Challenges and prospects for urban peacebuilding in post-siege Marawi City, Philippines: people, places, and practices

Abstract

Much has been written about rebuilding conflict-affected societies, but its implementation in urban contexts needs further examination. In urban studies, some scholars have highlighted the relationship between urban dynamics and the conditions for peace and conflict. Meanwhile, critical peace scholars have emphasised the value of everyday practices for peacebuilding. This study situates the conventional peacebuilding components of security, reconciliation, and development within Marawi City's people, places, and practices to advance an integrated framework for analysing urban peacebuilding. The data for analysis draws on focus group discussions around the issues of security (e.g., clearance of unexploded ordnances), reconciliation (particularly the return of displaced persons), and development (i.e., the resumption of livelihoods). Results show that identity, spatiality, and relationality are entangled in post-conflict cities like Marawi, posing complex and unique challenges to peacebuilding efforts. Therefore, sustaining peace in post-conflict cities needs careful consideration of the urban characteristics of the people, places, and practices that influence peacebuilding.