauregui, 2004). This is unfortunate because MENA has traditionally used
migration as a way of relieving labour pressures. However, intra-regional migration is no
longer a solution to such pressures because the Gulf region now prefers to recruit cheaper
labour from Asia (Sullivan and Nadgrodkiewicz, 2008).
This increase of workers from Asia occupying unskilled jobs is because not only are they
cheaper to hire, but are more accepting of poor working conditions. Most notably there has
been an increase in migration to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (World
Bank, 2008a). However, recent economic developments in the Emirates for example, have
made the prospect of working their even less appealing for foreign workers (International
Trade Union Confederation, 2010).
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A discussion of migratory patterns in MENA would not be complete without mention of
conflict, one of the prominent features of the region. There are the more longer term
problems such as in Palestine and Iraq, it will be discussed how these conflicts affect
migration patterns in the region, and the more recent conflicts in Tunisia, Libya and Syria
have also caused an exodus of migrants from these countries.
For Palestine there are two main reasons why people emigrate, the first is that the country
has very high unemployment; in 2008 the unemployment rate was 41.3 percent in the Gaza
Strip (Central Intelligence Agency, 2009a, c). The second is as a result of refugees fleeing
conflict in the Palestinian territories, many of whom have migrated to Jordan. This
emigration has been evidenced by a decline in the population growth rate, from 3.5 per cent
in 2005 to 2.7 per cent in 2009 (World Bank, 2010f).
Jordan witnessed a significant degree of migration activity in 2007, not only attributable to
Palestinian refugees, who were estimated to be 1,835,704 (Central Intelligence Agency,
2009b), but also because of the number of Iraqi refugees living in Jordan, which was
estimated to be between 450,000 and 500,000 (Arouri, 2008). Jordan’s economy is closely
linked with mobility both from the acceptance of forced migrants from Palestine and
remittances received from skilled Jordanians working in the Gulf countries (Chatelard,
2004).
Iraq, because of the recent conflict, has witnessed a very distinctive migration of its own
nationals. In 2008 there were more people fleeing Iraq than returning, contrary to reports
made by the Iraqi government. It was estimated that 1200 people a day left compared to
700 returning to the country. There are currently 4.5 million displaced Iraqis and more than
half of them are refugees; and over the past year only five percent have returned to their
homes (Tirman, 2009). Additionally, Egypt has accommodated many refugees from the
conflict in Sudan (De Silva and Silva-Jauregui, 2004). This phenomenon of migrant refugees
is significant across the entire region.
The recent Arab Spring and the associated conflicts have created refugees that have had to
flee to neighbouring countries and also refugees who are displaced within their own
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country, the latter, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and total 243,000 within Libya alone.
The continuing conflict in Libya is forcing refugees to migrate from the Western Mountains
region to south-eastern Tunisia (United Nations, 2011) and over one million refugees have
fled Libya to neighbouring countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Chad and Niger
(Coghlan, 2011) and in the same conflict an estimated 600,000 Egyptians have returned
home (Cousins, 2011). Because of the civil unrest in Syria, refugees are fleeing the border
into neighbouring Turkey; however, Syrian troops have heavily cracked down on this as it is
considered an embarrassment for the Syrian government (Associated Press, 2011).
The above discussion offers two main reasons for migration within MENA; namely conflict
and economic opportunity. Other regions of the developing world may not share conflict as
a significant driver of migration, although it appears that a common factor linking all
developing regions is the economic factor of seeking work. Migratory patterns within this
region have been well established and there has been a complex system of labour
recruitment, characterised by the increasing involvement of women (United Nations, 2003).
Moreover, there are also political factors that influence migration within a region; Latin
American migratory patterns have been influenced by political change, as the region has
been through a transition from authoritarian to democratic government. Political regimes
have also influenced the type of person who has emigrated from this region (Hiskey and
Orces, 2010). Sub-Saharan Africa also shares a driving factor of migration with MENA,
namely conflict, in Eastern Africa since the 1980s conflict has resulted in forced migration of
refugees, and much like South East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa is increasingly characterised by
female migrants who are moving independently of their spouses, although unfortunately
many of these women are victims of illegal trafficking (Adebusoye, 2006).
4.4.4 Rural to Urban Migration in MENA
The above discussion has focussed on intra-regional and inter-regional migration. When
discussing migration in general terms ‘migration’ tends to be synonymous with one type of
migration, i.e. international migration. In many countries, however, it is internal migration
that is important in terms of the movement of people and the flow of remittances;
especially in countries with high levels of regional inequality (Deshingkar and Natali, 2008).
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The latter point is significant to this study, which examines internal migration in a general
context including urban to urban as well as rural to urban migration.
Poverty has led the rural population to migrate to the large cities, particularly in Egypt,
Morocco, Yemen and Iran, with no employment prospects or sufficient access to social
services; and therefore this population has become the urban poor (Bishay, 1998).
Additionally, the increase in overall population growth had led to an increase in the rural
population, potentially increasing the likelihood of rural to urban migration (Roudi-Fahimi et
al., 2008). Amongst men and women in MENA there are increased expectations for work
opportunities; however the economies of the region are being placed under strain because
of high population growth, which is adding more job seekers to the labour force (World
Bank, 2003a) and fuelling a drive to seek employment in urban areas.
This would suggest that there is a simple driver behind internal migration, i.e. the pursuit of
economic gain, however, this over simplifies the dreams and aspirations that people have,
people also migrate to urban areas to enjoy a better standard of living. Syria for example is
relatively rich in comparison with some of its neighbours; however, a quarter of the
population live below the poverty line and basic services such as electricity, drinking water
and healthcare services are insufficient in rural areas, while the cities offer better schools,
hospitals and other services (United Nations, 2008a), the population desires a better life,
particularly for their children (Short, 1996).
During the 1960s, migration was viewed as a result of disparities in job opportunities, but it
was also considered as the mechanism for removing these disparities, i.e. linking labour with
demand and thus promoting economic development (Pacione, 2001). However, Bishay
(1998) suggested that the internal rural-urban migration in MENA created the problem of
increased unemployment; because the urban labour force grows faster than employment
expansion in urban areas, as is the case in Morocco. These factors are also present on a
global scale. Efforts to reduce this problem include investing in rural areas to reduce poverty
and thus ease the pressure off rural-urban migration (World Bank, 2002). To stem the flow
of rural to urban migration has been an integral part of the development plans in the region,
in Saudi Arabia government policy has aimed to stem rural to urban migration.
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When examining internal migration within MENA, the movement of the region’s Bedouin
people must also be considered, this is because they were at one point a mainly nomadic
group and their subsequent sedentarisation and migration to urban areas has been a unique
experience. The region’s Bedouin are becoming more sedentarised; in Jordan for example,
during the 1920s, 46 percent of the Bedouin population were non-sedentarised, however,
by the 1990s it was only 10 percent (Sueyoshi and Ohtsuka, 2008). This section examines
some of the Bedouin groups in MENA and the reasons for their sedentarisation and
migration to urban areas. There are some Bedouin in MENA who have been forced to
become urbanised; for example the Bedouin of the Negev in Israel and also the Bedouin in
Saudi Arabia as part of a politically concerted effort.
The situation for many of the Bedouin in MENA is far from satisfactory, economic
development and political strategy have impacted, too often detrimentally, on their lives.
For example, in the Negev Desert there are approximately 140,000 Bedouin, of whom
70,000 are urbanised in seven townships, these townships only have basic urban services
and have the lowest incomes and highest unemployment levels in the country (Rangwala,
2004). In comparison to the rest of Israeli society, they have an infant mortality rate three
times higher than that for Jewish babies, and 60 percent of their children live below the
poverty line. Such populations are forced to live in impoverished urban areas, thus being
denied their right to adequate housing (Rangwala, 2004). For the majority of the Bedouin
who do have jobs outside of their townships, most are employed as unskilled labourers
(Sinai, 2009).
Development of urban areas has had a detrimental effect on the traditional lives of the
Bedouin in the South Sinai of Egypt, where urban development has denied this population
access to grazing land and fishing on the coast; however, there are some positive aspects
such as the provision of education (Ali, 1998). Additionally, some Bedouin have profited
from the tourism industry, for example providing camel rides to the summit of Mount Sinai
(Teague, 2009). For many, though, these apparent business opportunities have not been as
a result of personal choice because over recent years, a severe drought has caused the
Bedouin to seek a living in the coastal tourist areas of Egypt (Eid, 2008). The Bedouin believe
in a principle whereby if the piece of land is improved then it is owned. The Bedouin have
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built concrete foundations near their homes, in order to achieve permanence; however, the
government has destroyed these neighbourhoods. Most of the Bedouin have therefore
given up their land by the coast and have moved inland into the hills (Teague, 2009).
4.5 Urban Geography in MENA
Historically, the traditional Middle Eastern city was characterised by important religious and
economic activities, with the Mosque in the centre and the residences arranged in order of
their economic and religious importance, that there was a moral centre as well as economic
centre, moreover, these traditional cities were a labyrinth of passage ways that eventually
lead to the centre (O’Meara, 2008). However, in more recent times, the urban geography of
MENA has in many places been influenced by European urban practices. Particularly, during
the later part of the Ottoman Empire town planning was influenced by European political
interference and early European modernism also influenced city officials and entrepreneurs,
the effect of which was cityscapes which resembled the latest Parisian fashion, for example
in Cairo, where buildings and public spaces were an adaptation of European models
(Shechter and Yacobi, 2005).
A clear example of such an approach was when Khedive Isma’il the ruler of Egypt (1863 -79)
visited the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1867 and was inspired by the plans of Baron
Haussmann which transformed Paris, when he returned to Cairo he “Haussmannised” the
city which significantly changed its size and layout and affected any future development
(Rabbat, 2008 p.16). This European influence also appears in the pursuit of preserving
Islamic architectural heritage in North Africa by the European colonising powers, at this time
tourism was important to the economies of these colonies and the preserving the culture
was an important consideration in designing the regions architecture and also urban
planning (McLaren, 2008).
However, the emergence of Westernised urban spaces created divided cities, divided
between the new imported modern spaces consisting of public buildings and residential
neighbourhoods and the old city which represents traditional and local life, however, this
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separation was not entirely complete because housing areas and spaces for work and
leisure were not entirely exclusive, therefore, it is suggested that any examination of
contemporary cities spaces should consider them as an amalgam of the traditional and
modern (Shechter and Yacobi, 2005). The urban reality and the nature of life in cities in the
Middle East have been altered by capital from oil revenues and high levels of privatisation;
there has been aggressive investment in the region that results in intense urban
restructuring which unfortunately neglects urban historical heritage, especially in the
historical core of cities, and urban regeneration (Daher, 2008).
More recently, over the last few decades there has been a revival of Islam as a cultural
identity in architecture; unfortunately this has been done badly. Too often architects use
arbitrary forms which are actually very much removed from their historic and geographic
contexts, for example, in the new cities around Cairo architecture displays revivalist motifs
“distorted through a Disneyesque vision of contemporary suburban living in the West”
which eventually will lead to a new globalised identity that has no local flavour (Rabbat,
2008 p.18). Unfortunately, in Cairo this blindly borrowing from the past has become more
acceptable where architects even make exact copies of the past which do not sit with
today’s context and functional requirements (Salama, 2008a).
The above discussion is about architecture which has had a significant influence on the cities
in the region. However, there are recent movements in the region which go beyond
considering only the architecture in consideration of urban concerns; this has lead to two
narratives in the region that define the evolution of the built environment, one from the
poorer countries and one from oil-rich gulf states, an example of the former is the
reconstruction of Beirut which focussed on urbanism rather than architecture and an
example of the latter are the urban developments in Dubai which aim to promote a global
identity rather a local identity (Al Asad, 2008).
Cities of MENA are part of a wider regional network and transitional flows between and
through these cities, it is true that cities in MENA have a physical location in geography that
they are enclosed by boundaries, however, they also have flows and exchanges between
them (Stanley, 2005) which significantly influence their urban geography. An example of this
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is the forgotten spaces in Dubai, which are lived in by low-income migrant communities that
exchanged information and money with their countries of origin; these areas are affected
spatially by a concentration of these migrants and their activities; this is evidenced by the
presence of shops, restaurants and other service outlets that service this expatriate group.
These forgotten areas are significant in two ways, firstly, the spatial form is influenced by
the migrants’ activities, and secondly, global links are established through communication
and the transfer of remittances (ElSheshtawy, 2008).
Another factor in relation to networks, that has to be considered in the examination of
urban geography in MENA, is the idea of ‘world city network’ suggested by Taylor (2004).
Taylor (2004) also brings attention to the fact that cities in the Middle East feature poorly in
the global city hierarchy. It has been the motivated pursuit of attaining rank in this network
(Stanley, 2005) that can negatively affect the urban environment. A classic example of this
has been shown in Dubai which has undertaken an urban revolution to gain rank in the
‘world urban hierarchy’, however, closer analysis of urban restructuring in the Emirate
shows that it has resulted in detrimental social problems, in its pursuit of icons and vertical
cities, Dubai may be on course to serious social consequences (Acuto, 2010 p.272). There
has indeed been an attempt by a number of countries in the region to attract the attention
of a globalising world, for example the Burj Khalifa, unfortunately, the effects of this on the
built and human environment have not been assessed (Mahgoub and Al-Omaim, 2008).
However, this is not to say that there has been complete neglect of the built environment in
constructing buildings that have globalised architecture. In Doha, for example, which has
fast-paced urban development; there are innovative approaches to design being employed
which has lead to the creation of responsive environments (Salama, 2008b).
While the abovementioned globalising forces have clearly had an impact in the urban
geography in Gulf States, in Tehran there is an impediment to globalising forces that has
been shown to have an impact on the region’s urban geography, which are the historical
architectural artefacts that reflect strong religious and cultural forces that influence
information and people (Marefat, 2008) these have not been significantly present in Gulf
States such as the Emirates and Qatar.
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Some parts of the MENA region have a large amount of informal housing; in some areas the
proportion is as high as 20-40 percent (Bjerde, 2008) and this is a particular problem in
Morocco, Yemen, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia and Algeria (Baharoglu et al., 2005). According to
the World Bank (2008b) this is a result of a combination of the high cost of land and formal
housing and inefficient land management, which resulted in many squatter settlements. It is
not fair, however, to place blame entirely on the governments, much of the informal
settlements that have appeared in small or non-oil producing countries are the result of
workers’ remittances being sent back from the Gulf States as part of an “hidden economy”
which have influenced building on peripheral areas creating suburbanisation, for example in
Egypt (Shechter and Yacobi, 2005).
However, it is important to define the difference between informal settlements and slums:
according to Madbouly (2009, p: 11) informal settlements are the housing stock that is not
in compliance with official regulations, and slums are defined as “deteriorated living
conditions and low levels of access to basic services”. Egypt is a classic example revealing
the characteristics of urbanisation and the associated problems in the region; it has a high
population density with 95 percent of its population living in 5.5 percent of the total area
(Goujon et al., 2007). Cairo is the most populated city in MENA with a population of 10.9
million in 2009 (United Nations, 2010c, p: 6). Moreover, 30 percent of the urban population
of Egypt live in conditions that have limited services and tenure security (Madbouly, 2009, p:
14).
Consideration must be given to the political inadequacies that are directly responsible for
shaping the urban geography in MENA, these factors present themselves in a number of
ways, for example the inability to provide the ability to purchase housing, the
mismanagement of urban space and the poor provision of urban services. The early creation
of national states and colonisation of territories that were formerly part of the Ottoman
Empire created a political transformation that influenced the spatial form of cities, later
with the emergence of nation states local governments were more involved in transforming
cities, building symbolic, iconic monuments (Shechter and Yacobi, 2005). However,
governments in the region have been neglectful and should be held responsible for not
properly developing mechanisms that allow proper accessibility to housing.
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In Cairo the failings by the government to provide adequate housing has been a result of a
broader economic approach, to put it simply, the government has devolved much of the
responsibility for real estate generation to the private sector, however, the private sector
became aggressively involved and had too much power leading to the building of large,
luxury office developments within the city’s urban perimeter and housing projects in Cairo’s
new suburbs only aimed at the affluent and the middle class (Salama, 2008a) significantly
influencing the urban geography. This has also been the case in Amman and Damascus
where the private sector in partnership with government have engage in post-
reconstruction programs, however, the similar criticism is that these are real estate projects
where history and heritage are only represented through “Disneyfied pastiche
representations” (Daher, 2008 p.23) leading to an urban morphology that is only intended
for consumption and entertainment for affluent Gulf tourists and the local rich (Daher,
2008).
According to the World Bank (2008b), rapid urbanisation has weakened local government
institutions in MENA; this has been further compounded by rapid population growth and
high unemployment, which in turn has affected local authorities’ ability to attract the
necessary private investment for economic growth and for improving the life of the urban
poor. The ability of local authorities has also been impeded by the centralisation of
authority and planning. It has been recognised by the Saudi, Yemeni and Egyptian
authorities that there is a need for decentralisation. For example, in the case of the slums in
Cairo it has been recognised by El Araby (2002) that there is need for decentralisation of
political power. In order to meet the challenges of MENA’s urbanisation, in order to create
productive, liveable cities, efficient management, economic competitiveness and financial
viability is required. All of this is only possible by enhancing local authority planning capacity
and the further promotion of decentralisation (Madbouly, 2009).
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4.6 Conclusion
Having examined urbanisation in MENA it was found that the processes and drivers and
consequences are diverse. MENA also has common urban processes that distinguish it from
the rest of the developing world. In relation to the latter point, the chapter highlights some
of the unique qualities associated with MENA; for example the economic, political, social
and cultural factors that play a role in both urbanisation and in shaping the urban geography
of the region. Conversely, there are also many similarities with other regions, the most
obvious of which are related to rural to urban migration as a result of people seeking
employment or a better standard of living; issues related to the need to decentralise urban
planning and the population dynamics where MENA is not significantly different to other
developing regions. Moreover, this chapter has shown that not only is there is diversity in
MENA, but there are also differences between the three sub-regions, this was illustrated by
examination of how economic factors had an effect of urbanisation.
Unique to MENA is the phenomenon of population dynamics. There have been great
improvements in health care in this region and a massive influx of migrant workers. As a
result, the region has witnessed rapid population growth, which has been the fastest in the
developing world, and the region has also been slower to lower its rates of fertility due to
associated cultural factors. It has also been shown that improvements in healthcare have
had two countervailing tendencies: firstly to increase population growth by reducing child
mortality and secondly to slow down the population through education about family
planning. The most noticeable result of this has been the creation of a very large youth
population and as a result the region is now facing the problem of finding employment for
this increasing young population.
Another unique attribute of MENA has been migration, not only for the obvious economic
reasons, but also as a consequence of political strategy i.e. sedentarisation of Bedouin and
also conflict. Migratory flows having been very diverse, for example, to and from the region
and within the region for economic purposes and also within sub regions due to conflict.
The latter, i.e. conflict, now presents another new distinctive attribute of MENA, some
interesting considerations should arise from the recent civil unrest or Arab Spring in the
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region, this adds a new chapter of conflict to the already long standing conflicts in the
region, such as Palestine and Iraq, it may be too early to judge the impact these new
conflicts have on longer term urbanisation, however, currently it is clear how they are
impacting on migration in the form of refugees and turning cities into conflict zones such as
in Syria and Egypt. In fact, besides political oppression, economic and social problems have
been largely blamed for the recent civil unrest in the region.
This study examines the processes, i.e. the drivers, trends and consequences of
urbanisation, and also the resulting urban geography through a multidimensional lens which
considers the roles played by economic, political, social and cultural factors in such
processes. It has been shown that there is wide variety of ways that these factors play out in
the region, for example the effect on urban geography of wealth, poverty, and conflict as
well as social and cultural influences. Therefore, this further suggests that there is wide
diversity in MENA in relation to these factors and the urbanisation and urban geography
that they affect.
More specifically, this chapter has shown how a diversity of urban geographies in the region
has been shaped by very different historical experiences, from the colonial influences in
Cairo to the more recent pursuit of global recognition in Dubai. And although the region is
predominantly Islamic both now and in history, this dimension has also impacted on the
urban geography in different ways; through both the successful and unsuccessful revivalist
movements in Islamic architecture and the attempt to preserve historical artefacts for the
tourism industry.
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CHAPTER FIVE
URBANISATION IN SAUDI ARABIA
5.1 Introduction
This chapter presents an analysis of the urban geography and processes of urbanisation in
Saudi Arabia in order to identify the distinguishing elements. This includes an examination
of the historical aspects of urbanisation and government policy to provide a comprehensive
account of the evolution of urbanisation within the Kingdom. Migration is also discussed to
examine patterns of inter- and intra-regional movement and to identify how such
movement has affected urbanisation and population growth in the country. Moreover,
because the Kingdom has a large Bedouin population, the reasons for, and the
consequences of, Bedouin migration and subsequent sedentarisation are also examined.
The focus of this study is urbanisation, urban geography and migration in Buraydah city in
the Al Qassim region. It is important to understand these processes in the context in which
Buraydah lies, i.e. the Kingdom as a whole. National policy, regional imbalances and local
economics are all contributing factors to urbanisation and migration; moreover it is
hypothesised that each region has its own experiences and may influence the experiences
of other regions.
It can be surmised that Saudis now prefer city life; the modernisation of Saudi Arabia has
encouraged much of the population to relocate from rural and Bedouin areas to urban areas
to search for employment and superior services (Assead, 2007). The rapid growth rates of
Saudi cities has created demand to develop expansive areas to meet housing, commercial,
industrial and other land use needs. Consequently, Saudi Arabia is enduring a housing
shortage and this will require significant investment to add a required one million homes by
2012 (Opoku and Abdul-Muhmin, 2010). The experience of urbanisation and resulting urban
geography has not been without its difficulties, as highlighted in this chapter.
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5.2 Population
Population growth is a significant factor driving urbanisation in Saudi Arabia and has a direct
effect on development; according to the Ministry of Economy and Planning (2010) almost
two thirds of the population in 2004 live in three regions, namely, Riyadh, Makkah and Ash
Sharqiyah. The Ministry are concerned that the population growth in the Kingdom will have
serious implications in terms of its effect on provision of services and the associated
problems of rapid expansion of urban centres, such as traffic jams, pollution, sanitation and
adequate housing.
Saudi Arabia has witnessed rapid population growth. The estimated population of Saudi
Arabia in 1932 was two million increasing to 3.7 million in 1952, five million in 1962, 7
million in 1974; it passed the ten million barrier in 1982, and in 2004 it was 22 million
(Figure 5.1) (Al-Rabdi, 2005). There is a parallel between population growth and
urbanisation, as 1974 saw the beginning of an oil boom and an influx of foreign labour
adding to the population growth. By 2009, the population had reached 25.7 million (United
Nations, 2009e) and in 2010 it was 27.1 million (Central Department of Statistics and
Information, 2010). It is expected to increase to 28.19 million in 2014 and 33.11 million in
2024 (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 2010 p.51). The population density in Saudi Arabia
has increased during the past three decades from less than two people (1.70) per km² in
196 , to 11 per km² in 2004 (Alkhraif, 2008) and 12 per km² in 2007 (World Bank, 2009d).
Figure 5.1: Population growth in Saudi Arabia: 1932-2004. Source: Al-Rabdi (2005).
0 1.5
3 4.5
6 7.5
9 10.5
12 13.5
15 16.5
18 19.5
21 22.5
24
1932 1942 1952 1962 1972 1974 1982 1992 2000 2004
P o
p u
la ti
o n
in M
ill io
n s
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The two main regions with the highest urban agglomerations were Makkah and Riyadh in
1974 the remaining regions all had a population of below one million. By 1992, there was a
sudden increase in the populations for the Makkah and Riyadh regions as well as the Ash
Sharqiyah region. For the remainder of the regions there was an overall steady increase with
no significant changes. In 2004, the pattern remained the same with a steady increase for
most of the regions. Notably, however, although Ash Sharqiyahs’ population climbed
significantly, both Makkah and Riyadh showed the sharpest increase to more than five
million inhabitants each (Figure 5.2). Overall, the pattern demonstrates that in terms of
population geography there is a clear regional disparity, with three regions enjoying most of
the population growth.
Figure 5.2: Populations by Region, 1974, 1992, 2004. Source: Division of Population Statistics (1974-2004).
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
5500
6000
p o
p u la
ti o
n (
th o
u sa
n d
s)
1974
1992
2004
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Figure 5.3 shows the population density of the various administrative regions. In 2004 the
Jizan region possessed the highest density with up to 88 people per km², notwithstanding
the high rates of migration from this region; the population density there has increased
significantly over recent years. This indicates high levels of natural increase in this region,
further supported by the fact that there has been a decline in the proportion of non-Saudis
(Alkhraif, 2008).
Figure 5.3: Map of Density of population in Saudi Arabia in 2004. Source: Alkhraif (2008).
The economic dimension affects and is affected by demographic changes in the Kingdom, in
fact there is a definite interplay between the two. One way that economic prosperity affects
demographics, according to the Saudi Central Department of Statistics (2004), is that the
high natural growth of the Saudi population is due to an improvement in health services
111
resulting in high fertility rates. However, fertility rates have remained steady, between 2000
and 2005 3.18 births per woman (United Nations, 2009d), and by 2008 there was a very
slight decrease to 3.1 (World Bank, 2010e) although the dramatic decrease in infant
mortality rates at birth may have offset this. Between 1950 and 1955 there were 200 deaths
per 1,000 births (United Nations, 2009d) decreasing to 21 per 1,000 births in 2008 (World
Bank, 2010e).
The other side of this dynamic, i.e. population growth affecting economy has been
suggested by Albatel (2005) who examined the relationship between population growth and
economic performance in the Kingdom. This study has found that if population growth
negatively affects the supply and demand of savings it has a negative effect on savings and
economic growth; more specifically, he states that a high dependency ratio (i.e. the ratio of
those too young or old to work against the working population) is the culprit and affects
savings and consequently the Saudi economy. However, the overall dependency ratio for
Saudis is set to decrease from 4.7 in 2009, 4.1 in 2014 and 3.3 in 2024 (Ministry of Economy
and Planning, 2010 p.51). This interplay between the two variables has also been recognised
by the Saudi government, the Ministry of Economy and Planning in its seventh development
plan states: “While demographic variables have direct and immediate impacts on economic
development, the impacts of economic development (with its social and cultural
dimensions) on demographic changes take a longer time” (Ministry of Economy and
Planning, 2001 p.77). Furthermore the Ministry of Economy and Planning (2001) brings
attention to the various ways that demographic variables have economic implications,
namely: rate of population growth, age structure, spatial distribution and population density
and rate of participation in the workforce.
A demographic feature of Saudi Arabia that has significant implications for economic and
social development, the provision of housing and urbanisation is that the Kingdom is
characterised by a young population; the median age is 17.3 years. It is noteworthy that
over 40 per cent of the population are under the age of 15 years (Central Department of
Statistics, 2004). The young population has resulted in an increase in demand for housing
both immediately and in forthcoming years, when those currently below 15 years of age will
reach marriageable age and require housing (Bourland et al., 2006). However, it should be
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noted that population growth may stimulate technological innovation and therefore help an
economy to grow (Albatel, 2005). This large young population has a direct effect on the
standard of living in the Kingdom. The Ministry of Economy and Planning (2010) in the Ninth
Development Plan maintains that although a large young population is an asset through
maximum utilisation of this group, they do present some challenges in terms of the
provision of health care, social services, recreational services and education and training.
5.3 Migration
Migration, rural to urban and urban to urban, is another significant contributing factor to
urbanisation in Saudi Arabia. Examination of the drivers behind migration reveals that
migration has many contributory facets such as socio-cultural, political and economic
reasons for migration. Moreover, these facets also need to be considered in the
examination of the consequences of urbanisation for migrants i.e. their experience of life in
their new city.
A major factor that has influenced rural to urban in the Kingdom has been the decline in
opportunities in rural areas; traditional farming has become less economically rewarding
and young people in rural areas tend to be more educated and seek a more rewarding life in
the urban centres, which can satisfy their occupational aspirations. In fact, between the
1950s and the 1980s, there was a complete reversal in the rural-urban populations, with the
rural population decreasing from 78 per cent to 19 per cent (AlWahid, 1992).
Previously it has been shown that the three administrative regions, Riyadh, Makkah and Ash
Sharqiyah are home to most of the country’s urban population, these regions are also the
favoured destination point for migrants, this is supported by the International Organisation
for Migration (2010) who say that major urban centres in the region such as Riyadh, Jeddah
and Medinah attract the highest number. Approximately 70 percent of the total migrant
population live in these regions where there are high levels of economic development and
associated job opportunities, health, social and educational services; moreover, these three
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regions are hubs of development and have the greatest share of commercial and industrial
activities (Alkhraif, 2008).
Historically, from within MENA there were two sources of migration to the Kingdom: firstly,
migrants from Jordan, Egypt and Iraq to work in education and the civil service, and
secondly, unskilled labour from Yemen (Basha, 1988). In 2004 because of the influx of
workers from outside MENA e.g. India, there has been a shift in the number and country of
origin of migrants from within MENA, although Egypt was in second place, behind India,
with nearly 14 percent of the total migrant population and Yemen with 10 percent,
countries such as Jordan and Syria account for only 2 percent each far behind countries such
as Pakistan and Bangladesh (Al-Gabbani, 2009).
This external migration from other countries in MENA and South Asia has been due to the
diminutive size of the Saudi population at the advent of rapid development, coupled with a
lack of labour skills and low female participation, thus a need to recruit foreign workers
arose (Al-Gabbani, 2009). Until recently (2009) Saudi Arabia actually exceeded the Emirates
in terms of outflow of remittances to Bangladesh and Pakistan (Ratha et al., 2010). In 2009
foreign workers constituted 50.2 percent of the total labour force (Central Department of
Statistics and Information, 2009) and 27 percent of the total population (Ministry of
Economy and Planning, 2010 p. 51) and in 2010 it increased to 27.8 percent, which the
government considers too high (International Organisation for Migration, 2010 p.116). This
projection by the government may be based on predictions about the country’s Saudization
programme that aims at decreasing the expatriate population giving more jobs to Saudis,
more specifically, the Saudi Arabian Manpower Council has placed restrictions on foreigner
labour in 34 professions and is aiming for a ten per cent limit on the total number of foreign
workers (World Bank, 2009a. p.51).
Again, it was the three regions of Makkah, Riyadh and Ash Sharqiyah that showed significant
results in terms of number of non-Saudis living in each region, the Makkah region being the
highest. The Makkah region is the main arrival point for foreigners from overseas and
pilgrims visiting Makkah city often remain, albeit often illegally, in search of work (Al-
Gabbani, 2009). Furthermore, this was evidenced by the fact that when the Saudi
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government offered an amnesty to illegal immigrants to leave the country, 350,000 took up
the offer, the majority of whom arrived as pilgrims to Makkah (Bchir, 2007).
5.3.1 Bedouin Migration and Sedentarisation
When discussing migration and urbanisation in Saudi Arabia it is important to examine the
migration and sedentarisation of the Bedouin because this is one of the distinctive aspects
of such processes in the country. The Bedouin were first settled in a politically motivated
effort in 1912 by the founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz, as part of the process of
unifying the Kingdom as a modern nation state (Dar al Liwa, 2000). Part of this unification
was to control the scattered Bedouin by establishing the first “planned” Bedouin settlement
at a place called Artawiyah, approximately 300 kilometres north of Riyadh (Shamekh, 1975).
The settlements were known as Hijars and by 1982 there were 4,020 around the country,
with these become stepping stones for further migration of the Bedouin to the cities
(Alkhedheiri, 2002). Subsequently, the Bedouin left their communities for rapidly growing
urban areas and became government and private sector employees and professionals;
contributing to rapid urban growth in the Kingdom (Lindsey, 2006). After the unification,
many Bedouins settled in Najd, Hijaz, and Ash Sharqiya and in the Northern Border region
(Alkhraif et al., 2008). Bedouin settlements have been fundamental to urbanisation,
population distribution and population movements associated directly or indirectly with
internal and external, programmes and development plans (Al-Rabdi, 2000).
The results of the General Census of Population and Housing in 1974 showed the number of
non-sedentarised Bedouin population stood at 1,883,987, equivalent to more than a quarter
of the Kingdom’s population (27 per cent) of which 16 per cent were in the Riyadh region. In
comparing the size of the non-sedentarised population of Bedouin in 1932 and 1974, some
significant decreases were revealed in many areas such as Riyadh, Al Qassim, Hail, Ash
Sharqiya and Madinah. For example, the percentage of the population of the desert in Ash
Sharqiyah was about 67 per cent in 1932 and almost 10 per cent in 1974, partly due to the
economic development in the Kingdom and the migration of large numbers of the
population of the desert to the cities and villages (Alkhraif et al., 2008), as mentioned above.
This is a more recent phenomenon related to economic development, in contrast to being
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sedentarised during the unification of the country to fight in civil struggles in the past which
was politically motivated.
It is imperative to note that the findings of censuses of population and housing, namely the
1992 and 2004 censuses, did not include statistics on the number of inhabitants of the
desert their demographic characteristics, or economic and social development (Alkhraif et
al., 2008). Without such information, it is difficult to determine migration and urbanisation
patterns. To date there has not been any in-depth study conducted on the experiences of
migration and urbanisation of the Bedouin. As part of this study’s investigation into these
experiences, an analysis of the Bedouin is presented in chapter eight.
5.4 Urbanisation and Government Policy
The political aspects of urbanisation in Saudi Arabia need consideration because they have
played a major role in the processes of urbanisation and shaping the urban geography.
There have been both positive and negative experiences as a result of local and national
policy in the Kingdom. It is apparent that the rapid spatial expansion of cities is the result of
the government’s initiatives toward urban development (Garba, 2004). The most prominent
examples of such policies and agendas during the last 40 years are the land grant policy and
interest-free loans, which led to a massive explosion in suburban areas of major cities such
as Riyadh and Jeddah. These policies allowed for hundreds of thousands of residential land
plots to be distributed to citizens free of charge (Mandeli, 2008). Moreover, it was the
intention of the government to ensure that its citizens owned the land (United Nations,
2002).
As described above, since 1950 the urban population has increased rapidly (Figure 5.4). The
central government has been largely responsible for urban growth by allowing large lots and
wide streets, whilst urban sprawl is characterised by undeveloped sub-divisions. The
government has been responsible for ill-planned and premature sub-divisioning of desert
areas; this characterises the peripheral desert landscape by allowing land developers and
speculators free rein (Mubarak, 2004).
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Figure 5.4: Percentage of Urban Population in Saudi Arabia 1950-2050. Source: United Nations (2008c).
5.4.1 Historical Phases of Urbanisation and Government Policy
Since the establishment of Saudi Arabia in 1932, policy makers have considered urban
growth beneficial for both the economy and social development. Until the present day, the
authorities have encouraged the extension of municipal boundaries, and this has remained
a primary objective of the government (Mandeli, 2008). There is a pressing need to develop
institutional structures in concurrence with the rapid growth (Garba, 2004) and indeed,
there have been numerous and diverse attempts put in place as a response to sprawling
development (Mandeli, 2008). Unfortunately, upon review of government strategies, there
is an indication that despite their effectiveness in achieving high quality infrastructure in
some areas of major cities in the short term, there is a prediction that the longer-term
outlook is less optimistic because of the many urban problems that persist in these cities.
These include uncontrolled developments on the fringes and are characterised by
inadequate urban services, rapidly increasing land prices and building costs, and an increase
in slums (Mandeli, 2008).
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Prior to the unification of the Kingdom by King Abdul Aziz, i.e. before 1912, the majority of
the population lived in villages that dotted the desert or in the bases of valleys and oases.
This time was characterised by small cities, surrounded by defensive walls, with the majority
of buildings and homes constructed from mud or mud and stone (Figure 5.5). Urban centres
were close to water and natural defences against tribal raids Al-Homiedan (2007). The focus
of most cities in this period was in the Hijaz area, for example Makkah, Jeddah, Taif and
Yanbu. In the region of Riyadh, with the exception of the city of Riyadh there were only
scattered villages and towns such as Al-Kharj, Hotat Bani Tamim and Dawadmi (Alkhraif,
2007a).
Figure 5.5: Photo of Traditional Mud Houses. Source: AL-Riyadh Newspaper (2008b).
The Royal order in 1937 to extend the Makkah municipality statute to all other
municipalities was the first step towards comprehensive urban planning in the Kingdom.
These statutes guided the local municipalities on how to organise the town and to maintain
its beauty and scenic setting (Alkhedheiri, 2002). This was followed by King Abdul-Aziz’s
instruction to found Al Khobar in 1938; this order was intended to encourage urbanisation
by providing guidelines on building practices (Al-Said, 2003).
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The next significant development in the Kingdom was the production of oil in commercial
quantities; this was reflected in the growth of cities, the influx of foreign labour and the
emergence of large-scale projects for the settlement of the desert, i.e. the encouraged
sedentarisation of the Bedouin. In parallel with the growth of large cities, the emergence of
squatter settlements was apparent within cities and in villages. At this stage, there was the
expansion of some cities outside the old walls, which marked the appearance of building
materials such as iron and cement as an alternative to mud and stones and new types of
buildings such as villas and high-rise buildings (Alkhraif, 2007a) such as flats and apartments
(Al-Otaibi, 2004).
The next milestone was the introduction of the gridiron design; this originated from the
Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO), which established three new oil camps at
Dhahran, Ras Tanoura and Abqaiq and used the gridiron pattern for housing areas.
Simultaneously, growth in the older towns continued in the same old organic style that was
traditional of Arab cities, of narrow winding and irregular streets (Alkhedheiri, 2002).
However, the gridiron pattern was firmly established by a circular sent out by the
government in 1960 to all municipalities (Al-Said, 2003). As part of the gridiron formation,
ARAMCO were responsible for the square lot and villa-type dwelling and their architects, the
only ones in the Kingdom at the time came up with ‘international Mediterranean’ style
homes (Alkhedheiri, 2002). This established an alternative design and introduced
Mediterranean-style detached houses as standard (Numan et al., 2001), with villas the type
most favoured by employees. The gridiron pattern and the villa used in Al Malaz (Figure 5.6)
became a model that would be used all over Saudi Arabia during the 1960s and 1970s
(Alkhedheiri, 2002). Unfortunately, after the introduction of these patterns the streets no
longer benefitted from the inherent shading provided by the traditional towns; therefore
protection from the hot climate is lost with the open setback design of the villa (Moustapha
et al., 1985).
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Figure 5.6: Photo of Gridiron system Al Malaz. Source: Alsaha (2008).
During the late 1960s the Saudi government sought to control urban growth, focusing on
Riyadh, the fastest growing and pre-eminent city, they engaged the services of an
international consulting firm Doxiadis Associates to develop a master plan (Alkhedheiri,
2002); again it represented a departure from the traditional design approaches. Over time,
the Doxiadis plan was extended to accommodate the sub-dividing process. There were
three main principles of the Doxiadis plan which included the gridiron plan, with a system of
highways that goes around giant two square kilometres blocks, zoning regulations, which
include the density and type of housing development, as well as the minimum size of lots for
new housing areas, based on the American suburb design, and finally, detailed design of
Action Area Plans, aimed at revitalising the centre of the city.
These plans were intended to make the urban systems more economical and efficient in line
with the nation’s growth plans. An unfortunate consequence of these plans was that the
population was divided according to economic status, thus imposing a socio-economic map
on the population (Mubarak, 2004). Despite the improvement in management, however,
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there were still urban-related problems in Riyadh, such as the spread of squatter
settlements and a further increase in the demand for housing (Garba, 2004).
As a result of the oil boom in the 1970s, those who owned vast amounts of land realised the
economic potential of creating roads and plots for housing and they did this beyond the
established boundaries of the city. This pattern continued until, in 1977, it surpassed the
Doxiadis plan (designed for 300 km²) to cover 700 km², creating urban sprawl on an
unprecedented scale. In response to this, in 1976, the Ministry for Municipal and Rural
Affairs employed the services of the French organisation, SCET International. The SCET
revised the original master plan, which was completed in 1982 and included 250 km² of
approved sub-divisions (Mubarak, 2004).
Because of rapid urban growth, it was decided by the Saudi government in 1984 to
delineate the urban growth boundaries; this enabled the pace and direction of growth to be
coordinated with the provision of infrastructure in the future. The objectives of the
boundaries were to control the horizontal growth of cities by encouraging urban infill, thus
making urban areas more compact, to prohibit development in natural areas, to reduce the
need for costly infrastructure, to assist in the facilitation of public authorities’ tasks, to
maintain agricultural areas and areas of cultural interest, and finally, to provide base line
data for urban planning and land use (Alkhedheiri, 2002). The government attempted at the
national level to implement the delineation of urban growth boundaries for 100 cities at the
same time. More recent methods to assess urban sustainability have included the use of
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) that can be used to evaluate the aforementioned
planning processes, master plans and land use (Alshuwaikhat and Aina, 2006) and the use of
spatial analytical tools, which simulate and provide probable outcomes of urban planning
policies (Al Ahmadi et al., 2008).
5.4.2 Decentralisation
In light of government policy, it is necessary to address the issue of decentralisation in the
Kingdom, as one of the main impediments to urban planning has been overly centralised
power and planning. Although there have been efforts toward decentralisation in the major
cities involving the creation of peripheral sub-municipalities, these municipalities have had
121
limited powers while the real decision-making powers still lie with the central authority
(Mubarak, 2004). Nevertheless, there have been more recent efforts to implement
decentralisation; the United Nations (2009b) reported that there are projects to boost the
efforts of MOMRA in the implementation of regional urban planning and the United Nations
Development program is involved in helping to promote decentralisation in Saudi Arabia.
A primary contributing factor affecting the implementation of decentralisation is the
hierarchical and inflexible structure of the government bureaucracy responsible for urban
planning (see Figure 5.7). It has been argued by Eben Saleh (1999) that in order to gain local
cooperation in the area of urban development it is necessary to facilitate local participation.
However, the problem of centralised power remained, because in 2007, local authorities
were still merely extensions of the ministries of central government (Adib, 2007).
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Figure 5.7: Bureaucratic hierarchies of government departments for built environment. Source: Al-But’hie and Eben Saleh (2002).
King of Saudi Arabia
Premier Council of Ministers (approval of plans)
Proposed
Plans
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Consultative
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and Higher
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of Approved
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Proposed
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Planners of the Built Environment
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Legislative Authority Executive Authority
Ministry of Municipal and
Rural Affairs (MOMRA),
City, Vacant land inside
urban fringe
Ministry of Interior:
Enforcement of rules
Ministry of Agriculture
and Water (planning
outside urban fringe)
Directorates of MOMRA
Municipalities: Regional
Administration
Administration
Directorates –
Agriculture and Water:
Regional Administration
Mayor’s office Local
Administration Local Borough Councils
Agricultural Offices
Local administration
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5.4.3 Development Plans
Due to revenue from oil and the resulting wealth, the Kingdom was able to embark on a
number of development plans. As already mentioned Riyadh, Makkah and Jeddah were
experiencing the most urbanisation and, according to Alkhedheiri (2002), were the main
recipients of migrants. The disparity between these three main urban centres and the rest
of the country became an issue to be addressed by the government who wanted to avoid
resources being concentrated in a few urban areas (Ministry of Economy and Planning,
1980).
In an attempt to resolve the abovementioned problems the government initiated a
programme of formulating urban, regional and national plans. These plans were for periods
of five years, known as Five Year National Plans (Alkhedheiri, 2002), the first was introduced
in 1970 and they have continued until the latest plan, the Ninth Development Plan (2010 -
2014).
The provision of housing was emphasised in the first plan that encouraged the ownership of
dwellings, which included all forms such as villas, apartments and even mud houses. This
policy was pursued in the belief that people who have proper housing are more productive.
The intention was two-fold, firstly to increase the number of dwellings and secondly to
improve the quality of existing dwellings. During this period, migration from rural to urban
areas was not being met by adequate provision of urban housing; the government
recognised this and addressed the situation, especially with the provision of low-cost
housing (Central Planning Organization, 1970).
The third plan focussed on the need to create a wider distribution of people throughout the
Kingdom as a response to regional disparity and mass rural to urban migration. The plan
sought to ensure that all centres of economic activity, including rural areas, had a sufficient
population, due to the perceived predicament that centres for industrial growth had always
been concentrated in large cities (Mishkes, 2001). The fifth plan (1990-1995) also
emphasised this issue. It sought to balance regional development by meeting the
population’s needs and the utilising existing facilities through growth centres in the hope
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that this would eliminate the fragmentation of development efforts (Ministry of Economy
and Planning, 1990).
In the seventh development plan (2000-2005), migration and regional disparities were again
discussed, as was the proposal that rural to urban migration should be limited to avoid
bottlenecks in urban development; this was evidenced by the plan’s intention to reduce
internal migration. Furthermore, the theme of limiting rural to urban migration continued in
the plan when addressing the disparities between rural and urban areas. The plan stated
that village clusters were appropriate for the provision of basic services to maximise the
number of people who lived there and should become places of increased economic
activities, which it was hoped, would limit the migration of the population to the cities
(Ministry of Economy and Planning, 2001) this is clearly a continuance of previous plans.
The eighth plan (2005-2010) provides valuable insight into where Saudi Arabia needed to be
in terms of development. Firstly, the plan brought attention to the inconsistency between
urban planning and housing needs. Here the plan suggested that the problem was that the
main cities have a high population density, which leads to a greater demand for housing -
this demand then causes house prices to increase so that many social groups cannot afford
housing. The underlying reasons for this problem are: firstly, the scarcity of developed land
within the cities, together with the ever-increasing urban population; and secondly, the
imposed limitations of the urban boundaries (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 2007). This
former point is noteworthy, in that in an attempt to stem the problem of urban sprawl by
limiting and controlling urban boundaries and development, they have created a situation of
a shortage of housing for lower income groups. These groups will then naturally settle in
possibly unplanned peripheral areas, or in cheaper peripheral areas, thus providing more
incentive for the unscrupulous land developers to continue sub-dividing land. There is an
indication; however, that the ministry understands this as the plan stated its intention to
provide additional residential land within the boundaries of large cities and to encourage
more vertical urban development, i.e. high-rise buildings (Ministry of Economy and
Planning, 2007).
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In a report by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, when highlighting their millennium
development goals, they stated that they are endeavouring to control random expansion of
urban areas as part of the pursuit of balancing regional development and the development
of rural areas. Furthermore, they expressed an objective of ensuring the increase of
residential housing within the urban boundaries, particularly for major cities, in order to
avoid urban sprawl (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 2008b). The ninth plan (2010-2014)
focuses on improving the standard of living for Saudi citizens with the focus on providing
housing to alleviate the country’s housing shortage (Abdul Ghafour and Hanware, 2010).
Moreover, the government is considering how to achieve population balance among and
within regions, by examining the advantages of each region, to achieve regionally balanced
development and reduce centralised management (Ministry of Economy and Planning,
2010).
5.5 The Urban Geography of Saudi Arabia
As described above, rapid urbanisation has placed great pressure on the existing towns to
evolve and there has been a shift in the population from the older parts of towns to the
newer parts, which has weakened the traditional city centres as the new areas provide
nodes for activity. Besides these changes to the existing towns, there was also the creation
of new towns built as a response to the needs of activities associated with a rapidly
developing economy, among which were industrial towns and military towns (Al-Hathloul
and Mughal, 1999).
Historically, prior to the 1950s, the traditional type of housing continued to spread beyond
the city walls. These traditionally built communities were referred to as Hilal and established
the early outward growth beyond the walled city; they were inhabited by town folk and
Bedouin tribes and were seen as the place of transition from nomadism and rural life to the
integration into urban society. Hilal communities comprised of mud built houses
surrounding a central courtyard. It was in the 1950s when these types of dwellings were no
longer the typical houses of the middle class and were replaced (Mubarak, 2004).
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When rapid development took place in the 1950s and 1960s, a system of straight and wide
roads was constructed to allow easy access to the new urban areas. During this
construction, any traditional dwellings that were in the way were simply demolished, thus
destroying the once unique social spaces where children used to play and the elderly would
meet for conversation (Al-Hemaidi, 2001). The physical transformation of older more
traditional areas is taking place in many cities, yet they are not always simply destroyed. In
Hofuf in Saudi Arabia for example, traditional buildings in the old part of town are now
being used for modern commercial purposes (Al-Naim and Mahmud, 2007). Another use for
these traditional dwellings is to house foreign workers; however, it has been claimed by Al-
Hemaidi (2001) that they are not maintained properly and are often used by foreign
workers who are not concerned with preserving the property. Another difficulty for these
traditional residences was that high-rise buildings were erected above them, which
eliminated the privacy (Figure 5.8) for which they had originally been designed.
Figure 5.8: Photo of high-rise Residences above traditional houses. Source: AL-Riyadh Newspaper (2009).
127
The town of Al- Badai, located in the Al-Qassim region, is an example of a town that has
passed through the aforementioned process. It is a typical small- to medium-sized town;
and until the advent of development in 1950 it was very traditional. Following the
construction of a highway between Madinah and Riyadh the town expanded southward in
order to take advantage of economic activities along the highway. These extensions grew to
be seven times larger than the old town and the town’s new centre became the intersection
of the highway system; however, the local authorities were left with the problem of trying
to organise these ill-planned extensions and with limited resources (Al-Hathloul and Mughal,
1999).
The switch from traditional mud-built dwellings to modern imported villa dwellings was,
however, not immediate; there was a transitional stage. This transition began with the
introduction of imported modern construction materials and methods to replace the more
feeble mud construction with that of solid cement blocks. Moreover, as the demand for
housing grew, and because of a backlog of demand for housing which could not be
accommodated by traditional methods of building, there was a sudden demand for the
small ‘popular Arab’ houses and apartments (Figure 5.9) which were based on the same
floor plan as the traditional mud houses. They were simple and inexpensive to build and
designed essentially for low-income immigrant workers. This stage was to last until the
proliferation of the villa-type properties that were to arise in the 1950s and 1960s
(Mubarak, 1999).
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Figure 5.9: A popular Arab house of transitional stage. Source: AL-Riyadh Newspaper (2008c). The layout of the villas (Figure 5.10) in the gridiron formation, introduced by the architects
of the oil companies, came with open wide roads, which bring their own detrimental
problems. Due to the width they encourage cars to drive fast and there are no public
pavements. There are no areas for local activities or for children to play; thus these areas
are particularly dangerous because of the fast traffic (Al-Hemaidi, 2001). Additionally, as
part of the proliferation of new housing developments came the construction of
apartments. The design of these apartments (Figure 5.11) was almost the opposite of the
traditional inward-facing type dwellings; for instance, the doors and windows were wide
and opened up onto to straight streets, a style borrowed from the Mediterranean
(Mubarak, 2004).
There have been efforts by architects and designers to mix the Western with the traditional
and the Arab-Islamic, which is clearly reflected in the urban environment, there are
buildings which imitate traditional forms, however, the architecture generally in Saudi
Arabia is borrowed from different sources such as Greek and Roman and has resulted in an
environment that focuses on the impact of these forms, rather than focussing on the people
and their relationship with the built environment (Al-Naim, 2008).
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Figure 5.10: An example of a Villa in Riyadh. Source: AL-Riyadh Newspaper (2008d).
Figure 5.11: Apartments in Riyadh. Source: AL-Riyadh Newspaper (2008a).
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5.5.1 Settlement Size and Number
Although there was no change in the rank order of the three major cities in Saudi Arabia
(Riyadh - Jeddah - Makkah) from 1974 to 2004 in terms of being the largest urban centres,
there are many changes in the rankings of other cities. These changes reflect developments
in the cities in the areas of industry, trade and public policies as well as what is happening in
the villages or small towns close to the industrial cities (Alkhraif, 2007a).
Since the 1970s there has been an increase in the number of cities and their sizes resulting
in a decrease in the level of urban primacy. Not only does this show an increase in
population and subsequent urbanisation but it also offers an insight into the migration of
people around the Kingdom, e.g. urban to urban migration, those moving from the primary
cities to secondary and tertiary cities, rural to urban migration and an increase in
immigrants (Alkhraif, 2007a).
When analysing the relationship between the percentage of urban inhabitants of the
regions living in the main cities and the number of new towns in each region, some
interesting patterns emerge. These patterns have implications for both population growth
and patterns of migration, both inter- and intra-regional, for each region. Interestingly,
there is no common pattern among all of the regions, which could be an indication that
each region is experiencing different population growth and migration patterns, which could
be a result of local economic conditions and regional governmental policy.
In 1974 it was clear that the regions fell into three categories: the primary regions which
included Ash Sharqiyah, Makkah and Riyadh, the secondary regions which included Tabouk,
Madinah, Al Qassim, Najran, Jouf and the Northern Borders and the tertiary regions which
included Jizan, Hail, Asir and AlBahah. An interesting point to note is that the region, which
hosts the capital, Riyadh, was in third place after Ash Sharqiyah and Makkah. Ash Sharqiyah
is home to most of the country’s oil reserves and is well known for having a high percentage
of ground water (Alkhraif, 2007b).
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By 1992, there had been an overall increase in the rate of urbanisation for all regions. In
2004 the same pattern continued; there was an overall increase in urbanisation for all of the
regions and still a distinctive group at the top. Furthermore, there was a distinctive bottom
group. Again, the region that does not clearly fall into either groups and remains in the
middle is Al Qassim.
By 2004 there was a wide variation in urbanisation between the administrative regions,
from more than 90 per cent in Ash Sharqiyah and Riyadh, 80 per cent in both Makkah and
Madinah, less than 50 per cent in Al Bahah and Asir and less than 40 per cent in Jizan,
Tabuk, Jouf and Northern Border (Figure 5.12) (Alkhraif, 2007b).
Figure 5.12: Map of Percentage of urbanisation in the administrative regions of Saudi Arabia, 2004. Source: Alkhraif (2007b).
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It is striking that the regions of Riyadh and Makkah accommodated more than half of the
urban population in Saudi Arabia in 2004; moreover, more than two-thirds of the urban
population in the Kingdom (65 per cent) live in just three regions: Makkah, Riyadh and Ash
Sharqiyah (Alkhraif, 2007b). Additionally, the three regions of Makkah, Riyadh and Ash
Sharqiyah have witnessed high population growth due to internal migration (Central
Department of Statistics, 2004).
In 1974, the major cities could be grouped distinctively based on their share of the total
urban population in each region. The first group held over 85 per cent of their region’s
urban population and included Hail, Bulgarshi, Madinah, Riyadh, Najran and Tabouk. The
remainder of the major cities were all below 60 per cent for the same year. By 1992, the
major cities started to lose their urban inhabitants to the increasing number of new towns
in each region; overall there was a decrease in the trend of urban primacy. However, by
2004, the trend had changed: there was no decrease in urban primacy as might be expected
with an increasing population and increasing number of towns, the reality was different.
Seven of the 13 primary cities began to show an increase in their share of the urban
population in their respective regions (Alkhraif, 2007a).
The above patterns of migration clearly show that there was urban primacy in Saudi Arabia;
these primate cities attracted most of the internal migrants. Theories of the reasons for
primate cities offer various suggestions: such as the primate cities being the result of
external influences or a result of a country’s colonial past (Pacione, 2009). However,
external influence can only be attributed to cities such as Medinah, Makah and Jeddah as a
result of religious pilgrimage from around the world. The case of Riyadh cannot be explained
by this or indeed by the presence of oil. The only theoretical explanation for Riyadh’s urban
primacy is that national forces such as nationalism determined the city’s importance as
Riyadh was established as the capital after unification.
To test the idea of urban primacy against in a situation where there is rapid population
growth and an increase in new towns, it is important examine the relationship between the
main cities’ share of the urban population for the region and the number of new towns in
that region. Overall, the number of new towns for 1974, 1992 and 2004 shows a direct
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relationship with urban populations in the main cities (Figure 5.13). Some main cities have
shown a significant decrease in their share of the urban population and a corresponding
increase in the number of new towns for that region.
Figure 5.13: Numbers of Towns for Each Region 1974, 1992 and 2004. Source: Alkhraif
(2007b).
Figure 5.13 demonstrates that for each consecutive decade, there has been a general
increase in the number of towns for most regions, and although there has been a general
correlation between number of towns and urban population in the main cities, there have
been some exceptions to this pattern. Towns are considered if they have a population of
25,000 or more (AlKhraif, 2007b).
Jeddah, the primary city in the Makkah region, showed a steady increase in its share of the
urban population for the region (Figure 5.14) from 48.9 per cent in 1974 to 55.1 per cent in
1992 and 55.2 per cent in 2004. However, the region also showed a significant increase in
0
5
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20
25
30
35
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45
50
55
60
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To w
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the number of new towns (Figure 5.13), from six towns in 1974 to 19 towns in 1992 and 23
towns in 2004 (Alkhraif, 2007b). An explanation for this is that the region as a whole
witnessed high population growth for the same period. In 1974 the population of the
Makkah region was 1,760,216; in 1992, 4,467,670, and in 2004 it was 5,797,971 (Al Rabdi,
2005). This shows new town’s absorbed urban inhabitants as well as Jeddah itself; thus
maintaining or possibly increasing its percentage of the urban population in Jeddah.
Riyadh showed a gradual decrease in Riyadh’s share of the urban population (Figure 5.14)
with a corresponding increase in the number of towns for the Riyadh region (Figure 5.13). In
2004, however, the percentage share of urban inhabitants for Riyadh city increased even
with an increase in the number of towns in the region (Alkhraif, 2007b). Other cities in the
administrative region of Riyadh have not been the focus of urban studies nor have they
received comprehensive urban plans during recent decades; the capital Riyadh has been the
focal point for most activities. In fact Riyadh has a population 20 times greater than Al
Kharj, the next largest city in the Riyadh region (Alkhraif, 2007a).
Figure 5.14: Primary Cities Share of Urban Population for Respective Region (Riyadh, Al Qassim, Makkah and Ash Sharqiyah). Source: Alkhraif (2007a).
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Riyadh Buraydah Jeddah Dammam
%
1974
1992
2004
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Remarkably, Ash Sharqiyah had more towns than any other region in Saudi Arabia with 14
towns in 1974, 51 towns in 1992 and 57 towns in 2004. Given that Ash Sharqiyah has more
towns than any other region with a relatively small population, this suggests the towns are
relatively small in size. It is interesting to note that the significant increase in the number of
towns in the Ash Sharqiyah region between 1974 and 1992 coincides with newly discovered
oil reserves in the same area for the same period (Figure 5.15).
Figure 5.15: Oil reserves in Ash Sharqiyah region by year of discovery. Source: The Oil Drum (2008).
The smallest region in Saudi Arabia is the Al Bahah region and it has shown the most
significant results in terms of change. In 1974 the only town in the Al Bahah region was
Bulgarshi which had 100 per cent of the urban population for the Al Bahah region. By 1992 a
significant change had taken place; the city of Al Bahah became the primary city with only
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32.88 per cent of the urban population for the region, reflective of an increase in the
number of towns in the Al Bahah region from one in 1974 to five in 1992.
5.6 Consequences of Rapid Urban Growth in Saudi Arabia
Al-Hathloul (1981) argues that urbanisation can have a distorted nature, meaning that it is
often unplanned and seemingly random; this has created problems all over the world and
has been a concern for policy makers in most developing countries. The problems are well
known and include leapfrog development (unplanned and uncontrolled urban development
on the edge of cities), scattered settlements, unregulated population growth, increase in
cost of housing, poor public services; social differences, traffic problems, and environmental
problems.
Overall, this rapid urban growth, which until recently has not been considered a major
concern, has now become part of the Saudi government’s national agenda. Moreover,
although there are positive efforts by the government, evidenced by the aforementioned
multitude of government plans, local municipalities in Saudi Arabia appear to be
inadequately equipped to cope with the problems of rapid urbanisation. Urban sprawl
forces the municipalities to expand their jurisdiction to incorporate the population growth
and, because the administrative jurisdiction increases due to a growth in the size of the
administrative regions, the local authorities are unable to exert sufficient control over them
(Mandeli, 2008). There has also been a lack of communication between the ministries in the
provision of the various resources required to manage urban growth (Gamboa, 2008).
One problem associated with urban sprawl in Saudi Arabia, due to the rapid expansion of
the cities, is that the planning measures taken are aimed at trying to keep up with the rapid
expansion rather than being an effective plan to direct such expansion (Alkhedheiri, 2002).
Indeed, the expansion of Riyadh beyond the city’s original walls provided an opportunity for
almost unlimited growth; however, this presented a problem to the authorities, as they
were unable to provide the necessary services for those areas (Gambia, 2008). It should be
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remembered, though, that most cities in Saudi Arabia are of manageable size in comparison
to other cities in the developing world (United Nations, 2001).
Sub-divisioning of land, i.e. dividing and allocating land and applying basic infrastructure for
the purpose of housing development, continued throughout the country until the 1980s. To
stop this process, and the associated urban sprawl, the council of Ministers adopted the
Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs’ (MOMRA) proposal of the Urban Growth Boundary
Policy (UGBP) in 1989, so as to keep the sub-divisioning process in check (UGBP is a line on
the map of a city that shows the phases of growth). Such policies, aimed at managing
growth were designed to prevent leapfrog development. Although these plans were
adopted by central government they were only enforced selectively, evidence for which is
the continuous sub-division of land by developers, with complete disregard for future
consequences (Mubarak, 2004).
Urban sprawl was also affected both directly and indirectly by the urban growth boundaries
implemented with the support of the central government in 1984. Firstly, urban sprawl was
affected by such policies by the introduction of an imposition of a two-year ban on the
further sub-dividing of land no matter where it was to take place; secondly, introducing
urban protection zones around the cities was an effective mechanism to control the urban
sprawl (Al-Hathloul and Mughal, 2004). Although urban sprawl draws criticism, Pacione
(2009) suggests that it does have some advantages such as allowing the land to be
protected by property rights; however, it has been shown that in Saudi Arabia property
rights are not secure, as is the case in the rest of MENA, and is thus may not be an
advantage in the Kingdom.
Another consequence of rapid urbanisation is the loss of the traditional environment. Urban
growth in Saudi Arabia post the oil booms has not followed the traditional planning
strategies, which had arisen through centuries of trial and error, conforming to the demands
of the peoples’ culture and traditions. Traditionally built environments reflect local identity,
and were characterised by one or two storey courtyard-type dwellings, which were
deliberately designed to provide privacy and shade (Al-Hemaidi, 2001). Indeed, the urban
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design of the traditional Arab town was influenced by the religion of its inhabitants and the
hot arid climate (Moustapha et al., 1985).
There has been a transformation from the traditional to the modern; this has resulted in a
compromise between traditional cultural and religious values and modernity (Al-Naim and
Mahmud, 2007). Government policy has played a role in the compromise of culture in
building design. In 1974 the government created the Ministry of Public Works and Housing,
which, in response to a shortfall in housing launched the ‘crash’ or ‘rush’ housing. These
were large high-rise apartment buildings on the outskirts of major cities. They were the
greatest shift away from the traditional approach, and the design prioritised efficiency over
privacy; fortunately, however, they only accounted for a small percentage of state housing
(Mubarak, 2004).
That is not to say that this drawback has not gone unnoticed by the Saudi government.
Subsequently, planners and architects are working together with the government to
overcome this problem by attempting to create a harmonious link between the built
environments of the past with those of the present. Thus a new approach towards urban
planning has emerged; this new or third type of approach aims at creating a synergy
between traditional and contemporary planning approaches in an attempt to overcome the
negative aspects of both (Al-Hemaidi, 2001).
5.7 Conclusion
For the most part the drivers of urbanisation in Saudi Arabia are the same as those in the
rest of the MENA region and to a certain extent the developing world; that is, population
growth due to natural increase and internal and external migration. This chapter has shown,
however, that although the drivers are similar, the processes and patterns of urbanisation
are distinctive to the country, even in the context of the MENA region. Saudi Arabia has
witnessed an explosion in population growth due to improvements in health services and
the influx of foreign labour that takes part in the country’s development.
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The patterns and drivers of migration within Saudi Arabia are similar to those in the rest of
the developing world; that is that people migrate from rural to urban and urban to urban in
search of work and a better standard of living. Not only does migration occur within Saudi
Arabia, but the country is also a major recipient of intra-regional migration. The reason for
the latter has been the explosion in development due to oil revenues, something only
shared with some neighbouring Gulf States and Libya. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia has seen
migration of the Bedouin from the desert and rural areas to urban areas, at first as a result
of a political effort to settle the Bedouin, although in more recent times the Bedouin have
migrated of their own accord in search of better opportunities.
Evidence of urban primacy is found in Saudi Arabia, and although it currently only applies to
a few cities, it is on the increase in those cities with a corresponding decrease in other
regions of the country. However, urban primacy is not as strong as it is in other developing
world cities, such as those in Latin America. One phenomenon that can be linked to this
urban primacy is the regional disparity in terms of development, something that is evidently
being addressed by the Saudi Arabia government, as well as the issue of the need to
decentralise decision-making powers to the local authorities to allow them freedom in local
urban planning.
In relation to the government’s responses to the problems of urbanisation there have been
successive comprehensive plans and initiatives over recent decades, and it is those
combined with the available financial resources that have meant that Saudi Arabia has been
through rapid urbanisation without suffering in the same way as other developing countries.
There is evidence of urban sprawl in the Kingdom, partly due to ineffective local
governments and partly due to corruption; however, despite this, the government has
coped well, avoiding serious problems such as the slum developments.
In relation to urban geography, this chapter has shown that there is a diverse urban system
within the Kingdom, especially in terms of the number and sizes of cities in each state and
urban the urban primacy. Moreover, there is also a wide variety of patterns and processes
that have followed these diverse urban geographies. This draws a close on the similarity
with the rest of MENA because such diversity inhibits any comparisons with other countries.
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Perhaps the most significant aspect of the urban geography of Saudi Arabia is that urban
spaces have shifted significantly from the traditional, which was suitable for climate and
culture, to the modern gridiron formation imported from the West. This is as a result of the
oil industry and the associated relationship with Western oil companies; such changes took
place in a relatively short period of time and, unlike other countries around the world, the
desire to regain the traditional is for practical living purposes and not just as a source of
revenue from tourism.
Despite the urban primacy, much of the urbanisation and the associated experiences of the
urban geography are taking place in medium-sized cities. These cities are now significant
recipients of migrants in the Kingdom and are often preferable destination points over
larger cities. Therefore, the following chapter will examine urbanisation, migration and the
urban geography in Buraydah City to show that medium-sized cities are witnessing rapid
urbanisation. More specifically, the following chapter will show the attributes of this
medium-sized city that attract migrants, urbanisation patterns, the urban space and the
local government’s response to rapid urbanisation.
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CHAPTER SIX
URBANISATION AND MIGRATION IN BURAYDAH CITY
6.1 Introduction
This chapter focuses on the patterns and processes of urbanisation in Buraydah City,
specifically the factors contributing to urbanisation and the drivers behind rural to urban
migration. Moreover, it presents the urban geography of the city and in more detail, its
urban spaces. The chapter also considers how the national context of development
initiatives affects Buraydah City in its regional context and also considers the influence of
local government. The distinguishing characteristics of Buraydah City, e.g. geographic
location, topography and economic activity, are examined in relation to their impact on
urbanisation. Secondary data are included in this chapter and have been obtained from
various sources including previous studies of Buraydah City, local authorities, Ministries and
academic sources; although it should be noted that secondary data on Buraydah City are
limited.
It is the urban centres in the Kingdom that have benefitted the most from opportunities to
create employment and to provide more facilities and services (High Authority for the
development of the city of Riyadh, 1999). For example, it was indicated in the third
development plan (1980-1985: 67) that there had been far-reaching changes in all the cities
and villages in the Kingdom in terms of services and the standard of living for the citizens
(Ministry of Economy and Planning, 1980). However, there have also been significant
changes in the distribution of the population and high rates of migration to the cities,
especially large cities, which have grown at the expense of small and medium-sized cities
over recent decades (High Authority for the development of the city of Riyadh, 1999).
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6.2 Buraydah City in Developing World Context
Besides natural population increase, migration has played a major role in urbanisation in
Buraydah City. The drivers for migration, e.g. the search for work, are very similar for
Buraydah City and other cities in the developing world, but the experiences may be different
-something that will be determined in chapter eight. In less developed countries urban
dwellers do not necessarily enjoy the prosperity that they sought (Varela, 1998). In fact, in
China, approximately a third of migrants return to their original homes because it is difficult
for them to find the jobs they are looking for to sustain them into retirement (Deshingkar
and Natali, 2008) and cities in the developing world are commonly characterised by surplus
labour and underemployment (Sijuwade, 2010). However, in Saudi Arabia the government
has had the necessary financial resources to overcome such issues, and subsequently
implemented plans for urbanisation.
Although there has been urban sprawl (discussed in chapter five) the country has not
suffered severely from problems such as slums; as experienced by other developing
countries where finance and planning are not supported by governments (Bloom and
Khanna, 2007). The problem of slums is often associated with the uncontrolled flow of rural
to urban migrants where governments are not able to keep up with the demands for
housing and services in urban areas. According to Boadi et al. (2005) urbanisation without
development means that urban economy cannot absorb migrants leading to greater urban
poverty. This is a situation that is compounded by the inadequate provision of infrastructure
and services to support this urban growth. This view has been supported by Pacione (2009)
who says that the deterioration in services is because there is a mismatch between
urbanisation and economic growth. In most developing countries governments hold a
negative opinion on the subject of urbanisation and advocate policies to decrease or even
reverse migration to cities (White et al., 2005). In Bangladesh, for example, the policy of
reverse migration is engineered so as to alleviate poverty in rural areas by creating jobs and
opportunities (Bhuyan et al., 2001).The government in Saudi Arabia has also recognised this
problem and is engaged in national plans to stem the flow of rural to urban migration by
improving rural areas; such policies are laid out in development plans and include limiting
migration to urban centres by improving standards of living and job opportunities, and
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providing better infrastructure in rural settlements (Ministry of Economy and Planning,
2001). This is part of an overall effort to improve living condition in towns and villages in
order to achieve balanced development (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 2010).
Another determinant of urban growth in the developing world is the expansion of
boundaries leading to the annexing of surrounding areas (Kasarda and Crenshaw, 1991).
Although no physical migration takes place, the result is still similar to rural to urban
migration in that there is a shift in residence from the rural to the urban (Mears, 1997) in
relation to this Buraydah City has also grown to incorporate surrounding villages (Al Rabdi,
2001).
Therefore, upon examination of the factors that drive and affect urbanisation in Buraydah
City in comparison to the developing world in general, it can be seen that there are
similarities in terms of migration and its drivers, e.g. the search for work and the recognition
of the need to control rural to urban flow. However, while there are often failings by
governments in the developing world to manage the inflow of rural to urban migrants, e.g.
lack of sufficient work opportunities and poor municipal services, which lead to urban
poverty and slums, it has been shown in the previous chapter that the experience for Saudi
Arabia generally, has been more positive. This chapter examines the specific experience of
Buraydah City in relation to urbanisation.
6.3 Drivers of Urbanisation
Drivers of urbanisation in Buraydah City include population growth and migration, including
rural to urban migration and geographic location. The city shares the same experiences as
other cities in the Kingdom in terms of population dynamics and the influx of both local and
foreign migrants. However, for the latter, Buraydah City is different in that it is located
geographically at the crossroads of the country, and indeed the whole Gulf region, with
close proximity to rural and desert areas which significantly influences migration to the city.
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6.3.1 Population Growth
Population growth in Buraydah City is from both natural increase and migration. The earliest
population estimate for Buraydah City was 6000 made in 1834 by Schimber. The first formal
government estimate was 35,000 in 1962, and by 2010 the population had reached 467,410
(Division of Population Statistics, 2010) (Table 6.1). Figure 6.1 clearly shows Buraydah’s
population in comparison to other cities in Al Qassim.
Table 6.1: Population of Buraydah City, 1834 - 2010
Estimated by Population Year
Schimber Palgrave Dowtey Hobair AlBustani Nolder Hussein Hosni Lorimer Leachmam Philby Hafiz Wahba Twitchell Pakistani mission Division Population Statistics Doksiades Division Population Statistics Division Population Statistics Division Population Statistics Division Population Statistics
6,000 -
5,000 10,000 25,000 8,000 -12,000 12,000 7500 24,000 20,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 35,000 46,490 69,924 248,636 379,625 467,410
Source: Al-Rabdi (1992) and Division Population Statistics (1974, 1992, 2004, 2010).
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Figure 6.1: Map of Population in Al Qassim Area, 2004. Source: Aldakhil (2007).
Between 1974 and 2004 the average rate of population growth was 5.17 percent annually
(Table 6.2). This was mainly due to Buraydah’s proximity to rural areas (Kassem, 2005) and
according to Al-Rabdi (2001) the surrounding villages were a source of migrants and a strong
hinterland to Buraydah City. Moreover, in terms of economic drivers for this migration,
during the period between 1974 and 1992 Buraydah City grew significantly as a result of oil
revenues (Al Rabdi, 1992). In 2004 the Central Department of Statistics identified Buraydah
as the largest city in the Al Qassim region, with 49 percent of the region’s population,
followed by Unayzah with only 14 percent (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 2007).
Throughout the period between 1974 and 2004 Buraydah City consistently experienced a
higher average annual population growth rate than the remainder of the Al Qassim region
and the country as a whole (Table 6.2).Much of the population growth in Buraydah City was
due to natural increase, however, both internal and external migration were also factors
contributing to population growth (Al-Rabdi, 2008). In 2004, 38.92 percent of the non-Saudi
population of the Al Qassim region lived in Buraydah City.
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Table 6.2: Average annual population growth rate (%) of Buraydah City compared to the Al Qassim Region and Saudi Arabia
Period Saudi Arabia Al Qassim Region Buraydah City
1974 – 1992 5.03 4.77 6.68
1992 – 2004 2.45 2.56 2.94
1974 – 2004 3.99 3.88 5.17
Source: Al-Rabdi (2008).
Not only is the population poised to continue to grow, but Buraydah City’s share of the total
population of the Al Qassim region as a proportion is also set to increase (Al-Rabdi, 2008).
Notably, the population of Buraydah City is forecast to triple over the next 35 years;
however, the corresponding increase in the city’s share of the region’s population is only set
to increase by approximately 5 percent in the same period (Table 6.3).
Table 6.3: Estimated future population of Buraydah City and Al Qassim region with percentage of Al Qassim population living in Buraydah City (2015-2050)
Year Buraydah City Al Qassim Region Percentage Al Qassim in Buraydah City
2015 522477 1342638 38.91
2020 604274 1523751 39.66
2025 698996 1729465 40.42
2030 808708 1963145 41.19
2035 935805 2228624 41.99
2040 1083072 2530262 42.80
2045 1253743 2873023 43.64
2050 1451579 3262557 44.49
Source: Al-Rabdi (2008).
Buraydah City is characterised by a young population, like that of the rest of the Kingdom,
with 67.9 percent below the age of 24 (Kassem, 2007). The Gulf region as a whole also has a
very young population, with 29 percent below the age of 15 in 2008 and only a slight drop
to 24 percent expected by 2020 (The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2009). This has
implications for work opportunities in the city where there are large numbers of young
people competing for jobs.
6.3.2 Migration
Part of the justification for this study is that there is very little research about urbanisation
and migration in Buraydah City; however, this is not to say that studies about medium-sized
towns are non-existent. A study by Al Arishi in 2002 focussed on migration to Samdah, a
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medium-sized city in the south of the Kingdom, and found that the main driver for migration
was the search for work. In 2004, a study by Albassam focused on migration to Unayzah, a
medium-sized town in the Al Qassim region and also found that the search for work was the
main driver; however, these studies focused on migrants generally and did not examine the
different types of migrants. Thus, it should not be assumed that all migrant groups are the
same or that they have the same goals and experiences of migration, an issue that is
addressed in chapter eight.
The Fourth Development Plan (1985-1990) noted that there was significant migration within
the Kingdom, and that the Central (including Al Qassim) and Western regions were gaining
population over the Northern and South Western regions. Moreover, statistical surveys
carried out by the Ministry of Economy and Planning showed that there was more migration
within regions rather than inter-regional migration; this is significant in consideration of
migration from within the Al Qassim region to Buraydah City. This intra- rather than inter-
state migration is also evident in most of the regions across India; however, unlike Saudi
Arabia this is attributed to the migration of women (Mitra and Murayama, 2008). In
addition, the fourth development plan also noted that people were returning to their
original region, but not necessarily to their rural place of origin (Ministry of Economy and
Planning, 1985). The reason for such migration was thought to be improvement of municipal
and social facilities (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 1985).
There has, however, also been a reverse in migration patterns across Saudi Arabia, as
people who left for larger cities with better services are now returning to medium-sized
cities such as Buraydah City, providing evidence that work opportunities and services in
provincial towns have improved (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 1995), this is supported
by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (2000) who say that the manufacturing
industry in Saudi Arabia has moved to medium-sized cities from larger cities, moreover, Al
Rabdi (2008) says that the population of medium-sized cities will increase because of the
influx of local migrants. This is a possible indication that development plans are successful
and that the government has improved living standards and opportunities in smaller size
towns. Currently there are no studies about reverse migration from Buraydah City; the
intention of migrants to leave Buraydah City and return to their place of origin is addressed
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in chapter eight. In other parts of the developing world, though, reverse migration is not
due to an improvement in the smaller urban settlements but rather, according to
Brockerhoff (2000), due to weak city economies; for example in the Ivory Coast and Guinea.
In Syria, for example, poor housing has been the cause of reverse migration back to rural
areas (Khawaja, 2002).
In Buraydah City the numbers of immigrants increased the number of families living in the
north-east of the city during the period 1950-1970. Some of these migrants were skilled in
crafts such as clothing and textiles and came to Buraydah City from various regions outside
of the Al Qassim region, believing its economic prospects to be better than that of other
regions. Additionally, many of these migrants came from other towns and cities (Al-Rabdi,
2001). The economic interdependence between the population in the villages (Al Butayn, Al
Tarafiyah, Al Rubaiah and Al Shaqah, Figure 6.2) and towns (Unayzah, Al Bukayriyah, Al
Asyah, Ayoonaljawa and Albadaya, Figure 6.2) that surround Buraydah City and the
population of the city itself, have led to migration to the city (Al-Rabdi, 2001). However, the
trade relationship between urban and rural areas and the resulting migration is not as
simple as has been mentioned; there are further dynamics to this relationship in the Al
Qassim region. The finance for agricultural activities comes from financiers in Buraydah City;
these same financiers control the markets in the city and compel farmers to sell their
produce at a lower price to increase their own profits. This has meant that some farmers
have had to cease farming and migrate to Buraydah City to search for alternative sources of
income (Al-Rabdi, 2001). Another cause of rural to urban migration has been the surplus of
Saudis in the agricultural labour market due to the influx of foreign labour to rural areas; as
a consequence of this surplus, many Saudis have gone in search of work in the city (Al Sharif,
1994). In fact, in 2008, nine percent of the foreign labour force in the Kingdom worked on
farms (Al Gabbani, 2009) and in Buraydah, in 2004, 10.8 percent of the 77,558 foreign
worker population worked on farms (Kassem, 2007). This inevitably has had a significant
impact on the population of Buraydah City.
Buraydah City has also been a migrant destination for the Bedouin for whom the driving
force behind the search for economic prosperity was further increased by the fact that they
are economically disadvantaged. There were some Bedouin, especially in the Al Qassim
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region near Buraydah City who, after the discovery of oil, migrated to Buraydah City for
economic purposes, and for the relative ease of urban life in comparison to the challenging
life in the rural areas and deserts (Shamekh, 1975). The Bedouin have always been close to
Buraydah City since the beginning of the nineteenth Century; in fact before the discovery of
oil the Najd region comprised of three sub-regions, the sand dunes of the Dahna desert,
range land with water points inhabited by the Bedouin and fertile land with oases, all of
which created a linear pattern, from north to south, of Bedouin settlements from Al-Kharj
(near Riyadh) to Buraydah City (Al-Hathloul and Edadan, 1993).
Figure 6.2: Map of towns and villages surrounding Buraydah City. Source: Author (2009).
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In addition to Saudi migrants from within Saudi Arabia, another significant migrant group in
Buraydah City are foreign workers. The city is no different to other cities in the Kingdom in
terms of its having a large foreign-worker population; the largest group by far originate from
the Indian subcontinent, with the largest group from within the MENA region being the
Egyptians (Kassem, 2007). Overall, the foreign migrant population of Buraydah City is
steadily increasing, it stood at 20 percent in 2004 (Kassem, 2007) and by 2010 it had
increased to 26 percent (Division of Population Statistics, 2010). This increase has been
partly due to real estate development as many of them are employed in the construction
industry.
The significant number of foreign workers in Buraydah City has an effect on the
demographics in the city in terms of gender, according to Kassem (2007) there are more
men than women in Buraydah City because there are significant numbers of male foreign
workers in the city; when examining the ratio of male to female Saudis, however, the male
majority is not significant. The non-Saudi female population is mostly employed in hospitals
and domestic service. Most of the Saudi female population are employed in single-sex
education or healthcare (Doumato, 2009). Although Saudi women do work in Saudi Arabia,
they comprise less than 15 per cent of the total workforce. The Al Qassim region has the
lowest female unemployment rate in the Kingdom at 17 per cent; the region is conservative
in terms of culture and many women are employed as teachers in the schools and
universities (Business Intelligence Middle East, 2010).
6.3.3 Geographical Location
Buraydah City is the capital of the Al Qassim region in Saudi Arabia, and is the location of all
the government departments in the area. Moreover, the city is the main commercial area in
the Al Qassim region and has markets that are the main trading centres for a wide area and
many residents of surrounding villages rely on these markets for their daily provisions (Al
Rabdi, 1992). Buraydah City is centrally located in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula making
it an important crossroads for trade and a transit point for pilgrimage to Makkah. Because of
the seaports in the north-west on the Red Sea it is a conduit for people travelling from the
east of the Arabian peninsula to Egypt and the rest of Africa and vice versa (Kassem, 2005).
Buraydah City has stood on inter-regional trade routes since before the national unification:
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firstly, it was on the pilgrimage route to Makkah from Basra in Iraq and secondly, it lay on
two coffee routes, one from the Red Sea and one from the Sham region (modern day Jordan
and Syria), both crossing through the Najd region and Buraydah City, to Yemen in the south
(Al-Hathloul and Edadan, 1993). In 1872 the people of Buraydah City were trading with
neighbouring countries, especially Iraq; in the period after 1872 trade was extended to
other countries such as Syria, Palestine, Egypt. The opening of this trade meant that
consumers for local products were widespread beyond the region, providing Buraydah City
with new markets for livestock and agricultural products such as the local camels, cows,
horses and dates (Al-Rabdi, 2001) (Figures 6.3 and 6.4).
Figure 6.3: Date traders in Buraydah City. Source: Buraydahcity (2009).
Figure 6.4: A scene from a Camel fair in Buraydah City. Source: Buraydahcity (2009).
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Its geographical location served to increase the importance of the city as a transit point for
those travelling across the peninsular in all directions (Figure 6.5) for trade as it played a
significant role in servicing such travel; for example, guest houses, hotels, restaurants and
vehicle service stations. Although those travelling were transient, the urban scale of the city
was influenced by the building of these services and housing areas for those people who
worked there, especially at the city's entrances (Kassem, 2005). Prior to the national
unification in 1932 the central region of the Najd (including Buraydah City) attracted a
greater population than the desert regions to the north, mainly due to the availability of
water and fertile soil (Al-Hathloul and Edadan, 1993).
The King Abdul Aziz road (Figures 6.6 and 6.7) is the main artery of the city as it divides the
centre. The road is home to major government departments such as the Secretariat and the
King Khaled Cultural Centre. Much of the economic and commercial activity in Buraydah City
depends on this road. The road crosses the city from north to south and receives traffic
from the entire South, from Riyadh, Unayzah and other cities of Al Qassim (Al-Mansor,
2005). This road has been instrumental in shaping the urban landscape of the city.
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Figure 6.5: Map of major roads linking Buraydah City with other major cities in Saudi Arabia. Source:Aldakhil(2007).
Main cities
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Figure 6.6: King Abdul Aziz Road, Buraydah City, 1950. Source:Alsaha(2009).
Figure 6.7: King Abdul Aziz Road, Buraydah City. Source: Alhandasa (2009).
6.4 Government Policy and Buraydah City
Much of the government policy towards development in the Kingdom has focused on
eliminating regional disparity. This has been emphasised in the national five year
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development plans. This section focuses on these plans and provides an analysis of their
affect on urbanisation and, more specifically, examines how national policy plays out in the
Al Qassim region and in Buraydah City, and assesses the extent to which the local Buraydah
municipal authorities have autonomy in policy making in relation to urbanisation.
6.4.1 Development Plans
The government’s development plans sought to increase development after the discovery
of oil resulted in people migrating to cities. The local government in Buraydah City pursued
the planning and organisation of neighbourhoods and issued many building permits,
selected sites and construction plans, identified land uses, and worked toward providing a
much needed infrastructure of roads, electricity and water in preparation for the building
developments (Kassem, 2005).
However, Buraydah City may have been a beneficiary of regional disparities (presented in
chapter five), the Fourth Plan (1985 – 1990) mentioned that such regional imbalances were
partly due to the patterns of rural-urban migration and that it was the central regions, the
location of Buraydah City, and the western regions that were provided with the highest level
of services (Ministry of Economy and Planning 1980).
Moreover, such disparity can also be caused by many goods being produced in one place
and transported a very short distance to markets within that place (Venables, 2003). This is
certainly the case in Buraydah City, because as mentioned before, it is home to the world’s
largest date and camel markets and the largest pharmaceutical manufacturer in MENA and
is also referred to (Hassan, 2006) as the vegetable basket of the country. Trade in dates is
particularly strong; in 2011 Buraydah City hosted the world’s largest date festival (Al- harbi,
2011). In light of this, although there is evidence of regional disparity, with primate cities
being the main recipients of government investment, there has been no evidence so far that
Buraydah City has been neglected in this respect and some evidence that it has in fact been
a beneficiary of governmental support.
Despite the fact there have been economic disparities between Saudi cities; the population
growth is high for the entire Kingdom. Except for some small towns, there were high rates of
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growth for most of the medium-sized towns which has led to the change in their size.
Buraydah City, for example, rose from ninth largest city in 1974 to eighth largest in 2004
(Alkhraif, 2007). According to Alkhraif (2000) this is linked to economic growth witnessed in
the Kingdom, the implementation of many projects and development plans over recent
decades. The national urban strategy of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, for the
year 2000, placed great importance on the development of a balanced system of urban
centres in the Kingdom and its regions, particularly focusing on small- and medium-sized
cities (Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, 2000). Part of this approach was to devolve
power to regional authorities; this allowed the central government to concentrate on issues
of a national nature (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 1995). Urban development at the
local level has worked; this success has been achieved by the establishment of independent
organisations at local level in the urban centres. In the developing world generally, local
level planning and management is becoming essential because of the increase in
urbanisation and associated problems (Qureshi et al., 2009). However, by the time the
seventh plan was initiated there was evidence that these regional plans were still being
developed and implemented by central government; the plan discusses how the Ministry of
Economy and Planning will gather information about each region, identify constraints and
issues and put forward a development strategy for each region according to any resources
that are available (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 2001). Again, the planning is central
and there is no mention of devolving planning to the regional authorities.
6.4.2 Land Management Strategy
The administrative and planning bodies in the Al Qassim region play an active role in
contributing to the identification of developmental requirements and the initiation of
programmes and projects in coordination with national government. This local involvement
is part of a national long-term comprehensive development strategy which includes
economic, social and urban aspects (Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, 2000).
According to the Buraydah Municipality (2005), prior to the oil boom in 1974 there were
large areas of unused land, owned by the government and private land owners, around
Buraydah City; but, as a result of the oil boom the price of this land increased, compelling
some people in Buraydah City to stake a claim on this land. Although any claim was illegal,
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as the land did not belong to them, they were determined to own it. Furthermore, among
these people there were disputes about who ‘owned’ what piece of land; this led to much
litigation in the courts between false claims and the rightful claims of private landowners.
The response to this problem from the local government was threefold: firstly, to retain the
land as government-owned and delay any development; secondly, to allocate the land for
public use, i.e. public parks, schools and hospitals; and finally, to allocate it to members of
the public for housing development. Between 2000 and 2005 the local authority gave away
24,564 plots for housing development on a first come first served basis (Buraydah
Municipality, 2005).
The local authorities have also put available land to good use by leasing to it private
businesses for the purpose of building shopping malls, theme parks and recreation centres.
There are two advantages to this; firstly it generates revenue for the municipality, which has
steadily increased from SR 14,521,891 in 2000 to SR 27,454,611 in 2005 to a predicted SR
33,371,251 for 2010, and secondly, it helps to stimulate the private economy (Buraydah
Municipality, 2005).
In order to manage the issuing of building permits the local authorities in Buraydah City
have employed the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyse land use in the
city. The system is also used to collect and document data for maintenance projects, storm
water drainage and waste management. Overall, GIS is employed to construct a geographic
database at the city level to help improve the quality of municipal services and government
departments. The maps are also used for planning spatial distribution for business sector
areas (Buraydah Municipality, 2005).
6.5 Patterns of Urbanisation
Currently there are 69 neighbourhoods in the city, a map of these neighbourhoods is
presented in chapter seven (Secretariat Al Qassim area, 2009). There is some documented
work by travellers who visited the city from outside the country that tell us something about
life in the city in the past. The Al Riyadh newspaper reported that in 1862 William Palgrave
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came to Buraydah City; he was the first European traveller to cross the Central Arabian
Peninsula (Al-Riyadh Newspaper, 2007, 22). He observed the commercial and agricultural
activity and spoke about the markets, describing the butcher’s shops, fabrics, fruits, and the
houses built of mud and stones, and stressed that some buildings had been standing for five
hundred years. He described the population as tradesmen and noticed there were very few
Bedouins in the city (Al-Riyadh Newspaper, 2007, 22). He observed that the Bedouin did not
seem to be migrating to Buraydah City at this time, although they did frequent Buraydah
City for trade. In 1906, in his description of Buraydah City, Lorimer said that it was an
important commercial and trade centre and activity peaked every four months, when the
Bedouin returned to buy dates, rice and cloth from the city, and sometimes erected tents
outside the walls to conduct trade (Al-Mansor, 2005). Even today, although the spatial form
of Buraydah City has changed from the traditional narrow streets and inward facing
courtyards, the city still retains its key role as a centre for trade, but its influence has
travelled beyond national borders.
There is little academic work on the history of the aforementioned wall that surrounded
Buraydah City. The earlier growth of the city was in the form of circles, each consecutive
circle growing larger than the previous circle and each circle being surrounded by a
defensive wall (Al-Rabdi, 2001). This mud wall would be closed every day at sundown until
sunrise (Hassan, 2006). Each Amir (Mayor) built a new wall leaving the old wall behind with
access points for greater protection (Al-Rabdi, 2001). The earliest record of the wall dates
from 1741 when the area of the town contained within the walls was approximately 8,000
square metres, with the wall having a circumference of more than 360 metres. It was the
protection afforded by this wall that encouraged people to migrate to Buraydah City from
surrounding towns that did not have protective walls (Al-Rabdi, 2001). In 1819 a new wall
was built which increased the radius of the original boundary by 20 metres with a
circumference of 565 metres, and a total area of approximately 17,000 square metres. At
this time the growth of Buraydah City was chiefly to the north and north-west; however,
growth to the south and the south-west was limited due to the presence of sand dunes and
the ArRummah Valley, the population at that time was 1,360. The area surrounded by the
physical boundary, i.e. the mud wall, was about 30,000 square meters in 1887. In 1908 the
growth of the city continued towards the north, north-west and south-east until the 1960s,
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following the road from Riyadh to Hail and the northern areas that intersected Buraydah;
this increased the length of Buraydah City by 1,250 metres in this direction and between
450 to 650 metres east to west (Figure 6.8) (Al-Rabdi, 2001). The fact that Buraydah City was
originally a walled town that grew beyond this boundary is nothing unusual in MENA; in fact
at the centre of most Islamic cities is a walled fortress, and over time cities tended to grow
concentrically out from the original boundary (Brunn et al., 2008).
During the 1950s, the new economy allowed new roads to be built within Buraydah City and
other towns in the Al Qassim region, which helped intra-regional trade with Buraydah City
as the hub (Figure 6.9) (Al- Mosalam, 2005). With the introduction of the motor vehicle
Buraydah City became an important internal transportation hub because it lay on the
crossroads between Riyadh and Hail in the north and Riyadh to Makkah, Jedah and Madinah
in the west. The scale of Buraydah City increased due to an increase in the issuing of
building permits in 1963, which led to the establishment of supermarkets and other retail
outlets. Additionally, the electricity company established more networks allowing for some
vital projects such as hospitals and industrial areas (Al-Mansor, 2005). Buraydah City
expanded towards the east, where it began colonising areas where sand dunes once stood.
During the 1970s the urban areas spread along the ever important road between Riyadh
and Hail, which ran in a north-westerly direction. Urbanisation was characterised by building
up to one kilometre either side of the road. This new expansion took advantage of economic
activities along this road, i.e. industries and services that could serve and benefit from this
main artery (Al-Rabdi, 2001). The 20 year period between 1960 and 1980 witnessed an
increase in urbanisation greater than any previous period since the beginning of Buraydah’s
urbanisation.
Chapter five discussed the issue of the grid iron layout of urban areas; these were present in
Buraydah City before the first development plan (1970), as there was reference to this
before the first plan when there was progress in extending the grid of asphalted roads in the
major towns and cities in the Kingdom (Central Planning Organization, 1970). This grid iron
pattern, imported from the west, is a characteristic of Buraydah City.
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Figure 6.8: Map of phases of growth of the Buraydah City from 1819-2009. Source: AlRabdi (2001) and Author (2009).
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Figure 6.9: Photo of Main Road, Buraydah City 1950s. Source: Alsaha (2009).
The total urban area of Buraydah City was approximately 11 km² in 1980; this represented
an increase of 6.2km² since 1960, approximately 56 percent. In comparison, by 2005 the
total area of the city was 92.3 square kilometres, a significantly high increase of 831 percent
since 1980, and an average annual increase of 29.3 percent (Kassem, 2006). In the northern
districts of the city the area of urbanisation was 5.8 km² by 1980. This was followed in the
same year by an extension to the east along the old Riyadh road of the Al Usaytah
neighbourhood which grew to become 3 km² comprising nearly a third of the physical scale
of the city. The south and west areas saw much slower urban growth, less than the north,
north-west and north-east, accounting for only 21 percent of the total area. This slow
growth was due to the presence of sand dunes (Al Rabdi, 2001). However, there is evidence
that the sand dunes are present in other areas, during the 1980s some government
departments and residential areas were scattered towards the north, the east and the south
east due to the presence of sand dunes in the north east.
According to Al-Rabdi, 2001, during the 1980s, the urban expansion of Buraydah City was
unplanned and city features extended without any controls or specific plans so was
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characterised by new sprawling neighbourhoods. However, there were development plans
in place at this time, i.e. the Third Development Plan (1980-1985), but Al-Rabdi does go on
to say that some of those unplanned neighbourhoods developed outside the general plan of
the city, referring to urban expansion that was contrary to regulations.
Growth of Buraydah City during the 1990s to the north and east was far quicker than growth
towards the south and took the form of interconnected scattered neighbourhoods (Figure
6.8). Another factor, besides the sand dunes, that lead to this scattered pattern of growth
was the good soil fertility and water levels near the surface of the ground in the south and
south east; important for farming which is an essential part of Buraydah City’s economy.
There was some construction and extension towards the south-east in the form of the
emergence of small urban areas. Since the 1990s the local municipality has removed the
sand dunes in the east and consequently, the east has experienced rapid urbanisation, with
this part of the city now being the location of the main markets and squares (Al-Rabdi,
2001).
6.6 Consequences of Urbanisation in Buraydah City
Although until now much of the evidence has pointed to the fact that urbanisation in Saudi
Arabia has been without problems due to planning and finance, there are some issues with
the urban landscape in Buraydah City. The local authority in Buraydah City (Buraydah
Municipality) has embarked on many schemes to rectify the various problems that plague
the urban environment; such problems include flooded waste ground, fly tipping, poor
drainage and unsightly areas used for raising cattle within the city, all of which have a
significant impact on people’s experience of urban life within Buraydah City. These problems
are the result of poor urban management and responses to population increase. To tackle
these problems the Buraydah Municipality developed a strategy (Comprehensive Plan for
Improvement of Buraydah) that was to be implemented between 2005 and 2010 (Buraydah
Municipality, 2005); this plan began by identifying the above issues and then provides a
strategy for solving these problems. Until late 2011 no report has been made available on
the progress of this improvement plan.
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The roads in urban areas are very basic and in poor condition and are surrounded by waste
ground, which is commonly used for fly tipping (Figure 6.10). The areas between some of
the roads are at a lower level than the roads themselves and when it rains these areas
become flooded becoming breeding grounds for malaria (Figure 6.11). In fact there are 38 of
these flooded areas in the city in between housing areas, totalling an area of 2,337,200
square metres. In 2005, the local council embarked on a scheme to resolve this problem by
filling these areas with sand, and effectively completed this in 41 percent of the total
affected area in the same year (Buraydah Municipality, 2005). Further problems include
dilapidated roads that present a health and safety risk because they make it extremely
difficult for emergency services to access areas (Alayoubi and Alshabaan, 2009).
Figure 6.10: Photo of fly tipping on waste ground between housing areas. Source: Alayoubi and Alshabaan (2009).
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Figure 6.11: An example of flooded areas between roads in Buraydah City. Source: Alayoubi and Alshabaan (2009).
Buraydah City is plagued, much like many cities in the Kingdom, by floods. Although it does
not rain often, when it does the drainage systems cannot cope and many housing areas
become flooded. Moreover, the streets and pavements do not effectively absorb rain water,
and this, combined with a lack of green areas, is one of the main reasons for flooding in
urban areas around the developing world (Graeml, 2004). Poor planning by the local council
is often blamed for this flooding. The Buraydah City authorities have now improved the
drainage systems, having completed 60 percent of improvements by 2005, this has included,
as part of Buraydah City’s strategic plan (2005-2010), building storm drains and new
pumping stations, that have cost SR 185 million (approximately £30.8 million), to transfer
surplus water to irrigate crops. Furthermore, the local authorities have built many parks that
help to absorb rain water, are better for the environment and which provide more
recreational space for the population (Buraydah Municipality, 2005).
In terms of the aesthetics of urban areas there have been a number of issues that the local
authorities have had to address. The city has been plagued by issues that cause
unsightliness; namely, car workshops, informal outdoor second-hand markets within
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housing areas and old indoor markets. Another problem that affects the aesthetics of
Buraydah City, and indeed nationally, is poor building quality and building violations due to
unscrupulous developers, resulting in buildings becoming derelict and unsightly. Further
evidence of insufficient planning is related to the fact that areas on the periphery of the
developments are often left as waste grounds (Plate 6.1); these are vacant and often
objectionable to look at in terms of planning and development. The challenges posed by
rapid urbanisation have therefore been met to a certain extent, but without consideration
for the creation of a beautiful and functional urban environment.
Plate 6.1: A Photo of waste ground between housing areas. Source: Author (2009). In response to these issues there are plans that seek to improve architectural design and
urban landscaping. More specifically, areas in between and next to roads have been visually
enhanced with landscaping and the facades of existing buildings have been modified.
Moreover, there was the introduction of guidelines governing bill boards, litter bins, seating
in public spaces and fountains (Buraydah Municipality, 2005). However, the overall layout of
housing areas is based on the grid-iron system and what seem to be lost in Buraydah City is
the traditional Arab urban environments that often had spaces where the people could
come together and socialise (Moustapha et al., 1985). Unfortunately, because of this new
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urban layout the unique open spaces which were previously utilised for socialising have
been destroyed, and thus the traditional function of the street as an area of social activity
has been altered (Al-Hemaidi, 2001).
Another issue that has had an impact on the urban geography in the city has been the
arrival of migrants who cannot afford housing in the city and then build housing on the
periphery as a temporary measure until they are in a better situation financially. It is
common in West Africa for example, for migrants to settle on the outskirts of cities when
they first arrive until they can afford to buy land to build their own house (Beauchemin and
Bocquier, 2003).There are a number of ways that migrants acquire this land: firstly, they can
purchase it directly from the private owners without the knowledge of the local authorities;
secondly, by squatting on land where there is no clear title deed and; thirdly, by moving
onto land between and around unclaimed developments (Alayoubi and Alshabaan, 2009).
The aforementioned type of squatting is similar to one of the types of squatting that takes
place in Nigeria, which is where migrants squat on illegally acquired land, as opposed to in
slums arising from the decay of existing structures (Fourchard, 2003).
The characteristics of housing in these areas reflect the same building techniques of rural
areas, they are neither old, i.e. mud houses, or new, i.e. villas. The proliferation of these
areas has caused problems, which include encroachment onto agricultural, private and
government land, pollution and disease, and although municipal authorities in Buraydah
City have intervened by providing additional municipal services, there are still areas that
need urgent improvement. These areas do not have the required preparation and
regulation and result in an urban pattern that is irregular (Alayoubi and Alshabaan, 2009).
However, in Buraydah City the local authorities are to blame for these problems because
they have not implemented the requisite regulatory policies for house building for those of
modest income; moreover, private real estate developers are also to blame because they do
not build cost housing in the city (Alayoubi and Alshabaan, 2009).
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6.7 Conclusion
Although there are political, economic and social factors that play a role in influencing the
urban geography of Buraydah City, this chapter has shown that there have also been
physical influences. The growth pattern of Buraydah City has been concentric, with each
phase of growth initially being delimited by a surrounding wall, this is something found in
other traditional Arab cities. However, the distinguishing characteristic of Buraydah City is
that the growth has also been scattered due to the local topography and has also grown
along the north-south highway that intersects the city. Moreover, the rate of growth of the
city has been largely due to its location and importance in local, national and regional trade
and travel which has caused the city to be a significant attractor of migrants.
Political factors have also played a role in shaping the urban geography in the city. Although
local government has been shown to implement municipal plans, they have also failed to
provide developers with the necessary regulations for building satisfactory housing and
failed to stop them creating unregulated urban sprawl and national government has been
responsible for grid-iron layouts. However, it has been shown that Buraydah City has been
the beneficiary of development investment from the central government. Policy has also
had an impact on migration, for example, allowing foreign migrants to participate in the
building boom, arranged settlement of the Bedouin and the provision of services and
investment in Buraydah City which have created pull factors to attract migrants. Currently
there is no literature available about the lived experiences of migrants in Buraydah City
which may include how they are affected by both the positive and negative aspects of urban
spaces.
Economic factors have affected the city in terms of encouraging migration and trade. The
industry in the city is on a large scale and has encouraged many economic migrants from
within the Al Qassim, as well as from within and outside of the country. However, the
geographic location and the associated economic growth have also had an effect on the
physical urban geography of the city in the form of urban growth along the King Abdul Aziz
Road which followed trade.
The social structure of Buraydah City is indeed quite complex because there are many
internal and external influences. A significant foreign population and the arrival of nomadic
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Bedouin have had an impact on the demographics of the city; moreover, much like MENA as
a whole the city is also affected by an increasingly young and educated demographic. The
urban environment itself was shown to have a number of problems which may affect life in
the city, these included untidy and unsightly areas and poor regulation of housing
development. The patterns and drivers of urbanisation and migration in Buraydah City are
examined in the following chapter, and lived experiences of migration to the city are
examined as part of the primary research into Buraydah City in Chapter Eight.
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CHAPTER SEVEN
PATTERNS AND DRIVERS OF MIGRATION IN BURAYDAH CITY
7.1 Introduction
This chapter provides an analysis of the patterns and drivers of migration and urbanisation
in Buraydah City. A multidimensional approach is adopted, because as already explained,
economic, political, social and cultural factors are necessary to understanding how such
processes relate to migrants’ drivers for migration. Moreover, according to Islam and Siddiqi
(2010) drivers for migration can be classified as economic, demographic, social, political,
educational, cultural and geographical. In relation to culture as a driver, Islam and Siddiqi
(2010) say that urban centres are the main places for cultural activity which is a pull factor
for migrants. There has been research into migration within Saudi Arabia (Khraif, 1992,
Alkhraif, 2007), which considers the socioeconomic and demographic variables affecting
migrants in the country, but there is no consideration in the literature of other variables
such as different cultural groups. This study considers cultural diversity as there are
distinctive groups within Saudi Arabia, i.e. Bedouin, villager and urban dweller, which cannot
be ignored in relation to the drivers for migration. Each of these groups represents a
different cultural identity within Saudi Arabia, townsfolk are referred to as ‘hathari’ or town
dwellers who are culturally distinct from the nomadic Bedouin who have their own peculiar
traditions, and the villagers belong to neither group and have their own culture and
traditions. Characteristics associated with each migrant group primarily included the
economic and demographic characteristics and this chapter begins by presenting these in
relation to all the migrants generally, and then for each migrant group individually in order
to understand how such characteristics inform migration decisions.
Much of the literature (Kainth, 2009; Almandoz, 2006) acknowledges that there are multiple
factors in the places of origin that drive migration, including meso-level i.e. socio-economic
conditions in the place of origin, and macro-level conditions i.e. uneven development on a
national level (Waddington and Sabates-Wheeler, 2003) e.g. too much investment in
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primate cities which is the case in Saudi Arabia. Indeed the same applies to destinations as
attracting migrants, including employment opportunities, better municipal services and
improved housing conditions (McSweeney and Jokisch, 2007; Brunn et al., 2008).
7.2 Demographic Characteristics of Migrants
Understanding demographic traits, such as the economic and social status and educational
levels of migrants, provides insight into the drivers for migration. In support of this, Islam
and Siddiqi (2010) commented that age, sex, marital status, occupation and education affect
the tendency to migrate, across different socio-economic groups, for example most
migrants are married and young. Moreover, the characteristics of migrants, their place of
origin and members of their household can determine a migrant’s success upon reaching
their place of destination (Mora and Taylor, 2005).
Although demographics in relation to migration have been extensively researched for the
developing world (Dumper and Stanley, 2007, International Organisation for Migration,
2010) and MENA and Saudi Arabia (Al-Sheikh, 2000; Khraif, 1992 and 2007; Al Amoudi,
1994; Alsakran, 1995; Al Sharif, 1994), none have considered medium-sized cities.
Moreover, a thorough review of previous research identified a single study in relation to
Saudi Arabia that considers demographic characteristics; that by Khraif (1992) that showed
that income and home ownership influences the decision to migrate. Although a relevant
study, it focused on a major city, Riyadh, and was conducted almost twenty years ago
highlighting the need for a more current study.
7.2.1 Age
When addressing the issue of demographic determination of migrant behaviour the first
area of focus identified was age. It was found that the majority of migrants were young, as is
the case with migrants in MENA generally, and as has been found by a number of studies of
migrants in Saudi Arabia (Al Amoudi, 1994; Alsakran, 1995; Al-Sheikh, 2000) and the
developing world as a whole (Population Resource Centre, 2010; Orozco and Fedewa, 2005).
The largest group, 36.5 percent (n=115) of respondents to the questionnaires were between
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20 and 29 years, with the average age of migrants being 35.8 years; in the case of the
interview respondents the average age was 35.9 years (Figure 7.1). From the
questionnaires, there was no statistically significant difference found in the mean ages of
migrants from all the places of origin, i.e. cities, villages and desert or between the mean
ages of the migrants within those groups.
It should be noted that 83.5 per cent of the 115 respondents to the questionnaire and 93
percent of the interviewees were male. It was not possible for the researcher to converse
with women because of cultural sensitivities; this was more of a problem because the
researcher was not a close relative and this aspect of Saudi culture is particularly strong
amongst the Bedouin. Those women who were questioned were single mothers with no
male guardians and therefore not representative of women migrants more generally.
Figure 7.1: Age distribution by interviewees’ place of origin. Source: Author’s survey (2009).
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69
D it
st ri
b u
ti o
n
Age Cohort of Migrants
City Origin Bedouin Migrants Village Migrants
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7.2.2 Household Size
Overall, the size of the migrant households sampled in this study were found to be small in
terms of the number of adults and children; the majority were comprised of less than three
persons including children and this applied for each migrant group. Over 60 per cent of the
migrant households, responding to the questionnaires had less than three children (Table
7.1). There has in fact been a decline in fertility rates in Saudi Arabia; in 2000 the rate was
4.2 (births per woman), 3.2 in 2007 and 3.1 in 2008 (World Bank, 2010e), however, this may
not reflect the fertility rates of the migrant groups which were not researched.
Table 7.1: Number of People per Migrant Household by Place of Origin (n=115)
Adults
Number of people
City Village Desert (Bedouin) Total
(No) (%) (No) (%) (No) (%) (%)
< 3 21 60 19 54.3 28 62.2 59.1
3 – 5 9 25.7 11 31.4 9 20 25.2
6 – 8 1 2.9 4 11.4 4 9 7.8
9 and over
4 11.4 1 2.9 4 9 7.8
Total 35 100 35 100 45 100 100
Children
None 6 17.1 2 5.7 8 17.9 15.7
< 3 18 51.5 23 65.7 29 64.4 60.9
3 – 5 9 25.7 8 22.8 6 13.3 19.1
6 – 8 2 5.7 2 5.7 2 4.4 4.3
9 and over
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 35 100 35 100 45 100 100
Source: Author’s survey (2009).
Only 2.9 percent of households including migrants from villages had more than nine adults,
the lowest among all migrants; however, this is not to say that village households have
fewer adults because those households with between 6 and 8 adults showed the highest
percentage at 11.4 per cent; in contrast, only 2.9 per cent of migrant households from other
cities responding to the questionnaire had between six and eight adults, the lowest of all
groups; however, 11.4 per cent of households of migrants from other cities had an average
of more than nine adults per household, by far the highest of all the three migrant groups
(Table 7.1).
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7.2.3 Marriage
From the questionnaires, it was found that 62.6 per cent of the migrants were married and
27.8 percent (n=115) were single. Saudi Arabia is a very conservative country and the vast
majority of people aim to marry as soon as it is financially possible. This study explores the
possibility that being married with children is a motivating factor for migration, addressed in
section 7.4. Migration is often undertaken in consideration of children; for the sake of
education, health care and other amenities and more opportunities for work to support the
family unit (see section 7.4). The incidence of divorce was low at 6.7 per cent.
7.2.4 Education
A generally high level of education was observed amongst the migrants; all had secondary
education and 44.4 per cent had attended higher education. This finding was in contrast to a
study conducted by Kassem (2004), which examined the educational level of Buraydah City
residents as a whole and found only 11 per cent had been in higher education. A generally
high level of education in comparison to the overall population is found amongst migrants
from all around Saudi Arabia (Al Thubaity, 1981; Mackie, 1989; Alsakran, 1995, Al-Sheikh,
2000). These higher education levels are reflected in migrants throughout the MENA region
as a whole; however, in contrast to Buraydah City, they are also coupled with high levels of
unemployment (Sullivan and Nadgrodkiewicz, 2008). This high level of education among
internal migrants in Saudi Arabia and MENA contrasts with other developing regions such as
South Asia, where inequality in terms of access to education has been one of the main
causes of migration (Natali, 2008). The female respondents to the questionnaires were also
found to have a high level of education; in fact, nearly all had a university degree.
7.2.5 Economic
The economic motivators for migration are interesting in light of the level of education and
age of the migrants, as discussed above. Although a third of the respondents to the
questionnaire earned less than SR 3000 per month (SR 1000 being what is typically paid to
foreign manual labour), low for Saudi citizens, nearly half earned above the national average
of USD15,500 in 2008 (UNICEF, 2010); approximately SR 5000 per month. It is difficult to see
how the lower income families survive on such a low income, however, there are no official
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recent figures regarding what constitutes the poverty line in Saudi Arabia (World Bank,
2010d). The largest group, 22.6 percent, earned between SR 3000 and SR 4999 per month
(1USD = 3.75 Saudi Riyals, 1GBP = 6.2 Saudi Riyals), which correlates with Albassam (2004),
where 23 percent were found to be in the same income bracket in neighbouring Unayzah.
There were a significant proportion of migrants, 24.3 percent, who had a high income level,
i.e. between SR 7000 and SR 15000 per month. Therefore, a wide variation in monthly
income exists amongst migrants, consistent with the wide variation in education levels. A
correlation was found indicating a strong relationship between a high level of education and
a high income (using a Chi Square (P-value of 0.000)).
7.2.6 Employment
A further reflection of the relatively high education levels of migrants is their employment
status, the rate of employment was high among respondents to the questionnaires, with
81.7 per cent of migrants in employment, of which 13.9 per cent are self employed or run
their own businesses. Unemployment, is at 12.2 per cent, similar to the national level of
11.8 per cent for 2009 (Central Intelligence Agency, 2009d) and 11.8 per cent for the Middle
East overall and 10.9 per cent for North Africa in 2008 (Sullivan and Nadgrodkiewicz, 2008).
A large number of the migrants, 64.3 percent, were employed by the government;
supporting the earlier findings of Al-Sheikh (2000) and Albassam (2004) which showed
similar figures for Riyadh and Unayzah respectively, and MENA as a whole (World Bank,
2009c). This shows that there are jobs readily available in the government sector, and
reflects the ease of finding employment (see more in chapter eight). The search for work
was indeed a driver for migration in the sense that migrants were looking to improve their
job and career opportunities, this is presented in more detail in section 7.4.
7.3 Patterns of Migration
This section examines migration to Buraydah City; including the origins of the migrants, i.e.
from within or outside the Al Qassim region, which neighbourhoods they prefer, when they
first migrated and how long they have been in Buraydah City. An important finding is that
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Buraydah City, as a medium-sized city, is a draw for migrants, even from the capital, Riyadh.
This is in contrast to theories of modernisation and dependency, which suggest that
populations outside of major urban centres, in this case Riyadh, are disadvantaged
(Brockerhoff and Brennan, 1998) as a result of reduced investment in municipal services
(Henerson, 2002) compared to that focused on larger cities (AlKhraif, 2007b). In fact, this
has indeed been an issue in Saudi Arabia and migrants are more often attracted to major
urban cities such as Riyadh encouraging the government to invest more time and resources
there (Alkhedheiri, 2002).
However, this study’s finding, i.e. migration from Riyadh to Buraydah City, is in agreement
with more recent literature that has focused on Saudi Arabia and the relationship between
major and medium-sized cities. There has been a sharp increase in the population of
medium-sized cities in MENA generally and Saudi Arabia specifically (Dumper and Stanley,
2007; Al Rabdi, 2008), principally due to the influx of local migrants, as well as due to natural
population growth. Moreover, it has been a policy of the government to enhance the
economic role played by medium-sized cities to redress the inequalities caused by urban
primacy. As a result the manufacturing industry in the country has grown in medium-sized
cities (Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, 2000). This is also the case in Latin America,
where the high land and labour costs in the major cities have resulted in secondary cities
attracting more manufacturing (Cohen, 2004). Moreover, it has also been claimed by
Brockerhoff and Brennan (1998) that large cities in developing countries are losing their
superiority because of economic stagnation and rapid population growth, and because of
the perceptions amongst people that living conditions are better in smaller cities; something
found in this study.
7.3.1 Sources of Migration
The majority of migrants to Buraydah City migrated from within the Al Qassim region (75
percent, n=115; Table 7.2), and more than half of these migrants were Bedouin from desert
areas. Therefore, for the migrants in this study it can be concluded that Buraydah City
attracts migrants mostly from the local vicinity, i.e. from within Al Qassim itself. Moreover,
this suggests that proximity may be a factor allowing Buraydah City to attract migrants,
however, there were also many migrants (24.4 percent n=115) who migrated from other
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regions in the country, thus proximity was not a factor, for example, there were more
migrants from Jouf in the far north of the country than from neighbouring Hail, and more
migrants from Makkah than from neighbouring Madinah (see figure 7.2). Therefore, this
suggests that Buraydah City has attractions that exceed mere proximity. Figure 7.3 shows
the distribution of the places of origin of the migrants in terms of type of region: desert,
villages and cities.
Table 7.2 Region of origin of migrants before migration to Buraydah City
Place of Origin
Frequency Percent
Desert Al Qassim Region (Bedouin)
45 39.1
Al Qassim Region (village and city migrants)
42 36.5
Riyadh (city migrants)
14 12.2
Ash Sharqiyah (city migrants)
5 4.3
Makkah (city migrants)
4 3.5
Jouf (city migrants)
2 1.7
Asir (city migrants)
1 0.9
Hail (city migrants)
1 0.9
Madinah (city migrants)
1 0.9
Total 115 100
Source: Author’s survey (2009).
The results show that there was no intermediary migration before coming to Buraydah for
the Bedouin migrants; they came directly from the desert areas and not from the Hijars. The
Hijars were purpose-built settlements, dating from as early as 1912, initiated by King Abd Al
Aziz Ibn Saud to settle the Bedouin (Shamekh, 1975). The Bedouin came directly from small
non-permanent encampments in the desert, and had previously moved around within the Al
Qassim region.
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Figure 7.2: Map of pattern and levels of migration from regions to Buraydah City by head of household. Source: Author’s survey (2009).
Figure 7.3: Map of Desert, Villages in close proximity to Buraydah City and Cities of origin of migrants to Buraydah City. Source: Author’s survey (2009).
178
7.3.2 Migration Destination Points in Buraydah City For the purposes of the field survey sample, four neighbourhoods were identified as having
large populations of migrants: Aldahe, Alaskan, Alngga and Jomeanah (refer to Chapter
Three where selection and justification of these sites is presented in more detail). Although
these areas are where the migrants lived at the time of the field study, this section is
concerned with where migrants first settled upon arrival in Buraydah City. These patterns
provide insight into the behaviour and experiences of the migrants.
Migrants to Buraydah City settled in different districts immediately after their arrival. The
study found that there was a wide distribution of destination points, evidenced by the fact
that each of the 49 districts in the city (Figure 7.4) received migrants, with the exception of
the Bedouin who were concentrated in four neighbourhoods: Alsafra, Alfauzeaa, Aldahe and
Alaskan. Three of these areas, Alfauzeaa with ten Bedouin households and Alsafra and
Aleskan with six and four Bedouin households respectively, were found in the centre of the
city and are older neighbourhoods, popular with foreign migrants from the Indian Sub-
Continent due to cheaper rents, something claimed by the Bedouin in this study. This
pattern is also found in cities like Cairo and Maghreb where the poorer migrants choose to
live in the central older areas of the cities (Fahmi and Sutton, 2008).
Of the sample surveyed for questionnaires (n=115), about a quarter of the migrants
considered their first home to be temporary, and themselves in a transitional stage upon
arrival. However, upon further examination it was found that over half (53 percent)
remained; this was especially true amongst Bedouin migrants, although initially they had felt
that their first home was temporary. Moreover, it was observed that the sample
neighbourhoods had large Bedouin populations and this suggested that the Bedouin
preferred to stay together. The main reason given for this was that they preferred to stay
with family and tribe members when they arrived in Buraydah City, for example:
No I never moved because I prefer to stay close to my kabila members it is better we
are together because we support each other, and this is our tradition because it
would be very bad manners to move to another place (I B <10 BI, 24/6/09).
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I have not moved once. I lodged with my brothers (I B <10 BC, 24/6/09).
The high level of permanency reported in this study is in contrast to suggestions by Al Sharif
(1994), who commented that the establishing of nomad encampments on the outskirts of
towns is only a transitional phase that precedes people merging into society. Al Sharif (1994)
said that the Bedouin would settle on the periphery of towns to assess them before moving
in. A contribution of this study is that it found that there is no transitional stage, the
Bedouin were nomadic and came directly from the desert, settled in the abovementioned
neighbourhoods, and rarely moved after that. This desire to stay in the same
neighbourhood as other Bedouin becomes clearer in subsequent sections that address the
drivers and consequences of Bedouin migration to Buraydah City. There have been no other
recent studies that address the mobility of migrants within cities in Saudi Arabia.
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Figure 7.4: Map of neighbourhoods in Buraydah City. Source: Secretariat Al Qassim area (2009).
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7.4 Drivers of Migration
This research has identified a number of reasons why individuals and families migrate to
Buraydah City and has also revealed that there are ‘push’ factors (i.e. factors associated with
life before migration that motivate people to migrate), and pull factors (i.e. aspects of an
urban environment that attract migrants). In fact it has been suggested by Malecki and
Ewers (2007) that push factors, such as disparity between high incomes and low incomes in
less -developed countries have promoted migration, and in MENA those with ambition and
an education, as well as those who are poor and unskilled, are motivated by push and pull
factors to migrate to urban areas (Hobbs, 2009). In this study reasons for migration included
seeking employment, education, marriage, seeking a higher standard of living, trade and
joining other members of the family. It should be noted that in this study there are more
than just economic factors given as drivers for migration, this was also found to be the case
in a study of migrants in Vietnam where there was mix of motives for migration, for
example, economic determinants mixed with ecological determinants (Noi, 2010).
Although it was found that there were common drivers among the different migrant groups,
i.e. employment, these drivers varied between the groups. For example, employment as a
driver for migrants from other cities was often due to relocation by employers, whereas
employment as a driver for migrants from villages was often due to lack of employment
opportunities. Moreover, there was a variation in the drivers within the groups.
Life before migration was an important determining factor in the decision to migrate, it was
found that conditions in the places of origin of the migrants were push factors for migration.
The study did find that these push factors were in fact different for each migrant group and
that they were largley specific to their place of origin and were related to different areas;
including employment opportunites, boredom, lack of facilities and hardship. These are
discussed in more detail in sections 7.4.4, 7.4.5 and 7.4.6, relating to each migrant group
after an overview of key drivers across the migrant groups.
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7.4.1 Employment
The study shows that a key concern identified by migrants in their place of origin prior to
migration was that there were limited opportunities for employment or career
advancement. Correspondingly, the study found that the primary driver for migration to
Buraydah City was employment for all migrant groups. Evidence of this is provided in
sections 7.4.4, 7.4.5 and 7.4.6 where individual migrants groups are addressed. According to
Kainth (2009), better opportunities for employment is a very significant factor in motivating
people to migrate in the developing world, especially when linked with a lack of job
opportunities in their place of origin, something that was confirmed by this study. There was
common agreement in the interviews that the decision to migrate was based on the
prospect of finding suitable employment; and optimism was very high among those who
were older and those that had migrated earlier in contrast to the younger migrants. The
latter were less optimistic which is no surprise given the fact that there is high
unemployment among the young in Saudi Arabia as well as the rest of MENA. The
government in Saudi Arabia (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 2010) has recognised there
is a pressing need to create jobs for the increasing number of young people entering the job
market.
Pacione (2009) identified a spectrum of migrants; ranging from those with impoverished
backgrounds, who are willing to do the most menial of tasks, and those who are from a
privileged rural background and expect to enter careers in administration or the professions.
The migrants in this study from the rural areas and the desert fall into the latter group, as
they have a high level of education relative to non-migrants and have an expectation of
securing suitable employment. However, they are not, as Pacione (2009) suggests, a
privileged few; indeed, the vast majority of migrants in this study had achieved at least
secondary education, with nearly half completing higher education.
The government has recognised an increase in the amount of migration to medium-sized
cities from major cities and rural areas due to an increase in work opportunities in cities of
this size, as observed in this study. This demonstrates that there has been a shift in the
location of economic development from a regional disparity and imbalanced economic
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investment in primate cities to an increasing economic focus on medium-sized cities. A
result of this has been there are more employment opportunities in medium-sized cities
leading to greater migration and subsequently population growth. According to Pacione
(2009), such migration is a normal response to the increase in economic development of
medium-sized cities, characterised by a relative loss of population from primate cities,
referred to as ‘population turnaround’ or ‘polarisation reversal’ (Pacione 2009, p.79).
Finally, the opportunity for trade was also found to be a significant driver among all migrant
groups. This study has shown that Buraydah City was built on trade and that there is a
historical link with both Bedouin and villagers migrating to Buraydah City to trade in
agricultural products. The migrants in this study clearly felt that the city was an excellent
place for trade; in this case the trade was mostly in dates. In fact, the study found that a
number of the migrants were self-employed and had their own businesses, which they
wanted to expand and establish in Buraydah City.
7.4.2 Education
Although education as a driver for migration was not as strong a motive as employment, it
was found to be equally important for all three migrant groups. Indeed, there was a high
level of education among all migrant groups, especially the Bedouin (Table 7.3).
Table 7.3: Relationship between education and place of origin
Highest Qualification Region Total City Village Desert
None 1 2 0 3
Primary education 1 3 5 9
Intermediate education 0 5 10 15
Secondary education 14 6 12 32
Certificate/Diploma 5 6 10 21
University degree 12 12 6 30
Postgraduate 2 1 2 5
Total 35 35 45 115
Chi-Square-value=20.714 d.f.=12 P-value=0.055
Source: Author’s survey (2009).
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Moreover, the study has already shown that where the migrants were well educated and
were seeking education for their children (or in some cases for themselves), the main focus
was on higher education. This is understandable as the study found the standard of
education in the places of origin is high and would not be considered as significant push
factors affecting the migrants themselves. However, a contradiction arises here; where the
migrants did state education as a driver they talked about limited educational opportunities
for their children in their places of origin despite their having received a good education.
This raises the question of why they perceived education in the city as much better.
The likelihood is that evidence from the study suggests that the driver relating to education
is in relation to higher education. Those who cited education as important were older
migrants who were in their late fifties or early sixties; when they had migrated; their
children were approaching the age for higher education, one Bedouin migrant who was 60
years of age at the time of study said:
I moved for a better future and wanted my children to continue their studies at
college in Buraydah City (OH Bedouin 8, 11/7/09).
In addition, describing what he thought about facilities and services in Buraydah City, he
said:
I think that both the healthcare and education facilities are excellent, I think that my
children will have a much better future than me and I am proud of that (I B > 10 DD,
27/6/09).
Another migrant who was 50 years of age at the time of study and had a son who was also
ready to go into higher education said:
The main reason I moved was because of work but I also wanted my son to go to
college and it is much cheaper for us to live in the city than to pay for my son to rent
an apartment with his friends, or to pay for his travel back to our village every
weekend (IV >10 ZE, 23/7/09).
Moreover, responses from the younger migrants also provided an answer to this question,
one migrant from the village, who was 26 years of age, said:
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I moved for the purpose of pursuing a job and completing my studies. Yes my
brothers encouraged me (IV <10 VH, 22/7/09).
This was also the case with another migrant from the village, who was 34 years of age, he
said:
I moved for reasons of study and to join my father and relatives (IV <10 VD, 22/7/09).
Finally, nearly half of the migrants who responded to the questionnaire (Table 7.3) and a
third of those interviewed had already been the recipients of higher education in Buraydah
City. It should be noted that all Bedouin and village migrants who have experience of higher
education attended institutions in Buraydah City.
With the high level of education found among migrants it was not surprising that education
was not a significant driver in this study. This is in contrast to the findings in the literature,
where education is often cited as the driver; for example, the perception is that educational
facilities are better in urban areas (UNEP, 2002); in Africa (Sahn and Stifel, 2002) and in
South America (Andersen, 2002) migration has been spurred by inequalities in education
(Brunn et al. 2008).
7.4.3 Family and Marital Influences
The study found that reasons associated with the family were also drivers for migration.
Family reasons included; joining extended family members in Buraydah City or to a lesser
extent to get married (this was rare). Moreover, having relatives already living in Buraydah
City was found to further motivate migrants in addition other main drivers such as
employment, this was because they had the support of relatives and the benefit of their
experience in the city. Indeed, social organisation in MENA is characterised by kinship ties,
which are often used to strengthen the economic ability of households in times of financial
stress or conflict (Tzannatos, 2000). As for the desire to join relatives in the city, this was
especially prevalent among the Bedouin and villagers. This desire to maintain kinship goes
against the idea that a feature of urbanisation is the weakening of social bonds, both kin and
non-kin (White and Guest, 2003). Besides the fact that family played a role in driving
migration, e.g. having relatives in Buraydah City to join or to give advice, the experience of
186
migration in the city was also influenced by having relatives in the city where bonds,
especially among the Bedouin, were kept.
Furthermore, there was a significant level of immediate family involvement in the decision
to migrate, with family members encouraging migration. In fact, half of those who were
questioned made the decision in consultation with their families. Although the head of the
household is responsible for making the overall decision to migrate in Saudia Arabia, in
accordance with Islamic tradition, any decisions that affects the family should involve the
whole family; this tradition is especially prevalent among the Bedouin and villagers, as
revealed by the study. There was however, some variation between the migrant groups in
this respect, 55.6 percent of the Bedouin and 54.3 percent of the migrants from other cities
made the decision in consultation with their family, in contrast with only 40 percent of the
village migrants.
7.4.4 Drivers for Bedouin Migrants
Much of the literature about migration in the developing world generally, and within, from
and to MENA presents the idea that people migrate for the sake of work and as a livelihood
strategy for the poor, this has been the case in West Africa which is evidenced by the flow of
remittances to place of origin (Black et al. 2004). This study has found that the drivers for
Bedouin migrants have been for work and other benefits found in urban centres; however,
there was no evidence that life before migration was plagued by poverty, it was more
characterised by the difficulty of Bedouin life specifically, meaning the daily practices
required for cattle rearing and food preparation, and the limited opportunities in desert
areas rather than poverty. In contrast, Waddington and Sabates-Wheeler (2003) say that
migration is a strategy undertaken to improve livelihood for the poor and the better off in
the developing world.
There was a common agreement among the Bedouin that life in the desert was
uncomfortable, for example:
187
We suffered from extreme changes in the weather, as you know the desert is very hot
during the day and very cold at night, you could feel the cold in your bones (OH
Bedouin 3, 10/7/09).
Life in the desert was not good. It was a life full of stress and hardship and also fear
that we would become poor, you have to really work hard just to get the basic things
like food, and we even have to travel to collect water in a water tanker from the
nearest village or town (OH Bedouin 6, 11/7/09).
Moreover, Bedouin migrants from the desert aged between 66 and 75 years, interviewed in
the oral histories, spoke about living in tents made from goat’s wool and about how they
suffered the extreme weather conditions; they complained about sand storms which caused
discomfort to the eyes, nose and ears.
There was a general consensus among the Bedouin migrants that they had experienced
limited income and work opportunities, only rearing and selling livestock was available, in
their place of origin and correspondingly this was a push factor that motivated them to
migrate for better employment opportunities; for example:
There were only two activities in the desert areas which were herding cattle and
seasonal trading (I B < 10 BA, 25/6/09).
I feel that life in the desert was very primitive and very difficult, it became more and
more difficult to make money from selling livestock because the price of animal feed
is increasing all the time and we needed it now more than before because there were
limited places to let our livestock graze (OH Bedouin 5, 11/7/09).
Employment differed as a driver between different age groups; the older migrants were
motivated by employment and felt there was an abundance of opportunities in Buraydah
City, in contrast to their place of origin, and were confident that they would find
employment, this was partly due to the fact that some Bedouin had relatives already living
in the city:
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I moved to work in the security industry. My kinsmen encouraged me because they
were already doing that job and they recommended it (I B < 10 BH, 24/6/09).
I moved for work reasons and I was encouraged by relatives who already live in
Buraydah City (I B < 10 BD, 25/6/09).
In contrast, those who arrived more recently were not as optimistic about their prospects of
employment, although they were driven by the lack of job opportunities in their place of
origin. This study’s findings, contrast with those of Islam and Siddiqi (2010) who observed
that older people do not like to migrate despite suffering in their place of origin.
In their case, the Bedouin expressed a sense of freedom in regards of their decision to
migrate; commenting they were under little pressure to find work in terms of finance. This
may seem contradictory in light of the push factors described above, however it is
important to see there is a distinction between limited opportunities and poverty in regards
to living in desert areas. Chamratrithirong (2007), writing about rural to urban migration in
Thailand, observed that the decision to migrate was not only economic but also innovating
and rational in nature; with success measured not only by income but in terms of working
experience and improved housing conditions. This study found there was a level of careful
consideration and planning in the decision making process, for example:
No one encouraged me, I made the decision myself and I planned it very carefully,
you cannot rush these things and I had to be sure it was the right thing to do. There
were some members of the family who said it was not a good idea but I ignored them
because I think they were jealous (I B < 10 BA, 25/6/09).
A higher proportion of self-employment was observed amongst the Bedouin migrants; they
engaged in rearing cattle to raise income in urban areas. Therefore, for these particular
Bedouin, although they have moved into urban areas, they still relied on traditional
practices for income generation. Upon further investigation, these Bedouin said they felt
that they would be able to engage in more trade in the city and this was the driver for their
migration. Moreover, the researcher observed in the field study that a number of the
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migrants were engaged in selling cattle to the public informally; it has been suggested by
Ndoen et al. (2000) in a study of rural to urban migration in Indonesia, that informal
networks are critical in attracting and retaining migrants in a particular place; more so than
other variables, such as education and experience.
In terms of family reasons, the Bedouin’s decision to migrate was also influenced by having
relatives in Buraydah City, this finding agrees with a study by Kok and Collinson (2006) who
stated that people who want to migrate are influenced by information given to them by
their relatives and friends who are already living in the alternative place of residence.
Moreover, the family was important in informing the decision making process, both in terms
of considering family issues in relation to other drivers and having direct involvement in
decision-making. For example, where the main driver was the search for work, migrants also
felt that work would bring prosperity and opportunities for their children in what was
anticipated to be a better urban environment. There are numerous examples of migrants
expressing these ideas:
There were many reasons to move to Buraydah, which were the search for work and
raising the standards of living, seeking the general services and bringing up children
in a socially developed environment (OH Bedouin 1, 10/7/09).
It was the suggestion of my sons that we should move to Buraydah because they
wanted a better future so I agreed with them (OH Bedouin 5, 11/7/09).
Thanks are due to Allah. My elder son works in the general security and the younger
is doing a scholarship. I think they are contented (OH Bedouin 7, 11/7/09).
Indeed the Bedouin have very close tribal and family ties and this explains the family
involvement; however, none of the Bedouin mentioned their family as the primary reason
for migration. This was surprising given that the Bedouin value kinship and tribal ties and it
would be reasonable to expect members of the larger or extended family to follow their
relatives. Marriage was not considered a significant factor in relation to migration; in fact
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only one Bedouin respondent cited it as the only reason for migrating. For the Bedouin
migrants 60 per cent were married, 28.9 per cent were single and 6.7 per cent were
divorced when they migrated; this was consistent with the migrant groups as a whole.
7.4.5 Drivers for Village Migrants
The theme of hardship in the place of origin was also relevant for the villagers who
participated in the research; they felt that life in the villages was boring and monotonous
with a daily routine which was difficult. In the positive reflections of life in Buraydah City,
which are presented later in this chapter, reference is made to the hardship and monotony
of life in the village when comparing the two. It was commented that after evening prayers
they went straight to bed, one of the village migrants said:
We were tired from the work and we had to wake up early the next day to start
again, I don’t want to complain too much but it was boring sometimes and we did
not have time to spend with our families (OH villager 8, 13/7/09).
One of the migrants from the village, 39 at the time of interview, also felt the same way
about village life:
I miss nothing about the village because I was not happy there, it was very boring
and I did not want to stay there all my life .... Because there is nothing to do,
especially in the evenings (IV < 10 VC, 22/7/09).
This study also found that the village migrants felt that they were missing out on the wealth
and development taking place in the country and they wanted to be involved; some of them
were resentful about the fact that they had to work long hours and people in the towns and
cities had an easier life. The elderly migrants who had moved from the villages often
complained about housing conditions in their place of origin; they had been living in mud
houses which, although they were cool in the hot climate, were felt to be too simple and
that they looked forward to living in a proper house. The elderly village migrants described
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the lack of health and recreational facilities, electricity and transportation; one of the village
migrants complained that:
Services were very limited in the village, although there was a school, there were not
many shops (OH villager 4, 12/7/09).
Much like the Bedouin migrants, the majority of the village migrants made reference to the
fact that there were limited work opportunities in the village and there were complaints
about low pay. One of the villagers who had been in Buraydah less than ten years said:
The jobs in the village are boring and do not pay much, I wanted to take advantage
of the development because it is our right as Saudis to be involved (I V < 10 VA,
22/7/09).
This was also the case for older village migrants also complained that work opportunities in
the village were limited, and that they could only be farmers, cattle herders or Islamic
teachers; in addition, there was no stability in terms of income as one elderly migrant from
a village said:
Our income changed throughout the year depending on religious holidays and
demand for our dates (OH villager 3, 12/7/09).
Job opportunites and poor salaries in another part of the developing world, China, are
blamed on a surplus of farming labour in rural areas resulting in low wages; in the case of
China promoting rural to urban migration is found to reduce the surplus, help migrants to
seek employment in cities and to increase the wages of rural farmers (Liu, 2003). However,
as has been clearly shown in this study, the government in Saudi Arabia wishes to stem the
flow of rural to urban migration to alleviate the pressure on urban areas and to balance the
development occurring accross the country. To achieve this there has been a policy to
improve education facilities in rural areas and to attract investment to develop those areas
so as to keep rural people from migrating, the opposite to the aforementioned Chinese
policy. This study has also found that rural to urban migration from the villages has mostly
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involved educated individuals who want to improve their career opportunites; therefore,
the migrants in this study had benefitted from improved educational facilities, but the
development in rural areas was insufficient to encourage them to remain there. In support
of this idea Chamratrithirong (2007) explained that the socio-economic improvement of
rural inhabitants is mainly superficial and so does not retain the rural population, rather it
encourages people to migrate from rural areas.
Furthermore, because the village migrants in this study were well educated, well over half
having been in higher education, this suggests that the rural areas are losing people who
would have been capable of improving or contributing to the development of rural areas.
This was also found in a study of rural to urban migration focusing on Riyadh (Alsakran and
Muneer, 2009). However, Alsakran and Muneer (2009) also suggested that migrants were
younger and better educated than the older people in the rural areas that they left behind;
this was not the case in this study of village migrants, many of those with an education were
found to be older, for example there were two migrants who were aged 34 and 42 years
who had arrived in the last ten years and completed higher education. In MENA there is a
link between low education and unemployment problems, however, it has been shown that
both low education levels (El Gawady and El Din, 2008), e.g. in the case of outbound
migration from Morocco (Gubert et al., 2009) and high education levels and the brain drain
to Europe (Baldwin-Edwards, 2005) have been the drivers of migration. Therefore, the
findings of this study are different because a large majority of the migrants were educated.
7.4.6 Drivers for City Migrants
For those who migrated from other towns and cities, the story was different, there was no
feeling of hardship in their place of origin and the complaints were mostly related to limited
income and work opportunities and complaints about municipal services, the poor urban
environment and health and recreational facilities; one elderly migrant said:
There were no recreational facilities in our old town, in Buraydah there are many
parks for the family and also many restaurants and shopping malls (OH City 2,
14/7/09).
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Moreover, a significant number felt that there was little security in their place of origin in
terms of property and personal security, and they thought that Buraydah City would have
more police and therefore, more security. Other issues referred to regarding other cities
and towns included the cleanliness of the streets; migrants felt that the local and national
government did not care about this issue. Correspondingly, this study found that the search
for a better urban environment was a driver among city migrants. In fact, there was an
increase in migration to medium-sized cities from other cities in Saudi Arabia (Ministry of
Economy and Planning, 1985) because of improvements in municipal services and social
facilities (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 1995).
Although employment was the main driver for migration, over a third of them were already
employed (82.8 per cent) and the reason for their migration was relocation by their
employers and not the search for work:
I was not influenced by the prospect of employment because my employer sent me to
Buraydah as part of my job and I have been here since then (I C >10 CB, 6/8/09).
I came to Buraydah City because of my employer, I did have a choice but they offered
me a better position and a better salary and it was easier for me to achieve a higher
position in the company (I C < 10 AG, 3/8/09).
I moved to Buraydah because my company sent me here, I did not like the idea at
first because it is very stressful to move house and change everything, especially the
children’s school, but my wife really liked the idea of living in Buraydah City (I C < 10
AI, 3/8/09).
Very few of these migrants cited the search for work as a driver; there was one interviewee,
who said:
I moved to seek work, promotion and better services (I C > 10 CF, 6/8/09).
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Joining family members was also found to be a driver for migrants from other cities, as some
of the city migrants were rejoining their relatives from the wider family unit who had
migrated before them. One city migrant said:
I moved to follow my family who were already living in Buraydah City, all my uncles
and cousins were there and we wanted to be with them, I prefer it if all of us are
together because we help each and it is better for my wife because she has more
cousins to socialise with when I am at work (I C < 10 AH, 4/8/09).
Therefore, this shows that there are two distinct groups within the city migrants; those
relocated by their employers and those migrating to join other family members. The latter
motivation was more expected from the Bedouin and villagers because of close family ties,
but, this study reveals that family ties are strong amongst urbanites as well. Evidence of city
migrants joining family members was the fact that they have very large households, even in
comparison to other migrant groups. The large number of adults in these households is
reflective of the fact migrants were often found to be living with their extended families.
Evidence of this is for two reasons; firstly, they did not have enough offspring that may have
reached adulthood to account for having many adults, and secondly, half of the respondents
were too young to have offspring who had reached adulthood.
7.5 The Migration – pre-migratory emotions
Thus far, the study has presented the patterns of migration and the drivers behind
migration. Before the study moves on to describe the experiences of migration informing
relocation to Buraydah City i.e. the experience of living in Buraydah City, it is important to
report on one of the significant findings of the study; that is the high level of anxiety,
apprehension and expectations among migrants in relation to the prospect of migration.
It was found that there were varying degrees of discrepancy between pre-migratory
expectations and feelings and the post-migratory experience; moreover, it was discovered
that pre-migratory and post-migratory experiences differed between the generations. The
post-migratory experiences are presented in the following chapter. Overall, the older
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migrants had a high level of anxiety about the prospect of urban life coupled with a high
positive expectation of securing employment; in contrast, the younger migrants had a low
level of concern or a higher optimism about the prospect of urban life coupled with a
negative expectation of securing employment. This section will provide insight into these
factors, in relation to the generational differences and the different migrant groups; it is
important to address pre-migratory feelings in order to compare then with post-migratory
experiences.
7.5.1 Negative Feelings about Migration
The migrants expressed negative feelings about the prospect of migration, these feelings
were expressed as anxiety, apprehension and a general uncertainty. These feelings were
expressed as a result of different yet specific concerns between the migrant groups, and
where there were differences within the groups, it was often varied between groups and
generations. Yue et al. (2010) noted that older rural to urban migrants are more concerned
about the type of job they will acquire and are motivated by the desire to improve the
situation of their family; whereas younger migrants see migration as an economic
investment. In this study older migrants expressed more negative feelings about the
prospect of migration, this was mainly due to the circumstances at the time, such as not
having the benefit of other’s experiences, which created a sense of the unknown, whereas
the younger migrants did have the benefit of others’ experiences.
Specifically, for elderly Bedouin migrants there was a sense of uncertainty and apprehension
about migration. This was due to the fact that the Bedouin migrants acknowledged the
differences between their desert environment and the urban environment of the city, and
the different lifestyles in each and they acknowledged a concern about unfamiliar and
diverse cultures and their ability to adapt:
We were not sure what we would find there because we did not know much about
the city, I was very worried about moving to Buraydah and I think my family was as
well, but we all knew that we would settle in eventually (OH Bedouin 6, 11/7/09).
Although elderly migrants from the villages also expressed concerns about their lack of
experience in an urban environment, unlike the Bedouin, they provided more detail about
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their specific concerns such as language issues, social differences, adaptation and
unfamiliarity with city regulations. An elderly migrant from the village stated:
We thought it would take us a lifetime to adapt, we didn’t know if it was going to be
easier or more difficult or if it was worth the effort (OH villager 3, 12/7/09).
These concerns were also expressed by one migrant who was 52 at the time of the
interview:
I moved to search for a job. I was encouraged by my brothers, I don’t think I would
have moved without their encouragement because I was worried about life in the
city. I didn’t know anything and I thought I might be a stranger there, I only had my
brothers (I V >10 ZB, 23/7/09).
As for the younger migrants their negative feelings were related to pessimism about the
prospect of securing employment, even though it was found to be a major driver for them;
one migrant who came from another city within the last ten years said:
I did migrate for employment yes, but I felt there are no chances for vacancies (IC <10
AE, 4/8/09).
The apprehension about finding work amongst the younger, more recent migrants was
related to the fact that they had higher aspirations and expectations regarding the kind of
work they were looking for, which reduced their confidence. In fact, in the interviews these
migrants often expressed the idea that they were entitled to higher or better positions:
I was greatly influenced by work. I have a security management certificate and
wanted a management position, but there are many people who are older than me
and have more experience (I B < 10 BF, 24/6/09).
I remember that I was worried about finding a job in Buraydah, so I decided to try to
find a job first before I moved. At that time it was not easy to find a suitable job even
though we had qualifications, but it is not as bad as the situation now where many
young graduates cannot find a job at all (I V <10 VF, 22/7/09).
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The majority of those who migrated from other cities were apprehensive about moving, and
suprisingly, the reason given by most of them was concern about not being able to adapt to
a new urban environment, this was more evident here than in other migrant groups. One of
the migrants said that:
Buraydah is very different to our home town because it is very large (I C > 10 AF,
6/8/09).
One Bedouin respondent stated that:
My relatives went to Buraydah before me and they returned because they had a bad
experience so that made me more worried, I think that they did not like the people
there and that no one wanted to help them or welcome them, my cousin cursed the
people there and said he would not go back again (I B < 10 BG, 25/6/09).
Financial concerns were also reported among all migrant groups, some migrants arrived
with a limited amount of money and were anxious about whether this would last them until
employment was secured, another financial concern was that their income would not be
sufficient for city life; as one Bedouin stated:
I didn’t know if my limited income would be enough to live on in the city because
many of my friends told me life was expensive and there were many things to think
about, especially the rent for the house (I B < 10 BB, 24/6/09).
The apprehension that was felt by migrants from the desert and villages was due to the
differences between the rural/desert and the urban environment; however, migrants from
other cities shared similar concerns about moving to a new, more sophisticated urban
environment. With reference to the framework of this study, the feelings about migrating to
Buraydah City were very much based on social concerns, i.e. fitting in to an urban
environment, the consequences for their family and also economic concerns. The economic
opportunities were enough to help the migrants surveyed here overcome their other
concerns. This is in contrast with the situaition in much of the developing world and also
elsewhere within MENA, where migration to urban areas can mean moving to slums and
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squatter settlements (Davis, 2006) and experiencing urban poverty despite increased
incomes (Bloom and Khanna, 2007). Therefore, in comparison to poorer developing nations,
migrants in Saudi Arabia can be said not to face serious problems; anxiety over lifestyle is a
fair trade when measured against the likely prospect of increased income.
7.5.2 Positive Feelings about Migration
Anxiety and concerns about migration were always accompanied by positive feelings of
optimism and expectations of acheiving the aims of the migration, such as finding work or
creating a better future for migrants’ families. These positive feelings, in combination with
the push and pull factors discussed in the previous section in relation to drivers, were
stronger than the negative concerns, it should be noted that the negative concerns were
clearly not overwhelming as the migrants chose to migrate.
According to elderly respondents from the villages they were generally positive about
migrating to Buraydah City, one respondent stated:
Moving to Buraydah would mean a brighter future for us and our children, we want
them to have a good education and when they have finished there will be more
opportunities for them to find a career, we want them to have a better life than we
had, this is my responsibility (OH villager 1, 12/7/09).
Thus, their children had some influence on the process as they were often mentioned,
where their was optimisim and expectation the villagers also spoke about their children in
terms of opportunites and in relation to the boredom associated with village life, one village
migrant stated that:
The younger members of the family were happy to migrate because village life was
boring (OH villager 5, 13/7/09).
Those who migrated from other cities also referenced their children’s future when
describing how they felt about migration. According to Yue et al. (2010), writing about rural
to urban migrants in China, for older generation family responsibilty was a determinant of
intentions to migrate.
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The younger Bedouin were found to experience less anxiety and have more expectations
regarding life at their destination, this was the case for the younger members of the elderly
migrants’ families and the younger migrants who responded to the questionnaires and
interviews. In addition, those who arrived more recently had access to more information
about the city, which encouraged the sense of confidence and expectation. It has been
suggested by Zhang et al. (2009) that a positive pre-migratory expectation about life in the
future destination has a positive effect on the post-migratory quality of life. In Chapter Eight
the experiences of post-migratory life are examined which shed light on the latter point.
However, it has been suggested by Mckelvey and Webb (1996) that if the migrants are over
optimistic then expectatations can then be unrealistic, leading to a greater discrepency
between expectations and the actual experience, having a negative effect on the post-
migratory experience. It should be noted at this point that although looking at the pre-
migratory emotions is useful when understanding the drivers and consequences of
migration, this study examined these emotions retrospectively and so recollection bias may
exist (Mckelvey and Webb, 1996).
Having investigated pre-migratory emotions it is necessary to present the actual experiences
of the migrants living in Buraydah City, which by comparison should highlight the validity of
the concerns and expectations mentioned above contributing to ideas about pre-migratory
expectations and post migratory experiences, such as Zhang et al. (2009). In accordance
with the framework of this study, the urban experience will be examined in consideration of
economic, political, social and cultural factors. The benefits of life in Buraydah City were
very much highlighted by the positive opinions of migrants generally regarding facilities such
as health care, education and recreation as revealed in detail in the following chapter.
7.6 Conclusion
The main driver for migration for all of the migrants groups was work, this was the case in
the developing world generally (Kainth, 2009) and MENA (Dito, 2008, Madbouly, 2009),
however, a simple need to find work, was not the case, and the situation was found to far
more complex and included variables such as place of origin, time of migration and
generational difference. For example, although the study identified a number of drivers for
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migration (work, education, family and standard of living), these were not mutually
exclusive with more than one driver typically found to be significant. This was particularly
apparent in reference to the decision making process; whereby, for example, the driver of
employment was contributed to by the driver of better education opportunities for children,
indeed this has been recognised in the literature (Brunn et al., 2008, Fargues, 2002).
Furthermore, various influences on the decision to migrate revealed involvement by other
family members, whose suggestions were derived from different aspirations, which
together determined the decision to migrate, this agrees with Kok and Collinson (2006) who
says that migrants are encouraged by relatives who are already in the place of destination.
This study divided migrants into three groups according to their place of origin i.e. desert
areas, villages and other towns and cities; this was done to establish the different
experiences of each group. It was found that there were similarities and differences
between the groups and within the groups, specifically generational differences, in terms of
the drivers and consequences of urbanisation for migrants. It was important to consider the
cultural dimension because according to Kainth (2009) migration is also driven by social and
cultural factors and such factors should be considered as part of a cross-disciplinary
approach (Shechter and Yacobi, 2005). Although employment was the main driver for all
groups, it manifested in different ways; for example seeking employment, relocation by
employer, career related motivation and trade. In the case of generational differences
within the groups these were related to pre-migratory expectations and post-migratory
experiences (e.g. the difficulty in finding employment and housing or being satisfied by the
urban environment) making it difficult to formulate an overall idea about the drivers for any
one group. Although the study examined all migrant groups, it revealed some interesting
findings about the Bedouin migrants in particular that were unexpected, for example, they
migrated direct from the desert to the city with no intermediary migration first. In addition,
the Bedouin were the only group that liked to live in the same neighbourhoods as one
another.
This chapter also revealed the emotional aspects of migration, providing a meaningful
insight into feelings about the prospect of migration. More specifically, the migrants were
anxious and worried about migration and life in a new environment; this was coupled with a
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sense of apprehension regarding whether or migrating is a good idea. More positively,
however, the migrants felt a sense of expectation, that Buraydah City would fulfil their
expectations.
Buraydah City is a medium-sized city but this was not found to be a disadvantage in terms of
attracting migrants; the city even pulled migrants from Riyadh. The city was discovered to
appeal to different types of migrants, including those from other cities, who were
particularly satisfied with urban life there. Thus, the city was identified as having many pull
factors, although push factors were equally important, i.e. the negative aspects of the places
of origin that also prompted migration. Further evidence of Buraydah City as an attractor is
the fact that the results showed that proximity to the city was not a factor for migration.
The idea that Buraydah City is an attractor of migrants is in agreement with the literature
(Dumper and Stanley, 2007, Al Rabdi, 2008, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, 2000)
that medium-sized cities are the newly emerging economic centres in the region. This
chapter has covered the drivers and the pre-migratory issues, in order to understand the
entire experience of migration and urbanisation for the migrants it is necessary to examine
their experience upon arrival in the city, or the post-migratory issues. Therefore, the
experiences of migrants’ life in Buraydah City are addressed in the following chapter.
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CHAPTER EIGHT
THE EXPERIENCE OF MIGRATION AND URBANISATION IN BURYDAH CITY
8.1 Introduction
Chapter six provided an analysis of the patterns and processes of urbanisation in Buraydah
City, discussing the trends, drivers and consequences from the viewpoints of other writers,
and considering government policy as a factor in such processes. Chapter six also addressed
these patterns and how Buraydah City was distinguished within the context of MENA,
however, there was insufficient empirical information available regarding migrant’s
experiences of migration and urbanisation in Buraydah City.
In accordance with the framework of this study, it is necessary to consider the economic,
political and social factors that play a role in migration and urbanisation in Buraydah City.
This assertion is supported by Yacobi and Shechter (2005, p.499) who argued that:
“Urbanisation is an economic, political, and socio-cultural complexity...Municipal and state
decision making further shape the nature of urban spaces, and socio-cultural
transformations influence perceived notions of the lived space”, the perceived notions of
the lived space are how people see their urban environment. This need for a
multidimensional approach is also supported by Brunn et al. (2008) who say that urban
geography is about the interactions between the political, cultural, environmental and
economic in the context of space and place. Shechter and Yacobi (2005) stated that in the
examination of urban dwellers, urban planning and political decision-making and the effect
of each on cityscapes, there is a need for more elaborate discussion regarding the Middle
East which has been understudied. This study of Buraydah City pays particular attention to
the social aspects of the migrant’s experiences because according to Levy (2008) there have
been numerous attempts to isolate characteristics of urban life in line with various
disciplines i.e. geography, history, economics and political science. According to Amin and
Thrift (2002), urban theory has moved towards an understanding of the plural nature of
urban life, meaning that there is a new co-existence between different classes of people,
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social groups and cultures that combine to create the ‘complex spirit of the urban’ (Amin
and Thrift, 2002, p.8).
This chapter begins by examining the overall experiences of all of the migrant groups of life
in a new urban environment; it covers areas such as the experience of finding employment,
financial issues and housing. The review of the literature has shown that finding
employment is a major part of the experience of migration and urbanisation and a
determinant of success, especially as work is always the main driver, unfortunately, in much
of the developing world the experience has been negative (Deshingkar and Natali, 2008,
Sijuwade, 2010). This has also been the case for housing where many migrants have to
squat or live in slum settlements (Fourchard, 2003, Beauchemin and Bocquier, 2003)
another negative aspect of migration experiences. Thereafter, there is a more detailed
analysis of the experiences of each individual migrant groups, highlighting the unique and
specific experiences they have encountered. The reason for addressing these different
groups is that migration is also driven by social and cultural factors (Kainth, 2009, Shechter
and Yacobi, 2005) and such cultural differences between nomadic Bedouin, urban dwellers
and villagers should not be ignored, moreover, as well as cities offering education,
employment, urban services and housing they are also centres for cultural development
(UNEP, 2002). Furthermore, it is a contribution of this study that it addresses the
experiences of different cultural groups, because in MENA at the city level people are often
seen as culturally similar, which is only considered as a superficial similarity (Dumper and
Stanley, 2007) and there is no evidence of different cultural groups being compared in the
same migration experience in a medium-sized in the region. Finally, there is a presentation
of out migration intentions of the migrants, which is, as the study suggests, a reflection of
their experience in the city.
8.2 Experiences of Urbanisation for Migrants
One of the main findings of this study is that there were differences or discrepancies
between the pre-migratory expectations and the reality of what the migrants found. Indeed
these discrepancies had a significant effect on the success or failure of the migration and the
experiences and perceptions of life in the destination. Mostly the experiences were
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considered a sucess because migrants hopes for finding employment and a better quality of
life were met and most of their fears were allayed as they quickly adapted to life in the city.
Concerns among the migrants about the prospect of life in Buraydah City were very short-
lived, amongst those who were originally apprehensive their fears were unfounded as they
enjoyed life in the city. This was found to be the case for all migrant groups, whose concerns
were allayed over time. More specifically, there was an overall positive experience of life in
Buraydah City due to an improvement in the lives of the migrants in terms of employment,
housing, municipal services and general quality of life. These experiences of urban life for
the migrants are discussed in detail below.
The literature review in this study showed that in much of the developing world the
experience of migrating to an urban area is negative, for example, there is no access to
decent housing with only rudimentary shelters or squatter settlements available to migrants
(Pacione, 2009). Experiences associated with finding work can also be negative; too many
people in the developing world are competing for too few jobs. As a consequence social
problems can arise as a result of competition for services and space (Brunn et. al, 2008). This
study has shown that the experience of migrants moving to Buraydah City has been very
different to that elsewhere in the region. Those interviewed and surveyed reported a
generally positive experience in terms of finding or acheiving what they migrated for.
Overall, the migrants have been satisfied with life in the city and have shown little intention
of leaving. Moreover, the few criticisms, mainly regarded the state of the roads or
recommendations for the improvement of urban facilites.
8.2.1 Urban Experiences
The majority of the migrants felt that life in Buraydah City was either good, excellent, or that
they were contented and most of the migrants felt that they had achieved their aims in
migrating to the city. Moreover, the positive opinion of migration and urbanisation in the
city was compared with reflections about the difficulties of life in their place of origin.
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The study reveals different aspects of the overall migration experience and suggests that
each migrant group experiences them differently; however, there were also many shared
experiences, especially in terms of the financial difficulties of urban life.
The discussion began with the complaints that were made by the migrants about Buraydah
City. There was a consensus about the unsightliness and poor conditions of the roads; a
Bedouin respondent to the interviews who had arrived in the last ten years said:
The streets are too narrow and not well paved and the drainage systems need work, I
was surprised about this because there is a local municipal authority in Buraydah
who are responsible for this (I B < 10 BD, 25/6/09).
The condition of the roads was the only major complaint (Plate 8.1), although there was a
clear generational difference where most recently arrived migrants complained compared
to only 20 percent of those who arrived more than ten years ago. Other concerns were very
few, and insignificant by comparison, and included the condition of the side streets,
particularly in reference to paving and lighting. Overall, this suggests a high level of
satisfaction with the city, the second most popular response to the question about what
they would improve was ‘nothing’.
Plate 8.1: Poor quality roads and paving in Buraydah City. Source: Author’s survey (2009).
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The study has already established that the main driver for migration was the search for
work, therefore, the experience and success of finding suitable employment is a reflection
of the success or failure of the migration. Upon arrival in Buraydah City, a significant
proportion of the recently arrived migrants interviewed, faced some difficulties in gaining
suitable employment. A statement made by one of the recently arrived Bedouin migrants
supported this:
I think the reason that there were not so many jobs available was because the earlier
migrants took the better jobs (I B < 10 BJ, 25/6/09).
The obstacles to employment revealed by this study were gleaned from interviewing all the
migrant groups. Figure 8.1 provides a visual representation of obstacles to employment
obtained from the interview process; those at the top of the figure show the most
significant obstacles. Having sufficient experience was a significant issue for all the migrants
who arrived in the last ten years, many of the jobs that were available required a certain
level of skill or experience, and complaints included the nature of the work, aggressive
managers and the feeling that there are not enough recruitment agencies:
I found it difficult to find a job because I did not have enough experience, I think that
companies prefer people who are from the city and have a lot of experience already
of working in the city (I B < 10 BB, 24/6/09).
They demand experience in private organizations and governmental posts and the
vacancies are rare (I C < 10 AA, 3/8/09).
First, they would demand experience. How could we have experience since we have
never worked before? (I V < 10 VC, 22/7/09).
A more serious concern was that for those who had achieved higher education there were
no jobs available to suit the migrant’s level of education:
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Though I have been married for six years and I am a university degree holder, I am
unable to find a job (I B < 10 BI, 24/6/09).
The issue of being educated and facing difficulty finding employment due to a lack of
vacancies is a significant issue that faces the country. Saudi Arabia has high unemployment
levels among its own nationals and the country is only now involved in enforcing Saudisation
policies in the private sector.
I faced problems with all the jobs that I applied to. The salary is low while the
working hours are long and does not suit my qualifications (I V < 10 VH, 22/7/09).
In contrast to the abovementioned problems faced by more recently arrived migrants, a
majority of those who had migrated more than ten years ago and the elderly migrants, felt
that there had been many job opportunities and that they did not face any difficulties. This
directly reflects another finding of this study that earlier migrants were optimistic about
employment prospects and younger, more recent migrants had concerns. Some of the older
migrants said in support of this:
I did not face any problems finding work, it was easy for us at that time (I B > 10 DD,
27/6/09).
There were many work opportunities in Buraydah, so I did not have any problems
finding a job. When I first came there were lots of chances of work even for the
secondary graduates (IV >10 ZE, 23/7/09).
Low salaries were also a concern for all the migrants; in fact, low salaries were one of the
initial drivers cited for migration:
The low payment for Saudi salaries, even though we are qualification holders (I C <
10 AD, 3/8/09).
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I faced the problem of low salary and the nature of work (I C <10 AI, 3/8/09).
I faced the problems of low payment and the aggressive managers (I B < 10 BF,
24/6/09).
Figure 8.1: Obstacles to all migrants securing employment. Source: Author’s survey (2009).
The relationship between income in Buraydah City and the search for work as a driver for
migration was important. It was found from the questionnaires that there was a significant
relationship (Chi Square =136.661 and P= 0.00) between the reasons for migration and the
monthly household income after migration. For example, if the migrant came to Buraydah
City seeking work then they had an associated higher income than, for example, someone
who came for different reasons such as seeking an education. Therefore, many of those who
were seeking employment achieved upward mobility in terms of their income. In contrast,
according to Dumper and Stanley (2007) newly arrived migrants in cities in MENA often face
unemployment. However, it has been claimed by Kabbani and Kothari (2005), that although
MENA shares commonalities in terms of employment, e.g. high unemployment among the
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large young population, there are unique situations in MENA due to government policies
that create different employment situations, e.g. Saudi Arabia’s prioritising its own citizens
for jobs. A point to note here is that the field study was conducted in 2009 and since then
the employment prospects for Saudi citizens have significantly improved. In 2011, the
Nitaqat Saudisation programme was introduced, whereby companies are now required to
achieve a specific quota of Saudi employees or face penalties. This has created a boon for
Saudis seeking work; before this policy was implemented many young people found it
difficult to secure work, but now companies are keen to attract them in order to fulfil the
required Nitaqat quotas (Wahab, 2011).
A common theme that emerged throughout the study related to the financial difficulties
experienced by migrants upon arrival in Buraydah City, most of which are related to higher
rents or mortgage repayments. All groups expressed such difficulties, to a greater or lesser
extent. In addition to housing costs, the urban environment presented financial challenges
for the individual in that it is often more expensive to live in a city than in the desert or a
village. Moreover, the migrants had to learn to manage their finances in a different way
because there were more costs to consider in the city, e.g. transportation, amenities and
education.
The results show that the migrants perceived there was a definite relationship between
urban life and increased expense, something that would have implications for their
perception of the city in relation to why they migrated, e.g. financial gain, regarding which
their responses showed an element of disappointment. Moreover, this study showed that
the financial burdens were the same and experienced by all migrants regardless of their
place of origin. However, an issue that should be considered is that the issue of finance may
be a sensitive subject of discussion for most migrants, and it is an especially sensitive the
Bedouin. Thus, the responses to this enquiry were often short, revealing very little
information. This is because the belief that the less said about one’s finances the better
(silence affords protection from jealous eyes) is very much embedded in Arab and Muslim
culture. The researcher predicted that questions about finances would be sensitive, and this
was confirmed by the short, reluctant answers.
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8.2.2 Housing
The type of housing in which the migrants live is very much part of the overall urban
experience of life in Buraydah City. Much of the literature mentions that the inadequate
provision of housing is a major factor in a negative experience of urbanisation (Bloom and
Khanna, 2007, Brockerhoff and Brennan, 1998, Bayat and Denis, 2000) and that urbanisation
itself leads to housing shortage issues (Bhuyan et al., 2001) and that better housing is a
driver for migration (Brunn et al., 2008). Therefore, the consequences of migration in terms
of housing are relevant in examining the overall experience of urbanisation. The type of
housing is also a reflection of the social class of the migrants, in fact studies of urban
sociology have examined ‘housing classes’ in relation to ethnic minorities, and housing
access where it is argued that access to housing is not based on a migrants job, but rather
on their ethnicity; and that ethnic minorities are discriminated against even by the state in
housing provision (Hall, 2001 p.27). This forms part of the justification for looking at the
housing status of the migrants, because it is related to social aspects, which are part of the
multidimensional approach in this study. The migrants in this study had a positive housing
experience, both in terms of the class of housing and the ease of finding suitable housing.
One of the reasons for this is that the government have provided soft loans to migrants to
buy houses, something that was established in 1974 and was available for all migrants. The
experience for migrants in this study was in stark contrast to other parts of the MENA region
and the developing world generally. For example, Cairo is plagued by squatter settlements,
semi-formal and poor quality housing and insecure tenures, even for those who are working
(Davis, 2006). According to Pacione (2009), types of housing in the Third World frequently
comprise of public housing where rents are too high for the poor, squatter settlements with
very little access to municipal services and slums.
Moreover, whether or not migrants own their homes and whether they are permanent or
temporary often reflects their financial status, their intention to stay settled and their
satisfaction with where they live. In fact, in a study by Khraif (1992) on migration in Riyadh,
found that owning a home was the most influential factor in encouraging a migrant not to
return to their place of origin. This section of the study will therefore address the types of
housing available to migrants, occupancy; mobility after arrival in the city, satisfaction with
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housing, and the overall experience related to finding suitable housing and associated
support.
Overall, the study found that the most popular type of housing is the villa, with over half of
the migrants preferring this type of accommodation. This confirms other studies carried out
by Al-Sheikh (2000) and Al Arishi (2002) that found villas to be the most popular internal
migrant dwellings in Saudi Arabia. The villa type dwelling is at the highest level in terms of
housing classes (Plate 8.2).
Plate 8.2: An example of a Villa under construction in Jomeanah, Buraydah City. Source: Author’s survey (2009).
There was a significant relationship between income and type of housing, and although this
was expected, it was interesting to note that there was a high level of ownership of villas
amongst the lower income groups as well as amongst the higher earners. In fact, for
migrants who were in the lower income bracket, between SR 1000 – SR 2999, an equal
number lived in flats and villas (Table 8.1).
Apartments were the next most popular type of dwelling, their lower level of popularity in
comparison to villas was not due to large family sizes because most of the migrant
households had small families. Unfortunately, apartments do not create a sense of an
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Islamic environment; there is no sense of privacy (Mubarak, 2004) and although the villas
have been criticised for being alien to Saudi culture and traditional Islamic urban spaces (Al-
Hemaidi , 2001), they are surrounded on all sides by gardens and a wall and afford the
occupants more privacy than apartments. Moreover, there is the argument put forward by
Glasze and Alkhayyal (2002) that the villa design, clustered in gated compounds is in fact a
revival of sociospatial patterns found in traditional Arab towns. Although it should be
remembered that upon examination, apartments are popular generally in Buraydah City and
there are many new developments (Plate 8.3).
Table 8.1: Type of housing and household monthly income
Type of house Monthly Income
Villa Flat Old house Mud house other Total
< 1000 SR 4 5 6 1 0 16
1000-2999 7 7 3 0 1 18
3000-4999 13 9 4 0 0 26
5000-6999 16 5 1 0 0 22
7000 – 8999 4 5 1 0 0 10
9000-10999 6 1 0 0 3 10
11000-12999 0 0 2 0 1 3
13000-14999 5 0 0 0 0 5
>=15000 3 1 0 0 1 5
Total 58 33 17 1 6 115
Chi-Square-value=60.133 d.f.=32 P-value=0.002
By using the Chi Square test for independence, there is a strong relationship shown between the type of housing and monthly income, providing a P- value of 0.002. Author’s survey (2009).
Plate 8.3: Apartments under construction in Buraydah City. Author’s survey (2009).
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Some of the respondents, 14.8 percent, lived in older houses, built after mud houses were
abandoned but in advance of the modern villa type dwelling. Such accommodation was
based on the old Arab-style dwelling house, but constructed with modern materials. They
are found to be cheap to rent and so are often used as temporary homes before migrants
can afford housing that is more permanent. Very few of the migrants had moved into the
old, traditional mud houses, as these are known for their lack of modern sanitation facilities.
Overall, there has been no significant difference in housing type preference between
different migrant groups. One explanation for this can be found in a study by Nagy (2006)
about migration in Qatar, where although cultural differences among Qataris affected their
choice of housing, this has been minimal because housing and land policies are the same for
all Qataris; this is also true in relation to Saudi government policy where there is allocation
of land and housing soft loans.
In addition to high housing standards, the migrants generally reported that it was easy to
find their first home in the city. The Bedouin migrants who arrived more than ten years ago
also had positive experience in terms of finding a house and in being supported by the
government, in fact 70 per cent stated that there were no problems at all and only 20 per
cent cited difficulties because of high house prices. Moreover, the majority felt that they
received full support from the government upon arrival in Buraydah City. Even greater
support was experienced by the Bedouin who arrived in the last ten years; this is in contrast
to the high level of dissatisfaction with the support among village and city migrants. This is a
reflection of more recent government policies, intended to control the flow of rural to urban
migration, and to settle the Bedouin, which could be seen as a form of positive
discrimination.
The study found marked diversity among the migrants in terms of their first home being
temporary or permanent. Of the Bedouin who migrated in the last ten years, 60 per cent felt
that their first home was temporary. There were two main reasons cited for moving into
temporary accommodation; firstly, on a trial basis whilst they determined if city life suited
them, and secondly, because they were unable to afford permanent or more desirable
housing until they had established themselves financially:
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Yes I am still searching for a permanent house, the problem is that I cannot afford
one now it will take a few more years (I B < 10 BH, 24/6/09).
Although it may seem contradictory that despite government support, some migrants were
unable to afford their desired properties upon arrival in the city, however, the soft loan
system in Saudi Arabia operates on a waiting list system and people have to wait a number
of years until they are eligible.
Yes it is temporary because it is my dream to own a house, that is one of the reasons I
came to Buraydah City, I don’t want to live in a tent any more, the government try to
support us so we must take their help (I B < 10 BJ, 25/6/09).
Interestingly, the study found that the intention to move to other accommodation did not
reflect dissatisfaction with the first home. Bedouin migrants expressed complete
satisfaction with their first home in the city, despite their intentions to move. As mentioned
previously, nomadic life was difficult and demanding and there was often a lack of services
in the desert areas, which makes urban life easy by comparison:
It was good we really liked having a house, to be honest I think we were grateful for
our situation, before the life in the desert was uncomfortable and a house made us
very happy, we were excited with our first home (I B > 10 DI, 27/6/09).
Yes, I felt at that time my first house was temporary because I wanted to see the life
in Buraydah first. Maybe there was a better area to move to or maybe we would
leave the city to go back to the desert life. I had to be cautious, this is our Bedouin
way, we will only settle if we are sure about the place (I B > 10 DC, 27/6/09).
In contrast, for the village migrants who had a high expectation that their first home would
be permanent, there was a corresponding high level of satisfaction of 90 percent with their
first homes; one of village migrant said:
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It was excellent satisfaction the quality of the house was much higher than in the
village, our house in the village was nice but it was very basic and decrepit (I V < 10
VC, 22/7/09).
The study found a significant amount of mobility among those migrants who cited work-
related reasons. For all city migrants a majority said that their housing was temporary due
to work. This has been identified as the case in the rest of the developing world; for example
in South Africa migrant workers often prefer to rent accommodation (mostly high rise
apartment blocks) and have little desire to own a home (Poulsen, 2010).
Whether the migrants rented or owned their homes was another reflection of their urban
experience and their financial capacity. In response to the questionnaire, the majority of the
migrants, 60.9 per cent, owned their own homes and 37.4 per cent rented, in terms of
interview respondents the level was 58.3 per cent. An explanation of high ownership rates
can be associated with the financial assistance provided by the government to buy homes
mentioned above. The majority owning their homes is not reflective of the situation in the
remainder of MENA, where this study has shown affordability rather than availability as the
main problem in terms of housing, with the exception of low cost housing (Baharoglu et al.,
2005). The results of this study are consistent with the work of Al Arishi (2002) in relation to
Samdah City migration in Saudi Arabia, and Albassam (2004), where the majority of
migrants surveyed also owned their homes.
8.2.3 The Experience for Bedouin Migrants
Although the experience of Bedouin migrants has been shaped by financial and housing
issues, and indeed the literature shows that housing is a part of the Bedouin urbanisation
experience (Dezuari, 2009), less tangible issues such as culture and the determination not to
lose culture, even through adaptation of culture (Abu-Saad, 2008), is important in analysis of
the experiences of urbanisation for Bedouin. When the Bedouin migrants spoke about their
aspirations to find employment in Buraydah City, it was found that there was a generational
difference, as older Bedouin migrants had high expectations about securing employment
whereas younger migrants had concerns. These emotions were reflected in the actual
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outcomes in Buraydah City, in the interviews 70 percent of the older migrants said they
faced no problems at all in finding employment; of those who did, the main concern was the
type of work and the salary. In contrast, the younger migrants’ concerns were found to be
realistic, 70 percent reported difficulty in finding employment. Moreover, they were specific
comments given regarding the problems they had faced, which included having
qualifications but no experience, lack of suitable employment and few recruitment agencies.
The Bedouin interviewees repeated the fact that life was tough in the desert and presented
a corresponding high level of satisfaction with life in Buraydah City. However, again the
experiences of the elderly Bedouin were different from those who were younger and had
arrived more recently. The study revealed that such differences in experience were
reflective of how the urban environment has changed over time. The elderly Bedouin
observed that they often found difficulty with daily activities in the new and unfamiliar
environment of the city. It was the unfamiliarity with the modernity of the city that the
elderly Bedouin were uncomfortable about and had difficulty adapting to. The following are
some examples of these difficulties, one of the elderly migrants said:
I do not like the ATMs and I prefer to go to the bank to get my money, that way I can
get help if I need it (OH Bedouin 2, 10/7/09).
When probed further about difficulties in the city, the same Bedouin migrant said:
We never had to get permission to do anything before, here in the city if you want to
build something even on your own land you have to go to the local authority and give
them your plans and it takes a long time to get permission. I don’t like it, it is too
complicated and I have to ask my son to help me (OH Bedouin 2, 10/7/09).
Another elderly respondent stated that when he took an internal flight from Buraydah City
to Riyadh he was surprised that no one would allow him to go to the front of the queue at
the airport, he stated:
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Modern life is taking away people’s manners; they do not respect older people,
before we used to respect older people and help them, it seems that the people in the
city do not have any feelings these days (OH Bedouin 4, 10/7/09).
These complaints are from elderly people who have witnessed a dramatic change in life-
style and are encountering a new attitude in tandem with burgeoning modernity. This has
also been the case amongst some urbanised nomads in Mongolia, who do not have the skill
set required for social interaction in urban life, regardless of how long they have lived in the
urban environment (Belt, 2011). However, it was not only the transition from desert areas
to the city that brought about a noticeable abrupt change in the lives of the Bedouin
migrants and their perceptions of the city. The elderly migrants gave a historical account of
life in the city before the oil boom in 1974, when they felt that life had been much simpler,
and people much friendlier. Since the oil boom, the Bedouin have found that life has
become increasingly stressful and relationships between the Bedouin in the city have been
weakened in terms of tribal ties.
For the Bedouin who were interviewed and who arrived more recently there was a higher
level of satisfaction with the urban environment. Indeed, there is a difference between
older and younger generations in their attitude towards the urban environment, even when
they have experienced the same socio-economic context (Yue et al., 2010). In Yue et al’s
(2010) study it was found that the younger generation are more willing to change to the
types of work found in an urban environment, moreover, they have less of an attachment
with their rural place of origin, this willingness and ability to adapt to an urban environment
was found for the younger migrants in this study. There was more of an expression of
comfort and ease from younger migrants; showing a positive experience stemming from a
sense of familiarity with the urban centres. A Bedouin who arrived less than ten years ago
was pleased with Buraydah City, stating:
It is good, we always wanted to come to the city, we enjoy life here because there are
lots of activities for us to do, I prefer the city, although we do visit our relatives in the
Hijars (encampments) during the holidays (I B > 10 DA, 25/6/09).
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There was a significant amount of evidence to suggest that some of this familiarity derived
from the fact that the more recently arrived Bedouin had relatives already in Buraydah City
that gave them more confidence. In fact, 44 percent of the Bedouin had relatives migrating
to Buraydah City, and this was further supported in the interviews, for example:
I faced no difficulties because my brother owned a house in Buraydah and he was
able to help us and give lots of valuable advice (I B < 10 BE, 25/6/09).
It is an excellent experience living in Buraydah and many of my friends have moved
here as well so it does feel like home (I B < 10 BA, 25/6/09).
Yes, I have achieved what I wanted and praise is to Allah. I got a job, the members of
my family got educated and I have been granted with lots more income (OH Bedouin
1, 10/7/09).
Indeed, this study shows that there is a generational difference in the experience of
adapting to an urban environment; this idea is supported in the literature by Dezuari (2009)
who says that for Bedouin migrants the course of their adaptation depends on exposure to
the environment as well as their generation and education levels.
Some Bedouin migrants claimed that life in the city has led to more health problems,
precisely because they now lead a sedentary life-style and they are less active. Although the
diet of the Bedouin was deemed simple, comprising mainly of lamb, bread, milk, dates and
soups, the migrants felt that it was healthy in comparison to western-style food.
In terms of the facilities and services that are offered in an urban environment, the Bedouin
migrants were extremely satisfied with healthcare, education, recreation and the social
facilities available in the city. There were only a small number of dissenters among those
who arrived more recently; they made recommendations such as improving healthcare
facilities and providing more women-only recreational facilities. Here the findings show that
the Bedouin had no major concerns about the government’s provision of services. For other
Bedouin groups, in the Negev for example, the provision of services and development
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programs would be better if they considered social, cultural and religious concerns, and if
not it can contribute to a negative experience of urbanisation (Dinero, 1996). However, in
Buraydah City the Bedouin were almost indifferent to the issue of the provision of services;
it would be fair to say that the government in Saudi Arabia would be considerate of religious
and cultural concerns because they themselves are Muslim and descended from the tribes.
Although a significant number of the Bedouin, (22.2 per cent) earn between SR 1000 and SR
2999 per month, their income levels are generally on a par with, if not in excess of, the
income of the other migrant groups. It was ascertained that the Bedouin have a higher
percentage-earning rate of between SR 5000 and SR 8999 per month. A point to note here is
that the Bedouin may be likely to say their income is much less, than it is for cultural
reasons, as they are known to be extremely private about such matters (Lindsey, 2006).
Despite the relatively high incomes of the Bedouin migrants, costs associated with housing
were still a problem; such as keeping up with loan repayments from the bank and rents,
there were numerous examples where this was cited:
I faced problems of high rent costs and my debt to the bank (I B < 10 BE, 25/6/09).
I faced the difficulty of paying back the bank instalments (I B > 10 DB, 25/6/09).
Yes there were some financial problems because of rent (I B > 10 DD, 27/6/09).
The extent to which migrants held on to their culture and traditions shows the influence
that an urban environment has had. It was expected that those from rural areas and the
desert might hold onto cultures that are specific to their places of origin and that the group
with the strongest cultural identity and traditions would be the Bedouin. The meaning of
tradition or culture was associated with their allegiance to the Kabila (tribe) and they were
adamant that they would maintain their traditions in the city and continue social
interactions with members of the same Kabila. One Bedouin migrant said:
I maintained those traditions to the utmost...Mostly about being loyal to the Kabila
(tribe). We meet our relatives every weekend and on many evenings during the week,
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we drink tea and discuss issues related to the tribe. We also help each other, if one of
us has a problem with money, we all give him money, this is the Bedouin tradition (I B
> 10 DA, 25/6/09).
Loyalty to the Kabila has translated itself into the city setting; it is demonstrated by living
amongst other Bedouin in the city, and by helping each other, especially in terms of money
and other aspects related to city life. In fact, this study found that the Bedouin had a
tendency to migrate to neighbourhoods with other Bedouin, more so than the other
migrants did. The loyalty to the Kabila never fades despite the loss of traditional ways of
cooking and focuses on water management that are not necessary in the urban
environment. This is affirmed by the International Crisis Group (2007) in reference to the
Bedouin in the Sinai, who observed that the Bedouin identity in urban areas is not expressed
as a specific way of life, i.e. nomadism, but rather as an identity expressed in terms of
belonging to a group that defines itself as Bedouin. This was apparent from the interviews:
I did not maintain the tradition and customs of the desert when I moved into the
city... We don’t need to do many of the things we did in the desert, like cooking in the
ground and making butter using the traditional method. Some of my friends do like
the traditions and try to keep them in their home, one of my friends has a replica well
in the men’s meeting room which looks like the inside of a Bedouin tent (I B > 10 DE,
27/6/09).
We came to the city to make life easier so why would we keep all of the traditional
ways, we have to advance with the rest of the world, even in the desert many of my
cousins have modern facilities like satellite phones and Kenwood (CB radio). I am a
Bedouin and very proud of that and I will always be Bedouin but we have to change
the way we live (I B > 10 DA, 25/6/09).
Therefore, it seems that the Bedouin in Buraydah City are adamant that they will not give up
their culture, especially that related to the tribe, this is in agreement with Abu-Saad (2008)
who says that indigenous people around the world have survived efforts to assimilate them
using urbanisation and have survived many attacks on their traditional social structures.
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Upon examination of the evidence, the Bedouin have not fully integrated into the wider
urban society, not only because they were found to be living among other Bedouin, but also
because their social interactions were focused on other Bedouin from their Kabila. This is in
contrast to Dar al Liwaa, (2000) who said there has been a complete integration into urban
society in Saudi Arabia, reporting that the Bedouin have acquired new traditions, values and
ideas; however, Dar al Liwaa (2000) does say that traditions have helped unify the tribes
because of the Islamic faith. The latter was also found to be the case in this study where
traditions also relate to religion for the Bedouin. Moreover, this is also in contrast to Dezuari
(2009) who says that rural to urban migration of Bedouin is part of the global rural to urban
economic transition and is characterised by an evolution from a tribal society to a more
individualistic society, something not found in Buraydah City.
Although the study found that the Bedouin had adamantly claimed maintenance of their
traditions, it was apparent that the nature of these traditions is changing. The structure of
Bedouin tribes in Saudi Arabia comprise a main tribe with a common family name, within
which there are sub families or sub tribes with their own family name; traditionally it is
common for Bedouin to marry within their sub family. However, although the Bedouin have
kept their affiliation with the main tribe, living in a city and mixing with other sub families
from the same tribe has meant that tribal conflict has been almost eliminated. Therefore,
what has happened is confirmed by Abu-Saad (2008) who says that urbanised Bedouin
undergo a breakdown of traditional social structures and have to rebuild new social
structures, especially in urban areas, something clearly evidenced in Buraydah City.
Evidence of barriers being broken down within the main tribe is that marriage between sub
families is now common, the simple reason being proximity. This is evidenced by a number
of statements in the interviews; as one Bedouin migrant said:
We still marry inside our Kabila (tribe) but now it is more common to see marriages
between different families of the same Kabila, before this was rare, and there are
even some who marry outside the Kabila (tribe) (I B < 10 BJ, 25/6/09).
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We used to socialise a lot with people from our tribe and family and there were many
marriages between the family, but since we came to the city we have lost this and
people are more relaxed about who they marry (I B < 10 BC, 24/6/09).
When we meet together as a Kabila (tribe) to discuss issues the meeting is very big
because all of the families come together, not like before in the desert where
meetings were much smaller (I B < 10 BF, 24/6/09).
The researcher then asked whether this affected inter-family marriage within the tribe, to
which he replied:
Marriage proposals and discussion of wedding plans take place at these meetings, it
is very normal (I B < 10 BF, 24/6/09).
In consideration of the aforementioned adherence to cultural practices, there was evidence
that the migrants still held onto their traditional practices. For example, it was observed that
Bedouin migrants were not immediately committed to settling down, some continued with
raising cattle; it was in fact common for the Bedouin migrants to state that they were self-
employed and it was observed that many of their businesses involved selling livestock (Plate
8.4). The Bedouin also retained cultural practices such as socialising in traditional tents,
even after moving into modern homes (Plate 8.5), although these practices were only in the
initial stage of transition.
Indeed this is clear evidence that the Bedouin are holding onto their culture, a very
important part of their culture being the affiliation to the tribe. It has been suggested by
Dezuari (2009) that in the process of transformation to the urban for Bedouin in the Negev,
the traditional tent is symbolic of the common being and the house is representative of
individualism and materialism. However, in this study many of the Bedouin settled almost
immediately in villas and still claimed that they held onto tribal affiliations, in light of this,
Dezuari (2009) does say that at a later stage the house becomes a summation of identity,
extended and immediate family and social status and importantly, the values of the tent do
not disappear but are merged with the concept of the new house.
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Plate 8.4: A place for raising cattle on the periphery of Buraydah City. Source: Author’s survey (2009).
Plate 8.5: Photo of Bedouin Tent in an Urban Area, Buraydah City. Source: Author (2009).
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Moreover, in relation to housing there were no cultural reasons, specifically for Bedouin, for
a preference of a particular type of housing. This is in contrast to Dezuari (2009) who says
that that there is a correspondence between culture and architecture for the Bedouin in the
Negev. This means that there is an expression of cultural adaptation that is expressed in
changes made to the architecture, for example, houses were made larger as an expression
of status and wealth, even to the detriment of the interior (Dezuari, 2009). In this study of
Bedouin migrants to Buraydah City, this was not found to be the case, these migrants
showed no such expression of culture in the external architecture.
Another development that represents how far the Bedouin have adapted is their new dual
sense of identity; in the study, they strongly identified themselves in terms of their tribe and
Bedouin traditions but at the same time, they identified themselves as citizens of the nation
and members of Buraydah City. The Bedouin migrants clearly expressed this affiliation to
their city, country and tribe:
I feel perfectly satisfied, this is my home and my children’s home we are very happy
here and will never leave (I B > 10 DG, 27/6/09).
I feel relaxed in Buraydah but I would move to another city for work, we are Hathar
(city folk) like anyone else because things have really changed for us (I B > 10 DH,
27/6/09).
It’s not unusual for us to live in a city we are all Saudi and we should all benefit from
the economy, why should we stay in the desert and all the other Saudi citizens enjoy
the money? (I B > 10 DD, 27/6/09).
This sense of affiliation with wider society, amongst the Bedouin, is further strengthened by
the fact they share the same religious beliefs. The Islamic faith is a unifying factor between
Muslims, not only between the Bedouin and Hathar (city folk) of the Al Qassim region, but
also between different ethnic groups around the world (Dar al Liwaa, 2000). This study
found that migrants’ assimilation into the city and with the people of the city has been
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facilitated by their shared Islamic faith. This was expressed in a number of different ways,
including in regards to feelings about being accepted into Buraydah City:
It was a good feeling. I thought that it would be difficult I had a feeling that the
people in Buraydah might not like us because we are Bedu (Bedouin), but they were
fine with us; this is everyone’s country and we must live together as Muslims (I B > 10
DA, 25/6/09).
The members of my family are the ones who encouraged me to move. I was hesitant
of the idea of leaving at the beginning and scared to move, many of my Kabila had
told me that Bedouin are treated differently. However, my wife went with her father
when she was younger to do trading in Buraydah and she told me her father liked the
people there, they had manners and always greeted him with Salam (Peace, the
Islamic greeting); it was my wife that made me feel better (OH Bedouin 7, 11/7/09).
When asked if his wife was right, he replied:
Yes she was right, most of the people in Buraydah were nice to us, there were some
who were rude, but if you are a Muslim you will accept your brother, in fact my new
neighbours were very helpful and we have been friends for many years (OH Bedouin
7, 11/7/09).
This idea is supported by Ben-Israel (2008) who says that when Bedouin in Israel are faced
with hastened urbanisation they try to create a sense of space with an association between
residential and institutional spaces and Islam, something that also prevailed in their
previous Bedouin spatiality, however; this is replaced in the urban environment by a new
urban Islamic, non-tribal culture and identity. However, although the urban Islamic is found
for the Bedouin in Buraydah City, evidenced by an ease of transition into urban life because
of their Islamic affiliations with townsfolk, the non-tribal cultural is not found because
Bedouin hold onto tribal ties in Buraydah City. A national and religious sense of belonging is
an important factor affecting the Bedouin experience of sedentarisation. When King
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Abdulaziz first settled the Bedouin he did so using an integrated strategic vision that
included religious, social and economic dimensions to create a cohesive nation; in this the
religious aspect was essential because it was used to teach the Bedouin how to settle (Dar al
Liwaa, 2000).
8.2.4 The Experience for Village Migrants
The experience of elderly migrants from villages was similar to that of the Bedouin, there
was an expression of anxiety and apprehension in the oral histories of the time before
moving to Buraydah, as one migrant said:
We had no experience of life in a city and did not understand that there would be
many rules (OH villager 2, 12/7/09).
The village migrants adapted very quickly, and there was a strong feeling that life in
Buraydah City was better than that in the villages. This was in contrast to the experiences of
the elderly Bedouin whose experience of living in the city remained negative with regards to
developmental changes; the village migrants adapted over time:
There are many more people here now than when I moved to Buraydah, but I have
been here many years, my grandchildren were born here so Buraydah is home to me
now (OH villager 6, 13/7/09).
We emerged gradually into city life and now I consider Buraydah to be a paradise
(OH villager 1, 12/7/09).
This sense of belonging to the urban community is confirmed by Falkingham et al. (2011)
who says that over time migrants find urban life more acceptable, moreover, these authors
(Falkingham et al., 2011) also suggest that ties with their places of origin become weaker
and socio-economic ties with the host community become stronger. This is a process that
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the village migrants in this study have passed through. The Bedouin on the other hand, have
strong tribal ties that remain over time regardless of where they are living.
It has already been shown that there was a level of uncertainty and anxiety about migrating
to Buraydah City, in terms of the urban social environment and the social interactions that
take place there. Therefore, it is important to mention social consequences in relation to the
overall experience of migrants; after all, they were arriving in the city from places with
different social structures.
Some of the villagers who had arrived in Buraydah City more than 10 years ago experienced
a sense of being victimised and discriminated against because of the way they spoke. A
villager supported this idea, stating that when they arrived in Buraydah City they
experienced discrimination because their behaviour was different to that of others:
City people who laughed at our behaviour (I V > 10 ZD, 22/7/09).
We did not fully understand the ways of city life and the way we spoke was different
(OH villager 3, 12/7/09).
The discrimination took the form of general rudeness and their children also suffered from
bullying. Discrimination was therefore a significant factor affecting migrants’ quality of life.
In a study by Zhang et al., (2009) it was found that discrimination, one such form being
against accents, affected the quality of urban life directly. More relevant to this study, is the
fact that people in modern cities in MENA experience not only the difficulties of migration
itself but also problems of integration as new residents (Dumper and Stanley, 2007). The
migrants in this study experienced a sense of alienation, and although they did suffer from
some alienation in the form of rudeness, it was mild in comparison to the discrimination
suffered by migrants elsewhere in the developing world. According to Morgan(2011)
migrants are vulnerable and face serious problems such as violence, exploitation and
trafficking, and often discrimination against female migrants for example, is embedded in
formal structures. This study found no such severe discrimination.
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There were few recommendations as to how to improve facilities, areas of concern included
schools and healthcare sectors; only those who migrated in the last ten years expressed
such concerns:
Healthcare and education are both awful and I have had some bad experiences with
both, the service in the hospital was awful because the staff were rude (I V <10 VB,
22/7/09).
I see them as very good, there are many schools and hospitals in Buraydah we have a
choice and they are mostly good quality, I am very happy with these facilities (I V < 10
VA, 22/7/09).
In consideration of the fact that besides the simple economic driver of searching for work,
the literature strongly suggests that rural to urban migration is also driven by the desire for
better housing, education, cultural and technological developments, better public services
and healthcare (UNEP, 2002, McSweeney and Jokisch, 2007, Brunn et al., 2008). Moreover,
there is a corresponding reflection of negative opinions of such standards in rural areas
(Almandoz, 2006). In light of this, the low level of complaint about these attributes of the
city is a reflection of a positive urban experience.
In terms of financial issues, the experiences of the village migrants who arrived in the last
ten years was similar to that of the Bedouin, where the main complaint was the high
repayments rates for loans from the banks and the high cost of living. The villagers were
more aware of why city life was more expensive and expressed a clear association between
higher living costs and life in the city, such comments provided evidence that they knew
exactly why they were incurring such costs, for example:
I faced difficulty in paying back the instalments to the bank for the car and I think that
the cost of buying the house is too high, in the village I did not have these problems
because I had an old Toyota pickup and did not need a car and I did not have a
mortgage (I V < 10 VF, 22/7/09).
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Generally there were no problems but I noticed that I spend more money, this is
because my family wants to do activities during the weekend like eating in the
restaurant or going shopping; in the village we did not do these activities, it was simple
and boring but cheaper (I V < 10 VJ, 22/7/09).
Interestingly, all of the village migrants who had been in Buraydah City for longer than ten
years stated they had no financial problems at all. Given that more recently arrived village
migrants had concerns about the cost of living, this suggests that such costs have been
increasing over time, or that the migrants adjusted to the cost of living in a city.
The village migrants expressed a very strong, almost defensive affirmation that they retain
their traditions while living in the city. When probed further on this issue in order to
uncover what these traditions are, it was found that besides the commitment to and respect
for family members, religion was a part of their cultural tradition. The respondents were in
fact defensive in their replies because they felt that they were being questioned about
whether or not life in the city had made them practise less as Muslims.
8.2.5 The Experience for City Migrants
In the case of the group of migrants drawn from other cities, the elderly migrants did not
find what they expected, rather their expectations were exceeded. One respondent stated
that:
Buraydah City is completely different from my town...There are more places to go
shopping, many businesses and it is easier to do paperwork like applying for a
licence. In our city there were none of these facilities, we can enjoy life in the city
(Buraydah) with our families because there are many restaurants we can go to at
night, not like before in our city, it was boring (OH City 1, 14/7/09).
Overall, there was a much higher degree of satisfaction amongst migrants who came from
other cities and towns in comparison to other migrant groups. The study showed that 80 per
cent found urban life in Buraydah City to be excellent. This shows that there was a large
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positive discrepancy between pre-migratory expectations and post migratory experience,
exceeding that reported by other migrant groups, and this will have positive effect on their
mental health because of their realistic, not over optimistic expectations (Mckelvey and
Webb, 1996). It is reasonable to suggest that because these migrants came from an urban
environment they may have been in a better position to make an overall judgement about
Buraydah City, in view of how it compares to other (possibly smaller) urban environments
with fewer facilities. Whereas the villagers and Bedouin migrants had to adapt from a rural
and nomadic way of life to an urban way of life, the city migrants were already used to
urban life.
About half of those who migrated from other cities expressed the same financial concerns
as the other migrants, i.e. monthly instalments to the banks and high rental costs, as the
other migrant groups, an indication that they came from towns with cheaper housing costs,
however, the remainder expressed that they had no financial difficulties at all.
The migrants from other cities strongly affirmed that they retain their traditional practices
and culture in Buraydah City, much like the migrants from villages; there was also an
acknowledgement that this meant their religion. Some of the migrants came from other
cities larger than Buraydah, for example Riyadh and Damman, this allowed for a
comparative opinion of Buraydah City based on these larger cities and revealed cultural
differences. The theme of religion continued here and the migrants from the city also
interpreted that part of culture and tradition was religion, for example:
I am committed to my religion and it is my biggest issue (I C < 10 AI, 3/8/09).
The culture here is more conservative than in Riyadh...Buraydah is much more
peaceful than Riyadh and more friendly (I C > 10 CI, 6/8/09).
There is nothing that I would change, the people here are very good Muslims because
they practice the religion properly, there are many Mutawa (strong Muslims) and I
like that because you can trust them. The only thing I don’t like about Buraydah is the
traffic (I C < 10 AC, 3/8/09).
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The Al Qassim region is known in Saudi Arabia for its religious conservatism, which is
something that those who have migrated from other cities seem to express in a positive
light. However, as with other migrant groups there was also a sense that culture and
tradition were perceived as something that is part of the national identity; one migrant from
another city said:
Traditions and customs are the nation’s culture and that is why I am committed to
them (I C < 10 AJ, 3/8/09).
The study found that there was more than one interpretation of what constitutes religion
and culture. The original intention of the question regarding culture was to discover how the
city had changed the migrants, but this was not achieved, as there was a strong
understanding that tradition and culture referred to religion and affiliation with the nation;
there was a strong sense of national Saudi identity amongst all migrant groups. This had
significant implications for those migrating to and assimilating into the new city as the sense
of belonging to a shared religion as well as having a collective national identity, helped to
establish common ground between the migrants and those people are living in Buraydah
City.
8.3 Out Migration – Intentions
On the one hand, the intention to leave Buraydah City and the reasons associated with this
are to some extent a reflection of migrants’ individual experiences and satisfaction with the
city. On the other hand, it was found in this study that such intentions were also a reflection
of the positive aspects of life in migrant’s places of origin, such as in reference to the peace
and tranquillity of village life. Moreover, this study also found that the Saudi government is
engaged in improving rural areas and this may contribute to reverse migration. An example
of this occurring elsewhere is that of Ghana, where policy reforms favoured the rural sector,
resulting in reverse migration (Anarfi et al., 2003). Among all the migrant groups for those
who expressed an intention to migrate from the city there was a multitude of reasons given,
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these included the search for better work, to study, the search for a better urban
environment, the high cost of living and the lack of adequate healthcare facilities.
In consideration of the multidimensional approach of this study, it can be seen that out-
migration from Buraydah City is influenced by socio-cultural, economic and political reasons.
Falkingham et al. (2011) confirm this in a study of return migration in sub-Saharan Africa
where socio-cultural, micro- and macroeconomic and political factors drive such processes;
citing political policies designed to discourage rural to urban migration, as also relevant to
Saudi Arabia.
In reference to the positive aspects of places of origin as motivation to return home, the
majority of those interviewed missed the peace and tranquillity of rural or desert life, the
feeling of safety and the proximity of family (Figure 8.2); however, the intention to leave
Buraydah City was often linked to retirement. According to Falkingham et al., (2011)
retirement is a justifiable reason to migrate back to one’s place of origin and may be driven
by the high costs of city living. Although there was significant reference made to the
negative aspects of life before migration, positive points that were mentioned were related
to tranqulity and the family and were in fact both reminiscent of life before migration and
based on hindsight upon arrival in the city, for example:
I miss seeing my children everyday, now in the city we only see them on weekends
because they are busy with work, we are all busy here in the city, the pace of life in
the village was much slower, I think I prefer that kind of life (OH villager 7, 13/7/09).
Sometimes I worry about my health because the air in the city is polluted not like the
village where the air was always fresh, especially in the mornings before sunrise. I
think that maybe the food was much healthier and it was fresh (OH villager 8,
13/7/09).
Positive opinions about migrant’s places of origin were particulary strong for the Bedouin;
however, one Bedouin migrant who considered returning said, when giving an oral history
said:
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Things have changed a lot from the time we arrived, I now miss the peace and quiet
of the desert because the city life is too busy, everyone is too busy. I dont think that
my relatives who live outside of the city understand about the stress of city life (OH
Bedouin 7, 11/7/09).
Figure 8.2: Positive aspects of migrants’ place of origin expressed by all migrant groups. The overlap demonstrates the relationships between the various reasons indicated by respondents. Source: Author’s survey (2009).
The Bedouin belong to a tribe and it was common for the tribe to often come together for
meetings. The Bedouin that were interviewed said they missed these meetings and only
took part in socialising with the tribe on special occasions such as at weddings and during
religious festivals, one Bedouin who had arrived in the last ten years said:
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I miss having lots of family members around, we used to meet all the time, we still
see members of our Kabila (tribe) but not like before (I B < 10 BB, 24/6/09).
Mohanty (2009) observed that reverse migration is more for social reasons rather than
economic reasons. However, in contrast with the latter, this study has shown that some city
migrants would leave Buraydah City for economic reasons, as supported by Yue et al.,
(2010) who say that return migration among younger migrants in China is based on
economic and reasons related to occupation. Moreover, the migrants from other cities had
a strong desire to stay in Buraydah City and any out migration was not based on a desire to
return to a nostalgic place of origin but rather the pursuit of better employment
opportunities; showing employment is a stronger driver for such migrants.
8.4 Conclusion
This chapter reveals that the experience of the migrants coming to Buraydah City is very
different from that experienced by migrants in the rest of the developing world. There are
no slums, no squatter settlements and no homelessness. With other developing cities
around the world, the main complaint is almost uniformly the proliferation of slums.
Overall, the experience was positive and full of hope and aspiration, with aims being
achieved; areas such as employment, a better standard of living and housing outcomes were
particularly positive, again, in contrast to other developing world cities where there are
difficulties of finding work through normal channels. Complaints about urban life were
related mainly to adapting to life in the city and minor complaints related to the state of
roads and pavements; overall, however, there was a high level of satisfaction with the city.
This study also found that there was a contrast between Buraydah City and the country as a
whole. In the case of home ownership among migrants, there was a difference with the rest
of Saudi Arabia. Most people in Saudi Arabia rent accommodation because they cannot
afford to buy houses or the mechanisms are not in place for them to borrow, and this is
exactly the case for MENA as well, where the issue is one of affordability not availability.
However, the majority of migrants in this study owned their own homes, a complete
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reversal of the general trend. Additionally, this trend is also in contrast to that in the
developing world where the vast majority of migrants also rent their homes.
In further support of the level of satisfaction among migrants, only a minority expressed an
intention to leave Buraydah City, and this was mostly for work or education reasons or
retirement, not due to dissatisfaction with the city itself. This success in Buraydah City
reflects the fact that Saudi Arabia has the financial capacity and the firm political will to
manage the influx of migrants to its cities; perhaps this is why none of migrants blamed the
authorities for negative experiences. Moreover, most intentions to migrate from Buraydah
City in the future were based on positive aspects of life in the place of origin. Overall, the
study showed that the intention for out migration was also due to political, economic and
social factors.
Much the same as with drivers for migration, the experiences of migration varied between
the migrant groups. The reasons behind these differences were a difference in the culture
and place of origin of the migrants. For example, the village migrants in this study had
settled well into life in Buraydah City, were comfortable that the city was their home, had
established ties and integrated with the host community. In contrast, the Bedouin migrants
found settling down difficult and maintained ties with their tribe, rather than integration
with urban folk in the city. Moreover, the study also revealed that generation differences
played a role in experiences of the city, and the decision to return to the place of origin.
These findings supports that of Samers (2010) who noted that explanations of migration
experiences might differ between people in relation to a different time and space, such that
an overarching theory describing a reason for migration is impossible.
It is important to note that the chapter highlighted the various political, economic and socio-
cultural factors that were instrumental in the process and experience of urbanisation.
Examples include the government’s support of migrants, particularly the Bedouin who
arrived in the city much earlier, which was part of sedentarisation policy and the political,
economic and socio-cultural factors that created an overall positive experience for migrants,
e.g. the government’s ability to manage migration to cities. Moreover, such factors have had
an influence on the decision to migrate from the city.
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CHAPTER NINE
CONCLUSION
9.1 Introduction
This study has aimed to identify the distinguishing elements of urbanisation and the urban
geographies of MENA, in particular in relation to Saudi Arabia, using the example of
Buraydah City. In order to achieve these aims the researcher first reviewed the existing
academic literature to evaluate previous research on urbanisation in MENA and Saudi
Arabia. It is important to note that when conducting this review the existing literature and
data related to Buraydah City was found to be very limited. Moreover, the literature
highlighted the importance of medium-sized cities in that they are experiencing most of the
urbanisation in Saudi Arabia, however, although there was this acknowledgement, there
was no literature about the experiences of migration and urbanisation in cities of this size in
the country. Therefore, there was a need to carry out new research in order to understand
the nature of migration and urbanisation in this new urban arena, i.e. medium-sized cities.
This involved collection and analysis of data from a number of secondary sources, including
from the World Bank and the United Nations and Saudi government sources, as well as
documents sourced from the local authorities in Buraydah City. This was supplemented by
the generation of primary data by conducting a field study identifying the trends, drivers
and consequences of urbanisation and migration in Buraydah City.
This study supported the central argument that although MENA shows diversity within
itself, as a region it encompasses similar patterns and processes associated with
urbanisation that are distinct in comparison with the remainder of the developing world.
However, the results also show that diversity within MENA is itself significant and that this
should not be ignored in pursuit of proof that MENA is distinct in the developing world
context.
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The study recognised three distinct geographic regions in MENA: Northern Africa, Western
Asia and the Arabian Peninsula. This led to a geographic approach for some, but not all of
the analysis. In general, it was found to be more beneficial for the purpose of discussion to
divide the region into the richer countries, such as the Gulf States, and the poorer countries
such as some North African countries and a third group for those countries that are
experiencing conflict such as Iraq. These divisions were judged to be suitable because these
characteristics were found to have a significant influence on the processes of both migration
and urbanisation. With regards to conflict, it is important to mention that since the
commencement of this thesis many more countries, including Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria
and Yemen have experienced conflict as a result of the ‘Arab Spring.’ This study considered
this and found, for example, that the conflict in Libya had a large impact on migratory
patterns in North Africa, although it should be remembered that much of this conflict is a
result of economic problems, for example in Egypt, and therefore, Egypt was considered in
this study to be a poor country rather that a country with cities of conflict.
The study adopted a multidimensional approach in recognition of the fact, identified during
the review of the literature (Yacobi and Shechter, 2005, Islam and Siddiqi, 2010, Brunn et al.,
2008), that it is not just purely economic factors that play a role in the processes of
migration and urbanisation. This approach incorporated consideration of factors which
include the political and the social-cultural, it was also found that this approach provided a
richer insight into urbanisation and migration and the results suggest that such factors
should not be ignored, as evidenced by their role.
In order to distinguish urbanisation in Saudi Arabia from that in other countries in MENA, a
detailed, comparative analysis of this process was conducted. One distinguishing element of
spatial form identified in Saudi Arabia was the use of the gridiron pattern for development
and the associated villa-type dwellings; this was due to the influence of American planners
and had a significant and negative impact on urbanisation.
The study found that much of the literature about migration, urbanisation and urban
geography in MENA has focused on the large cities such as Cairo. There is a distinct lack of
literature regarding such processes in medium-sized cities, where, the study in fact also
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revealed, most of the migration and urbanisation is currently taking place. This was the
justification for choosing Buraydah City as the case study. In the study of migration and
urbanisation in Buraydah City the same multidimensional approach was applied and the
migrants were divided into three different migrant groups: those from villages, those from
desert areas and those who migrated from other cities; these groups were further
subdivided into those who migrated to Buraydah City more than ten years ago and those
who had migrated there in the last ten years, in recognition of the economic and social-
cultural differences between these groups and for comparative purposes.
9.2 MENA
The first conclusion derived from this study is that although there is diversity within MENA
in terms of urbanisation and the urban geography, the drivers of this urbanisation are
universally applicable to the whole region. This universality of trends of urbanisation was
found to be similar mainly because the region as a whole is experiencing rapid urbanisation,
driven by rapid population growth and rural to urban migration. However, while these
drivers may be the same on the surface, closer examination reveals that there is diversity
between the countries and sub-regions of MENA. The region includes wealthy nations, poor
nations and nations that are suffering from long term conflict; indeed more recent conflict,
such as that in Libya and Yemen has produced a variety of urban geographies. Overall,
however, MENA as a region is suffering from high unemployment, a large and still growing
young population and rapid urbanisation, all factors that drive migration (and potentially
social unrest).
Studies (Population Reference Bureau, 2001, 2008a) have suggested that overall rapid
population growth is influencing those that live in the region. However, a significant finding
of this study is that population growth is also variable throughout the region, and that
economic diversity only influences this to a certain extent. The two contributing factors to
population growth were found to be natural increase and an influx of foreign labour. The
latter explains why there was diversity in terms of population growth between regions; in
general, the Gulf region imports labour and North Africa exports labour. In support of this, it
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was found that the influx of foreign labour to the Gulf region has led it to experience the
highest population growth in the developing world (Dito, 2008).
In the examination of the urbanisation of migrants and urbanisation in MENA it was
important to address the region as a whole in terms of economic, political and socio-cultural
factors; this was in line with the multidimensional approach adopted for this study. It was
found that by looking at the region using this approach migration, urbanisation and urban
geography in the region have led to a variety of changes that affect each sub-region
differently; despite the fact that common attributes were found to link the countries in
MENA, especially in terms of urban geography. Indeed, it is the diversity within the region
that has affected urban geography through increased migration and economic
development.
One of the most interesting qualities of MENA is that it is polarised in terms of economic
prosperity, at one end of the scale there are the poorer countries, such as Egypt, Morocco,
Yemen and Djibouti and at the other there are very wealthy countries such as Kuwait, Qatar
and Saudi Arabia. The variation in wealth has driven the processes of migration and
urbanisation in the region and resulted in both positive and negative outcomes. An example
of the dynamic of economic polarisation is the sharp contrast in levels of employment
between the countries; however, it is precisely because of this contrast that migration
internal to MENA occurs and redresses the internal employment imbalances within the
region (Sullivan and Nadgrodkiewicz, 2008) and also impacting on urbanisation and urban
geography.
Political diversity was also found in the region, such diversity presented itself in ways that
were found to have differing effects on migration, urbanisation and the urban geography.
Governments and their policies towards managing the process of urbanisation, and indeed
its drivers, are a significant factor in the course followed by urbanisation in each country. In
the main the region has been slow to implement policies and reforms to manage service
provision in urban centres. Besides the fact that the rate of urbanisation in MENA is the
second fastest in the developing world after Sub-Saharan Africa (United Nations, 2010c), it
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has been difficult for governments to manage this in a region that it has not been uniformly
economically successful. A crucial problem has been that local governments have not been
given financial and political autonomy (United Nations, 2008a; Tosun and Yilmaz, 2008), as
has been evident in Saudi Arabia, where resource allocation is highly centralised. However,
there has been a move towards decentralisation within the region in countries such as
Morocco, Lebanon, Yemen and Jordan. Despite this, the review of the literature suggests
complete devolution is still far in the future. It is of course essential that there is
transparency and accountability in the pursuit of fiscal decentralisation, in order to answer
the demands for a better urban infrastructure. MENA is characterised by a young population
that is reasonably well educated, and therefore there will be an increasing need to provide
urban facilities to service this population in the future. The consequences of not doing so
have already materialised with the recent civil unrest in the region that has, to a large
extent, been blamed on poor unemployment prospects of a very young population.
Therefore, this study has shown that there are two facets to MENA; on the one side there is
the complexity of the MENA region, which is very diverse and creates intricate dynamics
that strongly influence migration and urbanisation, and on the other hand it is a region that
shares many common characteristics such as religion, language and culture and shared
experiences (Dumper and Stanley, 2007) such as rapid population growth, high
unemployment, a large young population and housing issues, all of which also strongly
affect urbanisation.
9.2.1 MENA and Developing World
When MENA is placed in the context of being one of the world’s developing regions and
examined in terms of the percentage of population that is urbanised and the rate of
urbanisation, MENA it is found to be neither unique nor special. It is clear from the research
that the main driver towards urbanisation throughout the developing world has been
economic growth (McGee, 1971, Bertinelli and Strobl, 2007, Cohen, 2006); this has been
reported to be the case in Latin America and Asia as well as MENA.
In a developing world context MENA is distinctive in view of its large young population, high
rates of civil service employment, patterns of internal migration, especially intraregional
241
(Ratha et al., 2011, Stanley, 2003) and importantly its patterns of urbanisation. Regarding
the latter, this study has highlighted the distinctive factors to be the diversity in the drivers
and the consequences of urbanisation, rather than the patterns themselves. This is not to
say, however, that there is no diversity, there are atypical experiences of urbanisation in
other regions of the developing world as well. Thus, in spite of the unique characteristics of
MENA, the region does share some qualities with the developing world as a whole. The
most obvious of these is the prevalence of rural to urban migration in the search for
employment and a better way of life and the consequent need to decentralise urban
planning. Overall, the distinctiveness of MENA and its complexity and diversity, as well as
the diversity of other developing regions has limited comparisons to the basic notions of
migration and urbanisation.
One area of concern that MENA shares with the developing world is the availability of
suitable housing. There is a housing problem in MENA; although there is a large amount of
informal housing (20–40 percent according to Bjerde, (2008)), the main issue is affordability
and not availability, due to the lack of financial availability in the form of mortgage markets
(Saidi, 2007) and, in many countries in the region, limited incomes. The issue of an
undeveloped mortgage market has been blamed on cultural and religious aspects whereby
the people have a disdain for debt and interest and the private sector is reluctant to provide
mortgages due to a lack of legal framework to protect against defaulters. The reason for the
weak legal framework is that the Islamic approach would favour the defaulter over the
lender.
9.3 Saudi Arabia
This study has revealed the overall picture associated with the trends, drivers and
consequences of migration and urbanisation in Saudi Arabia, and in particular with
reference to Buraydah City. The characteristics that were revealed have related to the
influence of rapid population growth from natural increase and immigrant labour, the large
young population, rapid urbanisation, problems of centralised governance, regional
242
disparity resulting in primate cities and housing supply issues, these are the same issues that
are being experienced elsewhere in the region.
The drivers for urbanisation in Saudi Arabia are similar to those throughout MENA and the
developing world and are reflective of the natural increase in the population (Ministry of
Economy and Planning, 2010) and the economic motivation that drives rural to urban
migration. However, Saudi Arabia, much like the other Gulf States, is a labour importing
country; therefore some of its population increase is due to the influx of foreign labour. This
study, however, was especially concerned with the drivers for internal, rural to urban and
urban to urban migration within Saudi Arabia, specifically migration to medium-sized cities,
as discussed in more detail below.
A common problem in MENA has been the inability of national and local governments to
provide much-needed municipal services in the face of rapid urbanisation (Mandeli, 2008),
partly due to the lack of finance and partly due to the centralised nature of the government
(Adib, 2007). The main reason why Saudi Arabia has had a much better experience is that,
despite experiencing issues with centralisation and consequent urban sprawl, it has a
government with a strong political will and the financial capacity to resolve such problems
to provide much needed municipal services. Moreover, Saudi Arabia has implemented
effective national planning strategies and has demonstrated the financial ability to support
them. Throughout the stages of successive national planning strategies, power has been
gradually devolved to the local authorities, as evidenced by the Fifth Development Plan in
the 1990s, which placed emphasis on the regional aspects of planning that support local
authorities to define their own development needs.
However, this does not mean that there have not been problems associated with
urbanisation in Saudi Arabia as there remains a lack of decentralisation. The implementation
of Master Plans and Development Plans, with regard to urban strategy, has to a certain
extent been unsatisfactory, resulting in the unstructured growth of cities (Mandeli, 2008).
Moreover, there has been a problem relating to the unofficial sub division of land in the
Kingdom as a result of corrupt developers being allowed to continue with dishonest
practices. It is reasonable to assert that such problems have been more recently resolved,
243
by employing successive and increasingly successful implementation of development plans
based on the recognition of such issues. Another distinctive feature of the government and
its management of development has been its commitment of more time and money to
particular primary cities, such as Riyadh and Jeddah; this has resulted in the relative neglect
of other smaller cities, including Buraydah City. This has led to skewed development.
However, where Saudi Arabia differs is in its ability to manage the issue of rural to urban
migration; interestingly, the results of the field study show that the majority of migrants to
Buraydah City have had a relatively good experience, being able to find suitable
employment and decent housing and reporting high level of satisfaction with the urban
environment. Therefore, this is an indication that politically Saudi Arabia has the stability
and competence to deal with rapid urbanisation. This is in contrast to other countries in
MENA where migrants have been forced to migrate to find employment and have then
frequently encountered issues related to inadequate or unavailable housing. Moreover,
Saudi Arabia’s migrant population is largely young (Al Amoudi, 1994; Alsakran, 1995; Al-
Sheikh, 2000), as was reflected in the field study, where all the migrants surveyed were
young and where there was variation in age no significant differences were found between
the migrant groups.
Although the government has managed urbanisation relatively well, they have still been
engaged in policies that have been seeking to stem the flow of rural to urban migration in
order to control rapid urbanisation. The main form that these policies has taken is to
develop rural areas to encourage people to remain. The results from the field study do show
that there is a reasonably high level of education amongst village migrants, which is due in
part to the fact that the government has improved educational services in rural areas.
Therefore, in trying to stem the rural-urban flow (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 2001)
the government may have in fact encouraged it; as it appears to be the case that those who
have a good education are more inclined to pursue a better lifestyle such as that associated
with urban centres. Moreover, in relation to education, it has been an unexpected finding of
the research that Bedouin and village migrants had higher levels of education than those
from the cities; again this is a reflection of the success of governmental policy to improve
education in rural areas.
244
The experience of the migrants to Buraydah City has been different to that of migrants to
cities in the other poorer countries within MENA. As this study suggests, the experience of
migrants in urban centres has been positive as most came in search of work and found it, as
well as suitable housing, schools and health care; although the research found that it was
easier for migrants who had migrated more than ten years previously to find work. The ease
with which migrants found work may be due to the fact that a significant proportion of
them in this study, and a majority in other studies (Al-Sheikh, 2000, Albassam, 2004),
obtained work in the civil service.
Moreover, the results showed a high level of satisfaction with urban life in Buraydah City for
all migrant groups, with the only indications of dissatisfaction given in relation to noise, the
busy lifestyle and the condition of the roads and pavements. In contrast, the experience of
settling in urban centres in other countries has been quite different. Many countries in
MENA have slums as a result of rapid urbanisation, and while it is true that rapid
urbanisation can increase incomes, it also increases the proliferation of slums, e.g. in Egypt
and much of the rest of the developing world in general.
According to the literature, Saudi Arabia is plagued by a serious housing shortage and a
virtually non-existent mortgage market (Karam, 2010), which is also a problem in much of
MENA, although there are legal reforms due in the country which will give confidence to the
private sector to give mortgages in an Islamic country. However, the majority of migrants in
this study reported no problems in finding a home, of those who did they mostly cited
difficulties in obtaining finance. Moreover, whilst literature and statistics suggests that only
30 percent of Saudis own their home (Karam, 2010), the majority of migrants in this study,
over 60 percent, owned their own homes. Therefore, while the findings of the study, to a
certain extent, do reflect the difficulty of buying a home in financial terms, they also
contrast with the literature in terms of home ownership, the rate of which for migrants in
this study is double the national average. Migrants were typically very satisfied with their
first homes in the cities and they (especially the Bedouin migrants) also expressed a strong
intention that their first home would be their permanent home. The study revealed that
there was a wide dispersal of migrants in the city; however, it was found that the Bedouin
concentrated themselves in areas where there were other Bedouin. This was supported by
245
the evidence of a large concentration of Bedouin in the older central parts of the city.
Consequently, this study suggests that the experience of migrants in terms of housing was in
contrast to that of the population as a whole.
The positive perceptions of migrants are also extended to their motivation to migrate. The
reason most frequently given for migration to urban areas in Saudi Arabia was the search
for work as a result of a lack of corresponding work opportunities in the village and desert
areas; and also, albeit to a lesser extent, in other towns and cities. However, the evidence
from the study suggests that there was no sense of desperation amongst the migrants
seeking work; the unemployment levels for migrants were on a par with the national
average. In most cases the search for jobs and the move to Buraydah City reflected a desire
to increase incomes, improve lifestyles and join the modern world, as well as to provide
more opportunities for their children. Among other reasons for migration were those
related to family, with many migrants coming to Buraydah City to marry or to join other
family members. However, there was variation found between the older and younger
generations in terms of the different priorities, expectations and experiences. Although the
main driver for both old and young migrants was work, driven mainly by a lack of
opportunities in their places of origin, especially for villagers and Bedouin, the differences
between generations were related to the pre-migratory emotions and post-migratory
experiences. The main example of this is that the young were more pessimistic about the
prospect of finding employment than older migrants; the only significant difference in terms
of drivers generally was that the older migrants were more driven by education
opportunities. Additionally, the cultural dimension also played a role in the different drivers
and experiences of migration for the migrants, these were also different for each group, i.e.
Bedouin, villagers and city folk and the study showed that this was related to their cultural
background, an example of which was the Bedouin’s desire to migrate to the same
neighbourhoods and live together.
One of the aims of this study was to analyse urbanisation in Buraydah City and the
justification for this was that there was a need to understand better the processes of
migration and urbanisation in a medium-sized city, in light of a dearth of literature in
relation to this. Indeed there have been numerous studies identified, which examine
246
migration and urbanisation in the region (Bjerde, 2008; United Nations, 2010d; Roudi-
Fahimi and Kent, 2007), it is just that there is little relating to the relatively recent
phenomenon of rapid growth in cities of a smaller size. This then raised a number of
questions: why these cities? Why are they attracting migrants? Has this new urban
geography come about as a result of economic and political changes? This study answered
these questions and found that they were all interlinked; people were attracted to Buraydah
City for work and economic opportunities because they were incentivised by the fact that
there has been both economic and political investment in cities of this size in Saudi Arabia.
Further evidence of this was that proximity to the city was not a complete determinant of
migration, and that migrants from larger cities are also found in Buryadah City. In this regard
this study has found a reason for the rapid growth, highlighting the sudden growth of
medium-sized cities, which has significantly altered the urban geography of Saudi Arabia
and the MENA region.
This study showed how the topography of Buraydah City influenced the growth and
structure of the city. Buraydah City has physical characteristics such as sand dunes and a
river that have impeded growth in certain directions. Moreover, other features on the
landscape have also influenced the structure of the city and include graveyards and
farmland.
9.4 Policy Implications
The main recommendation formulated based on the results of this study is to continue the
process of decentralising governments within MENA. It has been recognised that many of
the problems of urbanisation can be avoided if local and regional authorities are given more
autonomy and finance to manage local urban planning. There is evidence that Saudi Arabia
has recognised this problem and has taken some intentional steps to try and resolve the
problems caused by over centralisation. This was clearly illustrated in the case of Buraydah
City where local planning in urban spaces is very apparent.
247
As the results of this study suggest, the consequences of urbanisation are different within
MENA; this is partly due to the effectiveness of central governments which vary in the
region producing various urban outcomes. It is true that centralised government is an issue
for the countries of MENA, however, the severity of the impact varies depending on the
country, for example it has been shown that in Saudi Arabia poor local planning, at its worst
leads to the relatively minor problems of urban sprawl and incremental urban planning (Al
Hathloul and Edadan, 1995); whereas, in other countries poor planning caused by
centralised government has resulted in slums, inadequate services and disease. This adds to
the central argument that there is diversity within the region.
It has been suggested by this study that much of the success regarding the management of
urbanisation in Saudi Arabia has been due to the country’s oil wealth; however, it is
important that the country should not continue to depend solely on oil revenues, as these
are both volatile and finite. As oil production declines there will be a change to the
economy, which will most likely once again result in a change in the urban landscape. It is
anticipated that this will be characterised mainly by a decline in migration to and within the
Kingdom. Moreover, Saudi Arabia has to find other sources of income and diversify its
economy away from oil; this has to be done sooner rather than later because there is
currently a problem with unemployment among the country’s relatively large and young
population. Unquestionably, a diverse and dynamic economy requires a well-managed
urban landscape.
Governments in MENA need to reflect on how best to manage population growth within
their countries, because population growth represents the single greatest threat to
sustainable urban growth. In Saudi Arabia a spatial strategy aimed at reducing migration to
the major cities to help prevent polarisation would be beneficial; this could include
allocating more resources to small and medium-sized cities and developing local education
facilities such as universities and colleges, as people migrate from rural areas for higher
education. This study found that many migrants who came from other cities and towns
were relocated by their employers, so policies within small and medium size cities to
encourage business and investment will also help to redress the imbalances within the
Kingdom. The government should remember; however, that policies designed to stem the
248
flow of migrants from urban areas, such as improving educational opportunities, have in fact
educated migrants and increased their propensity to migrate.
The governments within MENA need to address the issue of secure property rights, as the
lack of such rights adversely affects the real estate industry, preventing local firms from
accessing land, deterring them from investing. Moreover, there needs to be a concerted
move away from land reform to allow more scope to the private sector in terms of land
development. The suitability of the housing market to match the population’s needs should
also be addressed, as more houses need to be built. According to Karam (2010), Saudi
Arabia has a deficit of 2 million homes, and to increase the percentage of home ownership a
reliable, regulated and trustworthy mortgage market needs to be developed. It is also
important for the government to consider, in light of the country’s rapid population growth,
having more frequent censuses to assist in planning for housing needs.
It is reasonable to comment that the government of Saudi Arabia to date has seriously
considered development and economic growth policies that are not solely dependent on oil
revenues, in recognition of the fact that it is a finite resource. This study has shown that
investment and economic development are increasingly taking place in medium-sized cities;
therefore, it is of interest to the government to formulate policies that develop these urban
centres to influence the direction of urbanisation.
9.5 Recommendations for Future Study
There are a number of areas that have been addressed and discovered by this study which
have wider implications for future study of urbanisation and urban geography in the
developing world. These areas include the significance of medium-sized cities, the
importance of addressing different groups in the same migration, the necessity of adopting
a multidimensional approach and the overall positive experience of migrants.
Because there is a lack of studies focusing on medium-sized cities in Saudi Arabia and the
developing world generally, it was not possible to compare this study with those of cities of
249
a similar size to Buraydah City. Therefore, there should be more studies of similar processes
of migration and urbanisation in cities of this size; this would allow the findings of this study
to be tested against others, verifying them and revealing whether or not Buraydah City is a
unique case or a representative and generalisable example of a typical medium-sized city
within the Kingdom. Moreover, the experiences of migration and urbanisation in medium-
sized cities should be examined in the developing world because this is where much of the
experience of urbanisation is taking place.
This study has focused on the experiences of migration and urbanisation amongst different
categories of internal migrants in Saudi Arabia, however, much of the research about
population growth, migration and urbanisation in MENA attends to the issue of intra-
regional and inter-regional migration; with Saudi Arabia being one of the destination points.
Although this study did consider the issue of foreign labour this aspect of migration was not
included in the field study; therefore, future study could usefully investigate the experiences
of urbanisation amongst these groups, because they characterise a significant portion of the
urban population. Moreover, the consideration of different migrant groups in the same
migration revealed different experiences between them and such an approach could be
adopted in future studies, especially in developing countries where there is migration
involving rural folk together with indigenous populations to highlight the different drivers
and experiences between these groups.
The adoption of a multidimensional approach to understanding the drivers and
consequences of migration and urbanisation was shown to be beneficial because it
recognised that such processes are a complex system where economic, political and socio-
cultural factors interact and determine outcomes. Clearly the economic was the most
significant dimension, but to gain a true understanding of the thoughts behind drivers and
consequences or experiences of migration, it is necessary to understand the role that is
played by, for example, socio-cultural factors. The literature revealed a need for a
multidimensional approach and the findings of this study demonstrate the importance of
such an approach. Therefore, any future study should consider these factors and not just
approach migration and urbanisation from a purely economic perspective which could be
limiting.
250
Much has changed in the political landscape of MENA since the author began conducting
this research. The Arab Spring (2011) has brought about changes in terms of conflict,
migration, economics and overall political attitudes. This study did address these issues to a
certain extent; however, these developments are ongoing. Therefore, because it has been
shown that conflict has an impact on regional migration, any future study could examine the
effects of conflict retrospectively, specifically in relation to migration, urbanisation and
urban geography. In fact the recent problems of social unrest are partly a result of rapid
urbanisation in the region and therefore, the results of this study, which show a positive
experience for migrants, may serve as a basis for policy formulation to prevent civil unrest in
MENA in the future. Moreover, the factors that have lead to a positive experience of
migration in this study could be further addressed academically, as most research relates to
the negative side of migration and urbanisation in the developing world.
Amongst the limitations of this study was the fact that it was almost impossible for the
researcher, as a male, to interview women due to cultural reasons. Women are the
foundation of family life in Saudi Arabia and their experiences are just as relevant as those
of men, therefore, any future study would benefit from employing female assistants for
data collection. Another limitation of the study was that it was difficult to obtain data from
the Bedouin; firstly because they come from the desert and are suspicious of being asked
questions, and secondly that they were reluctant to share information and give their time.
The reasons for this are firstly the Bedouin would regard a lecturer as having a high position
and would be reluctant to criticise life in the city, and secondly, culturally they belong to a
tribe which is very much a closed clique, and finally, they are concerned about jealousy and
would be uncomfortable sharing information about family and income. Therefore, future
studies should consider the implication that examining a cultural group may be affected by
the specific cultural behaviour of that group.
The study also revealed that the MENA region is very diverse and that there are differences
between countries and differences between the sub-regions of MENA. Therefore, for any
future study the drivers, patterns and consequences of urbanisation could focus on a
particular sub region or types of country; i.e. poor, rich or those in conflict. Moreover, in
251
relation to Saudi Arabia, the country could be examined in the context of the Gulf region in
particular, rather than MENA as a whole.
This study pertains to those migrants surveyed; it is not known what percentage of migrants
from, for example the desert areas of Al Qassim, leave for other major cities such as Riyadh.
Thus, any future study that determined the preferred destination of migrants from Al
Qassim would shed light on the popularity of Buraydah City. There is evidence to show that
Buraydah enjoys special popularity as an urban centre, because the vast majority of those
who migrated from outside of the Al Qassim region came from Riyadh.
It was found that some of the migrants from amongst the migrant groups were in fact self-
employed entrepreneurs. These migrants did not migrate in search of work and they may
even create jobs for other city dwellers, therefore, the drivers motivating them are
different, and as yet unrepresented in literature (Ndoen et al., 2000). Thus, any future study
should consider these migrants, their motivations to migrate and (in recognition of their
entrepreneurial nature) the impact that they have on urbanisation in medium-sized cities in
Saudi Arabia.
252
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Appendix 1
Participation Information
Urbanisation and Migration in Saudi Arabia: the case of Buraydah City
Researcher: Ahmad Al Bassam (Ph.D student - Department of Geography, University of
Leicester)
Purpose of research
The research is part of a Ph.D study intended to obtain your views and experiences about
urbanisation and migration in Buraydah city, and hopes to get an in depth view of the
reasons for and consequences of this process. The data collected from participants will help
greatly in understanding and evaluating migration and urbanisation in Buraydah. It will be
appreciated if participants answer questions fully and honestly.
Participants will be requested to take part in a questionnaire, interview or oral history. This
study in the future, it is hoped, will help the local government to plan for a better Buraydah
city. Additionally, the data will be used for the Ph.D thesis, academic publications and policy
reports.
Confidentiality
The information obtained will be treated in strict confidence and will only be used for
purposes of the study. Your name is not required in order to protect your anonymity.
Participation is voluntary and participants have the right to withdraw at any time, without
giving reasons, and any information obtained can be returned and not used for the study if
the participant so wishes.
The researcher is grateful for your participation and will be happy to answer any questions
you may have. Please complete the Informed consent sheet.
Thank you
Ahmad Al Bassam (Researcher)
284
Appendix 2
Questionnaire
Date of distribution: / / 2009
Section One: Characteristics of the head of the family
1. Place of birth:
Administrative region…………City …………Village……… Desert……
If outside of Saudi Arabia, please state…………………….
2. Sex: 2-1. Male 2-2. Female
3. Date of birth…………………………
4. Marital status:
4-1. Single 4-2. Married
4-3. Divorced 4-4. Widow/widower
5. Highest educational qualification received:
5-1. None 5-2. Primary Education
5-3. Intermediate Education 5-4. Secondary Education
5-5. Certificate / Diploma 5-6. University degree
5-7. Postgraduate
6. Employment status:
6-1. Employed 6-2. Self employed
6-3. Unemployed 6-4. Retired
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6-5. Unable to work, please specify ………….…………...
6-7. Other .…………………………………………………
7. Current employment: ……………………………………………………………………...
8. Place of work:
8-1. Within Buraydah city
8-2. Outside Buraydah city (Where?)…………………
8-3 Both within and outside Buraydah please give details:.............................................
9. Number of people in household:
9-1. How many adults live in the household?
< 3 3 -5 6 -8 > 9
9-2. How many children live in the household?
< 3 3-5 6-8 > 9
9-3. Do any family members live in the house temporarily or seasonally? Please give details.
…………………………………………………………………………..
10. How many cars does your family have?
None One Two Three More than three
286
11. Head of household monthly income
< 1000 R
1000 – 2999 R
3000 – 4999 R
5000 – 6999 R
7000 – 8999 R
9000 – 10999 R
11000 – 12999 R
13000 – 14000 R
+ 15000 R
Section Two: House information
12. Name of neighbourhood: ……………………………
13. Type of housing:
13-1. Villa 13-2. Flat 13-3. Old house
13- 4. Mud house 13-5. Other Please specify: ……………….......................………
14. Type of tenure:
14-1. Owner 14-2. Lease 14-3 Other Please specify
15. Is this the first house you have occupied in Buraydah city?
15-1. Yes 15-2. No
287
16. Have you lived in any other neighbourhoods in Buraydah city?
16-1. Yes 16-2. No If yes, please state where:............................
Section Three: Migration to Buraydah city
17. Where did you live immediately before coming to Buraydah
City, and for how long?
Administrative region………………City…………… Village…………..
Other……….. Period (Years)……………………………........................
18. Length of stay in each house in Buraydah city:
House 1. Address ………………………………………………..
Dated moved in..…… Year .………month Date…../……/……
Dated moved out..…… Year .………month Date…../……/……
House 2. Address ………………………………………………..
Dated moved in..…… Year .………month Date…../……/……
Dated moved out..…… Year .………month Date…../……/……
House 3. Address ………………………………………………..
Dated moved in..…… Year .………month Date…../……/……
Dated moved out..…… Year .………month Date…../……/……
288
House 4. Address ………………………………………………..
Dated moved in..…… Year .………month Date…../……/……
Dated moved out...…… Year .………month Date…../……/……
19. Who made the decision to move to Buraydah city? Please give details of their decision
below:
19-1. Your decision alone 19-2. The family
19-3. Other (who)……………………………………………
20. When you migrated to Buraydah city, did your family migrate with you?
20-1. yes 20-2. No
If answer no, please state why:...............................................................
If answer yes, how many family members moved to Buraydah city?
…………….. Male ……………… Female
21. Were there any members of your family settled in Buraydah city before you migrated?
21-1. yes 21-2. No
If answered yes, please give details why………………...............................................………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
289
Section Four: Reasons of migration to Buraydah city
22. What were the reasons for you to migrate to Buraydah city? (If there is more than one
reason, please indicate the order of importance, 1 being the primary reason, 2 the
secondary reason and so forth)
22-1. Attracted by urban environment
22-2. Search for work
22-3. Career advancement
22-4. Relocated by employer
22-5. Education
22-6. Marriage
22-7. for trade
22-8. Amenities
22-9. Health care
22-10.The presence of relatives and friends
22-11. other please specify………………………………..............................................................
Section Five: Information about any intentions to migrate from Buraydah city in the
future.
23. Were your expectations fulfilled when you moved to Buraydah city? Please give details.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
24. Please give details of any problems you faced when you migrated to Buraydah city.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
25. Are you satisfied with living in Buraydah city? Please give details.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
290
26. Do you want to migrate from Buraydah city to another area in the future?
26-1. Yes 26-2. No 26-3. Unsure
If the answer is yes, write the name of the region or city you wish to migrate to and when
you intend to migrate.
(…………………………...................................................................................…………………………….).
27. Please give details of any problems you have faced since moving to Buraydah city?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
28. If you intend to migration from Buraydah city, what is the reason?
28-1. Search for a better urban environment
28-2. Work
28-3. Lack of appropriate educational services
28-4. Lack of health services
28-5. High cost of living
28-6. To join relatives
28-7. The need to return to original home for various reasons
28-8. Climate
28-9. Retirement
28-10. Other reasons
....................................................................................................................................................
Please give further information of you chosen answer.
………………………………………………………………..................................................................................
If you would like to add any additional information or comments, please use space below.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
....................................................................................................................................................
Thank you for completing this questionnaire
291
Appendix 3
Interview
DAY: …………………………………...
DATE …../…. /2009
TIME: ……………… am /pm
ADDRESS :
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Place of birth:
Administrative region…………City …………Village……… Desert……
If outside of Saudi Arabia, please state…………………….
Sex: ………………….
Date of birth…………………………
Marital status: …………………….
Educational status:………………………
Employment status: …………………….
Number of occupants in household: ……………………..
1. When did you first move to Buraydah city?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Why did you move to Buraydah city? Did anyone encourage you?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
292
3. How many times have you moved since coming to Buraydah city and why?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
4. How satisfied were you with your first home in Buraydah city?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Did you consider your first home to be temporary, if so why?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
6. To what extent did you feel that you were supported by local authorities in terms of
housing when you first arrived in Buraydah city?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
7. What difficulties did you face in finding housing when you first came to Buraydah city?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
. To what extent was your decision influenced by the prospect of employment?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
293
9. Please discuss any problems faced when looking for suitable employment?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
10. What kind of financial difficulties did you face living in Buraydah city?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
11. How do you feel about public facilities such as health care and education?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
12. How do you feel about facilities for recreation and social events that help you socialize
with other people?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
. What do you miss, if anything, about rural / Bedouin life?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
14. How do you feel about living in an urban environment?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
294
15. To what extent have you maintained cultural traditions and identity?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
16. To what extent do you feel comfortable that Buraydah city is now your permanent
home?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
17. Do you plan to leave Buraydah city in the future, if so why?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
18. If you could change something about Buraydah city, what would it be?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
295
Appendix 4
Oral Histories
DAY: …………………………………...
DATE …../…. /2009
TIME: ……………… am /pm
ADDRESS:
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Place of birth:
Administrative region…………City …………Village……… Desert……...
If outside of Saudi Arabia, please state…………………….
Sex: ………………….
Date of birth…………………………
Marital status: …………………….
Educational status:………………………
Employment status: …………………….
Number of occupants in household: ……………………..
1. Please give a comparative account of life before and after Buraydah city?
2. What was life like in the city / rural area / desert before migration to Buraydah city?
3. Please tell me the reasons for your decision to migrate to Buraydah city?
4. How did you feel about the idea of moving to Buraydah city?
5. Can you tell me about the experience of the migration itself, how did it feel?
296
6. How do think other members of your family felt about the migration?
7. What was life like in Buraydah city when you first arrived, and how do you feel about
Buraydah city now?
8. Was Buraydah city what you expected it to be?
9. Did you achieve your aspirations, the reasons for moving to Buraydah city?
