Outside the plan: Urban growth outpaces roads and services in Daraa

Outside the plan: Urban growth outpaces roads and services in Daraa

PARIS — Two kilometers outside Jassim, a city in Syria’s southern Daraa province, Muhammad Abu Qassem is building a small home for his family on a plot of farmland inherited from his father. He began construction earlier this year, when the high cost of land and real estate prices in Jassim led him to consider options outside city limits.  Basic infrastructure—electricity, water, sewage and roads—does not extend to Abu Qassem’s house. He plans t…