Prof. Abdulaziz Aldegheishem

Vice President for Projects | Professor of Urban Planning

King Saud University

Professional Profile

Professor Abdulaziz Aldegheishem is a senior academic leader and urban planning expert with extensive experience in strategic planning, project management, and institutional transformation. He currently serves as Vice President for Projects at King Saud University and is a Professor of Urban Planning.

He has held several high-level academic and administrative positions, including Dean of the College of Architecture and Planning. His expertise spans urban and regional planning, GIS applications, smart cities, and real estate development. 

Education

• Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Spatial Information
  University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, USA
• Master of City Planning
  University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
• Bachelor of Science in Planning and Urban Design
  King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 

Current Positions

• Vice President for Projects
  King Saud University | Jan 2026 – Present
• Professor of Urban Planning
  College of Architecture and Planning, King Saud University | May 2022 – Present
• Supervisor, Traffic Safety Technologies Chair
  King Saud University | Jan 2017 – Present 

Previous Leadership & Academic Experience

• Dean, College of Architecture and Planning
  King Saud University | 2020 – 2025
• Vice Head of Projects, Vision Realization Office
  King Saud University | 2018 – 2020
• Assistant Vice Rector for Facilities & Operations
  Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University | 2015 – 2016
• General Supervisor, Management & Development
  Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University | 2014 – 2015
• Assistant to Vice Rector for Projects
  King Saud University | 2010 – 2014
• Head, Urban Planning Department
  King Saud University | 2012 – 2013
• City Planner
  Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs | 1994 – 1997 

Executive Programs & Certifications

• Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS), MIT, USA 

• GIS Standards Certification, University of Illinois 

• Statistical Analysis using SPSS, King Saud University 

• Advanced GIS (ArcGIS), GMS, South Africa 

• Smart Cities Program, Stockholm, Sweden 

• ArcGIS Pro Certification, University of California, Davis 

• Strategic Planning Certification, National Center for Performance Measurement (Adaa) 

Research Interests

• Strategic Planning 

• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

• Smart Cities & Intelligent Systems 

• Urban & Regional Planning 

• Real Estate Development 

• Project Management 

• Local Governance 

Vision 2030 & Institutional Projects

• Development of financial and administrative transformation systems at King Saud University 

• Enterprise Risk Management implementation 

• Job structure development project 

• Transformation to accrual accounting systems 

• Investment environment study for University Medical City 

Strategic Planning & Consultancy Experience

• Director, King Saud University Master Plan 

• Director, Medical City Detailed Master Plan 

• Advisor on strategic and operational planning initiatives 

• Team Leader for national consultancy projects (Ministry of Education, General Security) 

• Contributor to Saudi Spatial Planning Act project 

Information Systems & Technical Advisory

• Advisor to Ministry of Education (Planning & Information Systems) 

• Advisor to Makkah Region Development Authority 

• GIS and Urban Planning Consultant to multiple government entities 

• Advisor on enterprise architecture and urban information systems 

Transport & Traffic Planning

• Advisor, National School Transport Program 

• Contributor to National Traffic Safety Strategy 

• Project Director, University Railway Transport System 

• Chairman, Transport & Traffic Advisory Committee (KSU) 

Real Estate & Development Projects

• Supervisor of investment land planning at King Saud University 

• Contributor to Saudi real estate regulatory studies 

• Lead in feasibility and development studies for real estate projects 

• Supervisor, Women’s Business Center Development (Princess Nourah University) 

Academic & Infrastructure Planning

• Director, Classroom & Laboratory Efficiency Studies 

• Contributor to university master planning and design standards 

• Advisor on large-scale academic infrastructure projects 

International Academic Collaboration

• Led academic collaborations with major international universities 

• Facilitated research partnerships and student exchange initiatives 

• Participated in accreditation and global academic benchmarking efforts 

Conference Contributions

• Presenter at international conferences on GIS, urban planning, and smart cities 

• Contributor to regional and global urban development forums 

• Active participant in scientific workshops and policy discussions 

Leadership & Committee Memberships

• Member, College Board – King Saud University
• Former Board Member, Saudi Society for Real Estate Sciences
• Former Board Member, Projects & Facilities Divisions
• Chair and member of multiple academic and administrative committees 

Supervision of Graduate Research

Supervised multiple master’s theses in:

• GIS applications in urban planning
• Real estate development analysis
• Remote sensing and spatial data systems
• Project performance and urban growth studies 

Professional Affiliations & Activities

• Active participant in international academic conferences and workshops
• Contributor to national development strategies and policy frameworks
• Organizer and supervisor of major academic and professional forums 

Publications & Research

Author and co-author of numerous peer-reviewed publications in:

• Urban planning and sustainability
• GIS applications
• Smart transportation systems
• Real estate development
• Artificial intelligence and optimization models 

Published in leading journals including IEEE Access, Sensors, Journal of Sustainable Development, and others.

Research & Scientific Papers 

• Assessment of GIS Applications Usage in Urban Planning in Riyadh Region, AGJSR 30 (1): 23-32, 2012

• Evaluation of King Saud University Master Planning Experiment: Lessons to Be Learned, IISES International Journal of Social Sciences No. the III/2013

• Evaluating the Urban Sustainable Development on the Basis of AHP: A Case Study for Riyadh City, Journal of Sustainable Development Vol. 7, No. 2, 2014

• Smart Road Traffic Accidents Reduction Strategy Based on Intelligent Transportation Systems (TARS), Sensors, 18(7), 2018

• The prevalence of seatbelt and mobile phone use among drivers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: An observational study, J Safety Res. 66:33-37, 2018

• Two New Improved Variants of Grey Wolf Optimizer for Unconstrained Optimization, IEEE Access, Vol (8), 2020 

• FaaVPP: Fog as a virtual power plant service for community energy management. Future Generation Computer Systems. (105): 675–683. 2020

• Blockchain-Based Secure Data Storage for Distributed Vehicular Networks, Applied Sciences, (10), 2011. 2020

• Intelligent Detection of Black Hole Attacks for Secure Communication in Autonomous and Connected Vehicles, IEEE Access, Vol 8, 199618-199628. 2020

• Towards Sustainable Energy Efficiency With Intelligent Electricity Theft Detection in Smart Grids Emphasising Enhanced Neural Networks. IEEE Access (9), 2021

• A Secure Trust Method for Multi-Agent System in Smart Grids Using Blockchain, IEEE Access, Vol 9. 2021

• Video Streaming Adaptive QoS Routing with Resource Reservation (VQoSRR) Model for SDN Networks. Electronics. 2022

• Big data analytics for identifying electricity theft using machine learning approaches in microgrids for smart communities. Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience. 2022

• SWAP: Smart WAter Protocol for the Irrigation of Urban Gardens in Smart Cities. IEEE Access. 2022

• What Matters Most for Neighborhood Greenspace Usability and Satisfaction in Riyadh: Size or Distance to Home?. Sustainability. 2022

• Develop an Optical Sensor to Detect Pollution Incidents in Sewerage, IEEE Access, 24449 – 24457. 2022

• Employing a Machine Learning Boosting Classifiers Based Stacking Ensemble Model for Detecting Non Technical Losses in Smart Grids, IEEE Access, Vol: 10. 2022

• Driving Assistance System for Ambulances to Minimise the Vibrations in Patient Cabin, Electronics, 11(23), 3965, 2022

• A New Framework for Fraud Detection in Bitcoin Transactions Through Ensemble Stacking Model in Smart Cities, IEEE Access 11, 90916-90938. 2023

• Community participation in urban planning process in Saudi Arabia: An empirical assessment, Journal of Urban Management 12, 221–230. 2023

• Urban Growth Management in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: An Assessment of Technical Policy Instruments and Institutional Practices, Sustainability, 15, 10616. 2023

• Assessing the Progress of Smart Cities in Saudi Arabia, Smart Cities, 6, 1958–1972. 2023 

• Factors affecting ecological footprint in Saudi Arabia: a panel data analysis, Frontiers in Environmental Science, 12. 2024

• Assessing urban sustainability in Saudi Arabia: an empirical evidence from Al-Medina Al-Munawwarah, Environmental Research Communications, 6, (5), 2024

• Enhanced prediction of stock markets using a novel deep learning model PLSTM-TAL in urbanized smart cities, Heliyon, 10, (6). 2024

• DeepSecure: a novel deep learning model for effective detection of attacks on big data in Internet of Urban Things, Big Data,12, (273). 2025

• Nexus between renewable energy, technological innovation, and carbon dioxide emissions in Saudi Arabia, Open Geosciences, 17,(1). 2025