from documentation to policy making: managing old aleppo’s built heritage

Dr. Luna Khirfan

CUMERC, Visiting Fellow 2011 Assistant Professor

The University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

© Luna Khirfan

© Luna Khirfan

¨  Tools ¡  Marketing ¡  Infrastructure ¡  Urban design

¨  Strategies ¡  Unique Selling Preposition ¡  Place-as-Product ¡  Historic Preservation

1. High Fixed Costs

Consequences •  Prioritizing the economy •  Prioritizing tourists’needs •  Excluding local reisdents

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¨  Tools ¡  Disneyfication

ú  Standardization ú  Quality control

¡  Legitimization

¨  Strategies ¡  Homogenization

¡  Commodification ¡  Staging

2. Global Demand / Local Products

Consequences

•  Deterioration of tourist experience •  Disapproval & alienation of locals •  Loss of distinctiveness •  Threat to sustainability

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© Luna Khirfan

Place experience

Tourists

Distinctive cultural experience

Theory

Place-as-Product

Planners

Unique Selling Proposition =

Distinctiveness

• Planning? • Sustainability?

Practice

Current Planning

Place experience

Residents • Needs & interests • Choices • Empowerment

Reality

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© Luna Khirfan

Aleppo

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© Luna Khirfan

Criterion Criterion details

iii Unique testimony to a cultural tradition / civilization

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World Heritage List Selection Criteria

iv Outstanding example that illustrates a significant historical stage

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Planners •  Planning •  Implementation •  Pre-contacted •  In-person

Foreign tourists •  > 1 year • English-speaking •  In person

Local residents •  Live / work •  Every 10th unit •  In person

3 groups of respondents

Sampling & Recruitment

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Participants

Residents 36 Structured interviews

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Tourists 41 Structured interviews

Planners 8 In-depth interviews

Qualitative Interviews

Observations

Participant-determined

Open-ended

Text, images, crafts Cognitive mapping

Verbal descriptions

Documents & archives

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Residents

X

X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

Correlational Survey

Close-ended

Score-oriented

Tactics Tourists

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Planners

X

X

X

X

X

X

Place

X

X

X

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http://www.gtz-aleppo.org/urban_management.htm © Luna Khirfan

The Project for the Rehabilitation of the Old City of Aleppo

Objectives ¨  Social sustainability ¨  Residents’ quality of life

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“… we gave as all of our objectives to the living conditions and not strictly for tourism purposes, so we thought that once it is comfortable to live here people will stay here and it will become a vital place, a vivid place, a living place and becomes good, interesting for tourism” Aleppo planner

Strategy ¨  Urban design ¨  Historic preservation

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Existing © Luna Khirfan

Proposed Source: Development Plan, Old City Directorate, Aleppo

Documentation ¨  Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Tools

¨  Regulations ¡  Land use & zoning ¡  Building codes

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“A strict policy of control”

Tools ¨  Standardization

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Tools ¨  Infrastructure

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“The first step to execute the project’s works in the Old City was changing the infrastructure.” Aleppo planner

“In my personal opinion, the change of the infrastructure in the Old City was the best thing that took place … the sewerage network and the water network that were changed and of course some maintenance of the streets.” Aleppo planner

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© Luna Khirfan

Local residents’ needs

Local residents are able to include their needs in the historic preservation and tourism development projects

Aleppo’s Economic activities

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Agree / Strongly agree

8.8%

Strongly disagree / Disagree

91.2%

Neutral

0

Local residents’ interests

Level of local authority sharing

Did you participate in the project in any way?

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Yes

14%

No

86%

“Digging went on for months. They came, dug, and left, without asking anyone …“ Aleppo resident

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“…we started to build data that is specific to the Old City on the basis of local residents’ perceptions to a level you might say 60% technical analyses… the stone … the structure… the infrastructure…

…they are the ones living in the Old City and know where the blockage happens and know where all issues are….

…you are unable to build data that is if you don’t take this information from them this thing will cost you much more time.” Aleppo planner

Planners’ interpretation of what participation is…

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Struggles ¨  Displacement

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“The trend that is documented was that the Action Areas of the project are the areas that witnessed the heaviest exchange of property rights in 2002 and… the heaviest in Bab Qinnasrin and Jdeideh and continues to be so.” Aleppo planner

Struggles ¨  Tourism gentrification

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“…and most of the real estate being exchanged is being exchanged for tourist purposes.” Aleppo planner

Struggles ¨  Socio-economic exclusion

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Planners

Residents

Resisting tourism development

Excluded from tourism benefits

Discount tourism

Interested in tourism

Struggles ¨  Socio-economic exclusion

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“…one of the things that seem to be worrisome over the long run is that by providing supply side rather than demand side subsidies or than supporting the rehabilitation process, [planners] have pushed the lower end users of the spectrum in favor of people who can afford to speculate in those properties…” Aleppo planner

Struggles q Loss of distinctiveness –homogenization

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Struggles q Threat to physical sustainability

– homogenization

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Local

participation

Residents as a data resource

Selectivity “by invitation”

Informing not empowering

Intermittent engagement

Needs

Technocrats assess needs

No response to local needs

Supply-side development

Choices Minimal choices

Identities

Homogenization: standardization & quality control Suppressing local identities

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8. Citizen control

7. Delegated power

6. Partnership

5. Placation

4. Consultation

3. Informing

2. Therapy

1. Manipulation

Citizen power

Tokenism

Nonparticipation

Aleppo

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Levels of participation

Place experience

Tourists

Distinctive cultural experience

Theory

Place-as-Product

Planners

Unique Selling Proposition =

Distinctiveness

• Planning? • Sustainability?

Practice

Current Planning

Place experience

Residents • Needs & interests • Choices • Empowerment

Reality

© Luna Khirfan

© Luna Khirfan

Collaborative Planning

Planners Place-as-Product

Unique Selling Preposition

Urban rehabilitation

Residents

Inclusion

Means

Tourists

Distinctive Place

Experience

•  Balancing needs •  Local identities

•  Choices Preserves

the life within

Proposed Model

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