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Asmaa Abdelrahman

Asma Abdelrahman portrait

Areas of interest

  • Urban design,
  • Walkability,
  • Open spaces,
  • Landscape,
  • Social interaction.

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Penelope Plaza

Dr Izabela Wieczorek

Research centres and groups

Urban Living Research Group

Research projects

THE SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT OF WALKING IN RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, AS A MODEL FOR WOMEN’S WALKABILITY IN AN ISLAMIC HOT ARID CITY.

Public walks have received great attention in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia since 2020, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic quarantines, which highlighted the lack of public space and walkable streets. The urban form of Riyadh has been shaped by historical, cultural, and political changes which influence walkability. This influence includes differentiation in women’s and men’s walking behaviours in the city. Studies focusing on gender as a factor affecting walkability are limited, especially in the context of Islamic Arabic cities like Riyadh. Hence, studying walkability in Riyadh begins with looking at the old city whose main mode of mobility was walking, to mid-20th century car dependent Doxiades model to Vision 2030 launched in 2016. Vision 2030 endeavours to humanize Saudi cities to safeguard the future by expanding green areas and preserving the existing ones, to enhance people quality of life. This study aims to understand the relationship between walkability and women’s mobility based of the cultural, political and environmental context of Riyadh.

Background

I hold a BA in Architectural Engineering from Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University of Egypt and finished a MSc in Urban Design for the thesis of Design aspects of landscape elements in urban promenades from same university. I am currently working as a Senior Research Associate at Centre for Local Governance, Prince Sultan University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I am an architectural engineer with +10 years’ experience in both academic and design firms’ field. I have a special interest in the relation between social science and urban design and how city planning and design affect people life. This has led to me win "𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝- 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐳 𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐟 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝", the fourth branch of scientific scholarships for my PhD topic.

Websites/blogs

https://www.linkedin.com/in/asmaa-abdelrahman-59308788?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Asmaa-Abdelrahman-7

Selected publications

  • The role of landscaping elements in enhancing passive and active engagement in urban promenade: The case of Pharos Promenade, Alexandria, Egypt
  • Cultural heritage landscape as an approach for urban open spaces sustainable development; Designing for the future starts from our heritage.
  • Evaluating Cultural Heritage Landscape Design as an Approach for Al Bujairi Park Development, Saudi Arabia
  • People-place bonding as an approach for behavior analysis in city development

Publications

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