Proceedings of Research World International Conference, Mexico City, Mexico, 30 th -31 st August 2017 1 ANALYTICAL CONCEPTION OF SLUMS OF JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA HISHAM MORTADA Professor, Dept. of Architecture, College of Environmental Design, King Abdul Aziz University Jeddah 21473, Saudi Arabia Abstract - For the last few decades, the urban and social fabric of the city of Jeddah, a major and one of the most populated cities in Saudi Arabia, has been dominated by slums. It is estimated that the city consists of more than fifty slums scattered throughout the city. While many local urban planners and designers find it hard to comprehend the presence and continuous growth of these districts in the light of the various efforts made by the government to improve the urban and social quality in Saudi Arabia, these slums seem far away from being controlled or at least redeveloped. This paper analyses the history of Jeddah’s slums, their emergence, scale and urban and social characteristics. This is verified by a discussion of al-Sabeel, which is a main slum in Jeddah, and an examination of measures taken by Jeddah Municipality to deal with these physically and socially deteriorated areas. The paper also gives some insight on solutions implemented in international cases to improve slum conditions in Asia and South America. It culminates a list of recommendations to consider in dealing with Jeddah slums. These recommendations vary from provision of flexible means of affordable housing and empowerment and participation of slum dwellers, to legalization of the residency of non-Saudi dwellers, setting up long term strategies to prevent the appearance of new slums and establishing vocational programs to improve the economic and social conditions of dwellers. Keywords - Slums, urban upgrade, Jeddah, urban redevelopment, al-Sabeel, Guarapiranga I. INTRODUCTION Slums or squatter settlements are a major socio-urban feature of many cities around the world, especially developing countries. Saudi Arabia is not an exception. The Saudi city of Jeddah has been suffering from presence of slums for decades. The existence and excessive speed of the growth of these slums have become beyond the control of the relevant urban planning authority, namely the Municipality of Jeddah. This paper primarily aims to investigate the extent of the slum problem in Jeddah both from social and urban planning points of view. It also aims to evaluate possible planning solutions of these slums. In order to achieve these aims, the research has implemented a methodology of integrated phases, which are as following: First. A discussion of literature review on the world status of slums and urban poor: This discussion gives a notion that the presence of slums is not limited or exclusive to Jeddah. Various parts of the world are struggling with slum areas and their social, urban, economic and environmental problems. It is hoped that the facts revealed in this section from international leading organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations on the seriousness of slum problems around the world would assist local decision makers in pursuing solutions for Jeddah’s slums. Second. An analysis of Jeddah’s slums from socio-economic and urban planning perspectives: The deteriorated urban conditions of Jeddah’s or any slums are a reflection of the poor socio-economic circumstances of dwellers. None of these conditions or circumstances can be analyzed separately or without refereeing one to the other. Accordingly, this lengthy analysis of Jeddah’s slums uses al-Sabeel District as an example or case study. The author has selected al-Sabeel as it is oldest and a major slum area of Jeddah. It is also the first slum area that the Municipality of Jeddah has practically tackled to improve its physical conditions. Yet, several factors obstructed the completion of this development, hence, discouraging the Municipality from intervening in other slum areas. These obstacles are also discussed along with different efforts by the Municipality to improve the urban and social conditions of slums. For the analysis of the case study of al-Sabeel, the author relied on documents, mostly technical reports carried out by the Municipality of Jeddah on existing social and urban aspects of this district. This was also associated with a site survey the author made to photographically record these conditions. Third. Testing the possibility of improving social and urban conditions of Jeddah’s slums by evaluating two options pursued in India and Brazil: The author recognizes that each city or slum has its particular circumstances. However, cleaning and upgrading, the techniques implemented in some Indian and Brazilian slums, are considered by several intentional agencies such as the World Bank and UN Habitat International to be the last if not the only resort for overcoming slum matters. Based on this evaluation, the author culminates this research by a framework of recommendations the Municipality of Jeddah could consider in solving or at least minimizing the social and physical problems of slums. It is worth mentioning here that during the preparation of this research, the author had an opportunity to spend several days in three large favelas (pl. of favela in Portuguese, meaning slum area or shanty town) in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro,