Expansion of the Prophet Mosque as a Catalyst for Sustainable Urban Development in Al-Madinah Almunawarah in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Cities and towns have recently undergone significant transformation, from small forms with identifiable centers and the roles of bearing history and culture into sprawling, amorphous urban areas that have lost their cultural and social identities and functions. The city is defined less by its physical boundaries given the development of suburbia and vast areas with detached buildings. Al-Madinah Almunawarah has undergone major urban transformation due to the expansion of the Prophet's Mosque. It needs an urgent development plan to achieve a sustainable smart green city approach. It is expected that many houses will be razed and replaced with entities with different functions through expansion. This will change the city’s urban form, including its network of architectural shapes and spaces. Hence, it is imperative that these changes reflect the character of the holy city and can add positively to the local way of living.

This paper’s main goal is to develop an integrated coinage for the open space network in Al-Madinah Almunawarah and link it to the future expansion of the Prophet's Mosque. Moreover, the research aim to develop a comprehensive framework for the smart green city approach to be applied and examined on other cities.