Geospatial analysis: spatial structure and environmental setting of Central Makkah-Saudi Arabia, a satellite-based assessment

 


The map above shows a detailed satellite-based assessment of central Makkah, with particular focus on the urban core surrounding the Sacred Mosque. The annotated features illustrate the spatial arrangement of public services, natural elements, and key infrastructures. The area displayed is highly built-up, marked by dense construction, a complex network of roads, and multiple service facilities such as hospitals, schools, police stations, and transport nodes. Distinct symbols highlight trees, peaks, parking areas, and various public institutions, offering a clear view of how urban functions are distributed around the city’s central religious site.

Makkah’s religious importance defines much of the spatial pattern visible here. The urban fabric becomes increasingly concentrated toward the center, where the holiest site in Islam is located. This concentration shapes the flow of movement, leading to the development of major roadways, pedestrian routes, transport stations, and supporting services that accommodate large numbers of visitors and pilgrims. The presence of these facilities around the central area illustrates how religious activity influences the morphology of the city, encouraging dense vertical development and specialised land use.

The region’s geography also plays an important role. Makkah lies within an uneven mountainous setting, which is reflected in the map through the natural peaks indicated around the outskirts of the built-up core. These elevated landforms limit expansion, channel development along valleys, and contribute to a compact urban structure. The limited vegetation visible on the map, represented by scattered trees and tree rows, further reflects the arid environment.

         Source: Sanusi, A. (2025)

Topographically, the city’s terrain shapes transport networks and residential clustering. Roads curve around natural slopes, tunnels connect separated districts, and development patterns follow the contours of the surrounding hills. This topographic constraint creates a distinct urban morphology, dense, layered, and highly adaptive to uneven land.


Source: Sanusi, A. (2025)

Conclusion

The map illustrates how Makkah’s religious centrality, combined with its mountainous geography and arid landscape, produces a unique urban form. Dense development near the spiritual core, limited natural vegetation, and infrastructure adapted to steep terrain collectively define the city’s spatial character.

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