Private Small Scale Rehabilitation Projects: a Catalyst to Recovery, the Case Study of Bab Al-Nasr, Aleppo

Abstract

The neighborhood of Bab Al-Nasr is located in the heart of Aleppo's 5000 years old historical core (Gaube & Wirth, 1984; Qudsi, 2016). The neighborhood that was once known for its vibrant commercial activity has witnessed massive destruction and has become a war-damaged landscape where many of its heritage buildings and cultural practices were threatened(Doucet, 2018; Xinhua, 2018). According to the United Nations damage assessment map almost 43% of Bab Al-Nasr is heavily damaged (see Qudsi, 2016).

Despite the political instability and the western sanctions imposed on the country, rehabilitation projects are slowly occurring. On one hand, international agencies, and local authorities, involved in the neighborhood's rehabilitation activity, seemed to adapt a top-heavy physical approach to reconstruction with little to no attention to the recovery of the war-torn social fabric and its cultural heritage. On the other hand, inhabitants, business owners and other community-based groups have mobilized to restore their homes, re-establish their businesses and save the remnants of the neighborhood's cultural heritage. Nevertheless, by thoroughly observing the dynamic of these projects, it was noted that they are rather fragmented, independent, and uncoordinated as efforts in the absence of a common framework at the level of the neighborhood and do not add up to a collective initiative.

The main hypothesis of this thesis is that these projects are a positive contribution to the reconstruction efforts of both the neighborhood, and the city as they serve an entry point to a more comprehensive heritage-led and people-centered recovery of Bab Al-Nasr. Yet, through adapting a City Development Strategy, a strategic framework would be formulated to lead a sustainable recovery process in the neighborhood that could revitalize its socio-economic network as much as its cultural heritage and urban scene.