The study refers to research in the neighborhood of Mar Mikhael (Beirut), looking at replicable strategies to protect and enhance Beirut’s social and architectural diversity. Through a mix of hands-on, participatory research involving legal and urban experts and policymakers on the one hand, and neighborhood groups and residents, on the other, it seeks to articulate a framework of policy intervention that can account for the necessity to preserve the city’s heritage and protect its stock of affordable housing, while remaining in a framework of the free market.

Mar Mikhael has witnessed the well-known path of gentrification observed elsewhere in cities around the world: attracted by the unique social and spatial characteristics of the area, arts, crafts and design industries as well as trendy bars and restaurants replaced old street-level small-scale shops. These changes eventually spilled over to the housing sector: between 2007 and 2010, apartment prices more than doubled. Rising prices have affected both commercial and residential activities by attracting investors’ attention and eventually, the combination of low rent, high land prices and speculation led to old dwellers being evicted from their homes and old buildings being demolished to give place to expensive luxury high-rises. In the absence of appropriate protections and incentives, this has led to the displacement of hundreds of families from the neighborhood. These families have typically moved to the city’s suburbs, and many have lost their employment and sources of livelihood in the process. Today, several elderly, low-income residents of the neighborhood face fears of displacement and eviction.

In addition to the report, a policy brief has been published in English and Arabic (see on the right).