ABSTRACT
Any standard reading of major cities in the Middle East and North Africa would identify three cardinal urban fabrics: the old city, the modern city, and everything built in the suburbs, whether spontaneously or otherwise. An updated reading of the City of Tunis would also point to another, corresponding to the emergence of the Lake Tunis Project. This city within the city has some distinctive characteristics: (1) because of its geographic location and functioning, it constitutes a third centre alongside the medina and the European city; (2) its waterfront of reclaimed land potentially offers unlimited new urban possibilities; (3) it is becoming the alternative seat of tertiary and diplomatic activities;1 (4) it is close
to Carthage International airport, the ports of La Goulette and Radès, Le Kram Trade Fair Center and is easily reached by rapid expressways; (5) it has been designed with the intent of improving the environmental conditions of the city of Tunis as a whole.
