(This article is based on a presentation at the seminar: Housing Policies, Rent Control, and Property Taxation in Lebanon: Towards a Socially Just Model of Urban Development, IFI-AUB and KAS, Beirut, October 24, 2014) Housing is at once a prime necessity and a most formidable instrument of oppression. Argentina Supreme Court, Ercolano v. Lanteri, 136…
This paper was first published on Civil Society Knowledge Center, 16 October 2014. Abstract: The dense state of construction in Beirut is often denounced by researchers, journalists, and activists. The “Concrete Jungle” has become a synonym for the city. However, the development of this “jungle” is regulated by strict laws, in particular, the Construction Law.…
On 12 June 2014, Jadaliyya published an article by Bruno Marot, titled “The End of Rent Control in Lebanon: Another Boost to the ‘Growth Machine?’.” In this article, the author discusses the impact of a new Law on Rent that deals specifically with rent contracts signed prior to 1992. Marot began his piece by placing…
In a recent blogpost dated 8 April 2014, and titled “The Ethics of Gentrification, Social and Personal,” Peter Marcuse advanced some measures on how to deal with the ethical problem of gentrification, on both level, societal and individual. His blogspot should not be read as an academic piece, but rather it is a bridging between…
In the last decade, land price in Beirut increased by more than five fold. This price hike is pushing Beirut up the ladder of the most expansive places to live in. Recently, its Downtown ranked the 24th most expensive in the world for office space. This map shows the average starting price of newly-built residential…
