How a slum became a serene neighborhood in Madinah

Prince Faisal bin Salman’s initiative involves community and is done without relocation of residents

The prince asserted that the development of slums in not just an exercise in modernity, but a turning point of a cultural dimension to spread good values, which are the qualities of the people of the same neighborhood, in addition to strengthening the neighbor and the culture of good neighborliness, cooperation and solidarity among families.

Pointing out the unique nature of this experience, the governor said that it relieves the state from the burden of the cost involved and is done without relocating the residents of the neighborhood. Improvements are made with the involvement of the residents and their children.

He added that the idea of developing slums was to engage civil society and its supporters of good people, residents of the neighborhood and government agencies, where these parties combined their efforts in an integrated system which achieved the desired goal of this experiment.

Prince Faisal expressed his thanks and appreciation to all workers and residents of the Hamra Al- Asad district for their continued support.

The prince was briefed during a tour of the neighborhood about improvements that has led to it transforming from a random neighborhood to a model. He met with the residents of the neighborhood during the tour who expressed their appreciation to the government of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for the attention paid to everything that would bring prosperity to the citizen.

For his part, Abdul Qader Hafez, project coordinator, said that the project’s idea emerged from an initiative of Prince Faisal to develop slums of Madinah and turn them into ideal neighborhoods, with the contribution of businessmen in the region, the municipality and the electricity company.

Hafez said this led to the formation of a committee of young people of the neighborhood, which aims to spread a culture among the people of the district, in addition to preserving the beauty of the locality and the improvements that have recently been made.

The neighborhood provided an opportunity for outstanding citizens of Madinah, who excel in calligraphy and wall painting, to display their talent.

The project cost amounted to almost SR1.8 million. It covers an area of almost 28,500 square meters with 37 dwellings housing 42 families.

The windows of the houses have been designed in a geometric way that forms an integrated fabric making the visitor feel that they are in a single urban block in harmony with each other.

The five Islamic bows that are located at the Prophet’s Mosque have been

used, in addition to the use of colors that combine contemporary art and heritage.

At building entrances, there is a curtain design for doors to take into account the privacy of inmates.

Also, Arabic thread was used in the design to give the curtains an Islamic identity with positive messages written in Arabic calligraphy.

Air conditioner coverings were designed as paintings of Arabic letters which gives an additional value of the importance of the Arabic language and its beauty in art and design.

Madinah stone was used in the design to give a strong base to the buildings, and to protect them from external factors, as well as to connect the buildings to the outer surrounding environment.

Stone was also used in paving streets and was laid around homes to make them look in harmony with the buildings as a single block interconnected visually and architecturally.

MADINAH: Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman inaugurated a project to develop and improve the neighborhood of Hamra Al- Asad and turn it into an area of physical and aesthetic beauty based on Islamic style.