Rethinking sustainable public realm for Saudi Arabia’s climate

Saudi Arabia has a long tradition of communal spaces where people gather and celebrate community life. Through Vision 2030 and the Quality of Life Program, the Kingdom is building on this legacy, transforming parks and boulevards into vibrant public realm that supports more connected cities. As the Kingdom delivers a new generation of large-scale developments, expectations are also evolving to create spaces that support everyday life, culture and major events while responding to the realities of intense heat and water scarcity.  

Our integrated sustainability approach helps design teams respond to these challenges by providing strategies that improve climate resilience, human comfort and wellbeing, while addressing environmental performance and nature. This blog explores how these strategies can create comfortable and resilient public realm suited to Saudi Arabia’s climate and ambitions.

Designing for people in a demanding climate

Creating public realm that supports wellbeing starts with understanding how people experience the space in the local climate. Thermal comfort is influenced by solar exposure, shade, wind, vegetation and surrounding surfaces, so these conditions need to be considered together. Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) analysis can identify heat-stress hotspots and test how changes to the landscape affect thermal comfort. On a major public realm project in Riyadh, shaded areas showed temperature reductions of 6–10°C compared with unshaded areas during peak summer, demonstrating the impact targeted design decisions can have on space usability.

Pedestrian and cycling routes, seating areas and gathering spaces have different patterns of use and exposure. UTCI analysis can test movement routes against 40% shade targets and gathering areas against higher 50% targets, identifying where additional trees or structures are needed. Where passive measures are insufficient, misting can further extend usability. A combination of these measures utilised during critical summer hours from 12–6pm showed an increase in the annual thermally comfortable hours from 46% to 63%, resulting in significantly more hours each year when outdoor conditions are comfortable for occupants.

Balancing comfort with water efficiency  

Greening public realm spaces can support shade, comfort and wellbeing, but in an arid, water-scarce climate it also creates additional water demand. Sustainability recommendations therefore need to consider the relationship between the amount of planting provided, the species selected, irrigation efficiency and the source of water from the outset. This allows the wider design team to optimise the public realm without placing unnecessary pressure on water resources.  

Native and adaptive planting combined with efficient irrigation can demonstrate more than 50% reduction in outdoor water demand. This demand can then be addressed through alternative water supply, such as treated sewerage effluent (TSE), resulting in 100% reduction of potable water use for irrigation. 

Embedding performance into material decisions

Material choices can have a direct impact on how public realm performs, particularly in Saudi Arabia’s hot climate. Testing materials for their Solar Reflectance Index (SRI), rather than assuming a locally appropriate material helps achieving the required thermal performance and provides evidence for specification decisions. Where an SRI of 45 or above is sought to minimise heat absorption and support a cooler outdoor environment, materials such as Riyadh stone, granite and gravel can be tested early to reduce the risk of performance gaps later. 

Supplier certification and evidence of reused or recycled content and sustainability sourced materials can help verify environmental performance, ensuring material choices respond not only to the character of the place, but also to the long-term sustainability objectives of the project.

Turning sustainability ambitions into measurable outcomes

Our role as multi-disciplinary consultants and sustainability advisors is to translate wider sustainability and wellbeing ambitions into an integrated framework with clear KPIs that inform decisions throughout design. This holistic approach establishes targets for comfort, performance and resilience  while considering circular economy principles and whole-life carbon and biodiversity to address longer-term resource use and environmental impact. 

Sustainability frameworks such as SITES, LEED for Cities & Communities and Mostadam Communities provide structured criteria for assessing how projects deliver on these priorities. Having supported numerous local projects pursuing these certifications, we have found that considering project requirements early helps embed sustainability into design rather than treating certification as a later compliance exercise.