THE CASBAH OF ALGIERS: A LIVING URBAN LANDSCAPE OF CULTURAL MEMORY, RESILIENCE, AND HERITAGE CONSERVATION

Abstract

This study examines the Casbah of Algiers as a living urban landscape, emphasizing its historical, architectural, and cultural significance in the Mediterranean context. Rather than treating the Casbah solely as a preserved monument, the research conceptualizes it as a dynamic, resilient cultural system shaped by successive Amazigh, Arab-Islamic, Andalusian, Ottoman, and European influences. An interdisciplinary qualitative methodology combines historical analysis, architectural observation, urban morphological analysis, and field-based investigations, including site visits, photographic documentation, and informal interviews with residents. Drawing on the Historic Urban Landscape approach and living heritage theory, the study explores the interplay between tangible and intangible heritage within the evolving urban fabric. Findings show that the Casbah is a palimpsestic environment in which diverse cultural traditions have been continuously layered, adapted, and integrated, contributing to a distinctive urban identity sustained by social memory, community resilience, traditional craftsmanship, and everyday practices. Despite its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Casbah faces significant challenges, including structural deterioration, demographic pressures, environmental vulnerability, inadequate urban management, and rising tourism. These pressures threaten both its physical fabric and the social practices that sustain its cultural vitality. The study argues for a shift from monument-centered preservation toward integrated, participatory, and sustainable conservation strategies that recognize the Casbah as an evolving socio-cultural system and a significant Mediterranean space for intercultural dialogue, urban resilience, and living heritage conservation.