Post pilot study

Through the pilot study the research became more focused and new ideas were developed. From the pilot survey three different groups were identified as key actors for the research, which are as follows:

 Officials at Jeddah Municipality and Municipal Council, who have duties and responsibilities in implementing and making decision regarding zoning regulations.

 Professionals including (i.e. architects and planners in the private sector), who translate the new regulations into drawings.

 Residents, who have being living with the impact of the new regulations.

The pilot survey revealed that using questionnaire was inappropriate but using structured interviews was the best approach with residents, officials and professionals and more effective for gaining information. However, this was time

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consuming and to do this effectively it needs field work assistance. The pilot study revealed that technical words can only be used with professionals and officials but not with residents. Therefore, there is a need to refine and rephrase some of the residents' questions to become clearer. In terms of qualitative methods the researcher found that observation, attending meetings and workshops were useful methods to determine subjective issues about the implication and implementation of the new zoning regulations. The survey could not be conducted during the summer season, where the temperature during the daytime in Jeddah is between 45-50°C. Therefore, to conduct fieldwork in Saudi Arabia time and season should be considered3.

Case studies at the micro level played an important role in developing the research ideas by showing what is happening in reality, which made the researcher focus more on what is happening in mixed zones. Furthermore, the pilot survey helped the researcher to identify and know some of the key people, who will be useful for the main fieldwork. The presentation of the researcher was of critical importance in literally opening doors4. In short, the pilot study helped the researcher to build a holistic perception about what methods should be used, what questions should be asked and the issues with the new zoning regulations and with the planning system at the local level.

The third stage took four months from September to December 2009. The focus of this stage was on reviewing the outcomes of the pilot study and the implications for the main fieldwork with the supervisors. It was also clear that more secondary data was needed about zoning regulations and issues such as the Municipality budget if the UGI model was to be used. A list was drawn up encompassing the public sector departments that is needed to be visited to gather the missing data. In discussion the issue of privacy was seen to be of major

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The pilot survey revealed that the best time to do face to face interview with residents was in the afternoon before sunset as Mandeli (2011) referred to in his work. However, there were some cases were residents prefer to do the interview after sunset because they prefer to take a nap after they finish their work in afternoon.

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If the researcher dressed trousers and shirt he will be treated as foreigner, where he will be exposed to questions by the security and will need permission before entering the Municipality, stopped by the policeman in inspection points when he is driving and residents will not welcome the researcher in their houses. If the researcher dressed only Thawb (Saudi national dress) without headdress (Ghutrah and Agal or Hejazi turban) then he would also be subject to some scrutiny and might be unwelcome to some residents. Dressed in the full Saudi dress was the only way to be completely accepted.

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significance in the case study and the meetings that the researcher attended in both the Municipality and the Municipal Council and this was added as a topic to explore.

As an essential step the supervisor gave the researcher two essential letters before the researcher departures to conduct the fieldwork. The first one was to the Saudi Cultural Attaché to obtain official research permission to conduct fieldwork for data collection. The second letter was to request targeted people to assist the researcher with his work.

In designing the structured interviews questions, the researcher started first by specifying the aim of each interview; second, reviewing the questions that were used in the pilot study and modifying them; finally ensuring that the questions would uncover insights into the research questions. The order of the interview was to leave more sensitive questions such as about salary to the end, ensuring that at least the main topic areas were covered.

The interview wording should be comprehensible, simple, unbiased, specific, inoffensive and should follow a sequence (McCormack and Hill, 1997), where according to Bulmer and Warwick (1993: 149) “question wording is more an art than a science”. The use of passive voice was avoided as were colloquialisms, vague phrasing and lengthy questions, so that they fitted the respondents‟ own understanding and language (Flay et al., 1993; Moser and Kalton, 1993; Wuelker, 1993). According to Bulmer and Warwick (1993) the issues of misunderstanding create problems of the survey validity. Common technical terms were used with confidence in the structured interviews with the professionals and officials.

The questions were subject to three drafts that were subject to increasing refinement under the guidance of the supervisors. The researcher used a combination of closed (dichotomous i.e. yes/no and ranking questions) and open- ended questions to complete each other and gain the benefits of each type. Some questions were posed in a negative way to deter the respondent from simply ticking the boxes without reading. Some of the questions used the Likert scale with mainly five grades to measure respondents‟ degree of satisfaction or

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agreement with statements about neighbourhood, housing and zoning regulations or the performance of Jeddah Municipality.

Structured interviews with residents aimed to measure the level of residents‟ satisfaction within three different zones (villa, apartments blocks with the new regulations and mixed zones), by finding out to what extent the regulations are responsive to residents needs and desires as well as their views on participation in planning decisions. The researcher started by modifying the style and presentation of the pilot questions as in Figure 3.3 and 3.4, where the former illustrates one of the questions in the old form and the latter shows the same questions after modification.

How satisfied are you with the following aspects?

1. V. satisfied 2. Satisfied 3. Neutral 4. Dissatisfied 5. V. dissatisfied

21-1 Parking

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

21-2 Size of the dwelling

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Figure 3.3: Examples of one of the questions in the old form. How satisfied are you with the following aspects?

1. V. satisfied 2. Satisfied 3. Neutral 4. Dissatisfied 5. V. dissatisfied 10-1 Parking space 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

10-2 Size of the dwelling 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Figure 3.4: Example of modification to one of the questions.

The structured interview for inhabitants was modified to consist of 53 open and close questions and categorised into four main categories (see appendix 3):

1- Neighbourhood character and socio-cultural aspects: The researcher attempted to explore residents‟ satisfaction with aspects of their neighbourhood. In addition, residents were asked to show their relationship with their neighbours and issues related to incompatible uses and car parking spaces in the neighbourhood.

2- Dwelling unit characteristics: The responders were asked to mark the five grade scale to show the degree of their satisfaction with the

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dwellings characteristics and questions related to area, duration of stay, financial aspects and the number of rooms.

3- Municipal affairs: The researcher wanted to explore the residents‟ perspective regarding the Municipality performance and the willingness to participate in planning decisions.

4- Socio-economic characteristics: The researcher needed to collect information about different socioeconomic attributes of the head of the household living within different zones and dwellings (nationality, age, educational level, household numbers, marital status, number of cars and income level).

As there is a correlation and relationship between zoning regulations competence and the Municipality performance, the researcher designed questions that might be used with both the officials and professionals. The aim of the structured interviews with the officials and professionals was to explore their perspectives on the capacity of the local planning authority; the influencing factors on the Municipality performance. In addition, the impact of the implementation of the new zoning regulations; problems related to the Municipality performance in carrying out zoning regulations and their views on regarding citizen participation in planning decisions.

The structured interview for the Municipality officials encompassed 24 questions and focused on three main categories (see appendix 3):

1- Management and performance assessment: This section asked to mark the five grade scale to show their level of agreement and disagreement with the statements. The aim of the first section of the interview was to explore more generally the factors that had an influence on the Municipality‟s performance from their perspective and to know about the current situation of the Municipality.

2- Zoning regulations: Officials‟ and professionals were asked to give their views on the implications of the new zoning regulations using a Lickert scale. However, some questions were posed only to the officials in the Department of Local Planning.

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3- Personal information: This section inquired about level of officials‟ education, job role and years of experience working for/with the Municipality.

The structured interview for the professionals encompassed 29 open and closed questions and classified into the categories listed above but also included open questions related to the performance of the Municipality, the new zoning regulations and their understanding of the concept of land use regulations to gain richer views (see appendix 3). Generally, each structured interview began with a formal cover letter, which explained who the researcher is, the purpose of the survey and a declaration that the material was only for research purposes. According to McCormack and Hill (1997: 101) this “give an assurance of confidentiality” to the respondents. In addition, the researcher added his mobile phone number to facilitate appointment changes.

After designing the three structured interviews the researcher tested them by interviewing Saudi colleagues and friends. Their comments on structure, language, order and content helped fine tune the material. Eventually, a timetable and fieldwork plan was drawn up.