RECASTING THE URBAN MEMORY OF AL- TAHRIR SQUARE, BAGHDAD, IRAQ

Abstract

Al-Tahrir Square is the most effective Square in Baghdad, has many cultural and urban landmarks, and the most famous is the Freedom Memorial. As a valuable public space, this Square has faced urban transformation and dilution of social identity due to the collective memory and the built environment changing its meaning. This research aims at uncovering recent urban memory and reproducing collective memory in urban public spaces. Qualitative research was applied through a field study and interviews with 40 participants aged 18 and 75. Most of the people we interviewed thought that their part in the research helped them to understand how urban memory works now. This study shows that events and political activities created the memory of the place in the urban public space under study and that the place's transformation into a place of attraction and conflict between the forces of its original use led to the creation of a kind of new memory place. Keywords: urban memory, recasting memory, Al Tahrir Square, urban space, collective memory)