“Zaïmisation”, “Customisation” and “Sacralisation”: Three Major Phenomena of Privatisation Tendency of the Lebanese Regional Urbanism

Nagi SFEIR1
1 University of Grenoble, Urbanism Institute, Grenoble, FRANCE
E-mail: nagi.sfeir@architectes.org
Pages: 1-8

Abstract. Lebanese urbanism has been over the last three decades largely discussed and analysed by national and international specialists of social, political and urban issues. However, spatial planning and urban development case-study projects are still mostly selected within the limited urban and economic poles of the country, especially Beirut’s urban region and its coastal corridor, plus some other regional principal centralities. In this paper we aim to analyse regional and local urban development projects implemented in localities that are disconnected from these major poles. We therefore introduce three primary phenomena occurring in those micro-territories and thus participating in the broader privatisation tendency of the Lebanese urbanism. Thus, “Zaïmisation”, “Customisation” and “Sacralisation” as phenomena of regional (local) urban development – relative to “Micro-political (Zaïm)”, “Micro-economic (local Investor)” and “Religious” stakeholders – allow for a better understanding of the dynamics and mechanisms involved in Lebanese urbanism within paradoxically alternative and complementary urban governance process, where limits between public and private interests are permanently negotiated.

K e y w o r d s:  regional urban planning, local economic development, urban privatisation, zaïmisation, customisation, sacralisation, Lebanese urbanism, Realurbanism