Doctoral Dissertation Research: Restructuring of Urban Space in Post-War Beirut, Lebanon

本研究项目探讨了黎巴嫩贝鲁特城市空间和城市地理的最新变化及其对贝鲁特作为一个冲突城市的影响。从时间上看，有两个时刻对该项目很重要：内战后阶段（1975-1990年），黎巴嫩政府为国内流离失所的家庭提供了货币补偿; 2006年7月黎巴嫩和以色列之间的战争之后，贝鲁特被毁的南郊一直在进行重建，没有任何国家干预。该项目将使用档案和人种学研究方法，主要是开放式访谈、非参与者和参与者观察，调查代表贝鲁特不同历史时刻和遗址的三个案例研究。关于城市空间生产的研究主要集中在公共（如国家）和/或私人（如开发商）行为者。该项目认为，在关于当前城市结构调整的辩论中，还需要把“民间社会”行为者放在突出位置。通过研究宗教民间社会行为者的空间进程和做法及其在贝鲁特城市空间生产中的作用，该项目为理解城市带来了新的层面。它推动了当前关于空间生产、城市权利、隔离和公共空间的理论。该研究认为，冲突后的贝鲁特的地理只能通过调查空间，战争，意识形态和新自由主义经济进程的衔接来理解。该项目通过探索市场过程与宗教意识形态在塑造城市空间方面的交叉点，为中东城市研究领域做出了贡献。通过将空间制造在理解暴力和冲突中的积极作用带到中心，这项研究将对暴力地理，冲突中的城市和冲突后城市的全球辩论产生影响。作为博士论文改进补助金，该奖项将允许有前途的学生建立研究生涯。

This research project examines recent changes in urban space and urban geography in Beirut, Lebanon and its implications for Beirut as a city-in-conflict. Temporally, two moments are important for this project: the post civil war phase (1975-1990) during which the Lebanese government has given monetary compensations for internally displaced families, and the period following the July 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel during which the destroyed southern suburbs of Beirut have been undergoing reconstruction, devoid of any state intervention. The project will use archival and ethnographic research methods, mainly open-ended interviews, non-participant and participant observation, to investigate three case studies that represent different historical moments and sites in Beirut. Studies on the production of urban space have mostly focused on public (e.g. the state) and/or private (e.g. developers) actors. This project argues for the need also to bring "civil society" actors to the foreground in the debate on the current restructuring of cities. By studying the spatial processes and practices of religious civil society actors and their role in the production of urban space in Beirut, this project brings a new dimension to the understanding of cities. It pushes forward current theories on the production of space, the right to the city, segregation, and public space. The study argues that the post-conflict geography of Beirut can only be understood through investigating the articulation of space, war, ideology, and neoliberal economic processes. The project contributes to the field of urban studies in the Middle East through exploring the intersection of market processes with religious ideologies in shaping urban space. By bringing to the center the active role of space-making in understanding violence and conflict, the study will have implications for global debates on geographies of violence, cities in conflict, and post-conflict cities. As a doctoral dissertation improvement grant this award will allow a promising student to establish a research career.