Urban Syria is the quarterly bulletin on urban issues by the Ministry of Local Administration . It is supported by the Program for Sustainable Urban Development in Syria (and a number of international donor agencies in the sector). What does Urban Syria mean to us and all contributors to this first issue of the quarterly bulletin?

It shall draw the attention to the fact that Syria's future lies in the urban areas - without neglecting the rural areas
and further strengthening the urban-rural ties. It shall also draw attention to the fact that the future of urban areas in Syria requires meticulous preparation and a wide variety of activities by the public sector, civil society and stakeholders of the private sector: No future is thinkable without strengthening the strengths of Syrian cities - their density, their mixture
of residential, service and production uses and their compactness which allows for comparably short travel
distances within the cities. No future is thinkable without overcoming the weaknesses of Syrian cities - their haphazard sprawl, their alarming environmental problems and their deficiencies in public transport and traffic management. And finally - no future is thinkable too without safeguarding and developing the urban past, the wonderful urban heritage of many Syrian cities. Urban Syria wants to cover these issues and beyond - not by adding scientific articles to the
wide range of publications but rather by offering a forum for various perspectives on these themes, by writers, non-scientists, citizens, administrators etc.

Urban Syria likes to invite for discussion and is open for exchange. And Urban Syria is open for criticism and further improvement.