{"id":20089,"date":"2006-01-01T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-01-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20089"},"modified":"2026-04-29T20:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:15:42","slug":"i2ud-library-2006_00_007","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20089","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Qassioun Urban Development Strategy and Improvement Plan,&#8221; Technical Framework for Damascus, Syria, 2006-2008"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Abstract<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\" style=\"font-size:12px\">A 2006 project consisted of an urban development strategy and improvement plan for the informal settlement of Qassioun in the City of Damascus, Syria. I2UD&#8217;s development strategy provided a coherent framework for the development of an integrated plan for the whole site and more detailed plans for each of its constituent parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify\" style=\"font-size:12px\">An informal urbanized area housing a population of 200,000 in 2006, Qassioun extended over 6 kilometers in the mountain range overlooking Damascus&#8217; civic and business center. The settlement was characterized by steep slopes, dense settlement patterns and geotechnical and seismic risks. The development plan included the protection of a historic area, two regularized sub-districts, the informal settlement, facilities on the undeveloped high plateau, and a relocation site for families living in zones with high seismic risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-subtle-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><tbody><tr><td>Project Year:<\/td><td>2006-2008<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Project Type:<\/td><td>Technical Development Strategy<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Geographic Regions:<\/td><td>Damascus, Syria<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Reports:<\/td><td><br><ul><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/docs_p\/2006\/2006_00_007\/Qassioun_Urban_Development_Strategy_and_Improvement_Plan_Full_Report_October_2008.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ek-link\">Qassioun Urban Development Strategy and Improvement Plan: (Full Report, October 2008)<\/a> <\/li><\/ul><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Authors:<\/td><td>Mona Serageldin; Christa Lee-Chuvala; Carolina Morgan; Alejandra Mortarini; Daniel Tsai<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Sponsors:<\/td><td>European Union Municipal Administration Modernization Project (MAM)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Categories:<\/td><td>Reconciliation and Development<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&nbsp;<\/td><td>&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>ID:<\/td><td>2006_00_007<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3>Related I2UD Projects<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle\" id=\"ub-content-toggle-e6b713d2-4ab8-4235-8127-cc98bdf76530\" data-mobilecollapse=\"false\" data-desktopcollapse=\"true\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle-accordion\">\n                <div class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle-accordion-title-wrap\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"ub-content-toggle-panel-0-e6b713d2-4ab8-4235-8127-cc98bdf76530\" tabindex=\"0\">\n                    <p class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle-accordion-title ub-content-toggle-title-e6b713d2-4ab8-4235-8127-cc98bdf76530\">I2UD Digital Library Study Guide: Informal Settlements<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle-accordion-toggle-wrap right\"><span class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle-accordion-state-indicator wp-block-ub-chevron-down\"><\/span>\n                    <\/div><\/div><div role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-ub-content-toggle-accordion-content-wrap ub-hide\" id=\"ub-content-toggle-panel-0-e6b713d2-4ab8-4235-8127-cc98bdf76530\">\n\n<p style=\"font-size:12px\">I2UD Digital Library Study Guide: <a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?page_id=216448\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">Understanding Informal Settlements and Slum Upgrading, October 2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-ek-indent\" style=\"font-size:12px;--ek-indent:20px\"><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cThe Development and Morphology of Informal Housing,\u201d Research Paper, Aga Khan Award for Architecture Seminar Proceedings, Mona Serageldin (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20011\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cThe Development and Morphology of Informal Housing,\u201d Research Paper, Aga Khan Award for Architecture Seminar Proceedings, Mona Serageldin<\/a> (Project ID: 1988_09_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cEnvironmental Health Factors in Housing,\u201d Design Study for the Rapid Urbanization of Low-Income Settlements in Urban-Fringe Districts (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20014\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cEnvironmental Health Factors in Housing,\u201d Design Study for the Rapid Urbanization of Low-Income Settlements in Urban-Fringe Districts<\/a> (Project ID: 1989_07_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cFinancing Infrastructure Upgrading Programs,\u201d Two Urban Development Research Papers, Mona Serageldin, 1989-1991 (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20016\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cFinancing Infrastructure Upgrading Programs,\u201d Two Urban Development Research Papers, Mona Serageldin, 1989-1991<\/a> (Project ID: 1989_11_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cSustainable Improvement Strategies for Lower Income Urban Communities,\u201d Upgrading Policy Plans for Amman, Aqaba, Cairo, and Karachi (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cSustainable Improvement Strategies for Lower Income Urban Communities,\u201d Upgrading Policy Plans for Amman, Aqaba, Cairo, and Karachi<\/a> (Project ID: 1990_01_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cThe Abidjan Experience,\u201d Four Research Reports on Community-Based Urban Development in Adjam\u00e9, Abidjan, C\u00f4te d&#8217;Ivoire, 1990-1995<\/a> (Project ID: 1990_09_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cRegularizing the Informal Land Development Process,\u201d International Case Studies for the USAID Office of Housing and Urban Programs, Mona Serageldin (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cRegularizing the Informal Land Development Process,\u201d International Case Studies for the USAID Office of Housing and Urban Programs, Mona Serageldin<\/a> (Project ID: 1990_10_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">Design Studio 1993: \u201cRabat\u2019s Urban Fringe,\u201d Rabat, Morocco, Seminar Curriculum<\/a> (Project ID: 1993<em>00<\/em>001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20028\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cThe Use of Land and Infrastructure in the Self-Improvement Strategies of Urban Lower Income Families,\u201d Paper by Mona Serageldin, UN Habitat Fourteenth Commission Report<\/a> (Project ID: 1993_05_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20036\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cCommunity-Based Urbanization and Favelas Rehabilitation Processes,\u201d Case Study, Fortaleza, Brazil<\/a> (Project ID: 1995_00_006)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20038\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cCommunity Based Credit for Housing, Infrastructure, and Microenterprises,\u201d Micro-Finance Housing Shortage Study for Quito, Ecuador<\/a> (Project ID: 1995_03_003)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cHousing Microfinance Initiatives,\u201d Case Study for USAID Microenterprise Best Practices Initiative, 1999-2000 (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20051\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cHousing Microfinance Initiatives,\u201d Case Study for USAID Microenterprise Best Practices Initiative, 1999-2000<\/a> (Project ID: 1999_00_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20053\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">Workshops on \u201cStrategic Planning and Management of Municipal Infrastructure Programs,\u201d from Review of Grant-Funded MIPs in South Africa<\/a> (Project ID: 1999_05_002)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cDevelopment of Infrastructure and Initiating of Sustainable Projects in Elim, South Africa,\u201d Report for UN-Habitat Best Practices Leadership Programme, Western Cape, South Africa (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20064\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cDevelopment of Infrastructure and Initiating of Sustainable Projects in Elim, South Africa,\u201d Report for UN-Habitat Best Practices Leadership Programme, Western Cape, South Africa<\/a> (Project ID: 2001_08_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20079\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cLocal Authority-Driven Interventions to Improve the Lives of Slum Dwellers,\u201d Mona Serageldin for UN Millennium Task Force 8<\/a> (Project ID: 2003_10_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cDevelopment Corridors and Urban Development Strategies\u201d and \u201cSlum Improvement Strategies and Social Inclusion,\u201d Presentations by Mona Serageldin, 11th United Nations Conference, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20083\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cDevelopment Corridors and Urban Development Strategies\u201d and \u201cSlum Improvement Strategies and Social Inclusion,\u201d Presentations by Mona Serageldin, 11th United Nations Conference, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil<\/a> (Project ID: 2004_06_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cQassioun Urban Development Strategy and Improvement Plan,\u201d Technical Framework for Damascus, Syria, 2006-2008 (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20089\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cQassioun Urban Development Strategy and Improvement Plan,\u201d Technical Framework for Damascus, Syria, 2006-2008<\/a> (Project ID: 2006_00_007)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cLand-Related Issues, Dhaka, Bangladesh,\u201d Urban Sector Strategy Report for Dhaka and Chittagong, Bangladesh (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20090\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cLand-Related Issues, Dhaka, Bangladesh,\u201d Urban Sector Strategy Report for Dhaka and Chittagong, Bangladesh<\/a> (Project ID: 2006_01_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cDelivery of Security of Tenure, Infrastructure Services and Access to Finance Through Community-Based Approaches,\u201d Planning Strategy Report on Albania and El Salvador, 4th World Bank Urban Research Symposium (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=20094\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cDelivery of Security of Tenure, Infrastructure Services and Access to Finance Through Community-Based Approaches,\u201d Planning Strategy Report on Albania and El Salvador, 4th World Bank Urban Research Symposium<\/a> (Project ID: 2007_00_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cTownship Development Strategy for Emfuleni Municipality,\u201d Technical Assistance to Sedibeng, Gauteng, South Africa (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=200104\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cTownship Development Strategy for Emfuleni Municipality,\u201d Technical Assistance to Sedibeng, Gauteng, South Africa<\/a> (Project ID: 2009_03_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cTechnical Assistance to Ezakheni, Ladysmith\/Emnambithi Local Municipality,\u201d Urban Development Strategy, South African Government Neighborhood Development Partnership Grant (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=200106\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cTechnical Assistance to Ezakheni, Ladysmith\/Emnambithi Local Municipality,\u201d Urban Development Strategy, South African Government Neighborhood Development Partnership Grant<\/a> (Project ID: 2010_02_001)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=200118\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cThe Unplanned Areas Upgrading and Employment Enhancing Programme in Egypt,\u201d Needs Assessment and Activity Design Study for Informal Settlements, 2011-2016<\/a> (Project ID: 2012_10_004)<\/li><li><a aria-label=\"\u201cInclusive Cities and Access to Land, Housing, and Services in Developing Countries,\u201d Urban Development Series, World Bank (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?p=200121\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">\u201cInclusive Cities and Access to Land, Housing, and Services in Developing Countries,\u201d Urban Development Series, World Bank<\/a> (Project ID: 2014_04_001)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<![CDATA[]]>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":1,"_editorskit_typography_data":{"meta":{"disabled":true}},"_editorskit_blocks_typography":"","_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","ub_ctt_via":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[443,1317,20,19,462,1900,1884,1886,210,1865,35],"tags":[1542,1628,1579,1569,1587,1543,1623,1545,1697,1559,1532],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"lib1","author_link":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/?author=4"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20089"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20089"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229042,"href":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20089\/revisions\/229042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}