Abstract
Historic Jeddah is located on the eastern shore of the Red Sea. Historic Jeddah was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site in 2014. The new urban development for the city of Jeddah has resulted in different spatial patterns. The southern part of Jeddah city falls within the moderate zone, because this area is well developed in regard to infrastructure with rainstorm and sewage networks. The middle area of the city falls within high vulnerability risk due to its high population, shallow water depth, flat slopes, and various incomplete network services (i.e., leakage from septic tanks and water pipes). The western and northwestern parts of the city are subject to very high pollution risk, due to the highly permeable area with coralline formation, very shallow water depth, and depressions. Unfortunately, historic Jeddah has been affected by the unplanned development and shallow water depth. Most of the construction and decoration of the ancient buildings are suffering from deterioration. The paper aims to detect the environmental changes, assessing the geo-environmental status, and creating some of the innovative solutions while using the integration between remote sensing and GIS techniques. The combination of SRTM, Corona 1966, Spot 1986, Landsat 1987, Orbview 2003, and Sentinel2A 2017 data will help in monitoring the changes around the study area. The Bands combination and the spatial statistical analysis are considered to be the most effective methods in the examination of the new built-up indices. GIS techniques and some models would be suggested as solutions to protect the archaeological area, according to UNESCO recommendations.
Highlights
In 1962, the UNESCO recommended two concepts that would guide the World Heritage List (WHL)nomination, which was the preservation and protection of natural and rural landscapes
The changes have been extracted by the differences that were revealed from unsupervised and supervised classification applied to the scenes that were acquired at different times for the study area
This study presents the possibility of using remote sensing images in terms of design and planning a smart and sustainable cultural heritage management
Summary
In 1962, the UNESCO recommended two concepts that would guide the World Heritage List (WHL). Nomination, which was the preservation and protection of natural and rural landscapes. In 1972, they issued a unique international instrument to protect and recognize cultural and natural heritages [1]. Large numbers of heritage sites around the world are fragile properties, and they are faced with different risk [2]. Cultural heritage is always under pressure from a variety of problems [3,4]. Urban development, pollution, looting, inappropriate site management, and conflict are just some examples of the risk that faced these sites [5,6]. The threats can be natural or Sustainability 2020, 12, 240; doi:10.3390/su12010240 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
