The Center in Community Service

The Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Baghdad organized a symposium entitled "Tourism Planning in Dhi Qar" in cooperation with the Dhi Qar Planning Directorate. The workshop, which was attended by the Dean of the Center, Professor Dr. Kareem Hassan Alwan, and a number of his professors and graduate students, was held in the New Ur City in Dhi Qar and delivered by Dr. Alwan. The symposium aimed to highlight the tourism potential of Dhi Qar, given its temperate climate, which combines to form the marshland ecosystem, with the presence of rare waterfowl, diverse animals, and fish. It also featured traditional crafts such as traditional houses made of reeds and papyrus, which reflect the region's heritage and authenticity, as well as the presence of a botanical environment. For his part, Dhi Qar's Deputy Governor for Planning and Development, Engineer Razzaq Mahdi Al-Ali, praised the role of the Scientific Center for Tourism Revival in Dhi Qal and its environs, as well as the marshes. The center adopted the design of the tourist city according to modern planning standards that are consistent with the region's ancient history and its distinct and rich geography. He emphasized the importance of keeping pace with global scientific developments in this field and integrating artificial intelligence into urban and tourism development, based on ongoing cooperation with Iraqi scientific competencies, such as the University of Baghdad. This will raise the level of information and facilitate city management at a lower cost and with greater efficiency.

The Dean also presented the center's shield to Engineer Al-Ali, as well as to the Director of the Dhi Qar Planning Department, Engineer Yaqeen Kareem Juma, commending their efforts in preserving the city's tourism status and working to develop it.

The Dean of the Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Baghdad, Prof. Dr. Kareem Hassan Alwan, participated in a meeting held by the Ministry of Planning for the Special Committee to discuss the standards of infrastructure and services, headed by the Director General of the Department of Regional and Local Development, Dr. Muhammad Mohsen Al-Sayed, and attended by the Assistant Director General of the Department of Regional and Local Development, as well as representatives of the Ministries of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Construction, Housing and Public Municipalities, the Department of Sewerage, and the Water Department of the Baghdad Municipality.

The meeting aimed to discuss the standards adopted by the Ministry of Planning and the relevant ministries to provide services in terms of infrastructure construction and development, and to choose the best services for citizens and provide them with them. Alwan confirmed that the standards of drinking water, sanitation, and public and private university education services were discussed. It is worth noting that the Center for Urban and Regional Planning has participated in various meetings related to urban planning and others with various relevant institutions, while its participation today comes within a series of meetings to prepare the unified planning standards guide in coordination with the ministries.

The Dean of the Center for Urban and Regional Planning for Graduate Studies participated in a scientific workshop organized by the National Security Advisory in cooperation with the College of Engineering at the University of Baghdad, entitled (Geospatial Technologies in the Establishment and Management of Smart Cities), in the presence of the Dean of the College of Engineering, Professor Dr. Ghassan Hamid, and a number of instructors and lecturers from Iraqi and Arab universities.

Alwan presented a research entitled (Cities of tomorrow.. Sustainable Smart Cities), in which he defined smart cities as cities that anticipate the future in terms of economy, society and services and aim to provide a digital environment that is environmentally friendly and stimulates creativity. These cities work to implement work and conduct activities based on the spatial dimension of all activities using information systems (IT) technologies that provide a smart economy according to the vision of the European Union, referring to the United Nations report that confirms that 70% of the world's population will settle in city centers by 2050, thus highlighting the importance of working according to the concepts of smart cities due to the rapid growth of cities in developing countries and the increasing rates of migration from rural to urban areas. He also referred to the most important smart cities in the world such as New York, San Francisco, Amsterdam and Barcelona, ​​in addition to Dubai, which has become the most present in the Middle East in the world of smart cities since it began in 2013 to transform into a smart city whose service facilities are managed through smart, interconnected electronic systems.

It is noteworthy that the workshop included two sessions, in which various research papers were presented on geospatial technologies, investing in artificial intelligence technologies in agriculture, and developing green spaces by enhancing sustainable planning, in addition to discussing the development of information and communication technology to achieve sustainable development.

Professor Dr. Jamal Baqir Mutlaq obtained membership in the Building Research Journal issued by the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Public Municipalities, after the journal was suspended for 34 years. Mutlaq stated that the scientific journal will be semi-annual and in both Arabic and English, and will include a complete section on urban planning. Researchers and specialists have been recruited to edit the journal with its other chapters and according to its contents and sections under the supervision of university professors with scientific titles specified by the regulations of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq.

The Minister of Construction, Housing and Public Municipalities, Benkin Rikani, directed, during his meeting with the journal's editorial board, the necessity of enriching the journal with solid and unique scientific research, and focusing on scientific research related to the development of construction materials available in the country exclusively.

The Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Baghdad organized a scientific research trip to the Karbala Center for Studies and Research affiliated to the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussein within the framework of scientific and research cooperation between the two centers. The delegation was headed by the Dean of the Center, Professor Dr. Kareem Hassan Alwan, and a group of the center's lecturers, and a number of postgraduate students.

The delegation also visited the Fadak Model Farm during its trip, learning about the most important and best types of palm trees and seedlings in the farm, which established the principles of sustainability and spread the culture of the green environment, as it works to reduce global warming, absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, which provides a healthy environment for the individual and society. It is noteworthy that the center's delegation visited the library of the Karbala Center for Studies and Research, and discussed the latest scientific activities to participate in the Ninth International Scientific Conference for the Arbaeen Pilgrimage.

Dr. Alwan presented the center's shield to the Director of the Karbala Center for Studies and Research, Abdul Amir Al-Quraishi, in addition to the supervisory and scientific committees for their continuous cooperation with the Urban and Regional Planning Center for Postgraduate Studies.

The lecturer at the Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies, Assistant Professor Dr. Ali Hussein Muhammad al-Janabi, participated in the scientific symposium entitled (Division and spread of housing units in the city of Baghdad, its causes, effects, and treatment) which was held by the Baghdad Municipality.

Al-Janabi presented a working paper entitled (Division of housing units and its impact on the quality of life in the city), which included 3 tracks. The first dealt with the interaction between the elements of the urban complex (humans, legislation, and architectural composition in the place), as well as their relationship with the external environment, while the second touched on the most important planning legislation that regulates the urban environment, with a focus on legislation that has a clear impact on the division of residential units, which caused the abolition of the concept of urban areas in the city of Baghdad, and the rise in building, housing and population densities, and then its negative repercussions on the quality of life in the city. It also included presenting some field footage showing the decline in urban indicators. The third track highlighted the most important impacts on the urban environment and the quality of life in it in terms of cause and effect.

The research paper presented some recommendations and solutions, which were on two levels. The first level included the urban system itself, and the legislation it requires or amends it, to reduce the negative impacts on the quality of life in the city, as well as adopting appropriate housing policies to meet residential demand and meet the housing need without negative impacts on the existing urban system, while the second level dealt with the measures that must be taken from outside the urban system at the regional and national levels to protect the city from the pressure of immigration entering it, by activating spatial development factors in the countryside and governorates to reduce migration to the capital, Baghdad.

The Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Baghdad participated in a scientific workshop entitled (The Environmental Reality of Marshes as a World Heritage Property) in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Protection and Improvement in the Southern Region of the Ministry of Environment. Professor Dr. Jamal Baqir Mutlaq represented the Center and confirmed in his paper that climate change has affected all countries, and one of the most prominent manifestations of climate change in Iraq is the decline in the levels of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the scarcity of the levels of dams and marshes, as well as the lack of rain.

Dr. Mutlak stressed that the results of these changes had a negative impact on the country, as they led on the social level to migrate from the countryside and marshes to the cities, in addition to their economic impact, which contributed to a decline in agricultural production and its repercussions on food security and the overall economy in general, while Iraq was affected, environmentally, by the quality of water and ecological diversity, in addition to the decrease in arable areas, and thus the expansion of desertification areas.

Dr. Mutlak also pointed out in his paper, through the studies he implemented and supervised, that climate changes and the decline in river water levels affected the urban aspect and housing and caused migration, displacement, the emptying of marshland areas, an increase in demand for housing and services, and the emergence of random housing problems in the areas to which migration took place.

The workshop included two lectures, which dealt with the impact of climate change and the planning and environmental vision for developing human settlements in the marshes, in the presence of a group of professors and general directors from various relevant ministries and departments.

A lecturer at the Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Baghdad, Professor Dr. Nada Khalifa, participated in the annual review workshop of UNICEF, which was held at the Training and Development Center of the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Public Municipalities. Khalifa confirmed that the workshop aimed to evaluate the achievements of the program of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Department at UNICEF, in addition to reviewing the annual achievements of the Baghdad office and its plans and priorities for the coming year 2024 related to the environment, such as energy sustainability and how to invest solar energy in educational institutions, noting that taking into consideration issues of climate change and mechanisms for mitigating it through rationalizing water consumption and urging afforestation and cultivation of available spaces within government and educational institutions.

It is noteworthy that this participation of the Center comes within the field of opening horizons for cooperation with international organizations, openness to them, and exchanging ideas. It is noteworthy that the workshop was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Public Municipalities and the Ministries of Health and Education, in addition to the participation of the University of Technology in Baghdad.

The Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Baghdad hosted a scientific symposium entitled (Hidden Violence and Women’s Self-Violence) organized by a number of liaison members in the research centers of the University and sponsored by the Women’s Empowerment Division at the Presidency of the University of Baghdad. The symposium aimed to introduce the types of hidden violence on women’s intellectual awareness and their impact on their health. Psychological and physical, as well as the violence she is exposed to within the family, work or society, including moral, verbal, material, physical and personal violence, affect a woman’s life and its impact on her family and children.

The symposium was opened with a speech by the head of the Women’s Empowerment Division at the Presidency of the University of Baghdad, teacher Sinaa' Mustafa Abboud, welcoming the distinguished guests and thanking the efforts made by the members of the Women’s Empowerment Liaison in research centers. Professor Dr. Siham Hassan Al-Shujairi, a lecturer at the College of Mass Communication, presented a research paper on addressing violence against women in the media and the use of women as a commodity in television programs and entertainment and cultural programs. A lecturer at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Assistant Professor Dr. Rana Mouloud Shaker, also presented a research paper on the dangers of hidden violence against women. Dr. Hoda Jaber Hussein presented a research paper on self-inflicted violence and its impact on women’s mental health.

The symposium included displaying documentaries and the attendees recording their ideas about violence and ways to solve it by using scraps of paper and pinning them to a tree to stimulate self-awareness, exchange opinions and discuss with the attendees and emphasize the role of academics and researchers at the University of Baghdad to address and find solutions to this type of problem because of its significant impact on society. Certificates of appreciation were distributed and the joint efforts of the liaison members of the Women’s Empowerment Unit in the research centers were appreciated.

The Dean of the Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Baghdad, Professor Dr. Kareem Hassan, chaired the discussion of a master’s degree in the Department of Surveying, Department of Engineering Technology at the College of Engineering Technology at the Middle Technical University by the student Zuhoor Kataa Thamir for her thesis (An InSAR 4D Analysis to Infer Recent Changes in the Upper Catchment of the Diyala River).

Dr. Alwan confirmed that the thesis addressed the topic of the LiCSBAS technology to analyze the natural and artificial (man-made) changes occurring in the upper part of the Diyala River after establishing several engineering projects on the river, exploiting them, and controlling their resources without taking into account the effects of those projects on the environment and human life.

The dean discussed with the student the outcomes of the study regarding the changes occurring in the upper part of the Diyala River and presented scientific visions for managing water resources in the region based on the analysis of temporal variables for five regions surrounding the river.

It is noteworthy that the Center of Urban and Regional Planning has participated in many scientific activities in partnership with universities and colleges of specialization, within the framework of the openness of the University of Baghdad and its formations to all scientific institutions to exchange experiences, refine information, and supply knowledge talents.