Abstract:
Post-war Beirut's profit-led development, land commodification, and spatial
securitization have transformed the Lebanese capital at the expense of public life and
collective spatial practices. In numbers, accessible public open/green space per resident
in Beirut stands as low as 0.8 sq.m., while the WHO recommends a minimum of 9 sq.m.
per capita. Considering the current compounded crises, counting on public agents for
the provision of new public spaces, such as gardens and plazas, appears out of the
question. This thesis investigates the potentials of urban vacancies and open spaces in
Beirut for the re-activation of public life, based on extensive fieldwork of the daily
spatial practices of city’s dwellers in the peri-central neighborhood of Zoqaq el-Blat.
The neighborhood scale may present more productive opportunities for interventions
that can improve urban livability and collective spatial claims, especially when led by
urban activists who are keen on advancing social and environmental justice and
reclaiming the social value of land (Harb, 2018). The significance of this research lies in
its contribution to further the understanding of urban vacancies as a tool to enhance
socio-spatial practices in contested cities of the Global South, and to contribute to a
reflective urban practice that aims to advance inclusive and ecological cities.
