An investigation of processes of sectarian territorialization in Beirut Bir Hassan as a case study.

Abstract

I moved to Bir Hassan, Beirut, Lebanon in 2006 and witnessed its transition from a high-end residential neighborhood into a high-security Shiite enclave. In Lebanon, enclaving is initiated by powerful sectarian groups, and its spatial materialization in the division of cities or regions into political territories (Farah, 2011; Bou Akar, 2018). In this context, one reads Bir Hassan’s ongoing enclaving as the imposition of the particular rule of one sectarian-political party. The party has enhanced security to those who “belong” to its political orientation while sharpening territorial boundaries for others. It has also imposed a new set of spatial constraints that influence the daily routines of neighborhood residents. This was achieved by penetrating the networks and channels that organize the production of space in the neighborhood, including housing development and exchange, as well as commercial activities, thus transforming the area gradually into a highly-secured zone, a hot spot (Fawaz et. al, 2012). This ultimately materialized into a new type of urban governance that escapes traditional municipal control or maybe interrelates with it, to form a shared type of power (Farah, 2011; Harb, 2009). The findings of this thesis are significant for planning theory because they inform us of the role that planning and the production of the built environment can play in the reproduction of social forces at various moments in Beirut’s history and ultimately in facilitating urban enclaving and the city’s fragmentation.