A Framework for Playful Social-Housing Neighborhoods in Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf

A 230.3 KB PDF document authored by Ibrahim Bahreldin and last updated on 2026-04-28. It presents a multi-scalar, climate-responsive framework for designing playful public spaces in social-housing neighborhoods within hot-arid Gulf contexts, based on a qualitative, theory-building methodology.

Use Cases

• Developing climate-responsive urban design guidelines based on the 'shade-first' network principle.
• Evaluating public space performance using metrics like thermal comfort hours (UTCI <32°C).
• Informing policy instruments for embedding play and thermal usability into housing delivery programs.
• Designing post-occupancy evaluation protocols combining microclimate monitoring and behavioral mapping.

Strengths

• Provides a specific, testable framework with five falsifiable propositions (P1–P5).
• Explicitly addresses the unique socio-cultural and hot-arid climatic context of the Arabian Gulf.
• Released under a permissive CC-BY-4.0 license, allowing for broad reuse and adaptation.

Limitations

• The dataset is a single 230.3 KB PDF document; it does not contain structured tabular, geospatial, or observational data.
• Row and column counts are unknown, as the content is a scholarly article rather than a traditional dataset.
• The framework's propositions require empirical testing; the document itself presents a theoretical model.

Provenance

Source

Ibrahim Bahreldin via figshare.

Collection Method

Qualitative, theory-building approach combining narrative literature review, critical analysis of frameworks, and policy/project document review.

Time Range

Theoretical framework; publication date is 2026-04-28.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-28 04:29:02.

Geography

Saudi Arabia and the wider Arabian Gulf region.