Cities Media Roundup (July 2016)

[Image from the dossier of the Campaign to Protect the Bird`s Nest Historic Site in Byblos] [Image from the dossier of the Campaign to Protect the Bird`s Nest Historic Site in Byblos]

Cities Media Roundup (July 2016)

By : Cities Page Media Roundup Editors

[This is a monthly roundup of news articles, and other materials related to urban issues in the region, and beyond. It does not reflect the views of the Cities Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send recommendations for inclusion in the Cities Media Roundup to cities@jadaliyya.com, mentioning "Roundup" in the subject line. We also welcome your submissions to the Cities Page: please check details on cities.jadaliyya.com.]


Urban Planning and Inequality

قرصنة الرملة البيضاء: بيع الملك العام لزيادة ثروة الحريري [in Arabic] Al Akhbar reports on the real-estate deals that transformed the commons of the public beach of Ramlet el Beyda in Beirut into private property since the 1930s. 

«بارونات» الإنماء والإعمار [in Arabic] Al-Akhbar reports on the ten companies that divide up the infrastructure and project contracts as decided by the Lebanese Council for Development and Reconstruction’s board.

New Battle in One of the World’s Oldest Cities With the unregulated real-estate boom in Lebanon, local archaeologists are hamstrung by budget constraints and property laws.

New discoveries in Byblos (Lebanon) amid resort development A shorter article on the same story from Beirut Report, containing a map of the site in question. For more on the endangered site, see this report.

Beirut’s bus system might actually work Beirut’s buses come in many shapes, colors and sizes. They may seem disorganized, and their routes unpredictable from the outside. However, the system is remarkably self-sustainable, even though it is almost entirely unregulated.

World Bank Group Launches Partnership Framework to Scale up Services and Expand Economic Opportunities in Lebanon The World Bank Group (WBG) has rolled out a new six-year program for its engagement in Lebanon. The strategy broadly aims to recalibrate confidence of citizens in the state that has been deeply shaken by political instability, inadequate public services, shrinking economic opportunities and fallouts of the conflict in Syria.  


10 Nabrawy Street, in danger again, points to web of interests behind demolitions In the newest installment of a story previously covered in the monthly roundup, Mada Masr brings its readers up to date on the ongoing battle to forestall the demolition of this residential building.
 

Energy and the Environment

أزمة النفايات في لبنان: من احتجاجات إلى حركة شعبية إلى انتخابات بلدية [in Arabic] Tadamun analyzes the garbage crisis in Lebanon and its leading up to independent municipal election lists.

Iraqi marshlands named as Unesco world heritage site The area in southern Iraq, which Saddam Hussein once attempted to drain, has been added to the global list of important sites.

"The best solution? Move the Mauritanian capital:" water on the rise in Nouakchott The Guardian reports on Mauritania`s preparations for the Arab League summit which took place at the end of July, and the related effects of climate change on the nation`s capital.

Is it safe to drink the tap war in Cairo? Mada Masr reviews the state of the Egyptian capital`s water infrastructure.

Egypt`s latest concession to Ethiopia amid construction of controversial dam Mada Masr reviews the current situation surrounding the Nile Renaissance Dam, including the water shortage in Egypt and the involvement of Israel as a "partner nation" for similar projects across Africa.


Conflict in Cities

Syrians face violence and suspicion in Lebanon after bombings The bombing of al-Qaa has worsened an already terrible situation for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, with an increasing number of municipalities instituting curfews and many Lebanese turning to private arms.

New Report: Iraq from the Ground: Two Years after the Fall of Mosul This report comprises expert analyses and maps produced by Noria’s cartography department. The dossier’s aim is to comprehend the strategies of the different Iraqi political organizations. Its main objective is to go beyond the prism of a purely sectarian reading of the conflict to better understand both its impact on the civilian population and the social developments which it has caused.

The future of Gaza: from city under siege to world tourism hub? The Guardian interviews Basil Eleiwa on his plans for transforming Gaza into the Middle East`s new attraction.

Falluja after Isis: a city of ghosts and graffiti Martin Chulov in The Guardian reviews the situation in Falluja after the Islamic State`s withdrawal from the city, and considers the possibilities for revival.

Sinai tells its own story Mada Masr covers the development of new narratives by Sinai residents to counter the fact that most information about the province comes from the military.


Resources

New Report: Crisis & Control, (In)Formal Hybrid Security in Lebanon This report aims to analyze how formal and informal security providers implement their respective social order agendas through a security “assemblage.” It also aims to inform the debate on refugee protection and security provision in urban settings, in the context of Lebanon’s hybrid security system. The accounts collected illustrate how state security institutions tacitly accept– or even rely on–informal security actors, managing at times to achieve their political and strategic goals through decentralized and/or illegal forms of control. In this vein, local municipalities imposed curfews and street patrols, which, far from being an institutional measure, follow a flexible and unpredictable pattern.

Revue de presse-Ville, Juin/Juillet 2016 [in French] The monthly review published by Egypt`s Centre d`Études et de Documentation Économiques, Juridiques et sociales.

New Website: Syria Untold Through the use of innovative forms of storytelling mixing research-based written content, infographics and documentary videos, the project’s objective is to fill this gap by documenting a comprehensive, chronological account of the events as they happened, in all their complexity and diversity, in the six cities, with a focus on civil movements and creative disobedience.

CFP: The ACSS Third Conference The Arab Council for the Social Sciences is pleased to announce its third conference, titled "State, Sovereignty and Social Space in the Arab Region: Emerging Historical and Theoretical Approaches" to be held in Beirut, Lebanon on 10-12 March 2017. Deadline is 6 September. 

New Article: “Rural transformation, landscape, and conflict in a village of South Lebanon, Sinay" [in French] Cynthia Gharios, Saker El Nour, Martha Mundy et Rami Zurayk present a landscape study of the village of Sinay in South Lebanon, and analyse the role of local conflicts in the transformations we observe. They used mixed methodology (ethnography and cartography) to demonstrate the links between landscape transformations, social, political, and economic changes.
 

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Cities Media Roundup (May 2016)

[This is a monthly roundup of news articles, and other materials related to urban issues in the region, and beyond. It does not reflect the views of the Cities Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send recommendations for inclusion in the Cities Media Roundup to cities@jadaliyya.com, mentioning "Roundup" in the subject line. We also welcome your submissions to the Cities Page: please check details on cities.jadaliyya.com]


Urban Design and Governance

Story of cities #49: the long road to Rawabi, Palestine`s first planned city Harriet Sherwood continues the Guardian series, evaluating the Rawabi project as "a momentous trailblazer, or a colossal folly?"

Story of cities #43: how Dubai`s World Trade Centre sold the city to the world Todd Reisz writes for The Guardian about the role of architecture in the initial stages of Dubai`s transformation into a center for global capital.

Finding bureaucracy a new home Among the newest of the Egyptian government`s crop of architectural projects is the search for a replacement for the infamous Mugamma building on Tahrir Square, which has housed the cities bureaucracy since the 1950s.

Should Boulaq have a mayor? A visual and historical article about the neighborhood of Boulaq in central Cairo and its changing urban and political landscape.

«الأسمرات».. أهالى الدويقة يودعون العشوائيات [in Arabic] Al Masry Al Youm writes about a project to resettle the residents of an area near al-Muqatam in Cairo. The area was deemed unsafe, and the government started a housing project to relocate the residents. The article addresses the official discourse, which sees this project as a major development, and the residents` reactions.

Palestinian museum set to open – without exhibition YourMiddleEast covers the opening of the new Palestinian Museum, fêted by the country`s leaders but with no exhibits, and considers whether the project was worthwhile.


Cities and Conflict

Story of cities #44: will Dadaab, the world`s largest refugee camp, really close? Ben Rawlence explores the conditions in Kenya`s Dadaab camp and the increasingly urban nature of long-term refugee camps.

Paris mayor to open a refugee camp in French capital within a month Report Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced that the city`s new refugee camp will conform to UN regulations, but Parisian residents are resistant to the idea.

How Israel Physically Erased the Palestinians After 1948 Eman Elshaikh`s article on Muftah covers the way that forestation and other environmental projects were used by the Israelis to cover up traces of Palestinian geography in occupied land.

A Day in The Life of The Jungle: Syrians Camped out in Calais Tam Hussein writes on Syria Comment depicting everyday life in the Calais camp and their place, both locally and internationally.

Air strikes on Isis in Iraq and Syria are reducing their cities to ruins Patrick Cockburn, in Independent, analyzes the urban repercussions of the continued use of air strikes as the main tactic to fight against Islamic State, arguing that cities such as Ramadi have been destroyed.

Chroniques / Urbicide en cours au Kurdistan : Diyarbakır, de la ville-refuge à la ville-cible [in French] Geographer Mathieu Gosse describes the destruction of the old city core of the Kurdish town of Diyarbakır as urbicide in the geographical journal Urbanités.

World Bank: Egypt`s middle class shrank in the lead-up to Arab Spring MadaMasr reports on a recent World Bank Report, highlighting that the middle class has shrunk in some Arab countries but not in others. This finding casts some doubt on a purely socio-economic explanation of the uprisings.

Cities for Girls An article about the Safer Cities for Girls Program, a joint program launched in 2014 in partnership with Plan International, Women in Cities International, UN-HABITAT, and CARE. Cairo is one of five cities included in the program.


Municipal Elections in Lebanon, Focus on Beirut

À Baalbeck-Hermel, l`art d`imposer des victoires [in French] In South Lebanon, despite the victory of the Hezbollah-Amal alliance, competing independent lists received an unusually large number of votes. Sandra Noujeim reports on this for L`Orient Le Jour, and has also written a companion article about the South and Nabatiyeh.

La manne municipale suscite les convoitises... Scarlett Haddad, writing in L’Orient Le Jour, analyses the struggle for the municipalities in light of the amount of money they now manage.

Le début d`un vrai combat citoyen du Liban [in French] Bachir El Khoury writes for Le Huffington Post about the beginning of a true citizens` fight after the municipal election results.

Lebanese activists leave their ‘comfort zone’: how to overcome mistrust in conventional politics Alexandra Kassir writes for OpenDemocracy, using the example of Beirut to illustrate how municipal elections can offer an opportunity to challenge corrupt political systems.

Despite its Loss at the Polls, Beirut Madinati Provides Hope for Change Beirut Madinati voters cast ballots for independent groups with a platform not based on sectarian discourse and clientelistic networks.

32 ألف صوت بيروتي للقمصان البيض... إنجاز الدوائر الثلاث [in Arabic] A report on the local election results and the positive performance of Beirut Madinati.

For Beirut Madinati, now what? Building on the momentum from the municipal elections, Beirut Madinati must transform from a civil society group to a real grass-roots political organization.

Beirut Madinati: The Institutional Rise of Lebanese Civil Society No matter what happens, the movement has at least succeeded in taking the electoral process to another–much needed–level.

عن الملل والسياسة و بيروت مدينتي [in Arabic] Samer Frangieh writes for Al-Hayat analyzing politics, boredom, and Beirut Madinati.

ما الذي حدث في بيروت قبل يومين؟  [in Arabic] Hazem Saghieh analyzes the results of Beirut Madinati in the elections.

‏"بيروت مدينتي" ترصد مخالفات خطيرة تخللت الانتخابات البلدية ⁦‪ [in Arabic] Legal Agenda reports on Beirut Madinati`s claims of serious illegalities during the Beirut municipal elections.

بيروت: هزيمة بنكهة الانتصار [in Arabic] Elias Khoury`s analysis of Beirut Madinati`s municipal election results.

بلدية الظل [in Arabic] Akel al-Awit`s plea for Beirut Madinati to persist as a shadow municipality.

 
Featured Resources

Report: Syria: Opinions and Attitudes on Federalism, Decentralization, and the experience of the Democratic Self-Administration This study provides insight towards finding a solution to one of the central issues facing the future of Syria–the administration of the country during the transition and beyond.

Report: UN-Habitat World Cities 2016 The UN-Habitat`s World Cities Report 2016 is published.

Photo-Essay: Mardin: a town fighting for peace (Turkey) The Turkish town of Mardin is situated in an area that once belonged to Mesopotamia. Now the Kurdish conflict and the Syrian civil war just across the border are putting its tradition of openness to the test.

Photo-Essay: Lebanon`s abandoned hotel on the hillside Very little land is not under construction, or signposted as sold, in Lebanon. The battle-scarred and decaying Grand Aley Hotel stands in haunting contrast.

Video: City Debates 2016 "Urban Policy Mobilities and International Aid" The annual conference held at the American University of Beirut has published the videos of its 2016 edition.

Video: Jordan Gate Park A proposal video for the Jordan Gate towers on the 6th circle in Amman.

CFP International Competition The CFP for the International Architecture and Urbanism Competition issued by the Ecuadorian ministry as part of HabitatIII is out. Deadline is 6 July 2016.

 
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