On the making of public spaces in Beirut

Abstract

This research tackles the public spaces in the framework of Beirut’s mosaic history, whereby the Middle East constitutes the background and not the context. It will first identify the public spaces by shedding light on their genesis and tracking their evolution in relation to the city’s urban history. The approach on public spaces history is multi-faceted and interpreted based on a parallelism between the urban morphology, the functional aspect, social practice, and political condition. In the same way, the significance of public spaces is tackled as an intrinsic dimension transcending their physical existence, embodied in history and memory, thus their possible cohesion in the future city plans. Following the study of the relation of public spaces to the urban history, a closer look will be based on the two case studies of Martyr Square and the Waterfront’s transformation across time. The research followed a dual scale reading of the public spaces; a general overview was followed by a closer perspective on the case studies. This bi-fold display highlighted all the complex aspect of the public spaces in their continuities and discontinuities within the city model. The question on public spaces arises in the aftermath of the reconstruction following the civil war years. In a socially and physically traumatized city, studying public spaces will set a reference for the future interventions.