Uncovering Vulnerabilities and Resilience of Benghazi After the War

Abstract

Wars result in the destruction of cities in many ways (Ballentine & Nitzschke, 2005; Brzoska & Fröhlich, 2016) that they not only stimulate vulnerabilities of cities but also decrease their resilience. The civil war in the city of Benghazi stared in 2011. This study aims to investigate both the multifaceted vulnerabilities of Benghazi resulted from war and some signs of resilience reactions against consequences of war. It attempts to compare before and after the war situations for various structures in the city including demographic, economic, social, spatial and environmental dimensions. To do this, it analyses written and visual documents such as master plans, satellite images and national/international reports. The study finds outs that the inhabitants of the city have economically developed resiliency strategies by creating new jobs. Moreover, the residents of Benghazi construct permeant or temporary houses at the outskirts of the city as a spatial resiliency reaction. However, this reaction results in urban sprawl in the city which consequently stir up the pressures on natural environmental in the city.