Developing a climate responsive X minute city framework for walkability planning in Bahrain

The cities of the Gulf area are in a paradoxical position as they are small enough for proximity-based planning and yet are hostile to walking because of the climate. This paper develops a conceptual Climate-Responsive X-Minute City (CRXMC) framework for examining how walkability-oriented planning can be adapted to the climatic and socio-spatial conditions of Bahrain, one of the small and highly urbanized states with temperatures that frequently exceed 40 °C, and car dependency is deeply rooted in the physical and cultural fabric of life. In recognition of the fact that the traditional proximity models cannot be implemented directly in the hot-arid environments, the paper proposes the new framework of Climate-Responsive X-Minute City (CRXMC) that revisits the concept of accessibility beyond the spatial proximity and includes thermal comfort and climatic usability. The study uses an integrative review of minute-city scholarship, climate-responsive urbanism and Gulf urbanism, supported by a comparative analysis of selected international and GCC initiatives, policy interpretation and an illustrative GIS-based accessibility diagnostic for Salman City. The GIS analysis maps network-based walking access to selected essential services and transit stops within 5-, 10-, and X-minute thresholds, and organizes the Barrier Solution Actor matrix in Salman City, Bahrain. The resulting framework identifies six interconnected planning dimensions: neighbourhood accessibility, land-use diversity, active-mobility infrastructure, public transport integration, climate-adaptation measures, and governance and implementation. The Salman City application demonstrates how time-based accessibility can be used as a baseline for identifying spatial service gaps and prioritising future interventions. The study establishes a conceptual basis for integrating shade, greening, cooling, inclusive public-space design and transit connectivity into future neighbourhood planning and empirical assessment in Bahrain and comparable hot-arid cities.