A vision for a walkable, human-centred city extension that blends learning, living & public life — unlocking new patterns of interaction & urban experience.

The opportunity

The project represents a bold new vision for urban living — one that redefines how cities can support human connection, environmental sustainability and technological advancement.

Set within the Riyadh context, it offers the chance to create a city deeply rooted in local culture and fully prepared to address global challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity and public health.

The ambition is to design a truly walkable, human-scaled city, free from car dependence — one that fosters serendipitous interactions, supports active lifestyles and offers a vibrant public realm through shaded streets, cultural spaces and ecological integration.

The project’s unique opportunity lies in its ability to fuse lessons from historic cities with future-facing digital tools. It enables a multi-scalar, systems thinking approach to city-making — from region to neighbourhood — using data, AI and machine learning to guide urban form, infrastructure and social experience.

The project provides a model for how cities can grow flexibly around human needs while remaining resilient to economic and environmental change.

Our contribution

50+ years of global urban research have been used to link spatial design decisions to measurable social, environmental and economic outcomes.

Around this knowledge, we developed a digitally-augmented design process that used advanced spatial analysis, AI and machine learning to guide every stage of design.

This approach allowed us to ‘grow’ the city from the movement network up — beginning with a fine-grained pedestrian-first street layout that shapes development plots, land uses, massing and infrastructure in a way that supports liveability and flexibility.

Beyond modelling, systems thinking at every scale has been embedded: aligning urban form with climate adaptation strategies, integrated utilities, mobility networks and a framework of inclusive neighbourhoods.

Our team shaped not only a physical city but a resilient urban code — a set of spatial and infrastructural principles that can accommodate everything from iconic towers and cultural venues to family homes and community agriculture, adapting as future needs evolve.

The outcome

The result is a coherent and flexible framework for a next-generation city — a place of structured spontaneity and deep sustainability.

The project integrates shaded public spaces, mixed-use boulevards, natural wadis and active urban centres into a dynamic spatial network that fosters interaction, supports well-being and works in harmony with the environment.

Its open, walkable form enables people to meet, connect and thrive, while integrated logistics, utilities and mobility systems reduce car dependency and carbon emissions.

The new city is future-ready: its design datasets and models form the backbone of ongoing digital operations, community engagement and behavioural insight. It shows how technology can enhance — not replace — human values, setting a global benchmark for inclusive, climate-conscious urbanism.

Further information

Space Syntax Studio page
Details of our work leading the planning and design of buildings and urban areas.