Social media was abuzz with a video of people described as “occupying” the balconies of a building on Jeanne d’Arc Street in Hamra. The media described this video as an assault on private property and described the displaced as occupiers, while the security forces confirmed that they are working to limit these practices to protect private property.
The issue today is about displacement and depriving people of housing and safety from bombing, in contrast to vacant buildings, on which the state does not impose a vacancy tax, while their owners continue to benefit from them in one way or another. In the context of real estate speculation and the commodification of land, old inhabited buildings are being demolished to build high-rise, expensive buildings that remain completely empty.
The city’s ability to change, adapt and adjust to serve people, especially the most vulnerable, is actually the social function of the city, and the role that vacant buildings can play, to provide housing, especially during war and crises.
Read the full field watch in Arabic
