مجلة مدينة ومجتمع
Volume 0, Numéro 0, Pages 67-81
2021-03-01

The Ancestral Urban And Architectural Practices, A Source Of Inspiration Towards A Sustainable City:case Of M’zab Valley Ksour

Authors : Kadri Meryem .

Abstract

In the hot and arid regions of southern Algeria, and since the past there are Saharan cities, which necessarily rely on their logic of Organization and development. These are considered as an important space to adapt to the harsh climatic conditions of the Saharan environments. However, these oases recently witnessed major changes; they are characterized by its fragility and its limitations to accommodate a surplus of human settlements. These changes can lead to a risk in destroying the image of these cities. To do this, the concept of Sustainable Development is becoming an integral part of the planning practices adopted by human beings. On the other hand, despite the anarchic nature of Algerian cities, several traditional practices have been made to adapt to the spatial and environmental. The M'Zab Valley is one of the existing examples of oases cities that give us a lesson in urban planning and architecture. The Valley contains Ksour with their palm groves, which introduces its logics of adaptation to the local context through local knowledge with implication of the human-culture-climate. Thus, this study focuses on shedding light on the ancestral urban and architectural practices adopted by local people to adapt to severe social, spatial and climatic requirements. The study is based on an analytical approach that focuses on observations of urban and architectural development and planning methods in the M'Zab valley to draw lessons to be learned in order to face the major challenges of the era.

Keywords

ancestral urban - Saharan environments - Ksour - The M'Zab Valley - human-culture-climate - urban and architectural development - analytical approach -