The crooked teeth of Jeddah’s smile
No matter how lovely and beautiful a face might be if the smile displays crooked, uneven and stained teeth the initial enchantment is immediately diminished. This is the case with Jeddah.
Most people would say that Jeddah is a beautiful city and has the potential to compete with cities in the region in attracting tourists if only there were better infrastructure and services. A few decades ago Jeddah was that city; despite its much lower population at the time, it was at the vanguard of landscaped seafronts, entertainment complexes and malls, clean streets, a well-preserved historic district, and a modest but maintained infrastructure. Back them Dubai was not even close and hardly mentioned as a destination for tourism.
Today, when we visit Dubai, we are filled with grief, heartbreak and envy at how much it has progressed and left Jeddah behind drowning in its stinky sewages and scrambling to fix its dilapidated airport and potholed streets.
So what happened? I think we all know the answer to that question by now.
It is agonizing and distressing to think of what happened to Jeddah during the past few decades. I wonder how those who know they are responsible can sleep at night? I don’t know how can they say they love this country and this city while purposely and knowingly go about bleeding it to death and destroying it.
Many have wrote about this issue and lately there are attempts to renovate Jeddah, which is a good thing, but I hope the officials take into consideration quality and effectiveness when planning and implementing the changes and developments.
Here I want to address one point in particular. A few years ago, in an attempt to supposedly reevaluate the planning of districts, the decision-makers made the decision, without consulting residents or studying the matter from all aspects, to allow seven-story buildings and higher to rise up in the middle of already planned and existing two-story neighborhoods. They changed the regulations that were enforced for decades to permit these high-rises as long as they are on a main street.
So, now you drive by a nice wide street and you see a seven-story building — with commercial stores on the ground floor in the middle of a row of villas like an obnoxious monstrosity. Not to mention the horrible traffic congestion they create in surrounding streets where parking space is limited. There is such an eyesore in almost every neighborhood that was once well planned and chic, except perhaps where those decision-makers live.
Anyone who has traveled to cities anywhere in the world, has seen neighborhoods with strict height regulations and zoning laws that do not allow stores and businesses to open in the middle of residential areas.
There could be residential apartments and houses in the same neighborhood but they will be on opposite sides of a wide street or highway, not on the same block.
If you ask about the owners of these high-rises, you will not be surprised to find out that they are well connected to the decision-makers or actually officials within the municipality.
Many people have complained and filed court cases, but clearly these people are not as important and influential as the greedy landowners who want to build a high-rise with complete disrespect to their neighbors and disregard to any aesthetics or security concerns. Actions that are certainly un-Islamic and uncivilized.
@MahaAkeel1
