New Islamic urbanism: the architecture of public and private space in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Sincethe dawn of the oil era, cities in Saudi Arabia have witnessed a rapid growthand profound societal changes. As a response to foreign architectural solutionsand an increasing popularity of Western lifestyle, a distinct style inarchitecture and urban planning emerged. Characterised by an emphasis onprivacy protection through high enclosures, gates, blinds, and tinted windows, "NewIslamic Urbanism" constitutes for some an important element of piety. Forothers, it enables alternative ways of life, banned social practices, as wellas the formation of publics and counterpublics.

 Tracing theemergence of New Islamic Urbanism, this book sheds new light on thechanging conceptions of public and private space in the Saudi city of Jiddah inthe twentieth century. It challenges thewidespread assumption that the publicsphere is exclusively male in Muslimcontexts such as Saudi Arabia, where women's publicvisibility is limited by the wearing of a veil and strict rules ofgender segregation. Stefan Maneval provides anuanced account of the negotiation of public and private spaces by menand women in Saudia Arabia and shows that therigid segregation regime for which the country isknown serves to constrain the movements of men and women alike.