The Role of Community Participation in Urban Rehabilitation Projects for Heritage Areas in Saudi Arabia a Case Study: Rijal Almaa Heritage Village

Abstract

Many rehabilitation projects of heritage areas in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia suffer from the absence of an active role in community participation, which negatively affects the long-term sustainability of these projects. Heritage areas represent one of the tourism resources that the Kingdom's Vision 2030 focused on, as it called for their urban rehabilitation and linking them to the urban context, which contributes to strengthening the economy and supporting the local community. Community participation is one of the important factors to ensure the success of urban rehabilitation projects for heritage areas. Therefore, this paper aims to extrapolate the role of the local community in urban rehabilitation projects for heritage areas by applying it to a case study of Rijal Almaa heritage village in the Asir region. The paper adopted the descriptive and theoretical approach to analyzing the stages of community participation based on a review of experiments and theoretical frameworks. The study applied a case study model, and questionnaire tools were used for a sample of (23) people from the region's population. The study also used observation tools, field visits, and interviews (3) experts from the village's residents to analyze the role of local community participation in the urban rehabilitation process and the optimal path to support the participation process. The paper concluded that there is a tangible role for community participation in the urban rehabilitation of Rijal Alma Heritage Village. Its impact varies according to three stages: planning, implementation, and evaluation. Finally, the study emphasized the need to develop a framework that enhances the process of community participation as part of the urban rehabilitation processes for heritage areas in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Sustainability of Heritage Villages through Eco-Tourism Investment (Case Study: Al-Khabra Village, Saudi Arabia)

“…At the same time, the active participation of community members has had a positive impact on the development of rural areas and has fostered a positive attitude towards indigenous culture. Similarly, in a study of the village of Rijal Alma' in Saudi Arabia, the local community played a significant role in rehabilitating the village through a three-stage process: planning, implementation, and evaluation [17]. The study highlights the importance of developing a framework that facilitates community participation in the urban rehabilitation of heritage areas in Saudi Arabia.…”

Revitalization Approaches to Maximize Heritage Urban DNA Characteristics in Declined Cities: Foah City as a Case Study

“…Kropf also regarded the character as a set of differences that characterize civilization as things that make it different from others. In old cities such as Venice and Los Angeles, desert settlements such as Saudi Arabia heritage communities (Alzamil, Al-Qahtani, & Al-Takhifi, 2023), or even in new cities in England such as the city of Milton Keynes, they are distinct and unique cities, each of which has the advantage of giving civilization its identity (Yeang, 2000). So, the character reflects the form of urbanization both in historical areas such as existing cities but can also be applied in new cities (The Urban Task Force, 1999), simple characteristics such as building materials and construction details are not enough to create an entire character but are just part of the character.…”