On March 15th of each year, Arab countries celebrate the “Arab Cities Day”, in commemoration of the establishment of the Kuwait-based “Arab Towns Organization” in 1967. This celebration aims to raise awareness of the importance of cities and urban spaces, and to highlight their significant role in providing services and facilitating the daily life of the people.
In view of the crucial role of cities in achieving sustainable, equitable and inclusive development, this year’s celebration is placed under the motto : “Urban Resilience for Sustainable and Inclusive Cities”, which involves an explicit call for developing an urban project that guarantees the sustainability and inclusiveness of these cities.
Keenly interested in urbanization in its historical and contemporary dimensions, ALECSO is pleased to offer its warmest congratulations to all relevant actors and stakeholders. It takes this opportunity to call for intensifying research on urbanization and urban life, while seeking to address this topic from various approaches. This will help to further develop the urban space toward providing decent living conditions for all Arab citizens, while respecting historical characteristics and heritage properties, and while seeking to integrate them into the new urban development projects, in pursuit of sustainable and inclusive development.
Aware of the crucial issue of urban expansion that has marked the beginning of the 21st century, and of the historical and cultural dimensions of the city in the Arab countries, ALECSO has actively engaged with international initiatives designed to rationalize urban expansion and curb its effects on heritage properties and on the lifestyle and living standards of the populations.
In pursuit of these goals, ALECSO has established the Architectural and Urban Heritage Observatory in the Arab States. It has also been involved in relevant international programs and events, such as the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III). ALECSO had, in fact, contributed to the preparation of a regional report, submitted to this Conference, on “The role of culture in sustainable urban development”, which included a study on “urban conservation and renewal”.
While appreciating the major urban development projects, the new urban modernization trends, and the orientation toward the promotion of Smart Cities, which have now become the aspiration of all relevant stakeholders, including local communities, city planners, and urban policymakers, ALECSO calls for the need to pay more attention to poor and marginalized cities and help them to catch up with modern cities; thereby creating a balanced and homogeneous urban landscape, and making sure the 21st-century cities are up to the challenges of sustainable development.
