This research examines the transportation system in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, specifically focusing on integrating intelligent and sustainable practices to address its current and emerging challenges. Central to these challenges are the city’s heavy reliance on private vehicles, an underdeveloped public transportation network, and the unique climatic conditions that pose additional complexities. This study adopts a multidimensional approach. It analyzes various factors, including technological advancements in transportation, sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, and the cultural and policy landscapes that shape transportation systems. It draws parallels and contrasts with transportation systems in urban settings similar to Jeddah, such as Dubai and Riyadh, to understand the potential and applicability of various solutions. One of the critical areas explored is the potential for intelligent transportation systems to revolutionize traffic management and enhance the efficiency and safety of the transportation network in Jeddah. The study also delves into the prospects of developing a sustainable public transit system that can reduce the city’s dependence on private vehicles and contribute to environmental conservation. Moreover, the research acknowledges the critical role of cultural influences in shaping transportation preferences and practices in Jeddah. It highlights the importance of culturally sensitive urban planning and policy making, ensuring that the proposed transportation solutions are not only technologically sound and environmentally sustainable but also aligned with the social and cultural fabric of the city. The study’s findings agree that a successful overhaul of Jeddah’s transportation system will require a synergistic blend of technological innovation, comprehensive policy reform, and a deep understanding of cultural nuances. The research underscores the necessity of this integrated approach as a blueprint for transforming urban transportation in Jeddah, setting a precedent for other cities with similar challenges.

The increase of land surface temperature (LST) because of the urban growth and spatial expansion specially in developing country have shown many negative impacts on the health and quality of life of people, nowadays some cities experience much warmer temperatures than nearby rural areas, causes what is known as the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon. This study investigates alterations in vegetation and land surface temperature over space and time due to the Green Riyadh Project, employing remote sensing techniques. Multi-temporal Landsat images of the study area from 2018 and 2022, were processed in order to derive The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and LST are being considered. Change detection methods were used to indicate the changes between the two time periods. Based on the results of this study, NDVI values show that the vegetated areas in Riyadh have not increased between (2018 and 2022). While the LST values show that the total area of UHIs has increased between (2018 and 2022). The change detection in vegetation indicates that there was a decrease in vegetation, mostly in urban areas. Where the change detection of surface temperature indicates huge areas where temperature has increased, mostly in the rural are-as, leaving few areas where the temperature has decreased. This means that the present amount of vegetation has still not made an impact in terms of decreasing the LST. Therefore, there is a need for more effort to be made in increasing the green areas within the urban environment of Riyadh.

During Hajj, Muslims throughout the globe assemble at the holy sites in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government aims to increase the number of pilgrims. To ensure the pilgrims’ safety from the impact of surface urban heat island (SUHI), a scientific approach using artificial intelligence and Earth observation (EO) is recommended for crowd management and human health. SUHI is usually measured using satellite LST data. UHIs impact the walkability of cities in hot climates. The development of digital technologies has provided researchers with a better understanding of crowd management modeling to control such a mass gathering, especially within the summer season and in drought regions. In this study, an approach was used to detect the UHI in holy sites and understand the factors causing them. To achieve this goal, EO data were used to calculate the LST using the Landsat 8 thermal band (TIRS) and calculating the surface emissivity and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Then, UHIs were identified by adding the mean of the LST to half of its standard deviation. Based on the results of this study, LST had a strong correlation with NDVI (negative) in Arafah. In addition, the strength of the correlation became much weaker within Mina and Muzdalifah. As for the correlation of LST and elevation, the strength appeared to be weak but negative in Arafah, but stronger in Muzdalifah and Mina. The results show that there is a certain correlation between LST, NDVI, and NDBI and elevation in the study area. Using Earth observation technologies can help in studying climate change.

This qualitative study aims to explore the applicability of Twitter as a valuable data source for research on public spaces, with a particular focus on public spaces within the context of Saudi Arabia. The study’s primary objective is to demonstrate Twitter’s efficiency in providing data that would otherwise require substantial time and resources using conventional research methods. Additionally, the study aims to highlight Twitter’s role in monitoring the progress and success of a local urban project. Furthermore, it examines how individuals utilize Twitter to share their experiences and interactions with public spaces, specifically examining content related to a local placemaking initiative in one of Saudi Arabia’s largest cities. To achieve this, a convenience sample of 113 consecutive tweets associated with the local initiative was collected from Twitter. The tweets were then subjected to a thorough thematic analysis framework, yielding three overarching themes: (1) Positive impact and community engagement; (2) Enhancement of the city’s visual landscape; and (3) Community collaboration through volunteer work. These categories provide a comprehensive framework to explore and comprehend the multifaceted dimensions of public space discourse on Twitter. The research presented in this study contributes significantly to the expanding body of knowledge concerning the utilization of social media data for urban research and offers valuable practical implications for planners, designers, and policymakers involved in the development and enhancement of public spaces.

Research on urban transport and mobility through everyday practices has generated new theoretical and methodological approaches to achieve more sustainable urban morphologies. This paper focuses on the characterization of the process of urban (re)qualification through the binomial of public space–public transport, based on the analysis of Trambesòs tramway in Barcelona, from 2004 to the present. This methodology consisted of an exploratory morphological analysis that identified patterns derived from punctual interventions, articulation axes, and saturation pieces in the urban fabric. The results revealed three main morphological patterns: the configuration of a particular character in each public space intervention associated with the tramway, the morphological improvement and dynamization of the urban fabric, and the transformation of the city’s image through the standardization of accessibility conditions, a key social sustainability indicator. In the discussion, the results are triangulated with the concepts of urban morphology and social processes and compared with quantitative studies, which can serve as a foundation for further in-depth research. In conclusion, the tramway has facilitated a transition from urban discontinuity and segregation to continuity and cohesion, highlighting the impact of the public space–public transport binomial on more sustainable urban morphologies. This contributes to how urban morphological analysis provides new approaches to understanding public transport as an extension of public space and support for urban habitability.

Bioclimatic design is a design process that takes into account climate and environmental conditions when designing for optimum thermal comfort with minimum outside energy use. The present study intends to highlight the role of the bioclimatic analysis in design operations at both, urban and architectural scale in Guelma city, Algeria. As our challenge is to provide a precise analysis of the climatic conditions, we have resorted to several methods and bioclimatic tools using climatic data from the decade from 2008 to 2017. Each tool consists of presenting and following the intersection of one or more climatic parameters with respect to time. As a result, we have located the bioclimatic floor to which Guelma city belongs, the overheating, the under heating and the comfortable zones have been determined. The findings are significant to draw up the main recommendations and requirements for a bioclimatic design for Guelma city in particular and for regions with semi-arid climate in general.