Jeddah North Master Plan
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
The city of Jeddah is embarking on a multi-year effort to re-plan the new city of Jeddah North. PageSoutherlandPage planners were commissioned to develop an urban framework plan and vision for a growth corridor for Jeddah North that would: grow the city northward along the Red Sea; reclaim Salman Bay as a seaside tourist amenity; build on the existing infrastructure; and create an international urban identity built on traditional Arabic/Islamic values and traditions.
The team developed the regional and cultural analysis for the project as well as the environmental impact of the proposed new city on the fragile ecosystem of the Red Sea. An international team of environmental engineers and ecologists who partnered with the planners were responsible for environmental and marine impact, enhancement and mitigation strategies in support of the plan. Computer models were created to demonstrate total and current movement along the bay and sea.
The team analyzed both the physical form of historic town planning in Arabia as well as the impact of Islam on the concepts of public and private spaces. Working closely with the municipality, the team analyzed the historic city structure to determine the appropriate scale of the new city’s districts and neighborhoods. The plan for the new city developed Jeddah North into an organizing structure of districts and nodes and created a distinct urban framework from which a long-term locational siting logic could be based. Schools, mosques, hospitals and municipal support facilities and infrastructure could now be proposed and developed within a decision-making logic. Design concepts for the proposed marina, the outdoor markets (souk), the mosque, the urban core and the majority of the public structures were developed to help establish the fabric of the city.