Regional development planning in Saudi Arabia: an evaluation of public service provision in Asir region
Regional development planning in Saudi Arabia: an evaluation of public service provision in Asir region
Since the early 1970s, Saudi Arabia has made considerable progress in developing the physical and socio-economic infrastructure of the Kingdom. The provision of public services has been expanded rapidly. However, with a strongly centralized planning system the regional dimension in planning has been insufficiently considered. Regional and rural-urban imbalances have increased. Rural areas have benefitted far less from economic development or the provision of basic services.
This study examines and evaluates public service provision within the context of regional development problems in Asir Province, one of the lagging regions in Saudi Arabia. It focusses mainly on three areas of public provision: education, health and municipal facilities. It looks at the progress and problems of the provision of those services at the regional scale (Asir Province), and the subregional scale (Sarat Abidah Subregion). Asir is a well settled area of predominantly village population, as is the subregion which was selected for more detailed study on the basis of extensive field studies and questionnaire surveys.
The study shows that the provision of educational and health facilities, which have undergone vast expansion in recent years, still leaves many communities with inadequate access to those services, particularly in the more nomadic areas. Municipal facilities appear to have been less successful in reaching out to rural areas.
On the basis of detailed analysis of services and their use in the subregion the study attempts to provide a development approach based on the elaboration of a hierarchy of central places to guide the future provision of public services and facilities. The same approach might be adopted elsewhere in Saudi Arabia. The study also points out some broader lessons learnt from the study which may help improve public service development in Saudi Arabia.
University of Southampton
Al-Kahtani, Mohammed Mofareh
50f09024-116f-4419-a53a-ee9f70d87eff
1988
Al-Kahtani, Mohammed Mofareh
50f09024-116f-4419-a53a-ee9f70d87eff
Birch, B.P.
ba000796-76be-4714-9909-0f6dbfa32f47
Al-Kahtani, Mohammed Mofareh
(1988)
Regional development planning in Saudi Arabia: an evaluation of public service provision in Asir region.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis, 633pp.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
Since the early 1970s, Saudi Arabia has made considerable progress in developing the physical and socio-economic infrastructure of the Kingdom. The provision of public services has been expanded rapidly. However, with a strongly centralized planning system the regional dimension in planning has been insufficiently considered. Regional and rural-urban imbalances have increased. Rural areas have benefitted far less from economic development or the provision of basic services.
This study examines and evaluates public service provision within the context of regional development problems in Asir Province, one of the lagging regions in Saudi Arabia. It focusses mainly on three areas of public provision: education, health and municipal facilities. It looks at the progress and problems of the provision of those services at the regional scale (Asir Province), and the subregional scale (Sarat Abidah Subregion). Asir is a well settled area of predominantly village population, as is the subregion which was selected for more detailed study on the basis of extensive field studies and questionnaire surveys.
The study shows that the provision of educational and health facilities, which have undergone vast expansion in recent years, still leaves many communities with inadequate access to those services, particularly in the more nomadic areas. Municipal facilities appear to have been less successful in reaching out to rural areas.
On the basis of detailed analysis of services and their use in the subregion the study attempts to provide a development approach based on the elaboration of a hierarchy of central places to guide the future provision of public services and facilities. The same approach might be adopted elsewhere in Saudi Arabia. The study also points out some broader lessons learnt from the study which may help improve public service development in Saudi Arabia.
Text
Al-Kahtani 1988 Thesis
- Version of Record
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Published date: 1988
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Local EPrints ID: 460927
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/460927
PURE UUID: 32906c6f-3b35-41dd-97af-67f91d76e9d6
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 18:32
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 18:43
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Contributors
Author:
Mohammed Mofareh Al-Kahtani
Thesis advisor:
B.P. Birch
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