Research On Damascus Informal Settlements Sprawl Effects, Factors And Solutions

Once cities began to appear in the archaeological records,they rapidly become the safety place and the better life choices;they have been expanding and extending their territory to control their surrounding regions.Today's cities are complex structures,with numerous groups of elements interact internally and extemally,accumulating the earth population in urban areas.Generally,the urban sprawl -formally and informallyphenomenon became a big dilemma facing the city designers industrially,environmentally, socially etc.The urban sprawl of Damascus concentrates and integrates together with informal settlements known as elmokhalafat & elmanatiq elashwaiya.The rapid economic and marketing development and in consequently socio-cultural and demographical changes mapped the major cities in Syria.Damascus-the capital city-is the midst of a profound transformation of architectural and planning developments under the severe theories of formal urban planning.Huge mass of cultural,economical,political and social changes have taken place in the city region during last three decades;thus associated with an explosion of urban sprawl,placing informal settlements around the city and demolishing the fertile surrounding farmlands.The major part of Damascus urban sprawl has declared as informality(informal settlements).Buildings sprawl informally,prompted urban crisis conditions as the city became crowded and out of control.The fifty detailed informal settlements which have been existed around the city are obviously result of the concentration policy of politics, industrial,trade,education and others services in Damascus.Otherwise,they cause a massive of daily,monthly and long time living flood migration.Furthermore the administrations' reaction is too slow comparing to the rate of the informal/formal urban sprawl and this is another effective reason of the city dilemma.A very high population detected,approximately 1.5 million inhabitants live in the informal settlements in the city region,and it is over 46%of the Damascus population.The majorities of these settlements suffer of dysfunctions and lack of infrastructure;involve serious consequences affecting the public health and the safety of the populations,as some buildings fell down in Daf-Alshouk settlement in Damascus in 2007.And the informality identified as the most important way of housing supply and urban sprawl in Syria.The study hereby is researching the informal settlements sprawl effective factors and dynamics,focusing on Damascus city through its chronological evolution phases,and to understand the nowadays city urban sprawl then direct its growth to the right way as new and modern city with long history and two urban identities through:Indicate the chronological evolution of Damascus and the rising of informal settlements and its related factors,illustrate the relationship between Damascus as capital and the informal settlements sprawl within and around it,and Expose the relationship between the land ownership system and the informal settlements fabric types.And finally designate the major physical appearances of the informal settlements,which will manipulate and direct the general informal policy to introduce the urban informality as a new way of life.