Rethinking Urban Reconstruction through Informal Settlements Issue, a Syrian Historical Perspective

Résumé En

This paper questions the reconstruction of Syrian cities from a historical and ontological reading of informal urbanization and its treatment in Syria. The question of informality should be considered in the perspective of Syrian urban reconstruction policies. Whereas before 2011 informal settlements housed on average 30% of the inhabitants of large cities (40% of the population of Damascus), the conflict caused an increased informalization of the land and property markets, the great majority of destruction is located in informal neighborhoods, and the law 10/2018 established for the reconstruction of cities is built on a decree initially tailored for the urban renewal of informally built neighbourhoods. Through a historical analysis of the competing urban policies towards informal settlements in Syria and their rationale related to land and urban perception, this paper invites not only to think about the conditions for rebuilding cities that were largely informal, but also to use the reflection on urban informality to think the process of reconstruction.Video of the communication : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca8j9lQcGbw