JEDDAH, 20 August 2005 — Families scatter around Jeddah looking for a place to spread a carpet and have a picnic. The problem with this is that there are too few public parks or grassy areas for them to do this. It is important for a city the size of Jeddah to have wide green spaces from which families and individuals can take pleasure.
“About 30 percent of the planned area is designated for roads, mosques and gardens or parks,” said Jeddah Municipality architect Sami Nawar about planning for residential districts.
Yet the public parks and gardens that are being planned are not up to the planned standards — assuming they get built in the first place. These parks or gardens may have green grass and trees, but few have playgrounds, benches, or even trash cans. Many of the so-called parks and gardens are green areas between intersections or are road medians. They are neither large areas designed for families where several can sit in at the same time, nor are they safe as they are usually surrounded by major roads. Families have reacted to this shortage by finding open spaces around the city to picnic. Most of the time, they go to remote areas of rocks and harsh sand.
“My family and I go to an area that has land for sale,” said a father of four. “It’s all sand, but at least it’s a big space. We’re not the only family there; many are around us doing the same thing — looking for a place to enjoy a night out with family with little expense.”
Future planning and development of an area need to include public parks. Parks and open spaces not only add to the value of the land, which boosts the economy, they also build civic pride, beautify an area, create a friendly environment and generally increase the quality of life.
“No one would say no to a public park,” said Mona, a mother of two. “As long as the park is well maintained, people will go to it.”
Many agreed that despite the heat of the day in Jeddah, after sunset, the weather is bearable, and it’s worth spending time out.
A park can be more than an open space with grass and trees; Saudi parks could take after the American model, which include large ponds, basketball courts, playgrounds, soccer fields, picnic areas and more. Of course, not every park would be of this magnitude, but there should be at least two such parks in the city.
Adding public parks to new developing areas will not be an expensive addition to the city of Jeddah as the outcome will be worth the expense. The municipal authorities need to take this issue more seriously and realize that the beauty of this city reflects on them and the happiness of its people is their responsibility.
