Search

Since the 19th century, Beirut has known a spectacular development in its physiognomy as well as its morphology and its space extent. Each era has left its mark on the city, thus con-stituting territories inside which various visual messages delimitated ideological space. Presently, 13 years after the end of the war, Beirut has become a huge agglomeration and offers several faces. What are those faces?

This editorial introduces a thematic issue of Urban Planning on recent developments in Beirut, Lebanon. It emphasises the multiple crises the city has been undergoing for some time, which include an enduring political and economic crisis, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and most recently the devastating impact of the blast that happened in the port of Beirut on 4th August 2020. The editorial outlines the specific challenges resulting from these crises and addresses the concept of resilience, which is taken up by the articles included in this issue.