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

这项研究项目考察了黎巴嫩贝鲁特城市空间和城市地理最近的变化及其对贝鲁特作为冲突中城市的影响。就时间而言，这一项目有两个重要时刻：内战后阶段(1975-1990年)，在此期间，黎巴嫩政府向国内流离失所的家庭提供了金钱补偿；2006年7月黎巴嫩和以色列之间的战争之后，在没有任何国家干预的情况下，被摧毁的贝鲁特南郊正在进行重建。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大多集中在公共(例如国家)和/或私人(例如开发商)参与者身上。该项目还认为，有必要使“民间社会”行为者站在当前城市结构调整辩论的前台。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一个新的层面。它推动了当前关于空间生产、城市权利、种族隔离和公共空间的理论。这项研究认为，只有通过调查空间、战争、意识形态和新自由主义经济进程的联系，才能了解贝鲁特冲突后的地理状况。该项目通过探索市场进程与宗教意识形态在塑造城市空间方面的交集，为中东的城市研究领域做出了贡献。通过使空间创造在理解暴力和冲突方面的积极作用成为中心，这项研究将对全球关于暴力地理、冲突中的城市和冲突后城市的辩论产生影响。作为博士论文改进助学金，这个奖项将允许有前途的学生建立一个研究生涯。

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.