Beirut: Three Cities Within One Capital

Abstract

Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, similar to many war destructed cities, has undergone major transformations post-civil war. Lebanon today is very much a result of the differences between different religions and religious sects the country witnesses on a political and social level. These disagreements made way in every decision making process especially during its (re)construction. Different political groups worked on the transformation of different regions which lead to many contrasts present today in Beirut. The (re)construction of Beirut brought many lessons for future (re)constructions of countries. This topic has become more crucial in recent years as more destructions are caused by the increase in wars the world is witnessing. Most of the research conducted on the (re)construction of war torn cities either targets Western cities or focuses on one development area instead of looking at the whole image. This is especially relevant for Beirut’s (re)constructions since the capital underwent different transformation projects by different groups. Therefore, the research group investigated is How have wars designed modern Beirut’s urban typology? This paper studied three neighbourhoods in Beiurt namely : Beirut Central District, Zokak el Balat and Haret Hreik. A comparative analysis was conducted to identify the similarities and differences these neighbourhoods had. Having an absent governmental body during the (re)constructions of Beirut allowed the political groups to demolish buildings according to their likings and incentives. Very often, the neighbourhoods studied underwent major transformations that completely changed the character of the area. The (re)constructions of Beirut were solely steered by private incentives of the various political groups. At the end of the day, it was the Lebanese people that greatly suffered from Beirut’s makeover.