Urban Morphology as a Framework for Post-War Resilience and Recovery in Aleppo

Post-war reconstruction in Aleppo requires more than replacing damaged buildings; it demands an understanding of the city’s historically layered urban fabrics, their differing socio-spatial logics, and their unequal capacities for recovery. Following severe conflict-related destruction during the Syrian civil war, particularly between 2012 and 2016, and the additional impact of the February 2023 earthquake, Aleppo’s recovery is further complicated by the heritage significance of its Ancient City, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986 and included on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2013. This study examines how urban morphology can guide reconstruction through a comparative analysis of four neighborhoods representing major phases of Aleppo’s development: Jdaideh, Azizieh, Mohafaza, and Jabal Badro. Using a qualitative historical–morphological approach, the research analyzes figure–ground relations, street-network structure, degrees of transition between public, semi-public, semi-private, and private spaces, and landmark–node systems to identify the spatial characteristics, temporal persistence, and planning meaning of each district. The findings show that Aleppo is not a homogeneous urban system but a city composed of distinct fabrics with different strengths, vulnerabilities, and reconstruction needs. The comparison further demonstrates that density alone is not an adequate indicator of urban quality or resilience. The study concludes that reconstruction should be based on fabric-specific strategies, including preservation-sensitive rehabilitation, reinforcement of public nodes, balanced connectivity, governance-aware phasing, and incremental upgrading. Urban morphology is therefore proposed as a practical, but not exhaustive, framework for context-sensitive recovery in conflict-affected and historically layered cities.