LESSONS: NATIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY. Learn from International Experiences

The study seeks to inform the update and revision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) National Spatial Strategy by analyzing five international experiences on national spatial frameworks and identifying sustainable and progressive approaches. Case studies include Republic of Korea, Germany, Malaysia, Morocco and China, Germany.

The pre-selection criteria ensured all cases had sufficient information available to analyse, and were from geographically and economically developed and emerging countries. The criteria also included UNHabitat’sassessment framework on sustainable spatial development, as defined by its compactness, social inclusiveness, integration, connectivity and resilience of cities. In order for the study to provide the most insight for the KSA context, the cases also address the development objectives of achieving balanced regional development, diversification of the economy and sustainable development in the face of unique environmental challenges. A table is included after the main findings sections to provide a synthetic comparison of the case studies.