Editing Riyadh (section)

==== 1960s–1970s ====
The Department of Municipal Affairs (later [[Ministry of Municipalities and Housing]]) selected Doxiadis Associates (DA) in 1968 to prepare a masterplan for Riyadh. After preliminary studies, they submitted a plan that was approved in 1972. They proposed that Riyadh will expand in the north-south axis along a commercial spine with and most importantly, that it will be divided into neighborhoods of 2 × 2 km blocks, thus solidifying the grid pattern to be the defining feature of Riyadh's layout. It also maintains the style of housing that was prominent in Malaz, detached houses with setbacks, designed in what Dr. Saleh Al Hathloul identifies as an 'international Mediterranean' style i.e. crimson colors.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Riyadh Architecture in One Hundred Years |url=https://www.csbe.org/riyadh-architecture-in-one-hundred-years-1 |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=Center for the Study of the Built Environment |language=en-US}}</ref> However, DA's shortcomings lay in their inability to accurately predict the extent of Riyadh's future growth.

At the start of the 70s, Riyadh did not go much beyond what is today the Khurais road. But nearing the 80s, Riyadh's expansion had already reached the Northern Ring Road in the north and had made considerable progress in the eastern part of the city.

In 1974, the government founded the High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh (later [[Royal Commission for Riyadh City]]) which was headed by the then governor of [[Riyadh Province]], [[Salman of Saudi Arabia|King Salman Bin Abdulaziz]], who oversaw Riyadh's development.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-12-21 |title=How King Salman built a capital for the 21st century |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1212686 |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=Arab News |language=en}}</ref> With the economic growth and national development plans of the 70s, the national infrastructure consisting of electricity grids, telecommunications networks, water pipelines, and highways was laid down that made further urban growth possible. The old and new industrial cities of Riyadh were both founded in this period.