Sustainable Urbanization - First International Seminar
30 Jun 07 - 1 Jul 07
Tripoli, Libya

The world’s urban population is growing rapidly and the Great Jamahiriya is no exception. The majority of the Libyan population are already living in cities but still, with a fast natural population growth the urban population will expand by 50% over the coming 25 years. In addition, the country is facing macro-economic changes and rapid economic growth. These two phenomena are creating opportunities and challenges to guide the development of Libyan cities towards first class level urban areas. The main question is how this aim can be reached. Classical spatial planning approaches to control land use development as applied in the past are no longer valid but modern planning processes to stimulate development needs to be adapted to the specific circumstances of Libya.