It might be more than accurate to say, that Lebanon and especially its capital city Bei- rut, were always the homeland of an infinite series of events throughout the course of history. Ranging from political (man-made) events, to environmental (mainly natural) events and all what they entitle of derivations and consequences, that most of them happens to be repetitive. We can cite from them for example: wars, crises, conflicts, destructions, revolutions, famines, executions, assassinations, and many more... The year of 2019-2020 was a heavy one on the whole world, regarding mainly the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic and medical crisis that resulted from it. Adding to that some other events characterized this period. But in the case of Lebanon, 19-20 was even heaviest and hard- er on this small country and on its population. To start with, the 17th of October 2019 became a new important date, to be added to the long historical list of memorable dates on the Lebanese calendar. This time it’s an ongoing revolu- tion, that brought with it a series of consequences, some of them even preceded the mentioned day, and some of them are still to happen. Another date that was sculpted in the Lebanese memory forever, is the 4th of august 2020. At 18:07 p.m. of this ominous day, a huge blast occurred inside the port of Beirut, leaving behind it a destroyed capital, with over 200 deaths and around 6500 injuries. Between those two local mega-events, a lock-down was imposed by the government, similar to what happened on the international scenery, due to the global pandemic Covid-19. Contrary to what was expected, the quarantine period didn’t stop the Lebanese people from continuing in expressing their demands, that haven’t been resolved yet, and through some innovative ways. In the course of this turbulent year, many insurgent practices emerged from the urban spaces, by the urban citizens and affected mainly the urban forms and the urban species. In those prac- tices we are concerned in this study, aiming to understand how the Lebanese people reacted in each phase and each place, while extracting lessons where it’s possible to extract. Despite the fact that the locality of the Lebanese events might sound as an internal issue, concerning cities and people within the boundaries of the country, we shall argue that it’s not. For that, we will touch the subject of global cities in the demonstrations, by tackling two main themes. First, the link between the cities that witnessed unrest and insurgencies during this year, leading us to the topic of global similarities of the ways of expression. Second, the network of cities where the Lebanese diaspora plays an important role and how it was connected to the cities of their origin. Also, in the course of this research, when more focus will be putted on the aftermath of the 4th of august, the much-appreciated empathetical reaction of the internation- al cities and communities towards this unfortunate event, will be elaborated. Although this book intends to look into the different ways Lebanese citizens rebuilt a relation- ship that was lacking with the urban spaces of their capital city Beirut, it will also look, briefly, into other important cities of Lebanon that witnessed protests as well. At the end of this empirical study, we will argue about the future prospect of policies regarding public spaces and public infrastructure. The argument will be developed around the fundamen- tal role they play in building a consensual relation between the people of an heterogeneous na- tion, for a better and stronger state, not a failed one like the one we are witnessing its collapse at the moment. N.B. While narrating the events, the author tried to be as objective as he can, even if sometimes it’s just impossible, especially when it comes to a horrifying scene that took place in his home-city.
Potrebbe essere più che esatto dire che il Libano e soprattutto la sua capitale Beirut, sono sempre stati la patria di una serie infinita di eventi nel corso della storia. Che vanno dagli eventi politici (causati dall'uomo), agli eventi ambientali (principalmente naturali) e tutto ciò che danno diritto a derivazioni e conseguenze, che la maggior parte di loro sembra essere ripetitiva. Possiamo citarne ad esempio: guerre, crisi, conflitti, distruzioni, rivoluzioni, carestie, esecuzioni, omicidi e molti altri ... L'anno 2019-2020 è stato un anno pesante in tutto il mondo, riguardante principalmente la pandemia Covid-19 e la crisi economica e medica che ne è derivata. Aggiungendo a ciò alcuni altri eventi hanno caratterizzato questo periodo. Ma nel caso del Libano, 19-20 è stato ancora più pesante e duro per questo piccolo paese e per la sua popolazione. Per cominciare, il 17 ottobre 2019 è diventato una nuova data importante, da aggiungere alla lunga lista storica di date memorabili del calendario libanese. Questa volta è una rivoluzione in corso, che ha portato con sé una serie di conseguenze, alcune delle quali hanno addirittura preceduto il giorno citato, e altre ancora devono accadere. Un'altra data che è stata scolpita per sempre nella memoria libanese, è il 4 agosto 2020. Alle 18:07 p.m. di questo giorno minaccioso, una grande esplosione si è verificata all'interno del porto di Beirut, lasciandosi alle spalle una capitale distrutta, con oltre 200 morti e circa 6500 feriti. Tra questi due mega eventi locali, il governo ha imposto un blocco, simile a quanto accaduto nello scenario internazionale, a causa della pandemia globale Covid-19. Contrariamente a quanto previsto, il periodo di quarantena non ha impedito al popolo libanese di continuare a esprimere le proprie richieste, che non sono state ancora risolte, e attraverso alcuni modi innovativi. Nel corso di questo anno turbolento, molte pratiche ribelli sono emerse dagli spazi urbani, da parte dei cittadini urbani e hanno interessato principalmente le forme urbane e le specie urbane. In quelle pratiche siamo interessati in questo studio, con l'obiettivo di capire come il popolo libanese ha reagito in ogni fase e in ogni luogo, estraendo lezioni da dove è possibile estrarre. Nonostante il fatto che la località degli eventi libanesi possa sembrare una questione interna, riguardante le città e le persone all'interno dei confini del paese, sosterremo che non lo è. Per questo, toccheremo il tema delle città globali nelle manifestazioni, affrontando due temi principali. In primo luogo, il legame tra le città che hanno assistito a disordini e insurrezioni durante quest'anno, portandoci al tema delle somiglianze globali dei modi di espressione. In secondo luogo, la rete di città in cui la diaspora libanese gioca un ruolo importante e il modo in cui era collegata alle città di origine. Inoltre, nel corso di questa ricerca, quando verrà posta maggiore attenzione all'indomani del 4 agosto, verrà elaborata la reazione empatica molto apprezzata delle città e delle comunità internazionali verso questo sfortunato evento. Sebbene questo libro intenda esaminare i diversi modi in cui i cittadini libanesi hanno ricostruito un rapporto che mancava con gli spazi urbani della loro capitale Beirut, esaminerà brevemente anche altre importanti città del Libano che hanno assistito alle proteste. Alla fine di questo studio empirico, discuteremo della prospettiva futura delle politiche riguardanti gli spazi pubblici e le infrastrutture pubbliche. L'argomento sarà sviluppato intorno al ruolo fondamentale che giocano nella costruzione di una relazione consensuale tra le persone di una nazione eterogenea, per uno stato migliore e più forte, non fallito come quello di cui stiamo assistendo al suo crollo in questo momento. . N.B. Nel raccontare gli eventi, l'autore ha cercato di essere il più obiettivo possibile, anche se a volte è semplicemente impossibile, soprattutto quando si tratta di una scena orribile che si è svolta nella sua città natale.
Urb-rise a year and a day. A Lebanese empirical case study on the metamorphosis of urban spaces
JREIJ, ABDALLAH
2019/2020
Abstract
It might be more than accurate to say, that Lebanon and especially its capital city Bei- rut, were always the homeland of an infinite series of events throughout the course of history. Ranging from political (man-made) events, to environmental (mainly natural) events and all what they entitle of derivations and consequences, that most of them happens to be repetitive. We can cite from them for example: wars, crises, conflicts, destructions, revolutions, famines, executions, assassinations, and many more... The year of 2019-2020 was a heavy one on the whole world, regarding mainly the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic and medical crisis that resulted from it. Adding to that some other events characterized this period. But in the case of Lebanon, 19-20 was even heaviest and hard- er on this small country and on its population. To start with, the 17th of October 2019 became a new important date, to be added to the long historical list of memorable dates on the Lebanese calendar. This time it’s an ongoing revolu- tion, that brought with it a series of consequences, some of them even preceded the mentioned day, and some of them are still to happen. Another date that was sculpted in the Lebanese memory forever, is the 4th of august 2020. At 18:07 p.m. of this ominous day, a huge blast occurred inside the port of Beirut, leaving behind it a destroyed capital, with over 200 deaths and around 6500 injuries. Between those two local mega-events, a lock-down was imposed by the government, similar to what happened on the international scenery, due to the global pandemic Covid-19. Contrary to what was expected, the quarantine period didn’t stop the Lebanese people from continuing in expressing their demands, that haven’t been resolved yet, and through some innovative ways. In the course of this turbulent year, many insurgent practices emerged from the urban spaces, by the urban citizens and affected mainly the urban forms and the urban species. In those prac- tices we are concerned in this study, aiming to understand how the Lebanese people reacted in each phase and each place, while extracting lessons where it’s possible to extract. Despite the fact that the locality of the Lebanese events might sound as an internal issue, concerning cities and people within the boundaries of the country, we shall argue that it’s not. For that, we will touch the subject of global cities in the demonstrations, by tackling two main themes. First, the link between the cities that witnessed unrest and insurgencies during this year, leading us to the topic of global similarities of the ways of expression. Second, the network of cities where the Lebanese diaspora plays an important role and how it was connected to the cities of their origin. Also, in the course of this research, when more focus will be putted on the aftermath of the 4th of august, the much-appreciated empathetical reaction of the internation- al cities and communities towards this unfortunate event, will be elaborated. Although this book intends to look into the different ways Lebanese citizens rebuilt a relation- ship that was lacking with the urban spaces of their capital city Beirut, it will also look, briefly, into other important cities of Lebanon that witnessed protests as well. At the end of this empirical study, we will argue about the future prospect of policies regarding public spaces and public infrastructure. The argument will be developed around the fundamen- tal role they play in building a consensual relation between the people of an heterogeneous na- tion, for a better and stronger state, not a failed one like the one we are witnessing its collapse at the moment. N.B. While narrating the events, the author tried to be as objective as he can, even if sometimes it’s just impossible, especially when it comes to a horrifying scene that took place in his home-city.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Descrizione: URB-Rise A Year and A Day - A Lebanese Empirical Case Study on the Metamorphosis of Urban Spaces
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/173106