This article examines how metropolitanisation was materially inscribed in Aleppo’s urban morphology between 1920 and 2010 and how this long-term reading can inform urban recovery. In simple terms, it argues that Aleppo’s reconstruction should be informed not only by damaged sites, but also by the deeper spatial structures that shaped the city before the war. While metropolitanisation is often approached through demographic growth, economic concentration, and territorial expansion, this study interprets it as a morphogenetic process that reorganised centrality, socio-spatial differentiation, corridors, and peripheral thresholds. Methodologically, the article adopts a historical-morphological case study, combining multi-scalar analysis at metropolitan, urban, and tissue levels. It draws on historical plans, cartographic material, aerial and satellite imagery, demographic and economic indicators, and comparative tissue analysis. The findings show that Aleppo’s metropolitanisation generated layered centrality, west–east socio-spatial contrast, secondary centres, industrial corridors, and differentiated peripheral interfaces. The originality of the article lies in showing that urban morphology was not only an outcome of metropolitanisation, but also a spatial condition through which metropolitan development became organised. It proposes morphology as an interpretive framework for understanding Aleppo’s metropolitan transformation and as a strategic reference for recovery-oriented planning.
Urban foresight and its project packages may follow linear temporality paths towards intended urban futures. Changes in conditions in one project package might affect the others. This briefing argues that project bundling can offer a more dynamic way to implement these visions. Such implementation allows project pathways to respond to contextual conditions, actors, community priorities, and funding availability. In the pre- and post-Big Picture plan in the City of Huntsville, Alabama, two project bundles were identified for reflection: places of activities and circulation patterns. The analysis of the City of Huntsville shows that flexible policies, interconnected project bundles, and loose coordination can support implementation while allowing projects to respond to changing contextual conditions. The analysis identifies six characteristics of foresight-based project bundles: flexible policies, spatial differentiation, functional interconnection, cross-sectoral composition, multi-actor involvement, and temporal asynchrony. These characteristics enable projects to evolve by multiple implementation pathways while maintaining relationships with a long-term urban vision.
Public open spaces1 (POS) are fundamental to urban resilience, providing multifunctional, adaptable environments capable of addressing intensifying climatic challenges. As climate change accelerates, designing climate-resilient public open spaces2 (CRPOS) through active community involvement has become a planning imperative. Recent innovations have introduced ‘phygital’ methodologies integrating physical spatial interventions with digital technologies, including participatory geographic information system, digital twins, sensor networks, augmented reality, and online engagement platforms, enabling real-time feedback, simulation, and broader stakeholder inclusion. Despite substantial independent literature on POS design, climate adaptation, and smart-city technologies, research systematically examining how phygital approaches support CRPOS co-production through integrative participatory governance frameworks remains limited. This study conducts a structured scoping review critically synthesising literature at the intersection of POS co-production, climate resilience, and digitally mediated participation. Using a PRISMA-guided screening protocol alongside thematic, content, and narrative analyses, the review systematically maps prevailing themes, digital tools, and knowledge gaps. From 346 studies published between 2010 and 2024 across Scopus and Web of Science, 74 met the inclusion criteria. Findings illuminate how co-production, co-design, and co-creation collectively shape adaptive, inclusive public environments under climate stress, culminating in an integrative framework linking digital innovation, on-site engagement, and climate adaptation strategies.
China’s urban regeneration often faces challenges in integrating physical and non-physical complexities while fostering inclusive stakeholder collaboration. Despite extensive studies exploring the urban conditions and stakeholder roles, it is not explicit how design strategies emerge from the environment interpretation, nor how stakeholders are effectively incorporated into the design processes. Grounded in pattern language theory, a design-thinking-based theory, this study proposes a co-design framework to develop tools for urban regeneration in China. Through a three-stage process – drafting, consolidating, and validating patterns – it clarifies the process of co-design by applying pattern-driven design thinking. Applied to Hanzheng Jie, Wuhan, a historic area, the framework developed 20 patterns, with the representative patterns discussed for their connotations and implications. Results demonstrate its potential to enhance inclusive urban regeneration, advance pattern language theory, and provide adaptable design tools for China’s evolving urban contexts, with implications for future research in diverse urban settings.
