URBICIDE: The Deliberate Destruction of City Identity Towards Post-War Reconstruction

This thesis questions the interconnections between urbanity, place identity, urban destruction and reconstruction in a warfare context. The research uses Nablus Old Town as a representative case study of the Palestinian context. Palestine has been the subject of a protracted process of urban and territorial destruction, dating back to the end of the 19th century. Previous research has addressed the issue of city identity destruction. However, much of this research is limited, particularly with regards to the understanding of and perspective on the city’s identity, which is deeply embedded in urban cultural artifacts. This form of identity is often articulated as being deliberately destroyed during the aggression of war and thus constitutes an episode of urbicide. Academic interest in the subject has however increased following the Balkan wars and devastation of Mostar. Likewise, the invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq, the destruction of the Palestinian cities in 2002, and the recent invasion of South Lebanon by Israel in summer 2006 further highlighted the imperativeness of research on urban destruction, and urbicide in particular. The problematic of the emerging research field of urbicide lies in deciphering the objectives, mechanisms and technologies used in urban warfare. In addition, there is also a need to consider the long-term spatial, social economical and psychological impacts of the urban destruction on the places and peoples that are directly and indirectly targeted by it. In many instances, the aggression of urban destruction (urbicide) is further perpetuated in the process of post-war reconstruction. Reconstruction projects and strategies often focus on the physical dimension of reconstruction and inevitably ignore and even further marginalize the city’s devastated identity, and particularly its spatial and socio-cultural dimensions. Coming under the aegis of humanitarian aid and shelter provision efforts, these seldom incorporate a comprehensive and long-term vision of both the devastated urbanity and the affected societies. In view of the above, this research investigates the meanings, definitions and connections of the three interrelated themes; identity, urban destruction (urbicide in particular) and reconstruction. In addition to carrying out a literature review, the study also relies on a detailed examination of the case of Nablus. The analytical and methodological framework entails an exploration and survey of place identity both within and outside of its physical components. The main innovation of this research lies in its advancement of the theory and the concept of urbicide beyond the limitations that were encountered in the existing literature. At the same time, the research elaborated and established a methodological and analytical framework to investigate urbicidal episodes; a tool which, although presented in the ensuing account, is still in the initial stages of development. The case study was used to test this tool as well as advance methodological theoretical inputs. The research argumentations, insights and understandings provide a base upon which a post-urbicide urban reconstruction scenario for the case of Nablus Old Town is formulated. The scenario or the future post-urbicide strategy is based on exploring the possibilities and potentials in the resulting spatial fragments of the devastated city. Reconstruction is seen in this research as a form of resistance (social, intellectual and cultural) to military occupation and destruction. The proposed strategy however, does not undermine the existing Palestinian political and military resistance. It seeks a counteraction through the mobilization of urban spatial reconstruction and design that enforces peace culture and hope for better future.status: publishe