Operational Planning: An alternative view of Doxiadis’ project in Riyadh

Abstract

This chapter explores Doxiadis’ master plan and his legacy in the city and to provide an alternative understanding to the way he approached planning and influenced Riyadh’s urban future. The story of Riyadh’s urban growth can be divided into distinct phases marked by clear critical moments of transformation. Between the construction of Al-Malaz in 1953 and Doxiadis’s arrival in 1968, many projects were under construction simultaneously across a city aiming to control its growth. Doxiadis suggests that understanding Riyadh as a living organism is the grounds on which he based the two, main planning principles: the linear pattern of growth and the arrangement of neighbourhood units. Riyadh is treated in his plan, indeed, as a living creature, a true dynapolis. The chapter concludes by considering the legacy of Doxiadis’ work, exploring how, in spite of many practical limitations, the 1972 master plan is today a major guiding force in Riyadh’s growth.