public good

Policy Watch

Three Million Euros to Rehabilitate the Mar Mikhael Station:

An Opportunity to Utilize Vacant State Properties for Wartime Needs.

مع استمرار العدوان الإسرائيلي، يزداد النزوح في لبنان بشكل سريع، ممّا يؤدي إلى كثافة عالية في مراكز الإيواء الرسمية. العديد من النازحين مضطرون للبقاء في العراء أو في سياراتهم، بينما تبقى أملاك الدولة شاغرة. تشير بيانات وزارة المالية إلى وجود 1285 عقاراً ملك الدولة في بيروت، مما يوفر فرصة لإيواء النازحين إذا تم إدراجها في خطة الطوارئ. من بين هذه الأملاك، تعتبر محطة قطار مار مخايل موقعاً مناسباً، خصوصاً بعد تلقّي الحكومة مؤخراً هبة إيطالية بقيمة 3.15 مليون يورو لإعادة تأهيلها.

Research-Based Article

The Mar Mikhael square project: who speaks for the neighborhood?

Following the ongoing debate over the Mar Mikhael Square Project, an American University of Beirut- Urban Lab initiative, we propose to open a debate around the issue, having neighborhood committees as an entry …

Investigation

Understanding the Right to the City and How Authorities Violate It

This article aims to analyze laws enacted by the Lebanese authorities between 2019 and 2022 in relation to the right to the city, which encompasses the right to housing, work, and other essential …

map

Count of Public State Property Reclassification Decrees (per district and timeframe)

The state’s “public” property — legally known as “reserved protected land” includes any property meant to be used in the public interest, such as riverbeds, riverbanks, sea shores, waterfalls, lakes, irrigation canals, roads, …

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?

Petition

Open Public Gardens, They Are the Safest Spaces

An Open Letter to the Government and the Beirut Municipality

This is an open letter to the government and Beirut municipality, demanding the reopening of public gardens in Beirut, following the gradual lifting of closures due to covid-related health concerns. Read it in …

Activity

Defending Social Spaces for an Equitable City

Dialogue Series: The Social Value of Land

Speakers in this session discuss the reclamation and preservation of social spaces threatened by real-estate speculation. They examine urban planning laws and the experiences of Bayt Beirut, Fouad Boutros, Beirut Theatre, Dalieh, and …