Urban Heritage Conservation in Saudi Arabia Toward Sustainable Reuses

Abstract

In Saudi Arabia, the recent interest in safeguarding urban heritage has promoted sustainable strategies compliant with the National Vision 2023. Many heritage villages were abandoned for years due to the inhabitant's relocation to new residential units. However, after being neglected for many years, the heritage villages have been recently rehabilitated by Governmental Institutions with the involvement of the local community to raise awareness about Saudi Culture and heritage and improve local investment and appreciation of local culture. The paper presents and discusses four case studies of heritage villages in Saudi Arabia by comparing the intervention methodologies, the conservation approach promoted by the supervising Governmental institutions, and assessing criteria and principles adopted during the intervention. Results show that urban heritage intervention can provide more flexibility in reuse by adopting restorative interventions, while the conservative target is to valorize the originality of sites listed under UNESCO. Finally, the proposed methodology for the assessment of sustainable reuses of urban heritage sites in Saudi Arabia can promote strategic opportunities in the country's growth, targeting economic, environmental, economic, and social values.