The 57 Cities of Fezzan

RC Heritage assisted the french consortium FIT MEMORIS in its comprehensive partnership with ECOU (Engineering Consulting Office for Utility) to plan future cities in the south-west of Libya for the UPA (Urban Planning Authority). The technical assistance to UPA concerned two main tasks in Fezzan Region: to revise and prepare the Master Plans and the Detailed Projects for 57 municipalities, and to outline city centers Urban Design for 22 Municipalities.

Client support developed at two levels:

1.  Institutional: Assistance to UPA for the implementation of a comprehensive planning strategy, from regional and sub-regional levels to municipal and district levels: the Third Generation Plans (3GP).

2. Technical: Capacity building for ECOU (already in charge of implementing this national policy all over Libya) to study and produce the 3GP. FIT MEMORIS provided technical, conceptual and human support to ECOU offices in Libya, reinforcing its capacity through international experiences and GIS know-how. A large international team (25 persons) composed of highly experimented planners, urban designers and GIS experts was mobilized for a whole year.

François Cristofoli, who was regularly in Libya (Tripoli and the Fezzan) between October 2008 and June 2009, acted as a team manager in charge of: the coordination of the planners’ team, preliminary design for the Sebha Urban and Architectural Charter, urban planning for 13 small cities and villages, assistance to the realisation of the Master Plans for the four major cities’.

Client: SEP Memoris & ECOU (Engineering Consulting Office for Utility).