Sustainable urban development of historical cities: Historical Mosul City, Iraq

Abstract

Due to the imbalance between their historic physical buildings and the requirements of its residents, heritage sites are subject to several urban pressures. However, the major potential for urban growth in such locations is in their historic assets.The purpose of this research is to provide an approach for conserving and enhancing urban history in a manner that is beneficial to the environment, society, culture, and economics. Heritage conservation is attempting to distinguish itself. This is due to the fact that conservation and sustainability objectives do not always coincide. The findings are based on research conducted in Mosul and a study of sustainable development's concepts and pillars. With the use of UNDP reports, the present condition in Mosul was determined. The results demonstrate the need of devising a strategy to safeguard historic cities while allowing residents to continue to reside there. This plan should include objectives, strategies, and instruments to ensure that the “historic living city” can adapt and evolve in accordance with the sustainable development principles and the sustainability cycles.The paper uses an inductive methodology to apply sustainable development to historic city centers worldwide.