Urban Resilience as a Strategic Entry Point for Post-War Reconstruction of Heritage Cities: The Case of Al-Jami’a Neighborhood in Old Mosul

Abstract

Heritage cities affected by armed conflict face multifaceted challenges in their reconstruction processes that go beyond the physical dimension, encompassing social, functional, and cultural aspects. These complex conditions call for innovative planning frameworks that can adequately address such contexts. This study focuses on the historic urban fabric of Old Mosul, specifically Al-Jami’a Neighborhood, as a representative case of a war-torn heritage area that suffers from a lack of a flexible and context-sensitive reconstruction vision. The research hypothesizes that adopting urban resilience principles can significantly enhance the pace and quality of reconstruction, particularly in culturally significant environments. The study aims to analyze the relationship between urban resilience indicators and post-conflict reconstruction strategies by developing a theoretical framework derived from an extensive literature review, and then operationalizing these indicators through a structured field survey conducted with selected experts in urban planning and disaster risk management. A descriptive-comparative method was employed to link resilience concepts with the disaster management cycle (mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery). The findings reveal a clear institutional and strategic gap in integrating resilience into reconstruction frameworks, despite high professional awareness of the concept’s value. The study offers a preliminary framework that can guide reconstruction in similar post-conflict urban settings and proposes targeted recommendations for embedding resilience-based approaches in urban policies, particularly those concerning heritage preservation and sustainable urban recovery.