Saudi city goes underground to avert vehicular traffic

City of Unaizah, Erick van Egeraat, Urban Planning, Saudi Arabia, vertical gardens, city planning, pedestrian-friendly city, underground street, underground parking, Saudi Arabia

Is there anything worse than being in a hot city with cars idling, kicking up heat and pollution? We don’t think so, and apparently Erick van Egeraat agrees. The city of Unaizah has approved Egeraat’s plans to build a massive ring road around the city, as well as an underground street.

Erick van Egeraat submitted a plan to build a ring road that encircles the 58-hectare city center. This is a one-way road that has four lanes of traffic. The diameter of the East/West route is 800 meters while the North/South route comprises a diameter of 920 meters.

City of Unaizah, Erick van Egeraat, Urban Planning, Saudi Arabia, vertical gardens, city planning, pedestrian-friendly city, underground street, underground parking, Saudi Arabia

And this is where it gets interesting. The master plan includes an underground street that travels North/South and links, along with the ring road, to an underground parking lot. With this, the design team hopes to limit the aboveground vehicular traffic and ensure easier pedestrian access to the city.

Work has already commenced on the ring road construction, and Egeraat is finalizing the master plan and other building projects.

Related: Saudi Arabia sinks $26 billion in green buildings

City of Unaizah, Erick van Egeraat, Urban Planning, Saudi Arabia, vertical gardens, city planning, pedestrian-friendly city, underground street, underground parking, Saudi Arabia

Included in the city’s upgrade is a push to grow more palm trees inside the city center to reference those that have historically grown just outside the city. Plus this creates an environment that is more conducive to social engagement than one without any green spaces, and provides much needed shade in the brutal heat.

Also on the docket are more retail facilities, residential quarters, a mosque, and a mall. The latter will be decked out with vertical gardens and perhaps even waterworks (we hope they use reclaimed water.)

:: WAN

Tafline Laylin
Tafline Laylinhttp://www.greenprophet.com
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
4 COMMENTS

Comments are closed.

TRENDING

Do you have the greenest city? Apply for this global award

Cities around the world are encouraged to enter their greening initiatives to showcase their achievement and commitment to nature-orientated solutions to address major challenges facing urban environments.

Egypt builds highway through the City of the Dead

Egypt is developing Cairo at the expense of its ancient heritage. It is paving priceless buildings and artefacts to build a highway and a parking lot.

Most of us are urbanites, new UN study

A town in the Faroe Islands. Rural, but pushing on urban, finds new UN study. Most of the world isn't as remote and disconnected as you'd think

Surprising Reasons Why Cities Need More Shade

Urban dwellers need more shade. A recent Israeli report explains why.

Cairo is growing green with living walls on the up!

Egypt isn’t exactly renowned for its vast green spaces...

Turning Your Energy Consultancy into an LLC: 4 Legal Steps for Founders in Texas

If you are starting a renewable energy business in Texas, learn how to start an LLC by the books.

Tracking the Impacts of a Hydroelectric Dam Along the Tigris River

For the next two months, I'll be taking a break from my usual Green Prophet posts to report on a transnational environmental issue: the Ilısu Dam currently under construction in Turkey, and the ways it will transform life along the Tigris River.

6 Payment Processors With the Fastest Onboarding for SMBs

Get your SMB up and running fast with these 6 payment processors. Compare the quickest onboarding options to start accepting customer payments without delay.

Qatar’s climate hypocrisy rides the London Underground

Qatar remains a master of doublethink—burning gas by the megaton while selling “sustainability” to a world desperate for clean air. Wake up from your slumber people.

How Quality of Hire Shapes Modern Recruitment

A 2024 survey by Deloitte found that 76% of talent leaders now consider long-term retention and workforce contribution among their most important hiring success metrics—far surpassing time-to-fill or cost-per-hire. As the expectations for new hires deepen, companies must also confront the inherent challenges in redefining and accurately measuring hiring quality.

8 Team-Building Exercises to Start the Week Off 

Team building to change the world! The best renewable energy companies are ones that function.

Thank you, LinkedIn — and what your Jobs on the Rise report means for sustainable careers

While “green jobs” aren’t always labeled as such, many of the fastest-growing roles are directly enabling the energy transition, climate resilience, and lower-carbon systems: Number one on their list is Artificial Intelligence engineers. But what does that mean? Vibe coding Claude? 

Somali pirates steal oil tankers

The pirates often stage their heists out of Somalia, a lawless country, with a weak central government that is grappling with a violent Islamist insurgency. Using speedboats that swarm the targets, the machine-gun-toting pirates take control of merchant ships and then hold the vessels, crew and cargo for ransom.

Related Articles

Popular Categories