Reconstruction and Recovery

Study

Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: 

Between Housing Vulnerabilities and the Limits of “Voluntary” Return

This report examines the housing vulnerabilities of Syrian refugees in Lebanon between September 2024 and April 2026. It shows how housing vulnerabilities shape the production of “voluntary return” under constrained conditions, where the deteriorating conditions in Syria intersect with a push environment, restrictive policies, and forced evictions in Lebanon. The report concludes that the absence of a rights-based housing and asylum framework sustains instability.

Dossier

What Beirut’s pine forest concealed during the 2026 war: Diaries of displacement and longing

A series of narratives of the residents of the Beirut pine forest during the 2026 war.

Research-Based Article

Informal Neighborhoods between State Approach and Israeli Destruction:

The Cases of Hayy al-Sellom and Hayy al-Miqdad 

This article examines the conflict between an official vision of Beirut as an elite city for tourism and investment and the lived city built by displaced and rural communities. It shows how informal neighborhoods in southern Beirut became essential parts of the city and expressions of the right to the city. It also explores how the Israeli destruction and restrictive reconstruction and property policies may deepen displacement and exclusion.

Project

RESEARCH INNOVATION FUND – SECOND EDITION, CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR RESEARCH PROJECTS ON:

Land and Housing in the Arab Region: Dynamics, Transformations and Mobilizations

Public Works Studio, in collaboration with the Arab Land Initiative, UN-Habitat, and the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), invites researchers, practitioners, and activists to apply for the second edition of the Research Innovation Fund. The call supports research on land and housing in the Arab region through the lenses of governance, community movements and initiatives, local responses, and public policy.

Legal Memo

What Are My Rights During and After Evictions from  Buildings at Risk of Collapse?

In the wake of Tripoli’s building collapse crisis, this legal memo serves to inform residents of the rights guaranteed to them under Lebanese and international law at every stage of eviction and beyond, from prior notice and dignified relocation to guaranteed return, and calls on them to demand these protections both on an individual and collective level.

Report

Monitoring Draft laws and Government Decisions: 

What Did the State Do During the War?

This report monitors the performance of the government and parliament during the period of the Israeli aggression up to 15 April, and shows the absence of a comprehensive response that tackles social and economic impacts. Partial responses and an increasingly security-driven approach were adopted, alongside the passing of decisions that do not reflect the priorities of the moment nor the scale of the ongoing collapse. This reveals an ongoing crisis management through a business-as-usual logic, without an integrated approach that places people’s needs at the center of the response.

Petition

Joint Letter to Stakeholders Addressing the Displacement Crisis:

Housing Is a Right That Cannot Be Postponed

Hundreds of displaced families continue to seek shelter in public spaces, under difficult conditions, while other families are forced to negotiate or open vacant doors on their own to avoid sleeping in the …

Research-Based Article

2024–2026: Israeli Bombardment of Tyre: Where and What?

Extracted from a wider research conducted by Public Works Studio, this article analyzes the Israeli aggression against Tyre City between October 2023 and April 2026, framing it as a systematic “urbicide” executed through the issuance of evacuation orders, the destruction of dense residential-economic clusters, and the deliberate dismantling of social ties.

Policy Watch

Shelter Centers in Tripoli: A Response Deepening class inequalities in the city

Until the morning of 17 April, 20 shelters were opened in Tripoli. Their uneven distribution concentrated pressure in already vulnerable neighbourhoods, particularly those with collapsed or at-risk buildings, while wealthier areas were largely excluded despite available vacant housing stock, reflecting how response practices reproduce existing spatial and class-based inequalities in the city.

Policy Watch

Shelters in Beirut: Three Factors Deepening Inequality in the City

Amid the ongoing escalation and growing waves of displacement toward the capital, shelters in Beirut continue to face increasing pressure. A review of these centers reveals three key challenges: limited capacity and delayed shelter availability, the uneven geographic distribution across the city, and the heavy reliance on educational institutions as shelter sites. These patterns point to fundamental structural imbalances in the crisis response, contributing to the deepening of inequality at the level of the city.

Statement

Securing the Right to Housing and Return: An Open Letter to Officials on Tripoli’s Building Collapse Crisis

As Tripoli’s building collapse crisis deepens. This letter calls on public officials to ensure that the government’s Emergency Plan measures protect residents from long-term displacement through dignified alternative housing and guaranteed return.

Law Commentary

The Suspension of Deadlines in the Absence of Housing Protection: A Legislative Loophole in Times of War

The suspension of deadlines in times of war is a key tool for protecting rights. However, excluding lease agreements from it undermines this protection and exposes tenants to the risk of eviction and homelessness. In the context of widespread displacement and declining ability to pay, the right to housing cannot be separated from any serious legislative response to the crisis. Including leases within the scope of suspended deadlines is not a technical detail, but an urgent necessity to ensure a minimum level of social protection under exceptional circumstances.