In light of the ongoing financial and economic collapse, mainstream public discourse called for the privatization of public assets, to save the state from bankruptcy, through a fund enabling banks to seize state-owned real-estate properties. This proposal follows a history of national policies that systematically alienated or neglected the public sphere. To refute this discourse, Public Works Studio conducted an in-depth study of state-owned lands, which constitute our natural environment and provide a source of livelihood and housing for a wide range of people, hoping to initiate a strategic debate against privatization and call for the preservation of the public sphere for future generations.
Commodifying Public Property
The state continues to encroach on, neglect, or allow the private sector to control landed public property, this time through a decree of the Council of Ministers allowing Al-Hiba Real Estate Company to …