AI-Enabled Morphological Urban Humanization in Riyadh’s Hyper-Arid Context: A Case Study of the Sports Boulevard

Source abstract

Riyadh’s rapid urban growth has created challenges in balancing arterial mobility with pedestrian-scale public-space provision. This paper explores the humanization of urban arterial streets as a model shift in transforming them into more walkable, inclusive, and climate-responsive public spaces, based on four principles: human scale, walkability and active mobility, social interaction and placemaking, and contextual adaptation. Riyadh’s Sports Boulevard, a flagship project under Saudi Vision 2030, is examined as the case study. The study combines a literature review, field observation of the completed corridor segment, and a two-tier comparative analysis. The first tier evaluates the Sports Boulevard and three precedents using observable indicators derived from the four principles, while the second reviews AI-enabled systems from three international cases to identify their humanization function and examine their potential relevance to Riyadh’s hyper-arid context. The analysis shows that humanizing arterial streets depends not only on spatial redesign but also on sensing, simulation, and adaptive control. Findings show that Riyadh’s Sports Boulevard has begun integrating responsive and technology-mediated features, which move it away from static design toward more adaptive place-making. The paper concludes that AI should be integrated within a broader socio-technical framework connecting spatial design, climatic adaptation, community needs, and accountable governance.