REGIONAL FEATURES AND CURRENT STATUS OF HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SYRIAN CITIES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF DAMASCUS)

. In the modern period, the cities of Syria are faced with unprecedented destruction of historical buildings due to military operations in the country. In this regard, the historical cities of Syria need to study the current state of the urban environment in order to determine the promising directions and principles for its restoration, considering regional characteristics. The article discusses the specifics of the planning structure of the historical cities of Syria and their modern urban planning problems on the example of the city of Damascus. The authors of the study carried out a retrospective analysis and identified the main stages of the historical development of the central part of the city of Damascus (Roman, Islamic, French and modern), conducted a comparative analysis of the development stages of the historical Syrian cities of Aleppo and Latakia. The planning structure of the historical city center, its current location in the city structure, the state of cultural heritage sites, as well as transport and pedestrian accessibility are analyzed. The analysis revealed a number of urban planning problems, including: the spread of destruction in the structure of the city, the destruction of cultural heritage sites, the formed illegal residential development, the insufficient number of green areas in the central part of the city, problems associated with transport infrastructure, etc., promising directions for their solutions