JEDDAH: The Friends of Jeddah Program, part of the municipality’s community enhancement activities, is organizing next week a series of awareness campaigns to explain the importance of development in unorganized districts.
The initiative hopes to reduce the amount of distrust among residents toward plans to organize neighborhoods that have cropped up without proper zoning, said Jamal Al-Mundhiri, head of the program.
Al-Mundhiri said the problem in poorly developed districts does not lie just in narrow streets and unauthorized constructions, but also in the social environment in these areas, which are perceived to be havens for drug dealing and other criminal conduct.
Al-Mundhiri said residents of such areas should be educated and rehabilitated so they won’t bring with them their previous social behaviors when they shift to newly organized neighborhoods.
The outreach program comes after the announcement of the development of Al-Ruwais district, near the city’s historic center.
Jeddah Mayor Adel Fakieh signed the document last week with Saleh Malaikah, CEO of Al-Ruwais Union Company for Real Estate Development, which is going to commence a study of the district over the next two months.
The project covers the center of Al-Ruwais district, which is between Al-Andalus Road to the west, King Abdullah Road to the south, Madinah Road to the east and Palestine Road to the north.
