Environmental Problems of Slum Areas in the Southern of Jeddah "An Exploratory Study"

Abstract

Slum areas, which is the product of several causes of political, economic, social, cultural, is one of the most important environmental problems in cities of Saudi Arabia. These areas, despite the similarity is clear in most of the characteristics of the world, appears in some cases different depending on the combination of economic and urban development of these countries, as well as the reasons that led to its presence in the urban environment. The research aims to study the environmental problems of the slums in the south- ern city of Jeddah, "An Exploratory Study", and depends mainly on a descriptive application approaches. One of the most outcomes of this study is the absence of a drainage system for sewage and runoff water of torrents, leading spread of contaminated wet- lands. Moreover, occurrence of dusty and unpaved streets inside these areas makes the problem worsens and increase of environmental deterioration in the slum areas. There- fore, the study recommended that the central market of cattle and feed and industrial warehouses at south of Jeddah City must be redistributed and moved to places more suitable for their nature and function, where their current places represent a danger to the residents of these areas.