Indicators of Urban Encroachment in the Old Center of the Holy City of Najaf and Proposed Planning Solutions

Abstract

The high population growth of the city of Najaf and the large number of visitors coming to the old city for religious tourism, in addition to it being a religious center that attracts religious and seminary studies, and its distinguished location made it attractive for holding central events of a regional nature in this specific space, unlike the urban plan, led to spatial and functional changes in the region. Causing the closure of some internal roads for security reasons, capital owners and investors were encouraged to intensify their investments in open roads. Thus, there was dominance of capital owners of a specific category and those who were politically or religiously supported over real estate speculation in the center and control over the purchase of specific properties in order to change their type and type of use to commercial use. Contrary to urban plans, the demand for attached lands for urban uses leads to many problems, the most important of which are the encroachment on residential lands in the old city center, the increase in building density, and the subsequent traffic congestion, deterioration in air quality, and accumulation of solid waste. The result is a general deterioration in the quality of life, and the research problem focuses on About the presence of manifestations and indicators of urban encroachment and encroachment on the spatial organization that negatively affected the city, accompanied by several urban, social, economic and environmental problems. The research assumes upgrading the center and re-planning it in accordance with indicators of sustainable smart city planning to be more effective in confronting the manifestations of urban encroachment and its negative effects.