from documentation to policy making: managing old aleppo’s built heritage
DESCRIPTION
The Columbia University Middle East Research Center (CUMERC) and the Amman Institute for Urban Development (Ai) hosted a lecture entitled, “From Documentation to Policy-Making: Managing Old Aleppo’s Built Heritage” by Dr. Luna Khirfan, Visiting Fellow at CUMERC’s Institute for Scholars, Ai Fellow, and Assistant Professor at the School of Planning at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. The well-attended lecture was held at CUMERC on Wednesday February 16, 2011.http://www.ammaninstitute.com/blog/columbia-university-middle-east-research-center-and-amman-institute-urban-development-host-lectTRANSCRIPT
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
© Luna Khirfan
¨ 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
© Luna Khirfan
© 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
© Luna Khirfan
© Luna Khirfan
Aleppo
© Luna Khirfan
© Luna Khirfan
Criterion Criterion details
iii Unique testimony to a cultural tradition / civilization
© Luna Khirfan
World Heritage List Selection Criteria
iv Outstanding example that illustrates a significant historical stage
© Luna Khirfan
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
© Luna Khirfan
Participants
Residents 36 Structured interviews
© Luna Khirfan
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
© Luna Khirfan
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
© Luna Khirfan
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
© Luna Khirfan
“… 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
© Luna Khirfan
Existing © Luna Khirfan
Proposed Source: Development Plan, Old City Directorate, Aleppo
Documentation ¨ Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Tools
¨ Regulations ¡ Land use & zoning ¡ Building codes
© Luna Khirfan
“A strict policy of control”
Tools ¨ Standardization
© Luna Khirfan
Tools ¨ Infrastructure
© Luna Khirfan
“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
© Luna Khirfan
© 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
© Luna Khirfan
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?
© Luna Khirfan
Yes
14%
No
86%
“Digging went on for months. They came, dug, and left, without asking anyone …“ Aleppo resident
© Luna Khirfan
“…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…
© Luna Khirfan
Struggles ¨ Displacement
© Luna Khirfan
“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
© Luna Khirfan
“…and most of the real estate being exchanged is being exchanged for tourist purposes.” Aleppo planner
Struggles ¨ Socio-economic exclusion
© Luna Khirfan
Planners
Residents
Resisting tourism development
Excluded from tourism benefits
Discount tourism
Interested in tourism
Struggles ¨ Socio-economic exclusion
© Luna Khirfan
“…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
© Luna Khirfan
Struggles q Threat to physical sustainability
– homogenization
© Luna Khirfan
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
© Luna Khirfan
8. Citizen control
7. Delegated power
6. Partnership
5. Placation
4. Consultation
3. Informing
2. Therapy
1. Manipulation
Citizen power
Tokenism
Nonparticipation
Aleppo
© Luna Khirfan
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
© Luna Khirfan