Laila Alawneh

Director, Regional and Urban Planning

Laila Alawneh is Director of Regional and Urban Planning at NEOM, the region under development in the north-west of Saudi Arabia that includes Trojena, the mountain destination selected to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games. Regional planning at that scale sets where settlements, transport corridors and public facilities go decades ahead of construction, and sport venues have to be placed inside that framework rather than added to it afterwards. Planning in NEOM takes place on largely unbuilt land, which makes early siting decisions weigh more than they would in an existing city whose fabric can be repaired incrementally.