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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.