From the Port City of Beirut to Beirut Central District
The repeated destructions and reconstructions of Beirut have been widely acknowledged and conveyed from one generation to the next through different narratives, anecdotes, literature, and popular cultural productions. This paper describes the historical transformations of the city of Beirut from an...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Stichting OpenAccess
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Spool |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://spool.ac/index.php/spool/article/view/201 |
| _version_ | 1828111505825988608 |
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| author | Roula El Khoury Paola Ardizzola |
| author_facet | Roula El Khoury Paola Ardizzola |
| author_sort | Roula El Khoury |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The repeated destructions and reconstructions of Beirut have been widely acknowledged and conveyed from one generation to the next through different narratives, anecdotes, literature, and popular cultural productions. This paper describes the historical transformations of the city of Beirut from an old harbour city to a generic central district through a selection of dominant narratives, as well as alternative counter-narratives and anecdotes.
The paper argues that the post-civil war reconstruction project is submissive to the neo-liberal models of development which resulted in the generic city that we can observe today. The paper also projects two extreme case scenarios for the future development of the city, of which one seems to prevail: a scenario that has started to materialise since the sudden dramatic and deadly port explosion that hit the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:36:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-702b97e6db4c403490b3d9ccdfab9bcd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2215-0897 2215-0900 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:36:49Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Stichting OpenAccess |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Spool |
| spelling | doaj.art-702b97e6db4c403490b3d9ccdfab9bcd2022-12-22T04:25:56ZengStichting OpenAccessSpool2215-08972215-09002022-09-0181From the Port City of Beirut to Beirut Central DistrictRoula El Khoury0Paola Ardizzola1Lebanese American University German University in Cairo The repeated destructions and reconstructions of Beirut have been widely acknowledged and conveyed from one generation to the next through different narratives, anecdotes, literature, and popular cultural productions. This paper describes the historical transformations of the city of Beirut from an old harbour city to a generic central district through a selection of dominant narratives, as well as alternative counter-narratives and anecdotes. The paper argues that the post-civil war reconstruction project is submissive to the neo-liberal models of development which resulted in the generic city that we can observe today. The paper also projects two extreme case scenarios for the future development of the city, of which one seems to prevail: a scenario that has started to materialise since the sudden dramatic and deadly port explosion that hit the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020. https://spool.ac/index.php/spool/article/view/201Beirut Port CityBeirut Central DistrictSolidereUrban TransformationNarrativesDestruction and Re-construction |
| spellingShingle | Roula El Khoury Paola Ardizzola From the Port City of Beirut to Beirut Central District Spool Beirut Port City Beirut Central District Solidere Urban Transformation Narratives Destruction and Re-construction |
| title | From the Port City of Beirut to Beirut Central District |
| title_full | From the Port City of Beirut to Beirut Central District |
| title_fullStr | From the Port City of Beirut to Beirut Central District |
| title_full_unstemmed | From the Port City of Beirut to Beirut Central District |
| title_short | From the Port City of Beirut to Beirut Central District |
| title_sort | from the port city of beirut to beirut central district |
| topic | Beirut Port City Beirut Central District Solidere Urban Transformation Narratives Destruction and Re-construction |
| url | https://spool.ac/index.php/spool/article/view/201 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT roulaelkhoury fromtheportcityofbeiruttobeirutcentraldistrict AT paolaardizzola fromtheportcityofbeiruttobeirutcentraldistrict |