Geographical assessment of green areas per capita as an indicator of sustainable development: A study on economic geography

This study is intended to monitor changes in the vegetation cover in the Dammam Governorate during the period 2000 – 2020 and subsequent changes in green areas per capita during the same period. Also, The paper explores the potentials for achieving the target green area per capita in the Eastern Region by the end of 2022, which is 4.5 square metres per capita. To achieve this goal, the study relied on the data from previous studies and the field study related to the use of remote sensing technology to monitor the changes that occurred in land use during the study period in terms of vegetation cover and urban sprawl. The results showed that the average per capita share of vegetation in the Dammam Governorate amounted to 18.27 square metres per person in 2000 but decreased in 2020 due to population increase and the growth of the urban area, reaching 6.14 square metres per person. However, it exceeded the per capita average. The study concluded the necessity of preserving vegetation cover for its role in supporting the level of well-being of human societies, with an emphasis on the role of strategic plans for cities in providing large areas of vegetation cover and thus preserving the per capita share of sustainable vegetation cover.