Towards Sustainability in Preserving the Urban Heritage of Libyan Cities: The Case of Old Derna

By: Alhussein Aljarbah

Faculty of Arts and Architecture - University of Derna – Libya

Issue: |Special Issue on the Benghazi Reconstruction Conference 2023 |

article language: Arabic

Abstract:

Over the past decades, the urban heritage of Libyan old cities has faced numerous challenges, including functional imbalances, economic, cultural, and social transformations, as well as several intertwined factors threatening the fragile structures of these heritage cities. Despite the severity of the situation, heritage preservation efforts have been limited to restoring a few buildings classified as having high historical and symbolic value. This reflects the inadequacy of the adopted policies and procedures in safeguarding these multi-layered urban structures and ensuring their transmission to future generations. This study focuses on the case of Old Derna, which has suffered from successive factors of decline, leaving the city in a critical and deteriorated condition in recent years. The research aims to highlight the importance of preserving the heritage of Old Derna in the face of ongoing threats of degradation, and to explore preliminary steps that could pave the way toward a balanced and sustainable preservation strategy that ensures the reconstruction of the old city while maintaining its historical identity. Keywords: Old City – Heritage – Preservation – Sustainability – Derna – Decline Factors – Urban Transformations.