LUGARIT at City Debates 2025: Reimagining Syria’s Territorial Orders 

15 April 2025 - American University of Beirut, Lebanon

From April 14–16, 2025, the Beirut Urban Lab at the American University of Beirut hosted the 21st edition of City Debates, titled Co-map, Re-map, Un-map. This year’s gathering focused on critical cartography, engaging with collective, exploratory, and radical mapping practices to rethink how cities, geographies, and environments are visualized, understood, and acted upon.

LUGARIT was represented by its consultant, Jadd Hallaj, who contributed to this rich cross-disciplinary dialogue. Mr. Hallaj spoke on Day 2 during the panel Tracing Territories (of migration, governance, conflict) with a presentation titled “Aggregating Power: Mapping Territorial Orders in Syria.”

Drawing on a decade of spatial research and recent project work, Mr. Hallaj explored how maps in Syria have historically functioned not only as tools for representation but as instruments of power and control. His presentation traced the evolution of mapping practices from the Ottoman period through the French Mandate and into the Baath era, arguing that each stage reflected—and reinforced—specific territorial logics that continue to shape contemporary spatial governance.

Crucially, Mr. Hallaj highlighted how the logic embedded in spatial data models contributes to the (re)production of political authority. In Syria, this aggregation of power through mapping has tangible consequences for service delivery, governance asymmetries, and social cohesion. He also examined how post-conflict Syria may benefit from alternative mapping techniques—particularly participatory and digitally mediated approaches—to reimagine territorial arrangements and promote inclusive development.

Mr. Hallaj’s contribution resonated with the event’s broader themes. The “Co-map” thread questioned who gets to produce maps and whose realities are rendered visible. “Re-map” encouraged a reimagining of cartographic traditions. And “Un-map” invited critical reflection on maps as political texts that can obscure as much as they reveal. Mr. Hallaj’s intervention wove through all three, challenging conventional narratives while offering pragmatic pathways forward.

Organized by the Beirut Urban Lab and the Master’s Programs in Urban Planning, Policy, and Design at AUB—with support from the Embassy of Italy in Lebanon, Institut Français du Proche-Orient (Ifpo), and the Urban Studies Journal—City Debates 2025 provided a vital platform for collective reflection on the politics of mapping in contexts of crisis and transition.

LUGARIT congratulates Jadd Hallaj on his concise and thought-provoking contribution and looks forward to continued dialogue on how mapping can serve as a tool for justice, recovery, and transformation.

Related Publication

Header Photo

Aerial view of part of the city of Damascus, Syria. Photo © Fly_and_Dive - via ShutterStock.  Link >

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