The Old City of Aleppo, one of the world’s oldest urban centers, and a world Heritage Site, faces significant economic challenges to rehabilitate its heritage assets, following the compounded impacts of modern conflicts and natural disasters. This summary explores these challenges and the multifaceted approaches proposed for sustainable economic recovery and urban revitalization.

Historically, Aleppo's strategic location on major trade routes contributed to its prosperity and cultural richness, but also made it vulnerable to invasions and destruction. The cycle of destruction and rebuilding led to a rich tapestry of cultural and architectural heritage. However, shifts in trade routes, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal, and the drawing of modern international borders diminished its economic prominence.

The economic decline was exacerbated by the 20th-century urban planning that prioritized modernist planning principles over the traditional harmonious blend of old and new, damaging a substantive part of its heritage and urban fabric. The situation worsened with the Syrian conflict beginning in 2011, which led to significant destruction, and was further compounded by the 2023 earthquake.

Efforts to rehabilitate the Old City have been ongoing, with international collaborations such as the Syrian-German Project for the Rehabilitation of the Old City of Aleppo, which aimed to leverage limited initial funds to stimulate further investment and community involvement. Yet, the scale of dilapidation and destruction has made comprehensive restoration financially and logistically daunting, rendering the old Development Plan developed by the Project over 24 years ago obsolete.

This chapter in the book “Aleppo Journal 2024” emphasizes that the economic model for revitalization must consider not only the direct costs of physical reconstruction but also the broader economic externalities, including both the positive and negative impacts of tourism and the integration of the Old City into the global economy. The resources that are likely to be available for reconstruction are far from sufficient to meet the estimated costs of rehabilitation. Setting priorities and carefully assessing opportunity costs is essential, otherwise, market dynamics will swart rehabilitation efforts.

A significant concern highlighted is the risk of gentrification and socio-economic displacement due to rising property values as areas are renovated, potentially pushing out long-standing residents. This is compounded by a lack of comprehensive economic data to support the feasibility of proposed restoration efforts, and the focus on short-term real estate profits over long-term heritage value accumulation.

Mr. Hallaj suggests a need for a new strategy that balances heritage preservation with economic prerogatives, proposing a demand-side investment approach to empower residents and stimulate local economies to offset the impacts of supply side investments. It also calls for a reassessment of financing models to better support sustainable rehabilitation, emphasizing the importance of involving local communities in the revitalization process. 

The chapter also recommends abandoning the “action area” model used to lead the previous rehabilitation efforts under the previous development plan. It argues for the need to develop a new spatial strategy focused on a combination of development and preservation nodes interspersed across the old city, incrementally leveraging local resources to revitalize the communities and empowering them to preserve their heritage assets. 

Overall, the rehabilitation of the Old City of Aleppo requires a nuanced understanding of its historical significance, current economic challenges, and the potential for future development. We advocate for a strategy that integrates economic, social, and cultural considerations to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Old City as a living, thriving urban space.