GIS for Urban Planning & Smart Cities 5-Day Course Outline - KSA, Oman & GCC

Master Urban GIS & Smart City Technologies in Saudi Arabia, Oman & Gulf Region

The GIS for Urban Planning & Smart Cities Course is a comprehensive 5-day program for urban planners, municipal officials, and smart city professionals across Saudi Arabia (KSA), Oman, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. This hands-on training covers spatial planning, infrastructure management, 3D city modeling, and smart city applications essential for Vision 2030 mega-projects, urban expansion, and digital transformation throughout the GCC.

Why Urban GIS Training is Critical in the Middle East?

GCC cities are experiencing unprecedented growth and transformation:

• Vision 2030 mega-cities: NEOM, Red Sea Project, Qiddiya, Amaala

• Rapid urbanization: Riyadh population 10M+, Dubai expansion, Doha growth

• Smart city initiatives: Saudi Smart Cities, Dubai Smart City, Oman Digital Society

• Master plan development and monitoring

• Infrastructure management: utilities, roads, public transport

• Sustainable development: green spaces, energy efficiency

• Real estate and property management

• Public services optimization: hospitals, schools, emergency response

• Traffic management and mobility planning

• Heritage preservation and tourism development

Who Should Attend?

• Urban planners in municipalities and ministries

• Smart city coordinators and program managers

• Municipal GIS specialists and IT professionals

• Infrastructure engineers managing utilities and transport

• Real estate developers and property managers

• Government officials in planning departments

• Consultants on urban development projects

• Project managers for mega-developments

• Anyone involved in urban planning and smart cities in GCC

5-Day Course Structure

Day 1: GIS Fundamentals for Urban Planning

Introduction to Urban GIS

• Role of GIS in urban planning and management

• Smart city definition and GIS integration

• GCC smart city initiatives overview

• Urban planning challenges in arid climates

• Digital transformation in municipalities

• Case studies: Riyadh, Dubai, Muscat

Urban Spatial Data

• Cadastral data: parcels, property boundaries, ownership

• Land use and zoning: residential, commercial, industrial

• Infrastructure networks: roads, water, electricity, sewage

• Building footprints and heights

• Points of interest: schools, hospitals, mosques, parks

• Demographic and socioeconomic data

• Transportation networks

• Environmental constraints

GIS Software for Urban Planning

• ArcGIS Urban: 3D urban planning platform

• ArcGIS Pro: advanced desktop analysis

• QGIS: open-source alternative

• CityEngine: 3D city modeling

• ArcGIS Online: web-based collaboration

• Mobile GIS: field surveys and inspections

• Integration with CAD and BIM

Coordinate Systems for GCC Cities

• Local coordinate systems: Saudi cities, Oman municipalities

• UTM zones for Gulf region

• Cadastral coordinate systems

• GPS/GNSS for field data

• Accuracy requirements for urban planning

• Datum transformations

Creating Urban Geodatabases

• Database design for municipalities

• Feature classes: points, lines, polygons

• Topology rules: ensuring data quality

• Domains and subtypes

• Relationship classes

• Versioning for multi-user editing

• Best practices for large urban datasets

Day 2: Land Use Planning & Zoning Analysis

Land Use Mapping

• Land use classification schemes

• Current land use inventory

• Satellite imagery for land cover

• Digitizing from aerial photos

• Field surveys and verification

• Land use change analysis

• Practical exercise: Riyadh land use mapping

Zoning and Regulatory Mapping

• Zoning codes and regulations

• Permitted uses by zone

• Setbacks and building restrictions

• Height restrictions and FAR (Floor Area Ratio)

• Overlay zones: historic, environmental

• Special planning areas

• Visualizing zoning in GIS

• Compliance checking and enforcement

Site Suitability Analysis

• Multi-criteria evaluation for site selection

• Weighted overlay analysis

• Criteria for schools: population, accessibility, land availability

• Hospital location planning

• Commercial development suitability

• Industrial zone planning

• Environmental constraints integration

• Practical exercise: School site selection in Saudi city

Growth Management

• Urban growth boundary delineation

• Sprawl analysis and measurement

• Infill development opportunities

• Transit-oriented development (TOD)

• Compact city principles

• Green belt planning

• Growth scenarios modeling

• Vision 2030 alignment

Master Plan Development

• Comprehensive plan components

• Future land use planning

• Population projection and distribution

• Infrastructure capacity planning

• Open space and recreation planning

• Economic development zones

• Implementation strategies

• Public participation and visualization

Day 3: Infrastructure & Utility Management

Transportation Planning

• Road network analysis: connectivity, hierarchy

• Traffic flow modeling

• Network Analyst: routing, service areas

• Public transport planning: bus routes, metro lines

• Accessibility analysis: isochrones, travel time

• Pedestrian and cycling networks

• Parking management

• Riyadh Metro, Dubai Metro case studies

Utility Network Management

• Water distribution networks

• Wastewater collection systems

• Electricity distribution

• Telecommunications infrastructure

• Gas pipelines

• Geometric networks in GIS

• Network tracing and analysis

• Maintenance scheduling

• Leak detection and emergency response

Service Area Analysis

• Emergency services coverage: police, fire, ambulance

• Response time analysis

• Hospital and clinic accessibility

• School catchment areas

• Public facility service areas

• Optimizing facility locations

• Gap analysis and planning

• Practical exercise: Fire station coverage in GCC city

Asset Management

• Municipal asset inventory: street lights, signs, benches

• Maintenance tracking and scheduling

• Condition assessment

• Lifecycle management

• Work order integration

• Mobile GIS for inspections

• Predictive maintenance

• Budget optimization

3D Infrastructure Visualization

• Underground utility mapping: 3D subsurface

• Utility conflict detection

• Bridges and overpasses: 3D models

• Tunnels and metro systems

• Integration with BIM (Building Information Modeling)

• Virtual reality for public engagement

• Case study: Dubai infrastructure 3D

Day 4: 3D City Modeling & Smart City Applications

3D City Modeling

• Level of Detail (LOD): LOD1 to LOD4

• Building footprint extrusion

• LiDAR and photogrammetry for 3D

• CityGML standard

• ArcGIS CityEngine: procedural modeling

• Texture mapping and rendering

• Solar analysis on buildings

• Wind flow simulation

Urban Design and Visualization

• Design scenarios in 3D

• Before/after comparisons

• Viewshed and visibility analysis

• Shadow analysis for high-rises

• Public realm design

• Virtual tours and fly-throughs

• Stakeholder engagement

• NEOM and Qiddiya visualization examples

Smart City Data Integration

• IoT sensors: traffic, air quality, parking, waste

• Real-time data feeds

• Dashboards and operations centers

• Big data analytics

• Predictive modeling

• Citizen engagement platforms

• Open data portals

• Privacy and security considerations

Real-Time Urban Monitoring

• Traffic monitoring: congestion, incidents

• Environmental monitoring: air quality, noise

• Smart parking systems

• Waste management optimization

• Energy consumption tracking

• Water usage monitoring

• Public safety and surveillance

• Integration with GIS platforms

Mobile and Location-Based Services

• 311 citizen reporting apps

• Field inspection and permitting

• Code enforcement mobile tools

• Public transport apps

• Wayfinding and navigation

• Augmented reality applications

• QR codes for asset information

• Case study: Dubai Smart City apps

Day 5: Advanced Analysis & Project Implementation

Demographic Analysis

• Population distribution mapping

• Census data integration

• Demographic segmentation

• Age, income, ethnicity analysis

• Population density calculation

• Growth projections

• Market analysis for retail

• Housing needs assessment

Real Estate and Property Management

• Property valuation modeling

• Market trend analysis

• Tax assessment and collection

• Property transfer tracking

• Building permit management

• Occupancy and vacancy rates

• Investment opportunity mapping

• Dubai real estate analytics example

Environmental Planning

• Green space analysis: parks, gardens per capita

• Urban heat island mapping

• Air quality modeling

• Noise pollution mapping

• Water resources and drainage

• Flood risk assessment

• Climate adaptation planning

• Sustainability indicators

Heritage and Tourism Planning

• Historic site mapping: Diriyah, Muscat Old Town

• Heritage conservation zones

• Tourist attraction mapping

• Visitor flow analysis

• Cultural route planning

• Tourism impact assessment

• Geocaching and digital heritage

• UNESCO World Heritage integration

Participatory Planning

• Public consultation mapping

• Crowdsourcing urban data

• Online engagement platforms

• Survey123 for feedback collection

• StoryMaps for plan communication

• Social media analysis

• Conflict resolution through visualization

• Inclusive planning approaches

Performance Indicators & Reporting

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for cities

• Urban dashboard development

• Sustainability metrics: UN SDGs

• Livability indices

• Smart city maturity models

• Automated reporting

• Benchmarking against international cities

• Vision 2030 progress tracking

GIS Project Management

• Needs assessment and requirements

• Data acquisition strategies

• System design and architecture

• Implementation planning

• Training and capacity building

• Change management

• Budget and timeline estimation

• Vendor selection criteria

Case Studies and Best Practices

• Riyadh Smart City: integrated command center

• Dubai Smart City: blockchain and AI integration

• Muscat Municipality: GIS transformation

• Qatar World Cup 2022: urban infrastructure

• Kuwait National Plan implementation

• NEOM: building from scratch with GIS

• Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council

• Lessons learned and success factors

Capstone Project

• Comprehensive urban planning project:

  • Select GCC city or district

  • Define planning problem or opportunity

  • Collect and integrate urban data

  • Perform multi-criteria analysis

  • Create 3D visualizations

  • Develop recommendations

  • Present master plan concept

• Group work and presentations

• Instructor feedback and evaluation

Future Trends

• Artificial Intelligence in urban planning

• Digital twins: virtual city replicas

• Autonomous vehicle planning

• 5G and connectivity implications

• Blockchain for land registry

• Climate resilience planning

• Circular economy and GIS

• Metaverse and virtual cities

Course Wrap-Up

• Key concepts and tools review

• Career opportunities in urban GIS

• Professional certifications: GISP, AICP

• Continuing education resources

• GCC urban planning networks

• Certificate of completion presentation

• Post-training support

• Alumni community and collaboration

Certification and Career Benefits

Professional Recognition

• Urban GIS specialist certificate

• Enhanced employability in municipalities and planning agencies

• 30-45% salary increase for urban GIS professionals

• Alignment with Vision 2030 skills requirements

• Smart city expertise for emerging roles

• International career opportunities

Organizational Value

• Data-driven urban decision-making

• Improved public service delivery

• Infrastructure optimization and cost savings

• Enhanced citizen engagement

• Better master plan implementation

• Sustainable and resilient cities

• Smart city transformation enablement

Training Delivery Options

• Classroom with computers: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Muscat, Salalah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha

• Virtual instructor-led: Live online with software access

• In-company programs: Customized for municipalities (minimum 6 participants)

• Hands-on labs: Real GCC city datasets

• Software options: ArcGIS Urban/Pro, QGIS, CityEngine

• Site visits: Smart city operations centers (optional)

• Arabic/English: Bilingual instruction available

Build the Smart Cities of Tomorrow

Urban GIS expertise is essential for delivering Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, Oman’s sustainable cities, and GCC smart city initiatives. Master spatial planning technologies to create livable, efficient, and intelligent urban environments across the Middle East.

Master urban GIS and smart cities and shape the future of Gulf region cities.