private property

Project

Investigating Religious Land Endowments in Lebanon

Amid Lebanon’s economic crisis, religious authorities have been excluded from the discussion on sharing the losses, despite being among the largest landowners and benefiting from tax breaks. In this context, it was necessary to conduct an in-depth study of religious endowment lands (waqf), highlighting their social value, placing them at the center of the wider conversation on the economic collapse, as well as shedding light on the needed regulation and taxation, and making the related data accessible as a basis for any future advocacy.

From Dossier Research-Based Article

Investigating the Religious Land Endowments in Lebanon

Part 1 | An Overview of the Law and the Land Registry

Amid Lebanon’s economic crisis, religious authorities have been excluded from the discussion on sharing the losses, despite being among the largest landowners and benefiting from tax breaks. In this context, it was necessary to conduct an in-depth study of religious endowment lands (waqf), highlighting their social value, placing them at the center of the wider conversation on the economic collapse, as well as shedding light on the needed regulation and taxation, and making the related data accessible as a basis for any future advocacy.

Article Policy Watch

Evacuation and demolition of shops in Burj al-Barajneh: a struggle between Planning and Social Marginalization

In January 2025, the Burj al-Barajneh municipality, backed by the Lebanese army and security forces, evicted and demolished informal shops, sparking resident protests. While the municipality claimed it was reclaiming public land, its move suggests an attempt to control the area’s informal economy.

Dossier

Investigating the Religious Land Endowments in Lebanon

Amid Lebanon’s economic collapse, along with other successive crises, “ownership” is raised as a fundamental issue in shaping the system of social and economic relations, framed by the state through laws, making it …

Report

When the Emergency Plan Fails in Practice: A Critical Reading of Crisis Management

This report, produced after the ceasefire was announced, offers an evaluation and critique to the national emergency plan, highlighting its content flaws and execution failures based on field observations and the experiences of those impacted by the Israeli war.

Project

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 …

Publication

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 …

Dossier

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?

Activity

Camp Radio

Episode One: Play in the Camp

This project is aimed at empowering youth in Mar Elias Palestinian camp (Beirut) by showcasing their abilities and encouraging collaboration in improving their urban environment. The project involves a series of workshops that …

Publication

Play in the Camp

In Mar Elias Camp, as in other Palestinian camps, the built environment and shared spaces are in deteriorating conditions. Development projects that are implemented in these settings rarely correspond to the aspirations and …

Project

Play in the Camp

In Mar Elias Camp, as in other Palestinian camps, the built environment and shared spaces are in deteriorating conditions. Development projects that are implemented in these settings rarely correspond to the aspirations and …

Activity

Exhibition at Sursock Museum: Planning the City through Play – Youth Efforts in Making Communal Football Fields in Beirut

This project presented in «The City in the City» exhibition at the Sursock Museum, chronicles the development of nine unofficial football stadiums in the city of Beirut and its suburbs. It examines the …