A few months ago, Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed spoke about the problem of slums that have sprung up all over Jeddah city. A decade or so ago the city’s slums were limited in both size and location, but have since expanded to cover large areas resulting in greater stress to an already complicated situation.
Slums usually develop on the periphery of the city, but with more development and the need for additional residential units, construction takes place in areas lying beyond the slums with these absorbed into the city. Within a few years a new slum area would develop on the outskirt of the expanding city, only to be swallowed by further construction.
New immigrants leave their villages, head toward the city, lay hand on the first barren piece of land on their way, build a shack and then settle in with their families. Some laid hand on large swaths of empty land around the city and claimed this to be theirs. The laxity of municipal and other authorities in enforcing the law and the twisted means of obtaining construction permits helped the phenomenon to develop further.
For decades, Jeddah lacked proper urban planning, and when at last plans were laid down the municipality failed to implement them properly.
Slums are no longer confined to specific areas of the city such as southern Jeddah but have encroached even into the fashionable northern areas of the city. Just behind some of the main thoroughfares like Tahliya, Hera and others are found places that Prince Abdul Majeed described as a scar on the face of a beautiful city. Such places now serve as hide-outs for criminals and terrorists.
It is good news knowing that these slums would be demolished, the land owners compensated with the shacks giving way to modern constructions. Businessmen and investors should join such effort. It is a profitable investment project that would definitely help transform Jeddah.
It should be on top of the city’s priorities this year. If no action is taken now, more slums would develop and a day may come when we would start blaming ourselves for allowing things to get out of control.
