Public spaces and gardens, in their modern urban sense as we know them today, did not exist in the Lebanese countryside in the past, as the agricultural seasons were sufficient to bring together the people of the same village in the threshing floors and fields for the harvest, and in the squares for celebrations, holidays and national occasions, and the exchange of produce.
I recall stories from my grandmother, who lived to be nearly a hundred, about the village that would empty out in August, as the inhabitants would spend the month in the fig orchards: “We were fig pickers,” she said, “picking the figs and spreading them out to dry for days to preserve them for the winter. At night, gatherings would be held, filled with singing and dancing, and many weddings took place during this month. In those days, ‘life was good, Grandma.’”
The fields and threshing floors of that time are equivalent to what can be considered today as public spaces that most villages in southern Lebanon lack, which suffered destruction and devastation that they did not witness in any of the previous wars, which lasted for nearly fifty years.
The suggestion of creating public spaces in southern villages today might seem surprising. The mere mention of such a facility conjures up images of these villages as boundless open spaces of greenery, gardens, fields, and squares. However, we are now confronted with the reality of the wars and repeated invasions that have ravaged the villages, towns, and cities of southern Lebanon. These conflicts have led to the loss of many public spaces that people once frequented for recreation, leisure, and holidays. These spaces, which were not originally designated as parks, are few in number and lack organized activities and landscaping. The same applies to river terraces, most of which are exploited by profiteers, making access prohibitively expensive for those with limited incomes. Even marine reserves have suffered significant encroachments, the most recent being on the Mansouri Reserve, the most important nesting site for sea turtles in Lebanon.
As for the fires that broke out in a number of forests and fields, whether due to Israeli bombing or as a result of disregarding the green cover, they led to a reduction in green spaces, according to the latest statistics of the National Council for Scientific Research, which showed that the Israeli attacks led to the burning of more than 7.9 percent of forest and agricultural lands.
All of this occurred between wars and ceasefires, while the inhabitants of the southern villages and towns continued to build their homes and institutions, which expanded and grew haphazardly and without planning or oversight. This was accompanied by a lack of urban planning, ineffective municipalities, insufficient funding, political patronage, and divisions. The urban growth witnessed in the southern villages revealed chaotic planning and an imbalance in the functions of urban units, with a complete disregard for public spaces.
With the reconstruction plan to recover from the effects of the war, which was developed by the Lebanese state in 2024 and whose cost exceeds seven billion dollars, priority is given to compensation for residential and economic facilities that enable residents to rebuild their homes and return to their villages. The aforementioned plan does not take into account any interest in or planning for public spaces or parks, as they are an internal municipal matter.
We believe that recovery from war is not just about rebuilding with stones, but rather about the recovery of people from the effects of war, which is the construction that will occupy us for a long time. Hence, the need to create public spaces and establish gardens within the available land in every village seems urgent, especially since there are specific laws for this, including, for example, the Gardens Establishment Law issued by the Ministry of Agriculture No. 208/1, which allows the municipality to designate a property of five dunams for the establishment of a garden, provided that it belongs to public property, and provided that an official document is obtained from the owner of the property (municipal property – republican property).
Raising the issue of creating public spaces in southern villages, cities, and towns within the reconstruction plan is not merely a cosmetic formality, although this aspect is essential and fundamental. These spaces are not neutral, but rather oases for recovery from the effects of war, and places for meeting, communication, dialogue, and the exchange of opinions and viewpoints among different social classes, which transforms them into socio-spatial spaces for the interaction of different groups, and establishes a shared collective memory.
If the definition of gardens and spaces classifies them as a public domain rather than a private one, then the participatory work based on study and planning according to the needs of the local community, and the sustainability of activities within them in all their cultural, artistic, social and sports diversity, strengthens the community’s belonging to the place, and integrates the place with the community’s imprint, according to the French sociologist Maurice Halbwachs.
Global environmental engineers have placed great importance on public spaces and parks, considering their absence a cause of societal disintegration. A quick overview reveals that most Western countries included public spaces and parks in their reconstruction efforts as a starting point for recovering from the devastating effects of World War II, such as the Peace Memorial Park established by the authorities in Hiroshima, which was bombed in 1945 with an atomic bomb that killed and maimed more than two hundred thousand Japanese and destroyed 70 percent of the city’s buildings.
If the early 20th century foreshadowed the future of cities in industrialized nations—pollution, overcrowding, shrinking green spaces, and a decline in human connection among their inhabitants—it was accompanied by the creation of more public spaces in Western countries as compensation for the harsh living conditions faced by residents. Many of these spaces have become vibrant cultural venues, including the major festivals held annually in the French city of Sète. In parks, promenades, and even boats moored along rivers, these spaces transform into stages for nine days, showcasing a variety of art forms, from storytelling and painting to poetry recitations and musical performances. This festival attracts artists and poets from around the world. The most recent edition, held from September 19-26, 2024, was titled “Live Voices from the Mediterranean,” and featured a predominantly Arab audience.
Each year, a number of public spaces in the Colombian city of Medellin are transformed into oases of art, and hundreds of poets, artists, and musicians from around the world frequent them annually. The most recent of these was a poetry festival held between July 5 and 12, bearing the slogan “For the Reconstruction of the Human Spirit,” in response to the death, wars, and destruction of nature that the world is witnessing today.
The above examples are presented as examples to be followed and to raise awareness of the importance of planning to create public spaces within the reconstruction plan developed by the Lebanese state, which is a participatory architectural-social-psychological plan based on strategies in which civil society and non-governmental organizations are involved to present cultural and social plans, on the basis that these organizations are aware of the deep needs of civil societies, which contributes to consolidating the trust of these societies in state institutions.
Reconstruction based on the principle of networking with civil society is considered a national partnership between civil society and the state, which motivates individuals to perform social service, thus promoting a culture of citizenship that carries within it the essence of the transition towards the state, starting with preserving the rights and duties of individuals, adhering to the concept of social justice and national identity, and respecting diversity and human dignity.
The above considerations make it clear that the reconstruction process is an integral and inseparable, indeed a necessity, for consolidating and strengthening the values of citizenship, with all its meanings and ideas centered around the citizen’s affiliations, starting with belonging to the greater homeland of the mother country, to the village, the street, the school, the institution, the neighborhood, and public spaces.
Wars have left behind a lot of destruction, and public spaces are nothing but a place for social cohesion, and a source of human ideas for peace against death, for reconstruction against destruction, for the sustainability of resources against harming the environment, and for citizenship and the state project.