Kharkiv has been the first and among the most affected cities by the Russian attacks on Ukraine. How do you rebuild a city that is still at war? By Michelle Martin
Mosul, once celebrated as Iraq's cultural and religious heart, faced significant devastation during the occupation by the militant group ISIS and the subsequent battle for liberation. Six years later, ancient landmarks and critical infrastructure are gradually being reconstructed.
During the war, public spaces can be drivers for resilience. Ghada Rifai explores the transformative potential of public spaces in post-conflict cities through the example of Aleppo in Syria.
Filiep Decorte, Director for Emergency Response, UN-Habitat, outlines how WUF11 has adapted its programme in response to the war in Ukraine.
How to rebuild a city after a devastating war? Dalia Mokayed emphasises the crucial role of cultural heritage.
Rebuilding cultural sites that were destroyed in armed conflict needs to be an essential part of urban reconstruction policies. However, as Shadia Touqan argues, rebuilding these sites cannot be addressed in isolation from what should be any policy's priority: protecting the lives of the people who live there.
With an ever bigger urban population being affected by both natural hazards and armed conflict, policy makers and practitioners need to develop effective strategies for the reconstruction and recovery of cities. Ahmed Eiweida, Christianna Brotsis, and Yuna Chun argue that it is imperative for such strategies to take culture into account.
As densely populated urban areas like Homs, Raqqa, and Idlib in Syria continue to be the site of years-long armed conflicts, architect Ammar Azzouz argues that cities must not wait for post-conflict reconstruction plans. Rather, amidst destruction, ideas for the cities of tomorrow should be developed.
