Many academic studies in urban planning emphasized the role of political trends in directing the processes of preserving urban heritage and urban planning. They also confirmed that urban areas have changed during the previous century from the predominant industrial community to a pattern in which knowledge, information, and communication are leading. Therefore, urban planning should keep pace with this change in order to penetrate more into the urban fabric and give solutions to current issues and future insights for the use of urban areas. The neighborhood of Bechara has expanded over the archeological site Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad (Al Qal’a), according to a classic plan, in order to satisfy the increasing needs of the local community. The uncontrolled urban expansion has caused inevitable threats to this world cultural heritage. Therefore, our study seeks to reconsider the current Preparation and Reconstruction Plan (PRP) using the Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine the best future directions for the urban expansion of the neighborhood Bechara to conserve its archaeological site Al Qal’a.

Keywords: Al Qal’a, Bechara, conservation of urban heritage, urban expansion, urban planning, GIS.