The reconstruction of Beirut: sowing the seeds for future conflicts? Bruno Marot and Serge Yazigi Periods of post-war reconstruction are often the backdrop for new socio-economic and political dynamics. In Beirut, the rise of market-led urbanism, a lack of proper urban planning and the far- reaching sectarian polarisation are all factors that could raise questions about the model of urban regeneration implemented and arouse new socio-political tensions. “Beirut in times of peace has been more disfigured and destroyed than in times of war.” 1 While the city centre, devastated by the combats of the civil war (1975–90), has now been largely rebuilt, the Lebanese capital is now faced with something of a paradox: its regeneration model seems to be bringing with it the seeds of future conflicts. The spread of speculative urban development – based on demolition and reconstruction – from downtown areas to the socially diverse neighbourhoods surrounding the city centre is a key event in Beirut’s recent history. These densely populated areas, largely unaffected by the destruction wrought by the war, are nonetheless subject to politico- sectarian polarisation, rekindled by the assassination of prime minister Rafic Hariri in 2005. Beirut’s pericentral neighbourhoods, under pressure from these two dynamics, seem to be in the throes of a process of “deconstruction by reconstruction”. Solidere’s legacy In the aftermath of the war, the reconstruction strategy adopted by the government was primarily economic: the renewal of the whole of Lebanon would be based on the dynamism of tertiary functions in downtown Beirut, through the re-creation of a regional hub oriented towards finance, business, culture and tourism (Schmid 2006; Ragab 2010). This strategy was embodied in a vast urban project, 2 entrusted in 1994 to a private land and real-estate and firm (Solidere), which adopted a planned approach of “insular urban development” (Saliba 2000). This approach led to the radical transformation of central Beirut, 3 while the pericentral districts and the suburbs were barely, if at all, concerned by the project. 1 Interview by Yaara Bou Melhem (10 October 2010) with the spokesperson of the association Save Beirut Heritage, in the television programme “Saving Beirut” (SBS Dateline, Australia, available at: www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/600811/n/Saving-Beirut ). 2 The operational area covers more than 160 hectares, comparable in size to La Défense business district in Paris. 3 The number of buildings demolished for the project has exceeded the number destroyed by 15 years of civil war, corresponding to an overall destruction rate of up to 80% of the original urban fabric. 1