Friday, December 2, 2022

Refugees of the Syrian war build a new Aleppo next door

Also today: NYC is hiring a rat czar, and France plans to raise toll-road fees and boost frequent-driver rebates.

Reem al-Najjar still remembers when her family in Aleppo, Syria, would drive across the Turkish border to shop in Gaziantep before bringing home a box of the finest baklava. Now, the city associated with weekend getaways has become where she resides full-time alongside 500,000 refugees in the aftermath of one of the deadliest episodes of the ongoing Syrian civil war.

Gaziantep was already one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the world when the war started in 2011, turning the city into a humanitarian-aid hub and a magnet for Aleppians seeking work. Rather than pine for a bygone era, displaced citizens have over the years reshaped their new home to adapt it to their needs — and memories. Restauranteurs have made copies of their old establishments, and soap makers have moved their factories to Gaziantep's outskirts. But the influx of refugees has sparked tensions with some locals in what's one of Turkey's conservative strongholds, contributors Stefania D'Ignoti and Abdulsalam Jarroud report. Today on CityLab: Victims of a Forgotten War, Syrians Build a New Aleppo Next Door

— Amelia Pollard

More on CityLab

Wanted: NYC Rat Czar. Will Offer Salary as High as $170,000
Mayor Eric Adams is looking for a leader in the city's war on rats: someone who is "somewhat bloodthirsty" and committed to the "wholesale slaughter" of vermin.
New San Francisco DA Vows to Fight the City's 'Lawlessness'
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who helped unseat her former boss Chesa Boudin, pledged to make the city safer with a renewed focus on accountability.
France to Raise Toll-Road Fees, Boost Frequent-Driver Rebates
Fees will increase by an average of 4.75% next year, though the country will offer rebates for frequent drivers, as well as those who use electric vehicles.
A Heat Pump With DIY Installation Can Decarbonize Public Housing

New devices promise to slash carbon emissions in cold climates.

What we're reading

  • A billionaire got the Chicago mayor's support to lease public land. Then he wrote her campaign a $25,000 check (ProPublica)

  • 'I was desperate': Young job seekers scammed, abused in Nigeria (Al Jazeera)

  • The trains are getting longer and the job is getting worse (Slate)

  • How Los Angeles voters delivered a referendum on economic inequality (The New Republic)

  • Robot landlords are buying up houses (Vice)

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