3.1. Selection of Case-Studies
Case studies were identified based on the authors’ prior knowledge and field work conducted in Aleppo. The selection of case studies in this research is not aiming to be exhaustive but is designed to provide examples of a wide range of housing sizes (small, medium, large and palaces) [
4], with difference historic and artistic values [
19] and which underwent different types of intervention.
The neighborhoods on which focusing the study were: Al-Jalloum, Al-Farafra and Al-Aqaba. These were selected based on:
Location in the Old City of Aleppo, within the city walls (
Figure 1).
Presence of infrastructure, such as main roads, as this makes the neighborhoods economically viable parts of the Old City.
Presence of houses with different level of destruction after the war, to be able to account for different possible interventions.
Presence of different functions, such as workshops and commercial activities already in the period, to be able to account for possible solutions to preserve the residential function. Before the Syrian War, residential buildings were occupied by crafts, industry and commerce. This proves the neighborhood was lively and diverse.
Presence of distinctive elements of historical value in large houses and palaces, in order to consider houses with high historical value next to more “diffuse” heritage.
Presence of houses with different types of interventions, ranging from the addition of a bathroom and a toilet in small and medium houses to subdivision or interventions intended to reuse the large houses and palaces for tourism purposes.
Among the studied neighborhoods, Al-Jalloum is the closest to the “Al-Madina Souq”, in the southwest of the Old City “inside the wall”. The street pattern in this part of the city is—untypically for the Old City—rectangular and of Roman origin, dividing the neighborhoods into regular blocks.
The neighborhood of Al-Farafra is characterized by neglection and modification of use of residential building into workshops and warehouses; this change of function occurred most probably because they are located next to the commercial center.
The neighborhood of Al-Aqaba is the oldest one in Aleppo (Al-Nawah); it still maintains its traditional urban fabric and its original buildings, except for the addition of few modern buildings [
20].
3.2. Survey of the Buildings and Neighborhoods, including a Questionnaire and Interviews with Inhabitants
A survey was conducted to evaluate the population’s housing situation in the Old City of Aleppo following the Syrian War. Both the situation inside the house buildings themselves, and in relation to neighborhoods were considered. Next to a survey of the state of conservation of the buildings, the attitudes of the residents towards living in the Old City, their wishes and interests concerning the reconstruction, and their readiness and financial capacity to participate in it were assessed by a questionnaire and interviews with residents.
In total, 79 houses were surveyed in the three mentioned neighborhoods, using pictures and physical inspection of the building, supported by questionnaires and interviews to residents. The number of houses surveyed in each neighborhood varies (
Table 1) and it depends on the number of occupied and accessible houses and on the availability of the inhabitants to participate to the survey.
The survey comprised two survey campaigns.
In the first survey campaign, inspection of the housing, sketching plans and photographing the site were all part of the first field visit to the studied areas. Next to these, a simple questionnaire in Arabic was prepared and distributed to the residents. Because of the frequent subdivision of houses in more units, it was never clear in advance how many households a house would comprise; there could be a single or several housing units in the same house, some being inhabited, some others empty. The questionnaire was conceived by the authors to ensure a rapid assessment of the residents’ demands for social services as well as the difficulties they face. Within the framework of ERASMUS+ Mobility Project, Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences (OWL UAS) and the University of Aleppo (UA), undergraduate students from the University of Aleppo, Faculty of Architecture, helped in distributing the questionnaire to the residents in the period between November and December 2020.
The questionnaire comprises, next to questions about personal information (gender, age and occupation, including the number of years of residence in Old Aleppo), questions about five main points:
Ownership and license application;
Relation between inhabitants and house;
Problems with the physical condition of the house and infrastructure, and reconstruction obstacles;
Reconstruction priority for improvement;
Residents’ satisfaction towards housing.
The questionnaire contains mainly multiple-choice questions, aiming at clarifying the attitudes of people towards the Old City, the situation of the house after the war, and the problems and obstacles faced by the inhabitants. Besides this, it inquires to which extent inhabitants would support a reconstruction process with their own means.
In addition, the satisfaction level with the current housing situation was measured using a 5-point Likert scale: 5 (not at all satisfied), 4 (not satisfied), 3 (moderately satisfied), 2 (satisfied) and 1 (very satisfied).
Since the number of filled-out questionnaires was not statistically relevant, a second survey campaign was carried out in August–September 2021, supported by the Director of the Citadel of Aleppo, district mayors and two members of the RAHA Company for Ancient Cities. During this second campaign open interviews with a selection of six additional residents were conducted. As the social life of men and women in the Old City has always been subject to a certain segregation, care has been taken to interview both men and women.
It should be mentioned that due to the post-war circumstances, it was not always possible to access the houses, and the survey had to be adapted to the situation and required approvals from the security services. The plans of the houses were redrawn using the AutoCAD software, based on both actual measurements and the cadastral and/or other available plans.