JEDDAH — The initiative of three women to gain support to build a park for their neighborhood to better recreational facilities for their children and which saw light seven years later was one of two inspiring models discussed by a panel at the Jeddah Economic Forum yesterday.
The panel was hosted by the CNN’s John Defterios and included David Sucher, author of “City Comforts: How to build an Urban Village,” Saudi Businessmen Tariq Faqih and Eng. Mohammed Fayez, and IDB Chairman Ahmed Mohammed Ali.
Fayez emphasized the importance that the private sector can play in cooperating with government and municipal efforts to create green spaces in Jeddah.
He added that the initiative taken by the three mothers led to the creation of the Jeddah Parks Friends Society. With cooperation from the JCCI and Jeddah Municipality, the three mothers succeeded in building Faisal Sports Park.
The other model discussed was Jabal Omar, a mega project constructed on the doorsteps of the Grand Mosque in Makkah in a random residential neighborhood.
Tariq Faqih explained how the project first serviced the landowners in addition to utilizing thousands of jobs with the capacity to withhold 150,000 worshippers and 45,000 residents when complete.
IDB Chairman Ahmed Mohammed Ali said, “No segment of society should be marginalized from the developing process.” He added that we should learn from past lessons and not ignore a large part of the community. He said poverty has been the banks’ biggest challenge and conveyed the bank’s full support. “We are ready to exchange expertise with the concern sectors.”
Sucher said that he noticed that Gulf countries build their cities, especially Dubai, without supporting the quality of life. He said that “great cities of the world have a very similar urban form.”
At the end of the discussion, attendees voted on the question of whether Saudi Arabia should reach out to other cultures to help build communities. Ninety percent said yes while only 10 percent answered no.
