After the War: Using Heritage to Rebuild

The decade-long civil war in Syria has decimated the country’s infrastructure, killed more than 400,000 Syrians, and created the world’s largest displaced population of around 13 million. Heritage sites play a big role in war as targets of destruction and are typically an early focus of rebuilding efforts.

With an optimistic take on a devastating situation, alumna Dalia Mokayed talks about the effects of war on heritage and identity, and how heritage conservation can help cities and communities rebuild. The Aleppo native specifically addresses the Old City of Aleppo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the case study in her thesis, Heritage Conservation to Rebuild Cities After Crisis.

Dalia Mokayed was born and raised in Aleppo, Syria where she received a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Aleppo. She then worked for ten years in heritage conservation, rehabilitation, and city planning in the Old City of Aleppo.  She is a recent graduate of the USC Heritage Conservation Masters program and currently works for the Planning Department of the City of Los Angeles. She also recently started designing art pieces decorated with Arabic calligraphy to help keep alive Arabic culture and heritage.

Trudi Sandmeier is the Director of Heritage Conservation Programs at the USC School of Architecture and co-host of the podcast.

Podcast Breakdown

• • • [05:41] About the Old City of Aleppo
    • [12:23] Impact of war
    • [13:54] Visiting after the fighting stopped in Aleppo
    • [16:27] Urbicide
    • [18:06] Engaging the community in rebuilding after conflict

Want to know more about some of the ideas and places mentioned in this episode? Check out:

UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization

ICOMOS | International Council on Monuments and Sites

Aga Khan Development Network

USC Heritage Conservation Programs

 Credits on About page