Utilizing Collective Mental Images as a Mechanism to Revitalize Spatial Identity and Reconstruct the Damaged Old City of Mosul

The old city of Mosul, Iraq, suffered extensive destruction following its occupation by criminal ISIS gangs during the period 2014-2017. Although previous studies have emphasized the importance of preserving the city’s identity and involving its residents in the reconstruction process, they have not addressed the role of mental images of place in reconstruction. This research is based on the problem of unclear understanding regarding the influence of collective mental images of place among the residents of the destroyed old city of Mosul in determining reconstruction priorities. The study aims to elucidate this role in the process of setting priorities for the reconstruction and revitalization of the city. Its hypothesis assumes that the collective mental images of place among the residents of the destroyed old city of Mosul encompass multiple levels of memories and perceptions, representing the three dimensions of place (morphological, topological, and typological), through which the prominence of their elements can determine the priorities in the reconstruction process and restore the city’s lost identity. For practical reasons, the proposed methodology has focused exclusively on the material components by examining the nature and the intensity of these elements in the collective mental image among a sample of experts, residents, and displaced persons from Mosul. This has been achieved through interviews, the preparation of an open descriptive questionnaire for the material components, and semi-blank maps of the destroyed city that participants asked to complete. By employing the Delphi method and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for data analysis, the study has proposed a comprehensive reconstruction methodology and has established priorities for rebuilding the material components of the destroyed old city of Mosul, ranging from the most critical and influential to the least.