Abstract
Located in the heart of the city, the port of Beirut has always been designed to be open to the city. The port-city relationship has evolved over the years, going from a Phoenician village with a small coastal shipping port, to a strategic port for the Ottoman city founded in Beirut. After the capitalist movement, the port was privatized and disconnected from the city, working as a private entity under the supervision of the government and obstructing the city's access to the sea. After the explosion of the port of Beirut in August 2020, the question of recovering the port-city relationship is once again discussed as part of a global vision for the reconstruction of the port. The pilot project consists of recovering the port-city relationship through an urban regeneration approach. The work will include intervening in the territory of the port area and studying the problems presented by this area and the different interfaces between the port and the city. The ambition is to propose a strategy that can ensure a connection between the port and the city, through an urban design proposal, and lead to the creation of a new image of the waterfront of the port area.
Full text article
References
Arnaud, Jean-Luc (2013). “Beirut and its territories”. Beirut: Presses de l’Ifpo. URL: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01676661/
DUBEISSY Rana, SADEK Habib et DACCACHE Maroun (2022): Beirut Urban Declaration. Beirut: Order of Engineers and Architects. URL: https://www.britishcouncil.org.lb/en/programmes/arts/ beirut-urban-declaration
VERDEIL Eric, FAOUR Ghaleb et HAMZE Mouin (2019). Atlas of Lebanon. Presse de l’Ifpo. URL: https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/13178
Beirut Urban Lab (2020). Initiatives in response to the Beirut blast. Beirut Urban Lab.:https://www.beiruturbanlab.com URL:https://www.beiruturbanlab.com/en/Details/680/for-an-inclusive-and-just-urban-recovery-for-post-blast-beirut
BLACKWELL Wiley (1971). A companion to the hellinistic and Roman Near East, Durham University, UK. URL: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03517033/document&ved=2ahUKEwjnsv_GuKOFAxVcgP0HHV0lDTsQFnoECBUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw14anGsn8EWC19R608Ux45Z
SALLON Hélène (2024). France unveils plan to rebuild Beirut port: A proposal prepared by engineering firms Artelia and Egis calls for investments of between $50 million and $80 million. Le monde. URL:https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2024/03/14/france-unveils-plan-to-rebuild-beirut-port_6619093_19.html
National News Agency (2024). Hamieh: Beirut Port reconstruction relies on port revenues, invites investments. National News Agency. https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb URL: https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/en/economy/581113/hamieh-discusses-beirut-port-s-reconstruction-plan
MANSOUR Radwan (2021). Beirut port over the years, PLUS961. URL: https://plus961.blog/2021/01/29/beirut-port-over-the-years/
LAUGENIE Jean, The port of Beyrouth (1956), Revue de Géographie de Lyon, pp.271-294. URL:https://www.persee.fr/doc/geoca_0035-113x_1956_num_31_4_2117#geoca_0035-113X_1956_num_31_4_T1_0279_0000
Authors
Copyright (c) 2025 Ali Chahrour
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
- Attribution: other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
With the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
- The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a pre-publication manuscript (but not the Publisher's final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access). Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
- Upon Publisher's request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author's own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
- The Author represents and warrants that:
- The Work is the Author's original work;
- The Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
- The Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
- The Work has not previously been published;
- The Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
- The Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
- The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author's breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 7 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher's use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Article Details
Accepted 2025-10-20
Published 2025-10-31