The Case of Abu Ali River Corridor in Tripoli
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AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT AN ECOLOGICAL APPROACH TO RIVERFRONTS REVITALIZATION: THE CASE OF ABU ALI RIVER CORRIDOR IN TRIPOLI By MANAL ABDUL GHANI GINZARLY A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Urban Design to the Department of Architecture and Design of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at the American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon July 2014 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I gratefully acknowledge the support of those who have made this thesis possible and enjoyable. My advisor, Dr.Yaser Abunnasr, for his constant enthusiasm and many memorable conversations. His critical comments helped open my eyes to new ideas and concepts, and his helpful advice guided me right up until the end of my work. My committee members, Dr. Mona Fawaz and Dr. Mousbah Rajab, for their invaluable input and critical reviews. I am deeply indebted to Ms. Marwa Moulki, a social assistant and project manager at Al Safadi Foundation, for her contribution to the field work especially the collection of people’s mental image in the study area. I also want to thank all my colleagues and the faculty and staff at the faculty of Architecture and Design for making my time there such an enriching experience. I would like to thank my husband and my sister Rami Khalife and Mouzayan Ginzarly for their constant encouragement and support in the completion of this work and all the achievements in my academic life. Finally, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my beloved daughter Rama. V AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Manal Abdul Ghani Ginzarly for Master of Urban Design Major: Urban Design Title: An Ecological Approach to Riverfronts Revitalization: The case of Abu Ali River corridor in Tripoli This thesis seeks to develop an ecological urban design strategy to address deteriorating urban rivers that have lost over time most of their ecological functions, as well as their spatial and cultural relations to cities and people. Within the context of cities with historic urban cores, cultural heritage has primarily focused on the built urban fabric neglecting the rivers that gave reason for their location. The city of Tripoli is such a case where some urban and planning zoning or master plans have neglected the integration of the Abu River into the urban and social fabric of the city. Accordingly, this thesis investigates the application of an integrated approach that combines two disciplines urban design and landscape ecology to integrate river systems into the cultural heritage design of cities where the natural and built environment are perceived as a single entity rather than separate ones. It defines six theoretical themes: time, complexity, hierarchy, spatial structure, typology, and connectivity; these are used as analytical tools to develop a multi scale analysis approach for the Abu Ali River. The scales of analysis range from the landscape to site levels in order to propose an ecological urban design strategy that would contribute towards re-integrating the river into the city as a public amenity, and revitalizing its ecological and cultural values. To achieve its goals, cross cutting themes are extracted from urban design and landscape ecological literature. Different types of urban and landscape design strategies and interventions that are applicable to the study area are extracted after the analysis of six case studies on urban rivers. An in-depth analysis of the site at the said scales led to the definition of three character zones that have different ecological and cultural values. Strategies for each character zone were developed taking into account the built fabric and the river morphology and ecological condition. A master plan was developed in more depth for the transition zone between the urban core and the agricultural sections of the river. The findings from the analysis and the development strategy and master plan show that ecological and landscape approaches could be easily incorporated in urban master and zoning plans; multiple scale analysis is necessary to understand the relationships governed in the process of integrating natural and built systems into the design and planning process; and finally, the adopted approach shows the need to integrate multiple disciplinary approaches to ensure a result that balances multiple considerations. VI CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................... V ABSTRACT .............................................................................................. VI ILLUSTRATIONS .................................................................................. XI TABLES .................................................................................................... XV DIAGRAMS .......................................................................................... XVI 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Research Objective and Questions ............................................................ 2 1.3 Methodology ............................................................................................ 2 1.3.1 Literature Review and Case Study Analysis ............................... 3 1.3.2 Questionnaire and Interviews ..................................................... 3 1.3.3 Archival Research ...................................................................... 4 1.3.4 Site Documentation .................................................................... 5 1.4 Research Significance .............................................................................. 6 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................... 8 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 8 2.2 Cultural Heritage ...................................................................................... 8 2.2.1 Cultural Heritage: An Evolving Concept .................................... 8 2.2.2 Cultural Heritage Landscapes ................................................... 11 2.2.2.1 Definitions and Types of Cultural Heritage Landscapes 11 2.2.2.2 River Corridors as Cultural Heritage Landscapes .......... 12 2.2.3 Implications ............................................................................. 13 2.3 Investigating Urban and Landscape Systems .......................................... 14 VII 2.3.1 Introduction .............................................................................. 14 2.3.2 Investigating Urban systems ..................................................... 15 2.3.2.1 Cities and complexity .................................................... 15 2.3.2.2 Urban hierarchy ............................................................ 19 2.3.2.3 Urban morphology ........................................................ 20 2.3.2.4 Type, typology and typomorphology ............................. 22 2.3.2.5 Cities and natural systems ............................................. 24 2.3.3 Implications ............................................................................. 25 2.3.4 Investigating Landscape Systems ............................................. 26 2.3.4.1 Defining ecology ........................................................... 26 2.3.4.2 The Ecosystem .............................................................. 28 2.3.4.3 Scale and hierarchy ....................................................... 29 2.3.4.4 Landscape ecology ........................................................ 31 2.3.4.4.1 Landscape Spatial Structure ............................ 32 2.3.4.4.2 Patch dynamics perspective ............................ 34 2.3.4.4.3 Landscape Classification ................................ 35 2.3.5 Implications ............................................................................. 36 2.3.6 Integrated Urban Ecological Framework .................................. 37 2.3.7 The river in the urban system ................................................... 41 2.3.7.1 Landscape ecology of urban rivers ................................ 42 2.4 Connectivity in urban rivers .................................................................. 46 2.4.1 Defining connectivity—biophysical approaches ....................... 47 2.4.2 Defining connectivity—cultural and design approaches ............ 47 2.4.3 Cognitive Approach ................................................................. 48 3. CASE STUDIES ................................................................................. 50 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 50 3.2 The Los Angeles River Revitalization Project, USA .............................. 51 3.3The Cheonggyecheon Stream Restoration Project, Seoul Korea .............. 53 3.4 The Rouge River Gateway Project, Michigan USA ............................... 55 3.5 The Isar Munich River Restoration Project, Munich Germany ............... 58 VIII 3.6 The Gomti River Revitalization Project, Lucknow India ........................ 60 3.7 Madrid Rio project, Manzanares River, Madrid Spain ........................... 62 3.8 Conclusion ............................................................................................ 64 4. CASE STUDY APPLICATION .................................................... 66 4.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................