communal land

Once Again, the Lebanese Forces MPs Propose Privatization as a Solution to the Lebanese Crisis

A draft law proposing the creation of an independent institution responsible for managing state assets.

The law draft was submitted on 13/2/2023, and has not yet been referred to any parliamentary committee yet.

Mapping State-Owned Land Against Privatization

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 …

Mapping State-Owned Land Against Privatization

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 …

Where are the State’s Lands?

In this article, we delve into the texts of laws, decrees, and records from the Ministry of Finance. Our aim is to shed light on the nature of public property, its geographical distribution, and its social significance.

Mapping State-Owned Land Against Privatization

In Lebanon, the state owns a substantial part of the territory, estimated to range between 20 and 25 per cent of the country’s total surface area. These publicly owned properties – the unbuilt ones – constitute our natural and ecological environment. They are a national asset directly linked to our ways of life and diverse livelihoods across Lebanese regions. Yet these public properties are the newest target of privatization through multiple government plans.
In this series of articles, part of an in-depth research project, we try to answer the following questions: What kind of land is owned by the Lebanese state? Where is it located? What social value does it hold? And what do we stand to lose if the state concedes this land?In this series of articles, part of an in-depth research project, we try to answer the following questions: What kind of land is owned by the Lebanese state? Where is it located? What social value does it hold? And what do we stand to lose if the state concedes this land?

Practicing the Public

This collection of essays and maps digs beyond the apparent dichotomies between public and private spaces in an effort to understand what makes public space such a complex minefield. The publication starts with …

Exhibition at Sursock Museum: Recreational sites in 1950s Beirut

English translation in progress.

Recreational Sites in 1950s Beirut

Next to the “official” history of Beirut that recounts its spatial production through the establishment of formal urban squares and gardens (such as Place de L’Etoile, Sanayeh Garden, Place des Canons), we drew …