Explained: Aleppo City Zoning Plans
The earliest known landmarks in Aleppo date back to the Greek era, when the city was called Beroea. At the time, the city had a grid-like structure built around a citadel, the remains of which are today’s Jalloum neighbourhood and a network of commercial markets within the ancient citadel walls. During the Byzantine era, the city expanded, and districts like Bousita and Farafra arose. In the mid-13th century, suburbs such as the Misabbin and Dubbagha districts appeared outside the castle walls. In the early 16th century, new areas such as Mashariqa, Kallasa, Bab Al-Maqam, Bab Al-Nairab, Banqusa, and the Maraashi district began to appear as gathering spots for Turks coming from Maraash, with Christian suburbs arising in Salib Al-Kubra, Salib Al-Sughra and Al-Jdeida. During this period, new neighbourhoods appeared named after the major industries established there, such as the Al-Najarin (carpenters), Al-Bayada (copper or brass work polishers) and Al-Qazazin (glassworkers).
The first attempt to formally zone Aleppo dates back to the late Ottoman period. In 1867, the first municipality in the city was established and had an area of about 550 hectares. In 1882, the Ottoman authorities commissioned a German engineer named Jung to draw up the city’s first zoning plan. Jung adopted the principle of wide streets and a grid plan for the city, completing it in 1899. The Department of Technical Affairs in Aleppo adopted the project in 1915.
However, the zoning plans for present-day Aleppo date back to 1954, by the French architect André Gutton. He oversaw a new zoning plan with a Western urban character, with wide streets and multi-storey buildings, linking the city centre with its urban expansion zones. Under this plan, roads were paved, including the one that connected the Umayyad Mosque and the citadel, causing partial or complete demolition of some archaeological buildings, including Hammam Al-Wasani, Khan Al-Wazir, Khan Al-Saboun, Al-Matbakh Al-Ajami, and the Sharfia School.
In 1974, Japanese expert Banshuya made a new zoning plan for Aleppo, raising many objections. Based on this plan, the Aleppo municipality began to establish a new centre for the city on the part of the historic city centre. The municipality commissioned the engineering unit from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Aleppo, with support from the Military Housing Establishment, to develop a study for the Bab Al-Faraj project, which included the construction of high-rise buildings and wide streets. The municipality expropriated more than half of the area allocated for the new city centre. It began implementing these city blocks on AbdulMunim Riyad Street. During the preparation stage, work crews found parts of the ancient wall of Bab Al-Faraj, which extends from Bab Al-Faraj Square to Bab Al-Nasr.
The Old City was subsequently added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the Ministry of Culture registered the neighbourhoods within the citadel walls as archaeological areas where demolition and construction are prohibited. Only restoration would be allowed in those areas under Decision No. 47 of 1979, coinciding with UNESCO issuing two successive reports in 1979 and 1980 calling for preserving Aleppo’s Old City. Just a few years later, in 1983, the World Symposium for the Protection of Old Aleppo, held by the Aleppo branch of the Engineers’ Syndicate, called for the preservation of the traditional urban fabric of the Old City while adopting new ideas to provide public services there.
The Ministry of Culture issued Decision No. 15 in 1986, listing some neighbourhoods outside the Old City walls as archaeological areas where construction and demolition are prohibited. A committee for the protection of the Old City was also formed. The escalating local objections to the Bab Al-Faraj project caused its suspension, the cancellation of Banshuya’s zoning plan and the establishment of a special Old City-dedicated office in the Aleppo municipality.
Then in 2001, the General Company for Engineering Studies (GCES) began studying the new zoning plan with an area of 41,000 hectares. The new project added 20,000 hectares to cover the needs for expansion until 2015; that included 4,000 hectares for the industrial zone in Sheikh Najjar, 8,000 hectares for residential urban development, 5,000 hectares as green tourism areas, and 3,000 hectares as protected zones around the city.
The GCES completed the zoning plan for Aleppo in 2004. Still, it overlooked key planning points such as transportation, services and investment activities. Consequently, the Aleppo municipality contracted again with the GCES to update the plan and issue several detailed zoning studies.
The general zoning plan for Aleppo was reissued multiple times in recent years, aiming to receive and study objections as part of the regular mechanism for issuing such plans. Most recently, in 2018, the plan underwent final approval by the executive office of Aleppo governorate. This plan was formally issued by the Decision of the Minister of Public Works and Housing No. 2650/S in April 2022, containing 30 areas for population expansion. The plan included two real estate development zones; Al-Haidariya, with an area of 80 hectares to accommodate 7,300 housing units, and Tel Al-Zarazir, with 60 hectares to accommodate about 6,000 apartments. The plan also put in place some industrial zones, such as in Khan Al-Asal. At the same time, the detailed zoning plan for the Karm Al-Jazmati informal settlement in east Aleppo was issued and added to the approved general zoning plan for the city.