GIS-Based Public Services Analysis Based on Municipal Election Areas: A Methodological Approach for the City of Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Gomaa M. Dawod, Meraj N. Mirza, Ramze A. Elzahrany, Khalid A. Al-Ghamdi
Deaprtment of Geography, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
التحليل المكاني لتوزيع الخدمات الحكومية علي مستوي الدوائرالانتخابية: منهجية جديدة بالتطبيق علي مدينة مكة المكرمة
د. جمعة داوود
د. معراج مرزا
د. رمزي الزهراني
د. خالد الغامدي
ABSTRACT :
The spatial fairness of public services is a major aspect in offering a healthy and cheerful living environment in a city. The Geographic Information System (GIS) technology has been applied to investigate the spatial distribution of some selected public services over the municipal election areas within Makkah city, Saudi Arabia.
These services include education, health, security, religious, commercial, and sports services. The attained results show that except for religious services, other public services are not quantitatively proportional with the population variations in Makkah.
It has been found that the third election area posses almost one third of five public services and two thirds of the sport services. That might be attributed to the fact that the third election area possesses almost a quarter of the city population.
But, although the first election area has a closer percentage of the total population, it does not include a comparable percentage of public services. On a spatial basis, results of GIS spatial analysis (particularly the Euclidian distance, the mean distance band to a neighbor, the standard distance, the directional distribution ellipse, and the average nearest neighbor ratio tools) have concluded that there is inequity in the services distribution over municipal election areas in Makkah city.
Consequently, it is recommended that local planners and decision makers should take the obtained results into consideration to achieve fair and better distribution of public services in the city.
1. Introduction :
Public services and facilities are essential for residents in any city all over the world in general, and in developing countries in particular. Governments start to rethink the delivery of public services in order to enhance their quality and quantity, to meet public’s needs and expectations [1]. Improving efficiency of basic public services for residents has been recognized as one of the major ways of promoting sound human settlements, good health, and appropriate and decent living conditions. Assessing efficiency of public services is multidimensional and includes several factors such as geographic and financial accessibility, availability, quantity, distribution, quality, and clients’ satisfaction. However, spatial distribution is of great importance. Thus, spatial analysis of public services distribution gains an increasing attention in the last decades from both geographic and environmental perspectives [2]. Moreover, the issue of spatial equity of urban public facilities has proliferated recently from both planning and geographic points of view, trying to arrive to the so-called spatial justice [3]. Diagnosing the current situation of a public service is quite essential in planning its new spatial locations in order to increase the service availability and accessibility to residents [4]. Geographic Information System (GIS) plays an important technical role in spatial analysis of geographic features. GIS has been utilized in a wide range of mapping and analysis applications all over the world in general, and in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in particular. Such GIS applications include, for instance, urban growth monitoring [5], flood management [6], and health services’ spatial analysis [7]. Concerning services spatial analysis, GIS has been applied in several studies. For example, Zhou et al. [8] have utilized GIS to identify and map the distribution pattern of public and community facilities in a study area in four neighboring sub-districts in Beijing, China and to analyze their spatial equity. Moreover, Mavo et al. [9] investigated the utilization of GIS to assess accessibility of public transit in New Zealand. Similarly, GIS was used to develop a site suitability model for social services in Atlanta city [10]. In addition, GIS has been applied to identify spatio-temporal gaps in public transportation services in Belgium [11]. In Saudi Arabia, public services are mainly provided by the government with significant attention to the holy city of Makkah. During the period 1990 to 2010, Makkah total residential area had been increased from 99.23 to 158.58 square kilometers, with 4.8% annual rate [5]. In addition, the annual population growth rate in KSA is almost 2.9%. Both growing rates emphasize the need for new public services in terms of quantities and spatial distribution. This paper utilizes GIS for mapping and analyzing the distribution of existing public services based on municipal election areas in Makkah.
2. The Study Area :
Makkah city is located in the western region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), about 80 km east of the Red Sea (Figure 1). It extends from longitudes 39˚35'E to 40˚02'E, and from latitudes 21˚09'N to 21˚37'N. Makkah city is a sacred city for all Muslims; since it houses Al-Masjid Al-Haram (the Holy Mosque). All Muslim are expected to perform Hajj “pilgrimage” to Makkah once in their life time if they can afford it. Thus, million Muslims gather in Makkah yearly. Also, Muslims perform Omrah “a religious visit to Makkah” all over the years. The religious functionality of Makkah is an important factor to be considered when analyzing its services distribution. For instance, there are several seasonal allocations of public services, e.g. health and security services, in the holy sites. The seasonal services have been excluded in the current research. Moreover, the topography of Makkah is complex, and several mountainous areas exist inside its metropolitan area. That is a vital element in investigating the spatial pattern of Makkah sprawl and service spatial locations. Terrain elevations in Makkah (Figure 2) range from 82 to 982 meters above sea level [12]. Al-Ghamdi et al. [5] have concluded that the urban growth in Makkah city (between 1947 and 2010) take a radial (or spoke) pattern. That is logically understood knowing that the holy mosque is considered the center of the city, and the central area around it has the highest population density since residents and pilgrims prefer to stay close to this holy mosque.
Makkah city is composed of 60 districts, one of them is a special area containing the holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifa, and Arafat. This last district is excluded from the current study, since its public services are seasonal in nature and operate only during the pilgrimage seasons. There are seven municipal election areas in Makkah, where the seventh area contains the western villages outside the urban extents of the city. Hence, only the six urban municipal election areas within the city have been considered in this study (Figure 3). Table 1 and Figure 4 present the population relative distribution over the municipal election areas of Makkah city. It can be seen the third election area posses the highest population percentage, and it contains more than a quarter of the city total population. The first election area, which is the central area of the city, ranks second. The fifth and sixth municipal election areas contain the least population portions, since they are newly urbanized areas.
6. Conclusion :
Improving the availability of public services to residents is a key element of the Saudi government development plans. Makkah city is inhibited by more than a million. It is also considered the most important city for all Muslims; millions of Muslims visit it annually. This paper has applied GIS technology to investigate the statistical and spatial distributions of some selected public services of municipal election areas in Makkah. Several GIS spatial analysis tools, along with statistical tests, have been utilized to precisely depict the current situation of public services variations and to project the needed public services in the year 2020. Several accomplished results emphasis the inequality nature of the current public service distribution over municipal election areas. For example, most public services show weak correlation with population distribution, and the general spatial pattern of the services distribution was found to be clustered. In particular, the sports services show unfairness in their spatial distribution over current the urbanized extents of Makkah. This study presents a methodological approach for analyzing the spatial distribution of public services in a city based on municipal election areas. Consequently, such a new GIS-based approach could stimulate researchers and planners in other Saudi cities. Thus, it is recommended that the accomplished results should be considered, by local decision makers, in the future city planning in order to afford more justice availability of public services. Download.
1. Introduction :
Public services and facilities are essential for residents in any city all over the world in general, and in developing countries in particular. Governments start to rethink the delivery of public services in order to enhance their quality and quantity, to meet public’s needs and expectations [1]. Improving efficiency of basic public services for residents has been recognized as one of the major ways of promoting sound human settlements, good health, and appropriate and decent living conditions. Assessing efficiency of public services is multidimensional and includes several factors such as geographic and financial accessibility, availability, quantity, distribution, quality, and clients’ satisfaction. However, spatial distribution is of great importance. Thus, spatial analysis of public services distribution gains an increasing attention in the last decades from both geographic and environmental perspectives [2]. Moreover, the issue of spatial equity of urban public facilities has proliferated recently from both planning and geographic points of view, trying to arrive to the so-called spatial justice [3]. Diagnosing the current situation of a public service is quite essential in planning its new spatial locations in order to increase the service availability and accessibility to residents [4]. Geographic Information System (GIS) plays an important technical role in spatial analysis of geographic features. GIS has been utilized in a wide range of mapping and analysis applications all over the world in general, and in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in particular. Such GIS applications include, for instance, urban growth monitoring [5], flood management [6], and health services’ spatial analysis [7]. Concerning services spatial analysis, GIS has been applied in several studies. For example, Zhou et al. [8] have utilized GIS to identify and map the distribution pattern of public and community facilities in a study area in four neighboring sub-districts in Beijing, China and to analyze their spatial equity. Moreover, Mavo et al. [9] investigated the utilization of GIS to assess accessibility of public transit in New Zealand. Similarly, GIS was used to develop a site suitability model for social services in Atlanta city [10]. In addition, GIS has been applied to identify spatio-temporal gaps in public transportation services in Belgium [11]. In Saudi Arabia, public services are mainly provided by the government with significant attention to the holy city of Makkah. During the period 1990 to 2010, Makkah total residential area had been increased from 99.23 to 158.58 square kilometers, with 4.8% annual rate [5]. In addition, the annual population growth rate in KSA is almost 2.9%. Both growing rates emphasize the need for new public services in terms of quantities and spatial distribution. This paper utilizes GIS for mapping and analyzing the distribution of existing public services based on municipal election areas in Makkah.
2. The Study Area :
Makkah city is located in the western region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), about 80 km east of the Red Sea (Figure 1). It extends from longitudes 39˚35'E to 40˚02'E, and from latitudes 21˚09'N to 21˚37'N. Makkah city is a sacred city for all Muslims; since it houses Al-Masjid Al-Haram (the Holy Mosque). All Muslim are expected to perform Hajj “pilgrimage” to Makkah once in their life time if they can afford it. Thus, million Muslims gather in Makkah yearly. Also, Muslims perform Omrah “a religious visit to Makkah” all over the years. The religious functionality of Makkah is an important factor to be considered when analyzing its services distribution. For instance, there are several seasonal allocations of public services, e.g. health and security services, in the holy sites. The seasonal services have been excluded in the current research. Moreover, the topography of Makkah is complex, and several mountainous areas exist inside its metropolitan area. That is a vital element in investigating the spatial pattern of Makkah sprawl and service spatial locations. Terrain elevations in Makkah (Figure 2) range from 82 to 982 meters above sea level [12]. Al-Ghamdi et al. [5] have concluded that the urban growth in Makkah city (between 1947 and 2010) take a radial (or spoke) pattern. That is logically understood knowing that the holy mosque is considered the center of the city, and the central area around it has the highest population density since residents and pilgrims prefer to stay close to this holy mosque.
Makkah city is composed of 60 districts, one of them is a special area containing the holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifa, and Arafat. This last district is excluded from the current study, since its public services are seasonal in nature and operate only during the pilgrimage seasons. There are seven municipal election areas in Makkah, where the seventh area contains the western villages outside the urban extents of the city. Hence, only the six urban municipal election areas within the city have been considered in this study (Figure 3). Table 1 and Figure 4 present the population relative distribution over the municipal election areas of Makkah city. It can be seen the third election area posses the highest population percentage, and it contains more than a quarter of the city total population. The first election area, which is the central area of the city, ranks second. The fifth and sixth municipal election areas contain the least population portions, since they are newly urbanized areas.
6. Conclusion :
Improving the availability of public services to residents is a key element of the Saudi government development plans. Makkah city is inhibited by more than a million. It is also considered the most important city for all Muslims; millions of Muslims visit it annually. This paper has applied GIS technology to investigate the statistical and spatial distributions of some selected public services of municipal election areas in Makkah. Several GIS spatial analysis tools, along with statistical tests, have been utilized to precisely depict the current situation of public services variations and to project the needed public services in the year 2020. Several accomplished results emphasis the inequality nature of the current public service distribution over municipal election areas. For example, most public services show weak correlation with population distribution, and the general spatial pattern of the services distribution was found to be clustered. In particular, the sports services show unfairness in their spatial distribution over current the urbanized extents of Makkah. This study presents a methodological approach for analyzing the spatial distribution of public services in a city based on municipal election areas. Consequently, such a new GIS-based approach could stimulate researchers and planners in other Saudi cities. Thus, it is recommended that the accomplished results should be considered, by local decision makers, in the future city planning in order to afford more justice availability of public services. Download.
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Cite this paper :
G. Dawod, M. Mirza, R. Elzahrany and K. Al-Ghamdi, "GIS-Based Public Services Analysis Based on Municipal Election Areas: A Methodological Approach for the City of Makkah, Saudi Arabia," Journal of Geographic Information System, Vol. 5 No. 4, 2013, pp. 378-395. doi:
Journal of GIS - المجلة الدولية لنظم المعلومات الجغرافية - أغسطس 2013 .
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