Abstract
This paper presents a development plan for rehabilitating and integrating the old city of Ghadames, Libya. It is based on findings and missions carried out by the author during his work as a consultant for UNOPS project LIB/98/003, for the urban rehabilitation of Ghadames Old city between November 1999 and April 2005. The aim of this paper is to propose a sustainable approach for formulating development strategies for urban planning and urban design aspects related to the rehabilitation of the Old City of Ghadames. A thorough review of the new town planning and the old city morphology, as it has been developed through time, revealed several challenges facing the future development of Ghadames city. This paper discusses the planning measures and the intervention necessary to deals with those challenges and to rehabilitate the old city as well as to restore its urban position within Ghadames greater area. A comprehensive planning proposal is considered as the appropriate tool for managing the development and rehabilitation of the old town and its complimentary counterpart; the new city. The proposed plan considers the following five development strategies: * developing major city monuments; * rehabilitating major public squares; * providing zones for housing and tourist investments; * revitalizing axis between the old and new city, and * improving traditional building materials. A recent visit to the city of Ghadames has shown how urban planning and urban design capacity can improve the quality of life in traditional cities. The city has attracted the attention of local and national authorities; therefore, a new positive attitude seems to be flourishing among local community.