No abstract

This research aims to study the experience of local people in conserving architectural heritage and to benefit from that in preserving other historical sites. The need for this study is important because: Conservation of cultural and architectural heritage is not merely a government responsibility. The participation of local people in architectural conservation has many benefits. Motivating people to preserve architectural heritage is the responsibility of cultural and educational bodies. The study discusses historical architectural sites in Saudi Arabia. It concentrates on the inhabitants' and owners' role in the conservation of architectural heritage, since, nowadays most of the historical sites were taken care of by the governments. The tools of this research are better than the previous working methods, because, previous models neglect the inhabitants' and owners' role in the conservation of architectural heritage, Methods of this study include literature review, site visits, and interviews with inhabitants and visitors of the Case Study. It also includes site visits to similar historical sites, lectures highlighting the importance of architectural heritage to improve public awareness and to motivate people to take part in the conservation of architectural heritage. The study found conserving, preserving, or rehabilitating traditional buildings cannot be the duty of the owner only or the responsibility of the governments alone.

A sustainable neighbourhood is critical in preserving the environment for future generations, as various societies are suffering from increasing reliance on vehicles and low social interaction. This study aims to compare two neighbourhoods in terms of implementing the sustainable neighbourhood criteria. This study is based on eight sustainable neighbourhood evaluation criteria related to design and urban values are: regional issues, compacted form, mixed land-use, connectivity, pedestrian-oriented building, public sphere of the neighbourhood, relationship with transit, and walkability. University District and Jordan Villa Compound newly developed residential neighbourhoods located in Al-Mafraq city in Jordan were chosen as a case study to evaluate the sustainable neighbourhood criteria. The primary and secondary data were obtained from various resources, including; previous studies that related to the topic, site surveys and personal interviews. The results show that The University District is more sustainable and walkable than the Jordan villa compound; due to several reasons as the grid pattern of planning and the high population density. The importance of this study comes from implementing the sustainable neighbourhood evaluation criteria to develop communities to become more sustainable and walkable.