The General Policy of Urban Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Its Role in Enshrining the Individual’s Right to a Healthy and Balanced Environment:

An Analytical Study in Light of the Vision 2030

Mohamed El Arbi Aoka

 

Abstract: Urban development is one of the areas that contributes significantly to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), foremost among which is the fundamental right recognised and affirmed by many countries around the world, notably Saudi Arabia and France, which is the right of individuals to live in a balanced and healthy environment. It is balanced in terms of living and coexisting with other living creatures and healthy in terms of providing the necessary conditions for life for current and future generations. For this reason, urban planning is one of the most important areas covered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's policies in order to achieve Vision 2030, which is based primarily on achieving SDGs. Urban development is no longer just urban and engineering plans aimed solely at regulating construction in a specific region. Still, it has become a law or system in its own right, with modern objectives that seek, on the one hand, to address what currently constitutes a threat to the right of individuals to a balanced and healthy environment, such as global warming, environmental pollution of all kinds, rural migration and urban expansion. On the other hand, it seeks to keep pace with modern imperatives that drive public policies towards diversifying clean and renewable energy sources, as they are considered environmentally friendly, and also promoting the concepts of so-called smart cities. This is clearly evident in the Kingdom’s vision, which seeks to take these objectives into account by mobilising urban planning law to include effective legal means to achieve the desired goals.