Livelihood Reports Al Amrikeya Area - Final Assessment | Page 153

2.4.3 REAL ESTATE MARKET
The main objective of this section is to under-
stand whether or not the Syrian enterprises
have directly contributed to the development
of the area or have they been able to capital-
ize on an untapped resource. To assess the true
impact over time the methodology of this study
serves to establish baseline trend data by utiliz-
ing rent pricing for the surrounding context and
within the site itself. This is coupled with a con-
textual urban analysis identifying the key spa-
tial features that may provide a different layer
of insight. An analysis of the baseline data is
measured against the primary data collected to
identify whether there is a significant change in
rent pricing within the site. A change over a cer-
tain threshold may signify inflationary or specu-
lator pressure which would identify a degree of
value generation in the area. The second layer
will analyze the source of this potential value
change. Incentives for various activities in the
area may serve to identify the catalyst. This re-
quires an analysis on the level of urban compet-
itiveness (1) by considering local endowments
and contextual factors that may be significant
contributing factors to the site.
Contextual Analysis
As previously described, the AAA holds a dis-
tinctive contextual position within its surround-
ing context. As a mixed-use retail centre, AAA is
near al-Saraya Shopping Complex to the west-
ern side. Dolphin Mall and Carrefour Mall are
approximately 1km away, but lie on the 26th
July Corridor and are only accessed by road ex-
iting the al-Hossary area. (Figure 55)
Figure 55: Nearby commercial nodes in AAA
1-  The World Bank,. Urban Competitiveness Assessment In
Developing Country Urban Regions. Washington D.C: The World
Bank, 2000. Print. Towards A Methodology For Conducting City
Development Strategies.
95 | Understanding the development context