Challenges and Opportunities for Small Cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Study of Expert Perceptions
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Literature Review
1.2. Urban Growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
1.3. Small Cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
1.4. Growing Cities and the Challenges of Economic Clusters
1.5. Urban Governance of Small Cities
1.6. Relationships and Interconnections between Small Cities and Large Cities
1.7. Enhancing Sustainable Economic Development Opportunities in Small Cities
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Setting
2.2. Research Method
2.3. Data Collection
2.4. Data Analysis
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Sample of Experts
3.2. Assessment of Small City Infrastructure
3.3. Perception of Economic Activities of Small Cities
3.4. Urban Governance and Relationships
3.5. Potential for Development
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Survey Sections | Question Types |
---|---|
1. Demographics | Four multiple choice items (education, specialization, professional experience, and employment) |
2. Infrastructure | Eight items to assess on a Likert 5-point scale |
3. Economic Activities | Four items on a Likert 5-point scale |
4. Management | Three multiple choice items (with open question if other), Likert 5-point scale, open question |
5. Relationships | Three multiple choice items (with open question if other), Likert 5-point scale, open question |
6. Development | Five items: four Likert 5-point scale and one open-ended question |
Areas of Specialization | % of Total |
---|---|
Urban Planning and Design | 39 |
Architecture | 9 |
Engineering | 23 |
Business Administration | 11 |
Geography | 18 |
Factor | % Agree | Neutral | % Disagree |
---|---|---|---|
Primary Economic Activities | 33 | 40 | 26 |
Secondary Economic Activities | 24 | 37 | 39 |
Tertiary Economic Activities | 35 | 35 | 30 |
Factor | % Strongly Agree | % Agree | % Neutral | % Disagree | % Strongly Disagree |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Raising the efficiency of infrastructure * | 46 | 38 | 12 | 3 | 0 |
Developing legislation that creates integration | 53 | 31 | 13 | 3 | 0 |
Providing a competitive advantage | 50 | 40 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
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Alarabi, S.; Alasmari, F. Challenges and Opportunities for Small Cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Study of Expert Perceptions. Sustainability 2023, 15, 6960. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086960
Alarabi S, Alasmari F. Challenges and Opportunities for Small Cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Study of Expert Perceptions. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6960. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086960
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlarabi, Sameeh, and Fawaz Alasmari. 2023. "Challenges and Opportunities for Small Cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Study of Expert Perceptions" Sustainability 15, no. 8: 6960. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086960