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Baalbek: Construction as a Material for Partisan Clientelism

Nadine Bekdache
Christina Abou Rouphaël
 23/07/2021

After an introduction to the urban social context of the city, we will focus in this text on construction permits. The latters are read as a tool used to violate social norms in the construction process, as a modification in the spatial reality of buildings and the city as a whole, and as a catalyst for creating a social stigma for those who do not fit within the clientelistic network of the dominant sectarian parties in the region. We will give examples of the practices that arise as a result of construction permits, as well as the political-spatial realities that they produce.

Read the Arabic article here.

 

Nadine Bekdache

Co-director and Head of Communication and Design Unit

Nadine is a practicing designer and urbanist, and co-founder of Public Works Studio. She researches socio-spatial phenomena through multidisciplinary methods; including mapping, imagery and film as both processes of investigation and representation. As part of her research on urban displacement, she authored “Evicting Sovereignty: Lebanon’s Housing Tenants from Citizens to Obstacles”, and co-directed “Beyhum Street: Mapping Place Narratives”. Nadine is also a graphic design instructor at the Lebanese University.
 

Christina Abou Rouphaël

Researcher

Christina is an architect and urban researcher who graduated with a Master’s degree in Architecture (2015) and Urban Planning (2017) from the Faculty of Architecture and Fine Arts of the Lebanese University. She is currently working on various research projects related to urban issues, public property and the right to the city.
Construction Baalbek Baalbek District Baalbek-Hermel Governorate
 
 
 
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