Urban and Regional Development

Project staff visited Mishima City in Japan, and learned how to facilitate community participation in the environmental project. It was concluded that similar programs could be applied to Damascus and that local residents could be more involved in making the living environment better.

The Damascus metropolitan area has seen an influx of refugees and displaced persons from nearby countries as well as people from rural villages in recent years, which has led to a surge in unofficial residential areas and deepened problems in the urban environment.

Aiming to overcome these issues, JICA has been providing Technical Cooperation to revise the master plan of urban development.

Master Plan Unchanged for Over 40 Years

Syria is an important country for peace and security in the Middle East from geographical and geopolitical perspectives. In 2006, Syria shifted from a socialist planned economy and is currently in the midst of introducing market-based open-door policies.

At the same time, the population of Damascus has ballooned owing to an influx of refugees and displaced persons due to turmoil in Lebanon, Iraq and other countries in the region, and an increasing number of people have come to the city from rural villages looking for work. This has put excessive pressure on the water supply and led to other problems related to traffic congestion, groundwater contamination and garbage.

The creation of a master plan for urban development is essential to resolve these problems and drive sustainable growth. Despite this need, Damascus has not changed its master plan since 1968. Upon a request from the Syrian government, JICA conducted The Study on Urban Planning for Sustainable Development of Damascus Metropolitan Area from 2006 to 2008. Based on a master plan formulated through the study, JICA has been working on a three-year project of urban planning and development since 2009 with the aim of enhancing the organizational capacity of implementing agencies on the Syrian side.

JICA conducts studies on unofficial residential areas.

Increasing Community Participation and Administrative Capabilities

Aging building in Qanawat

In promoting the project, JICA's approach was to devise an integrated master plan that includes detailed plans for specific areas based on a review of municipal responsibilities and in consideration of connections with Iraq and Turkey as well as a framework for ongoing economic development in Syria.

The project is being advanced in collaboration with Syria with the aim of improving administrative planning for Damascus and its suburban area through the establishment of various systems.

In line with this policy, a dedicated team from JICA is working together with local authorities to devise an urban plan, promote urban development and research various techniques for detailed regional plans.

Local citizens discuss problems with urban planning administration and future plans. Recommendations by participants included planning events to deepen relations between residents, and other recommendations by people living in the historic district included conducting a study on urban transition.

A framework based on community participation is a new development in Syria, where top-down administrative procedures are commonplace as a remnant of the socialist era. A pilot project is being planned based on a detailed regional plan. South Qanawat, which was chosen as the model project area, has many historical structures. However, the buildings in the area are deteriorating and the roads are narrow, thereby requiring an improvement in the living environment. Another model project area is Ghouta Road in the Damascus suburbs, a farming district exposed to the pressures of urbanization, thus necessitating an improvement in the living environment.

In both areas, JICA has taken a participatory approach in studies and workshops whereby local citizens work to resolve problems and devise ways to make improvements.