Reconstruction as violence and forced displacement in Syria

Violence against civilians is not only produced through the destruction of the built environment. While scenes of urban destruction in Syria have become familiar, urban violence and conflict have also been unleashed through the rebuilding of the built environment. War has meant that various factions have attempted to provide their own basic urban services and build their own infrastructures. This construction is a means through which competing political factions attempt to control, dispose and/or dominate various populations. To understand urban conflict, this chapter looks not only to the deliberate destruction of the built environment but also its construction and the urbanization process. This has implications for the understanding of reconstruction and its supposed link to post-conflict periods. This chapter focuses on how Syrians are negotiating their struggle for socially necessary shelter and settlement in a context in which many are targeted for continued violence through the reconstruction process.