pw-team-tala

Tala Alaeddine

Research Unit Coordinator and Researcher

Tala graduated with a Master’s degree in Architecture from the Lebanese University, Faculty of Architecture and Fine Arts Branch II (2017), and received Academic excellence certificates and Scholarships from The Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development and the Lebanese American University. Her work focuses on land and housing issues in Lebanon, and includes studying and analyzing Lebanese regional masterplans, monitoring planning institutions practices, and advocating for participatory approaches in planning and reconstruction.

Where is the sea in Dbayeh? I can’t see it.

In this article, published for the first time as part of Public Works Studio’s “Planning in Lebanon: Manufacturing Landscapes of Inequality” project (2017-2018), we delve into the history of land reclamation and privatization …

The Apprehensions of the Past in Building the Future:

Do the Master Plans for Damour Encourage Return?

Last year, a broad debate surrounded director Ziad Doueiri’s film The Insult, especially after it was nominated for the 2018 Oscar for best foreign language film. This was the first time that a …

تنظيم‭ ‬زوق‭ ‬مكايل‭ ‬يغيّب‭ ‬معمل‭ ‬الموت

لا يمكن للمارّ بين نهر الكلب وجونيه أن يفوته مشهد لعمودين، مقلّمين بالبرتقالي والأبيض، يعلوان في السماء على واجهة زوق مكايل البحرية. بالرغم من حضورهما كمعلم مميّز للمنطقة، لا نجد هذا المشهد منسوخاً …

The Primary Causes Behind the Increasing number of Collapsed Buildings in Lebanon

In 2023, seismic activity raised concerns about building collapses in Lebanon, initially overlooked until a series of incidents occurred across different regions. These events are part of a broader context where Lebanon faces …

Buildings Collapse in Lebanon

It is difficult to be surprised today by the collapse of buildings around the Lebanese territory, being aware of the amount of legal and material factors that have weakened and destabilized their structure, …

Five Factors that Contributed to the Deterioration of the Urban Environment in Lebanon

This text highlights Lebanon’s urgent issue of severe physical degradation in its urban environment, with over 18,000 buildings at risk of collapse, particularly in Beirut and Tripoli. It attributes urban decay to a …

Informal neighborhoods: This is where the just city begins

Part 2: Local and International approaches

In the first part of this article, we presented an overview of the emergence and growth of informal settlements in Lebanon and countries of the Global South, and we addressed the ongoing debates …

Informal neighborhoods: This is where the just city begins

Part 1: Discussions and Origins

Informal settlements in Lebanon, a complex and long-standing phenomenon, are the result of multiple factors. These include influxes of refugees, rural-to-urban migration, the scars of civil war and ongoing conflicts, and the adoption …

The Construction Sector in Lebanon: How Neoliberal Urbanization Destroys the Environment

Lebanon faces a multitude of environmental threats, primarily driven by a neoliberal approach to urbanization. This approach prioritizes short-term private economic gains in the construction industry and associated businesses, including a dominant cement …

The Scene from the South:

Abandoned Towns and Bumbling Municipalities

Coming soon

The 2023 Israeli War:

Fates of Residents and Confrontation Paths in Lebanon

The region is currently experiencing an extended war, from the West Bank, where people are killed, imprisoned, and their homes occupied, to Gaza, facing various forms of destruction—humanitarian, environmental, urban, psychological, etc.  Lebanon, …

Legitimate Housing or the Right to Dwell?:

Pubilc Housing and their Informal Transformations in Saida and Tripoli

Read the Arabic article here.