or many years, Beirut’s southern suburbs have been a center of partisan political decision-making, and until last year, they were the de facto center of power in the country. Yet, this power-sharing hub is almost entirely devoid of public spaces and development projects that address the needs of its residents.
Even the roads and public facilities there have been shrinking as political influence in the region has increased, and they have been “privatized” by force of circumstance. Green spaces have disappeared, the area of public property has shrunk, and the residents’ right to it has become like a luxury or an addition of no value, leaving social, psychological, and even health effects on the residents.
Political parties and municipalities in Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs have treated public spaces, particularly green spaces, as mere aesthetic decorations that can be sacrificed for the construction of party and private facilities and investments. They have perhaps deliberately ignored the social, health, and psychological functions of these spaces, as well as the repercussions of their absence on the community. These spaces have steadily shrunk due to party and municipal decisions, to the point where the excuse now is that there is no way to restore what once was.
It is true that the southern suburbs, in their current form, began to take shape in what was described as a haphazard manner, as a result of waves of displacement caused by economic and security factors, such as Israel’s occupation of villages in southern Lebanon, the civil war, and the search for employment opportunities in Beirut and its suburbs by people from marginalized areas. However, the neglect of public spaces was a deliberate policy even after the area experienced what could be considered an economic boom, and this policy continued as it expanded into neighborhoods known for their wealth, as if part of Hezbollah’s political power was derived from this approach.
No real plans or budgets were allocated to create spaces that would serve as meeting points for different segments of society, thus becoming areas for interaction and dialogue, and strengthening social cohesion. Those responsible ignored the importance of providing places for rest and recreation within the urban fabric, in an area whose population today is approaching one million. Play areas for children, such as parks and playgrounds, were also not provided.
Conversely, enormous sums of money were allocated to impose a visual hegemony on this area, with the aim of suffocating it with political propaganda. This propaganda was planted in every corner, making it impossible to look away. Funding was also provided to build numerous religious centers to serve as meeting places, as if the only acceptable venues were controlled spaces capable of indoctrinating and framing individuals.
Thus, in the former capital, only the bare minimum of public space remains, essential for unsafe movement due to narrow roads, their use for commercial activities, and the absence of safety measures. Even the narrow roads have been partially enclosed with concrete under the pretext of security.
While those with means can seek recreational areas and green spaces outside the suburbs, the densely populated neighborhoods remain the only safe havens for less affluent children and young people to play and have fun. One of the worst consequences is that these neighborhoods make children vulnerable to drug addiction, and even to being drawn into drug dealing in exchange for what they need, as revealed years ago by an administrative assistant in the Mental Health Directorate of the Islamic Health Authority during an interview.
He reported at the time that the agency was treating addiction cases among children aged eight and nine, and said during the interview that “there are children who not only use drugs, but also promote them.” He added that “the percentage of children who get rid of their addiction is very small, even if they undergo treatment,” explaining: “Especially since addicts return after treatment to the same environment and are exposed again to the same factors that caused their addiction, and thus they return to addiction.”
Thus, the street becomes a dangerous alternative to organized public spaces that cater to the needs of the population. Children grow up in an unsafe environment, one that also makes them vulnerable to recruitment and joining the ranks of Hezbollah. Joining a group with influence on the ground is tempting for those for whom these streets become spaces for self-expression.
The municipalities in question, and the political parties behind them, cite the lack of available land and insufficient funding to address the problem, accepting the status quo—or rather, the status quo they allowed to develop—as if no solutions remain. However, neglecting the problem under the guise of pragmatism will only exacerbate it and pave the way for a more severe explosion later on. The refusal to seek solutions in the 1990s, when it was possible to avoid the current situation, and the refusal to cooperate with the “Al-Issar” project, which proposed organizing the informal settlements in the suburbs, or to formulate an alternative project for regulating the area, have created today’s crisis in the suburbs.
Finding a solution to the area’s suffocating concrete jungle, regulating it as much as possible, and creating green spaces between neighborhoods requires a government plan and legislation developed by specialists in urban design, urban planning, and urban development whose interests do not conflict with this role. Even if implementing the plan takes decades, simply beginning to seriously explore it will contribute to a different approach to construction and property ownership in the suburbs, and to removing encroachments on public maritime and other properties.
At the municipal level, the crisis can be mitigated and addressed through practical, implementable steps in the near future, primarily by removing encroachments on public property without clashing with the poorest segments of society. Municipalities can provide organized alternative markets for street vendors, creating new spaces, and prevent shop owners from using public roads as part of their businesses, which now pose a danger to pedestrians and cause traffic congestion. It should be noted that those with the most influence are usually the ones who commit the most serious violations.
The issue of creating green spaces and public areas for the region remains possible, albeit difficult, but it first requires a decision. This goal necessitates searching for suitable land and working to acquire it for development projects, along with demolishing unsafe buildings and compensating their owners, thus creating social spaces.
It is also essential to impose clear conditions on new urban development projects to ensure the public interest. Furthermore, municipalities should be given the option to allocate buildings for cultural and social activities that are not subject to political loyalties or partisan control, including the establishment of a theater that allows for broad and free participation. They are also obligated to create free sports facilities that uphold children’s right to play, recreation, and health, rather than leaving such facilities as a privilege reserved for the middle and upper classes.
This reality has caused a major class divide in the suburbs, not only in the presence of extremely wealthy neighborhoods that also lack recreational spaces, near belts of misery, but also in the absence of public spaces that usually bring together people from different classes.
Whatever the current economic cost of repairing the damage caused by ignoring the social value of land and deliberately adopting randomness as an approach to building and distributing gains, the social, psychological, health, and even security costs of ignoring this remain much greater.