Posted on

Habitat III Regional Report for the Arab Region: Papers on “Inclusive cities,” “Migration and Refugees in Urban Areas,” and “Land Structure, Process, and Outcome,” for UN-Habitat (ROAS) and United Nations (ESCWA), 2015-2016

Abstract

In 2016, the Institute for International Urban Development (I2UD), led by Mona Serageldin and François Vigier, acted as main contributor to a report, “Habitat III Regional Report for the Arab Region,” implemented under the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

Topics include “Inclusive cities,” “Migration and Refugees in Urban Areas,” and “Land Structure, Process, and Outcome.” Documents are a range of preliminary draft materials, expert group meeting materials, and full report. Presentations are from Expert Group Meetings in Beirut and Cairo, and for the May 2017 ICNUP Conference. Two draft issue papers from 2015 were presented at the Habitat III conference in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016.

Project Year:2015
Project Type:Regional Report
Geographic Regions:Beirut, Lebanon and Cairo, Egypt (Meeting Locations) / Quito, Ecuador (Conference Location)
Reports:
Authors:Mona Serageldin; FrançoisVigier; Barbara Summers; Maren Larsen; Johann Friedl
Sponsors:UN-Habitat; United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA); UN-Habitat Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS)
Categories:Climate Change and Resilience Building
  
ID:2015_10_003

Related I2UD Projects

Galleries 6-7 – Egypt: Cairo and Helwan, 1986, 1990

Posted on

“Sustainable Development Based on Valorizing the Historic Urban Fabric,” Paper by Dr. Mona Serageldin, 9th World Congress of the Organization of World Heritage Cities in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia, 2007

Abstract

Mona Serageldin authored this report and presented it to the 9th World Congress of the Organization of World Heritage Cities in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia in June 2007. The report posits that cities must preserve their identities in the midst of change in order to integrate their cultural heritage and their economic development strategy, and outlines 10 steps towards accomplishing this objective.


[Excerpt: Mona Serageldin, “Sustainable Development,” 1 – Background, page 1]

“From ancient oracles to medieval pilgrimages to modern tourist attractions, cities flourished capitalizing on their cultural and natural heritage long before national governments understood its potential as a driver of national economic development. Development is a multifaceted concept integrating economic, social, institutional and cultural dimensions. It deals with the present and strives to shape the future. It entails change spurred by visions and a sense of purpose but it also embodies varying degrees of continuity that define identity and shared values.”
……

“Today culture is recognized as an important dimension of development, but viewpoints differ widely regarding the role that the legacy of the past should play in shaping the future and the role economic considerations should play in determining the use of the heritage. Two key economic trends pose serious challenges to heritage preservation:

1. The economic restructuring brought about by globalization and the massive population movements it has generated are increasing the ethnic and cultural diversity of cities and contributing to generating urban dynamics of growing complexity;

2. The rapid pace of technological innovation is generating a constant onslaught of new messages and images displaying symbols and lifestyles associated with status and achievement that tend to devalorize the old. Simultaneously, the propagation of unfiltered information is fostering the perpetuation or revival of distinctive cultural values, beliefs and customs. Ethnically diverse subgroups among a population can cluster and operate in separate patterns of activity within the same urban space.

“Astute political and civic leaders view these trends with apprehension and try to overcome fragmentation by promoting interactions that enhance shared values across cultures and counter narrow views that create exclusion.”

Project Year:2007
Project Type:Research Paper
Geographic Regions:Kazan, Russia (Conference Location)
Reports:Sustainable Development Based on Valorizing the Historic Urban Fabric: (Mona Serageldin, June 2007)
Authors:Mona Serageldin
Sponsors:Getty Conservation Institute
Categories:Historic Districts
  
ID:2007_06_001

Related I2UD Projects