Re-conceptualization of peri-urban agricultural landscapes in transition : the case of Barada River at the eastern entrance of Damascus -

Abstract

Barada River in Damascus, the vibrant artery of the city and a vital reason behind its development, is the main source of irrigation water for Al Ghouta which is the rural context surrounding Damascus and the source of its food production. The interventions which have taken place on the river’s valley during the modern period have turned the river from a water ecology integrated in the old city’s urban fabric as a source of life for its residents, and a main element of identity and landscape heritage, into a water channel serving as a technical infrastructure. Moreover, the reduced water flow of Barada forced people in the countryside to minimize their agricultural activities and invest real estate. Al Ghouta started be erased. The latest planning study for Damascus master plan 2030 had addressed this problematic and proposed revitalizing Barada as an ecological corridor throughout the city. The thesis builds on this strategy while using Barada as a green corridor and as an engine for the creation of new ecologically sensitive urban forms on its eastern surroundings. This new form of urbanism would reconfigure the concept of Al-Ghouta in a way that serves the needs of the future. Using design as a testing tool and exploring boundaries between disciplines, this thesis seeks to investigate the role of Barada as an engine for urban regeneration using Landscape Urbanism as a contemporary urban design approach. The question that the thesis seeks to answer is how could I come up with a feasible conceptual model to guide possible development in the future in a way that protects the city’s vital green space and responds to the growth pressure? The thesis is about creating a feasible conceptual model to guide possible development in the future in a way that protects the city’s vital green space and responds to the growth pressure. It is a reflection from an urban designer on the possibilities of the future doing plausibility design rather than a final design. It provides the needed flexible stra