MUNICIPAL PROGRAM | 2016-2022

PHOTO: GEORGE AZAR

PHOTO: MICHA WARDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS

STRATEGY BACKGROUND  1
RESEARCH AND CONSULTATION  1

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENTS  2

THE LIVABILITY CHALLENGE  3

OUR VISIONS AND OUTCOMES  4

STRATEGIC THEMES AND OUTCOMES  4

THEMATIC SHEETS  5
5.1 | MOBILITY  5
5.2 | PUBLIC SPACE AND GREEN NETWORKS  7
5.3 | HOUSING  9
5.4 | SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL  11
5.5 | SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT  13
5.6 | URBAN SAFETY AND SECURITY  15
5.7 | GREEN BUILDING AND ENERGY CONSERVATION  16
5.8 | CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE  17
5.9 | LARGE-SCALE INFRASTRUCTURE: WATER, SEWERAGE AND ELECTRICITY  19
5.10 | SHARED COMMUNAL AMENITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE  21

FROM VISION TO IMPLEMENTATION  23

6.1 | EXECUTING AN INTEGRATED PLAN  23
6.2 | THREE-SCALE IMPLEMENTATION  23
6.3 | TIME FRAME  25
6.4 | PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION  25
6.4.1. | A TWO-WAY BRIDGE BETWEEN MUNICIPALITY AND DWELLERS
6.4.2. | PRODUCTIVE INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS
6.5 | FINANCING IMPLEMENTATION  26
6.6 | MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONAL REFORM  26
6.6.1 | ENVISIONING A STRONG AND EFFICIENT MUNICIPALITY
6.6.2. | INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION

MEASURING SUCCESS  27
PHOTO: DAVID HABCHY
FORWARD A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM THE CAMPAIGN
This municipal program is the materialization of the commitment to the hope and change that Beirut
Madinati brings to the table. It provides a clear framework for the Campaigns vision of Beirut as a
socially inclusive, forward looking, vibrant, and dynamic capital city. A livable city. It also shows that
this goal is attainable and that the Beirut Madinati team, with its urban planners, transport engineers,
waste management experts, economists, and other experts is the best equipped to reach it.
This is the first release of the program that we are putting out to draw the broad lines of our vision
and future work. It includes policies and programs which will be articulated into concrete projects.
It is a document which is open to revision and invites responses and comments from all those who
wish to see our city prosper to its potential.
We are certain that the best days of our city still lie ahead and we encourage everyone to participate
and work together to achieve our true potential. Its time for change, join us to make it happen.

The Program writers.

WHAT IS BEIRUT MADINATI?

Beirut Madinati is an opportunity for change that starts with the recognition that our
traditional political leadership has proven unable to responsibly manage urban affairs,
and that we can collectively do much better.
Beirut Madinati is a volunteer-led campaign to elect a municipal council of qualified,
politically independent individuals in the upcoming contest of May 2016, and, once in
office, to support them in implementing a people-centered program that prioritizes
livability in our storied city.
Drawing on the deep well of expertise available in Lebanons urban planners,
transportation engineers, waste management experts, economists, and others, Beirut
Madinati has formulated an electoral program which prioritizes the well-being of all who
live or work here. It addresses problems of affordability, mobility, waste management,
air quality, public spaces, basic services, and municipal governance.
In all that it does and aspires to do, Beirut Madinati, strives to reflect its core values:
the primacy of the public good, social justice, transparency, and stewardship of our
city for future generations.

BEIRUT MADINATI: AN OPPORTUNITY AND COMMITMENT TO

IMPROVE OUR CITY THROUGH THE ELECTORAL PROCESS.
PLEASE JOIN US.
 STRATEGY BACKGROUND
The Beirut Madinati 2022 Municipal Program provides
the direction for the City of Beirut to become a livable city
where a skilled and diverse population can lead a healthy
and productive lifestyle. It aims to translate the vision of
strengthening and invigorating the role of Beirut as a regional
cultural and economic center, the heart of a metropolitan
area, and the capital city of Lebanon into a set of objectives
and plans.
The strategy builds on a set of integrated planning
interventions where issues of mobility, land-use planning,
waste management, social and physical infrastructure,
housing, socio-economic development, sustainability,
safety, and health are conceived within the context of short,
medium and long-term strategic visions. These visions are
translated, in turn, into specific programs, projects, and
interventions at local, city-wide, and when needed, regional
scales.
The objectives of the Beirut Madinati Program Strategy
are to deliver the following outcomes:
Improve standards of livability, including mobility, public
space, cleanliness, healthy air, etc.
Increase access to the basic ingredients of livelihood such
as housing, employment, social services, etc.
Establish a forward-looking, supportive framework for
economic development that develops local markets,
supports business and employment, and foster innovation;
Strengthen the supportive framework that can sustain a
vibrant social and cultural life;
Reclaim the role of the Municipality as an efficient public
agency that prioritizes the needs of urban dwellers and
works successfully to respond to their needs.
The strategy recognizes that many of the critical challenges
faced by Beiruts municipal authorities extend beyond
its administrative jurisdiction, both geographically and
institutionally. It articulates an implementation strategy that
rests on active collaborations with municipalities in the wider
city region, public agencies, executive authorities (Mohafez
and ministers), legislated by contractual agreements and
active partnership.
The strategy embraces the level of engagement and active
participation demonstrated over the past decade by city
dwellers as individuals, members of building condominium
and neighborhood committees, and/or active citizen groups
and non-governmental organizations. It envisions them as
key partners in the conception, design, implementation, and
long term success of its activities. It proposes clear channels
of participation and involvement in which all those who live
and work in the city play important roles in shaping its city.
The Beirut Madinati program proposes thematic interventions
that focus on each of the 10 important sectors of livability and
integrates them in an implementation strategy that accounts
for necessary changes within the institutional structure of
the Municipality.

RESEARCH AND CONSULTATION

The Beirut Madinati Municipal Program was drafted by a
group of experts, activists, professionals, academics, and
members of the private and non-profit sectors who worked
together to offer decades worth of experience in research,
consultancies, and advocacy work to propose a plan to
improve living conditions in the city. Having found that those
governing too often ignore the significance of a people-
centered development, these experts found themselves
compelled to take the extra step of participating in a
campaign program in support of the candidacy of those who
are ready to abide by the principles of honesty, competence
and commitment to the betterment of the daily lives of those
who inhabit and work in Beirut.

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STRATEGIC ALIGNMENTS
The strategy is a dynamic model that operates at multiple
scales and that aligns its goals with those of other long-
term plans of neighbouring municipalities and central
government agencies. It feeds on existing studies that are
integrated to respond best to the cross-cutting goals of
livability.
Core to its process is dialogue and coordination with
community, non-governmental organizations, private sector,
and central government agencies. The municipality will seek
critical partnerships that will contribute to achieving goals,
delivering strategy and translating vision.
There is no doubt that no identification of goals and
strategies can occur outside of a participatory and inclusive
process of planning. The Beirut Madinati team has already
begun to initiate participatory neighbourhood scale surveys
that constitute the first step of a long term, participatory
process of planning and engagement that will inclusively
define, prioritize, and organize the translation of these
livability elements into actual policies, programs and
projects in Beirut.

PHOTO: MICHA WARDE

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 THE LIVABILITY CHALLENGE
By placing livability at the heart of its program and campaign,
Beirut Madinati is advocating for prioritizing those who
live and work in the city, the people, as the main focus and
beneficiary of its plans.
WHAT IS LIVABILITY?
A livable city is one that responds primarily to the needs of Each of these goals was then translated into several sector/
all its dwellers. These goals were translated in the current policy areas that translated into the ten sectors of the
program into the 7 elements of work, home, health, leisure, program.
safety and security, mobility, and identity.

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OUR VISION AND OUTCOMES
The Beirut Madinati program recognizes Beirut as a regional
cultural and economic center, the heart of a metropolitan
area, the capital city of Lebanon and its main gateway. It
STRATEGIC THEMES AND OUTCOMES
envisions it as a socially inclusive city, accessible, diverse,
vibrant, and forward-looking in its commitments to long- MOBILITY | A city where all city dwellers, old
term sustainable development. It is a city that embraces and young, can move safely, efficiently, and
its waterfront, celebrates its rich heritage as an economic in ways that respect their own health and the
and cultural capital, boasts an integrated network of green, health of the city.
socially inclusive public spaces, offers a variety of housing
options to respond to the multiple needs of its dwellers, and PUBLIC SPACES | A city connected through
networks with its surroundings to answer the needs of urban a green network of public spaces and its
mobility and adequate shelter. It is a city that recognizes the waterfront, thus improving health, enhancing
need to live in harmony with its environment, conscious of social life and leisure, and facilitating mobility.
its waste production and energy consumption and versed in
the best practices of the modern metropolis. The program HOUSING | A city that acknowledges housing
also envisions Beirut as a dynamic and efficient city that as a basic human right and works actively to
benefits from entrepreneurship and innovation, that sustains enlarge opportunities for housing acquisition
economic growth and job creation, and that upgrades its for its middle and low income groups.
public services and amenities to improve the livelihoods
and wellbeing of its citizens.It is, in short, the city where WASTE MANAGEMENT | A city actively engaged
we want our children to grow and build their futures. It is in the management of its solid waste through
a city where we can see our parents aging gracefully. It is a reduction, sorting at the source, and reuse.
city where we aspire to live.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |
Beiruts Municipality is the public agency who represents
A dynamic, efficient and socially just city
all city dwellers, responds to their needs, shields them by
that sustains economic growth, supports
remaining politically unaffiliated and claiming its legitimacy
employment generation, and recognizes the
through representing them rather than representing
right of all its dwellers to enjoy a decent living.
particular political parties. The Municipality shares
information through transparent mechanisms of action,
CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE | A
and provides numerous channels for dwellers to voice their
city that cherishes its natural and cultural
concerns and impact the future of their city. This municipal
heritage as a resource that enhances character,
program places the wellbeing of people and their livelihoods
enriches cultural life, and plays a positive role
at the center of its development strategy for the city, making
in economic development.
of the goal of urban livability its core concern.
WATER AND ELECTRICITY | A city that considers
as its prime priority the delivery of safe water
and electricity to all its dwellers.

URBAN SAFETY AND SECURITY | A city that

prioritizes the health and safety of all its
dwellers by upholding as its key responsibility
the monitoring, lobbying for, and provision of
a safe and healthy environment.

COMMUNITY CENTERS AND SOCIAL SERVICE | A

city equipped with libraries, community centers
and other facilities essential for a sustainable
social and educational infrastructure and
development.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY CONSERVATION |

A city that is aware of its ecological footprint
and supports state of the art green building and
energy conservation practices.

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 THEMATIC SHEETS
5.1 MOBILITY
OUR OBJECTIVE HOW WILL WE DO IT?
A city where all city dwellers, old and young, can move safely, IMMEDIATE MEASURES
efficiently, and in ways that respect their own health and the Form an institutional unit within the Municipality tasked
health of the city. to think holistically about urban mobility. This unit should:
- Lead, in partnership with public transportation
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CITY?
agencies and nearby municipalities and federations of
A connected, mobile society moving across work, home,
municipalities, the effort of creating a network of shared
and leisure fluently;
mobility at the scale of the metropolitan area;
A pedestrian friendly city connected across networks of
- Train, activate, monitor, and enhance the activities of
green/open spaces that improve mental and physical
street police (shurtat al muroor) in order to improve
health;
traffic management and educate drivers, in partnership
A better economic performance supported by a solid with other public agencies.
infrastructure that moves people and goods rapidly and
- Create a data-base of mobility facts and work on
sustainably;
monitoring and improving traffic indicators in the city.
An environmentally responsible city that is aware of its
ecological footprint. MEDIUM AND LONG TERM
Introduce an integrated system of public transportation
OUR OVERARCHING STRATEGY connecting Beirut to its metropolitan area, relying heavily
Our mobility strategy aims to shift the current modal on buses developed in partnership with/integrating and
distribution away from its heavy reliance on private car upgrading existing informal networks and complementing
ownership, towards more sustainable means of shared modes them with adequate bus routes that should be thought of
of transportation (e.g. taxis, buses and vans) as well as soft in relation to the current and future expansion of the city.
modes of mobility (e.g. pedestrian, biking, etc.).
Improve and integrate, through a comprehensive strategy,
the existing network of shared transportation within the
WHY DO WE NEED TO DO IT?
city and complement it with buses on designated lanes,
The current system of mobility, which relies heavily on
when possible.
private car ownership, has reached its limit: it is inefficient,
slow, costly, and unsustainable. Improve the physical infrastructure to support soft modes
of mobility including pedestrian networks and bike lanes.
Traffic models are showing that enlarging further roads
and/or adding throughways as in the recently proposed Develop incentives for city dwellers to use public
Fouad Boutros highway will not improve urban mobility. transportation, including commuters coming from the
metropolitan region of Beirut for whom parking should
The citys congestion is expected to worsen due to the
also be secured at the outskirts of the city.
volume of private cars that will be added by the large rate
of building development in the city. Introduce incentives for car pooling.
The current mobility system is bad for city dwellers:
Poor pedestrian networks, combined with traffic
congestion, have dual negative impacts on peoples health
such as mental stresses, respiratory problems resulting DID YOU KNOW THAT
from the air pollution generated by cars, and increasingly
high rates of obesity;
the average household spends
Traffic congestion has negative economic externalities:
it creates additional costs to businesses in lost time for
about 7,000 USD yearly on its
employees to get to work/meetings/activities, logistics, private car?
and others.
It can save up to 4,000-5,000
Traffic congestion has negative environmental externalities USD/year if it relied on shared
such as green-house emissions.
and/or soft mobility.

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 Introduce neighborhood-scale designated parking Refurbish existing bus centers and publicly-owned open
zones that combine local neighborhood parks with areas, particularly Charles Helou and the area next to the
underground parking as a dual strategy to reclaim Sports Stadium, into transportation hubs that serve all
sidewalks for pedestrians, enlarge biking spaces, take the commuters coming from the North-East, and the South.
car underground, and respond to the needs of urban shared
Work towards the long term vision of reintroducing the
green spaces.
tramway as a shared mode of transportation in the city.
Articulate a city-wide parking strategy linking central and
local parking zones and managing existing municipal
parking areas.

PHOTO: WISSAM BOU ASSI

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 5.2 PUBLIC SPACE AND GREEN NETWORKS
OUR OBJECTIVE
A city connected through a green network of public spaces
and its waterfront to improve health, enhance social life and
leisure, and facilitate mobility.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CITY?
A greener city connected with a network of public spaces
that serve for mobility and leisure;
A pedestrian friendly city connected across networks of
green/open spaces that improve mental and physical
health;
A green space for each neighborhood to serve as a shared
social space and a children play area
A city better connected with its waterfront that is public
and accessible to all
A city with sustainable natural heritage and cultural
practices
OUR OVERARCHING STRATEGY
Greening is part of a city-wide vision that advocates the
centrality of green spaces for improving health, for enhancing
the citys social life and for improving the quality of its mobility.
It relies on an incremental implementation strategy that
allows us to work the elements gradually in view of achieving
the holistic vision;
WHY DO WE NEED TO DO THAT?
The total area of public green spaces in the city fall short
of the minimum required to insure a healthy, livable and
connected urban environment.
Beirut has less than 0.65m2/capita of public garden at a time
when the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends
a minimum of 9m2/capita.
Many neighborhoods, representing more than 25% of the
municipal territory, have no public gardens (e.g. Mossaitb,
Borj Abi Haidar, Mazraa, Tariq al Jedideh, Bir Hassan)
Streets, normally used as social, commercial and leisure
spaces in the city, are increasingly claimed by cars, security
zones, and private uses.
The existing spaces are all neglected and/or poorly managed
and most are threatened by privatization:
The sea-front is threatened by private development interests.
The Pine Forest, a unique city-wide park, is closed six days
a week and threatened by the development of a municipal
stadium;
The few public gardens surveyed in Beirut are poorly
maintained.
The large urban connectors, which constitute potential
green corridors, such as the Beirut River, the Damascus
road, and the old tramway, remain unexploited.
Beirut is a city where children and youth have nowhere
to play, practice sports, and hang out. Also, it lacks public
7
spaces and amenities for elderly people. Public spaces are
not accessible to people with disabilities.
The citys few municipal gardens have limited children play
areas and youths areas.
Major public recreational areas, such as the Municipal
Stadium, Beiruts Hippodrome gardens, and Horch Beirut,
are closed.
HOW WILL WE DO IT?
IMMEDIATE STEPS
Provide urban parks to city-dwellers by:
- Opening Horsh Beirut, completed in 1995, to the public
in a permanent and secure manner;
- Greening and rehabilitating left over spaces and spaces
under bridges as public spaces;
- Opening public building grounds, such as public schools
playgrounds and sports grounds, to the public for
weekend use;
- Acquiring new land, when needed, to set-up new garden
areas.
Lobby for the activation of the law on unexploited spaces
as temporary community spaces and green areas and as
a measure of increasing the share of green spaces and/
or parking;
Stop all land sales of municipal property and create pocket
gardens in the numerous left-over spaces owned by the
Municipality allowing for greening Beiruts avenues and
boulevards
MEDIUM AND LONG TERM
Articulate a city-wide, coherent public space policy
responding to a vision formulated at the city level that
touches on practices both in shared/public spaces and in
private development projects in line with the proposals of
the Plan Vert de Beyrouth.
Implement a network of green spaces linking all the
neighborhoods, parks, public gardens, and institutional
green spaces that supports and improves urban soft
mobility, enhances the citys built and natural heritage,
introduces new green zones and enhances the quality of
existing ones.
Implement a strategy to upgrade the entire waterfront
that answers to issues of water accessibility, illegal
encroachment, safety, ecological protection while
recognizing the sea-front as a source of livelihood and/or
economically active zone;
Provide additional urban parks to city-dwellers by:
- Implementing the water front park planned in the city
center;
- Creating a new park in Achrafieh on public land using
Fouad Boutros projects expropriated parcels;
 - Creating a new park on municipal land in Qarantina;
Negotiate with the public railways office (OCFTC) the
opportunity of using as public parks a part of their large and DID YOU KNOW THAT
unused domain in Mar Mikhail and Nahr neighborhoods
without compromising their initial function at long term;
Beirut counts less than 1m2 of
Create small proximity public gardens on municipally
owned land or on specifically purchased parcels in the
open green space/capita when
neighborhoods that are completely missing some such the World Health Organization
facilities (e.g. Mossaitb, Karm-el-Zeitoun, Borj Abi Haidar, recommends at least 9m2/
Mazraa, Tariq al Jedideh) and trying, as much as possible,
capita to protect peoples
to combine neighborhood scale parks and parking areas.
physical and mental health?
Recover a more important part of Beiruts streets for
pedestrians, soft mobility, landscape and social uses
allowed by increasing the share of collective modes of
transportation;
Introduce and implement accessibility criteria for all public
spaces to improve the access of people with disability;
In keeping with each neighborhoods identity, provide
gradually to Beiruts streets a coherent garden character
by specifying, through a municipal decree and incentives
to developers, the density and type of plantation to be
necessarily implemented in the new buildings setback
with respect to the street.
Create calm and green neighborhoods by lowering car
speed, providing an underground public parking and
turning the sidewalks as larger, landscaped and dedicated
to the neighborhood social life.

PHOTO: GEORGE AZAR

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 5.3 HOUSING
OUR OBJECTIVE
A city that acknowledges housing as a basic human right
and works actively to enlarge the opportunities of housing
acquisition, particularly for its middle and lower income groups.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CITY?
A larger stock of affordable rental housing within the citys
administrative proper,
A larger set of housing schemes targeting middle income
groups looking for housing options in the city and its
immediate suburbs,
Better connections to the regional metropolitan area of
Beirut facilitating daily commutes in terms of economic
and environmental costs;
A steady reduction of dilapidated housing and
neighborhoods.
OUR OVERARCHING STRATEGY
Our housing strategy consists of activating the role of
the municipality as an advocate and team leader for the
management and organization of a stock of affordable housing.
WHY DO WE NEED TO DO THAT?
The current organization of the housing market leaves most
city dwellers living in inadequate shelter conditions and/
or with poor security of tenure;
Beirut has a large stock of empty apartments at a time
when families struggle to secure shelter;
A large section of the housing stock is left to deteriorate,
making living conditions inadequate in many pockets of
the city;
Processes and mechanisms of housing acquisition are fairly
limited to a few options that require steady and relatively
high income;
The structure of incentives and opportunities is such that
very little incentives exist for developers to target middle
and lower income groups as potential clients.
DID YOU KNOW THAT
the municipality has the
mandate to improve the
performance of the housing
sector, but it has never done so?
9
HOW WILL WE DO IT?
The municipality will activate its role in the articulation of
housing policies and programs for Beirut in partnership
with public agencies, municipalities in its vicinities, as well
as market actors. It will seek to regulate and complement
existing resources in order to provide the proper incentives
and support for the production of multiple forms of
affordable housing (for both purchase and rental), and
support their acquisition by vulnerable social groups.
IMMEDIATE MEASURES
Form an institutional unit within the Municipality whose task
is to think holistically about urban housing. This unit should:
Lead, in partnership with housing agencies, the mobility
team, and nearby municipalities and federations of
municipalities, the effort of encouraging the production
of affordable housing at the scale of the metropolitan area;
Articulate and lobby for new regulations that would provide
both incentives and controls (including taxes) that foster
an adequate environment for the production of affordable
housing;
Address the existing set-up of the old rent law.
MEDIUM AND LONG TERM
Increase Supply: Housing supply should be increased
by expanding the construction of affordable units (for
ownership and/or rent) within the citys administrative
boundaries and along a network of public transportation
that extends beyond the citys administrative boundaries.
This policy needs to be designed in close cooperation
with municipalities of the larger metropolitan area
whereby areas of immediate/future urbanization are
clearly earmarked to avoid stretching infrastructure needs
(particularly transportation and water/sewer systems).
In these areas, special incentives need to be introduced
in order to facilitate the process of affordable housing
construction in the form of on-site infrastructure, tax reliefs
to those who develop affordable rental units, small housing
units, etc. and others. In some cases, direct subsidies may
be needed but these should be used parsimoniously to
maintain the sustainability of the interventions.
Improve the Regulatory Building Framework of Housing
Production: The Municipality will lead in designing and
lobbying for the introduction of new planning tools,
particularly derivatives of inclusionary housing where
incentives are given to developers in exchange of building
affordable units (and/or providing green spaces). These
policies begin with the premise that building in the city
is lucrative for developers who should, in return, extend
services to the city. Inclusionary housing strategies have
been highly successful in several national contexts (e.g.
Finland, South Africa, Malasia) and can provide particularly
important potentials in Lebanon where housing production
relies on private sector developments.
 - New tools are also needed to protect investments whenever Fight Segregation: Think through the challenges of social
the city intervenes to produce affordable housing. Such mixity to reverse the impacts of the civil war and its
mechanisms need to limit home resale either via permanent aftermath by providing incentives for city dwellers to bridge
rental or through co-operative ownership structures, land across religious, sectarian and income divides. This can be
trusts, etc. Planning incentives can also be supplemented achieved by setting minimum ratios of required housing/
with zoning restrictions of the types introduced in Brazil category at the scale of local jurisdictions.
(Zones of Special Social Purpose, ZEIS), Columbia (Macro
Proyectos), and others that could extend for the protection
of old and/or newly developed neighborhoods.
Improve the Taxation Framework: The Municipality will lead
in designing and actively lobbying parliament to review
taxation mechanisms related to housing and property
in ways that respect the social value of land as shelter,
protect long-term city dwellers from forced displacement
but nonetheless curtail and limit property speculation and
reduce the ongoing inflation of land prices.
Articulate a plan and lobby for the release, at least for
rental, of the large stock of empty apartments across the
city (about 10% of the city) through a combination of
incentives/taxation that would both tax vacant apartments
and create the appropriate regulatory framework for vacant
units to be rented out.
Target demand side subsidies to support eligible renters
who cannot otherwise access the housing market.
Alternatively, subsidies can take the form of a mortgage
guarantee fund that would support home buyers currently
ineligible for mortgage finance because of low-paid or
informal work. These guarantee funds reduce the risk faced
by banks when lending to low income buyers. To succeed,
such incentives need to be combined with incentives for
developers, as in the case of Morocco where these programs
have been highly successful.
Address the framework of the old rent control, use it as
an opportunity to secure pockets of affordable housing in
the city perhaps through inclusionary zoning and/or other
measures that limit the penetration of the speculative
market to old neighborhoods.
Improve the quality of the existing housing stock through
targeted interventions to improve and upgrade the quality
of poor housing, particularly in vulnerable neighborhoods/
slum areas. In some cases where landlords are stranded
with old rent control and unable to upgrade buildings,
innovative partnerships can be introduced where the city
can upgrade buildings with conditional contracts for longer
term affordable housing. Elsewhere, on site-resettlements
or other strategies may have to be introduced. In
general, policies need to be introduced at the scale of
neighborhoods, streets, and quarters rather than vis--vis
individual buildings in order to share in the benefit and
invest in public infrastructure rather than private property.
Support NGOs in introducing housing micro-finance to
upgrade housing in contexts where this is possible by
introducing public interventions that improve the quality
of streets, and other shared spaces.

PHOTO: WISSAM BOU ASSI

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 5.4 SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL
OUR OBJECTIVE MEDIUM AND LONG TERM MEASURES
A city actively engaged in the management of its solid waste, Secure the long term financial sustainability of the waste
both through reduction, sorting at the source, and reuse. management plan by developing an understanding of
the actual cost of MSW services. Once the cost is defined,
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CITY? the financial gap can be calculated and target revenue
A city that secures a clean and healthy environment for levels can be defined. Most developed countries have
all its dwellers; introduced alternative sources of funding to close the gap.
These include landfill taxes, and producer responsibility
A city that actively engages in a long term plan to reduce the
schemes. These financial tools along with additional
production of its per capita daily waste and that reduces,
financial incentives can be used as leverage for changing
through sorting at the source, the amount of solid waste
consumption patterns.
that needs to be landfilled;
Raise public awareness and involvement as a vehicle for
A city that has secured long term, productive resuse of
reestablishing and rebuilding the relationship of trust
its waste;
between the Municipality and the citizens
An environmentally responsible city that is aware of its
- Public awareness about MSW management should be
ecological footprint;
oriented towards:
A sanitary landfill that is used responsibly for all that cannot
Explaining and promoting waste minimization, for the
be recycled.
public to share in the responsibility of reducing waste
generation
OUR OVERARCHING STRATEGY
A combination of forward looking awareness raising Introducing source separation of waste materials
strategies that encourage a different way of dealing with
MSW service charges, their purpose and expenditure
waste production and management in which city dwellers
are conscious actors who work in partnership with a local Understanding MSW management rules and regulations
authority in a relationship of trust and accountability. and decreasing illegal practices.
- Provide role models to the community, especially to
HOW WILL WE DO IT?
children who could be invited, in line with the practices
IMMEDIATE MEASURES
adopted in other countries, to participate in recycling
The municipality will adopt and implement a transparent
activities and in campaigns to clean their schools, public
solid waste management strategy, based on reducing,
beaches, and parks.
sorting at the source, secondary sorting, reuse & recycling
generated waste. - Conduct regular public meetings and gatherings for the
community to disseminate the elements of the strategy
The municipality will establish an Office of Solid Waste
and plans.
Management inside the Municipality of Beirut to revive
and strengthen institutional and administrative bodies
responsible for solid waste management. The Office will
be tasked to implement the following road map:
- An assessment of the level of knowledge of community
members (including scavengers and informal recyclers) DID YOU KNOW THAT
with regards to waste management;
- Define waste categories and establish a comprehensive Municipal Beirut produces
picture of waste categories, management practices and
policies that are adaptable to the existing situation;
an estimated 600 tons/day of
waste, 90% of which is directly
- Define stakeholders responsibilities;
sent to landfills?
- Develop a participatory master/action plan (including citizens,
merchants industrialists for the citys municipal solid waste
management; based on the set principles (3Rs: Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle) and building on previous experiences;
- Develop operational guidelines for waste management
operators whether public or private;
- Combat illegal waste dumping.

11
 Develop Human Resources: - Launch an educational campaign to inform women in
low-income communities of available opportunities for
- Waste management services could be further improved
the establishment of small businesses in solid waste
by developing the capabilities of officials responsible
recycling with a focus on upcycling.
for MSW and in-house expertise and/or acquiring skills
in the following areas: - Provide incentives for leading entrepreneurial initiatives
and projects resulting in waste reduction while enforcing
Monitoring the growing number of private MSW service
rules and regulations on non or less complying ones.
providers.
Lobby for:
Developing better understanding of more sophisticated
MSW treatment systems. - Laws that encourage waste minimization
Formulating MSW management laws to regulate the - Containers and packaging recycling law
sector.
- Home appliances recycling law;
- Operating more cost effective services.
- Construction and demolition materials recycling law
- Set in place an accounting system for MSW management.
- Food recycling law
Launch new initiatives and promote innovation
- End-of-life vehicle recycling law
- Promote and Conduct incentive based recycling activities
- Laws promoting and regulating green public purchasing.
and initiatives to induce a behavioral recycling change
within the community through motivation along with
provision of the necessary tools that will instigate the
community to recycle more (providing Sorting and
Recycling Tips on what can be recycled/ Upcycling ideas/
Recycling benefits. e.g. Green Day).

12
 5.5 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
OBJECTIVE
A dynamic, efficient and socially just city that sustains
economic growth, supports employment generation, and
recognizes the right of all its dwellers to enjoy a decent living.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CITY?
Thriving and dynamic commercial streets where small
shops and artisans are nurtured;
Flourishing local markets selling different types of food,
crafts, arts, and others, that offer quality affordable products
and attract buyers;
An enabling space for enterprises to thrive and
entrepreneurs to start businesses in sectors of relevance
and with value-added;
An attractive positioning on the global business map,
especially in the tourism and innovative sectors;
Mechanisms to facilitate and support job seekers in finding
employment;
Urban poverty prioritized and needs of the poor addressed
with everyone having access to affordable social services
of good quality.
OUR OVERARCHING STRATEGY
Contribute to poverty and unemployment reduction as
realistically as possible, within the constraints of Lebanons
macroeconomic challenges, by sustaining positive cycles
of economic growth and job creation and by placing socio-
economic development at the heart of the municipal councils
agenda, as a crosscutting goal to be accounted for throughout
all interventions.
WHY DO WE NEED TO DO THAT?
Beiruts economy is the heart of the Lebanese economy.
It has shrunk in the past decade, operating way below its
potential:
Employment opportunities have been relatively scarce
leading to the emigration of highly-educated and high-
skilled youth;
Urban poverty is increasing within and around the city and
many dwellers are unable to exercise their very basic social
and economic rights;
Local markets are shrinking, while they could offer to small
producers and consumers increased supply-chain benefits,
easy access to a wide range of services in public spaces,
and at the same time contribute to social cohesion in a
city where the divides are growing;
The Municipalitys own employment strategy and its
strategy of project management and public/private
partnership have not endorsed the goal of sustained
employment generation.
13
HOW WILL WE DO IT?
IMMEDIATE MEASURES
Establish local neighbourhood committees to bridge
community concerns and needs between residents
and the municipality and form an interface of regular
communication and feedback;
Assess the viability of existing commercial arteries and
inject revitalization strategies to enhance their social and
commercial roles;
Organize and support local producers and craftsmen to
display their products in organized street markets where
the quality of products is certified.
MEDIUM AND LONG TERM MEASURES
Establish quasi-free state-of-the-art sites to host entrepreneurs
and start-ups, specifically start-ups in tourism, humanitarian,
ecological, technology, innovation and creative sectors, and
contribute to covering their infrastructure-related operating
costs (like electricity and communication);
Launch a full-fledged regional and international media
campaign to promote Beirut as an international business
and cultural hub, and a touristic destination, including
international fairs, sector-specific targeted fairs, cultural
and arts events, support to businesses marketing efforts
to scale up abroad, twinning with other municipalities, etc.
Facilitate matching between available job opportunities
and job seekers for free, especially low income job seekers,
in collaboration with businesses, employers organizations,
and the national employment office:
- Attach to every public work contract a social clause, and
use public procurement to promote employment of
disabled, youth and/or women or support environmental
sustainability.
- Showcase the benefit and returns for businesses on taking
youth and training in practice for an apprentice, and
providing companies that go along with financial rewards.
Implement accessibility infrastructure services for disabled
around the city, especially around commercial and business
centres;
Assess and address urban poverty within Beirut in terms
of basic needs deprivation, and identify high priority
communities for coordinated interventions
- Coordinate quality social services provisioning between
non-governmental organisations and governmental
institutions in the city;
- Integrate marginalized groups, especially the elderly, and
bridge the gaps where needed;
- Ensure a combination of multi-level integrated poverty
targeting interventions such as direct consumption
support, health safety nets, micro financing and related
services and training under a single framework for
a simultaneous impact and raise living standards to
sustainable levels.
 Engage in regular dialogue to direct the private education Coordinate and initiate joint projects with adjacent
and health sectors, non-governmental organisations, and municipalities to upgrade infrastructure and basic services
private companies towards the priority social, economic, in slums adjacent to the city.
cultural and environmental needs of Beiruts communities
and ensure coordinated intervention in priority areas,
especially in coverage of public health services and
improving access to education and quality of learning in
public schools.

PHOTO: WISSAM BOU ASSI

14
 5.6 URBAN SAFETY AND SECURITY
OBJECTIVE MEDIUM AND LONG-TERM MEASURES:
A city that prioritizes the health and safety of all its dwellers Form neighborhood coalitions that work to identify
by upholding as its key responsibility the monitoring, lobbying neighborhood level problems such as sources of hazard,
for, and provision of a safe and healthy environment. trouble spots, and others;
Reorganize and develop the municipal police on the basis
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CITY?
of community policing strategies;
A safe city where all city dwellers can move comfortably and
safely without concern about crime and/or personal threat; Establish safety protocols for construction sites to secure
A healthy and clean city where dwellers can breathe and Strengthen and improve the public health unit in the
lead a healthy and active lifestyle; municipality to improve food safety and cleanliness;
Implement awareness raising sessions for food stalls and
OUR OVERARCHING STRATEGY
restaurants to improve hygiene, in partnership with the
A combination of forward-looking cooperation with police
Ministry of Public Health;
forces for crime control and socio-economic and poverty
alleviation strategies, in collaboration with adequate public Evaluate heath threats posed by wholesale markets and
agencies and non-governmental agencies. Our aim is to foster slaughter houses and implement strategies to mitigate
the goals of public security, while an aggressive advocacy, these heath threats;
coordination, incentivizing program will allow, in collaboration
Implement the greening, mobility, water and electricity,
with other public agencies, to reduce air pollution, improve
and other service provision policies as a strategy to improve
the cleanliness of streets and other shared spaces, increase
the basic spatial infrastructure of the city and consequently
green/pedestrian zones, reduce vehicular casulaties, and
secure a healthier living framework for city dwellers;
monitor and provide regular information to dwellers about
air quality, food safety, and other health threats. Establish monitoring units, in collaboration with universities,
to provide city dwellers with regular information about air
WHY DO WE NEED TO IT? quality, food safety, and others;
Beirut has noted over the past few years a rise in petty crime
Articulate a long-term resiliency plan, establishing pro-
levels that need to be controlled through both policing and
active disaster management strategies for relief and
support, especially to the most vulnerable social groups.
emergency evacuations.
Recent numbers reflect alarming trends in air pollution in
the city that have severe effects on health.
The recent waste crisis has exacerbated health threats to
city dwellers.
DID YOU KNOW THAT
The citys physical structure lacks the basic infrastructure
to support desirable active lifestyles.
air pollution levels in Beirut
HOW WILL WE DO IT?
IMMEDIATE MEASURES
exceed WHO guidelines by 2-4
Establish a crisis unit in the Municipality entrusted with times the maximum levels
cooperation and collaboration with all necessary bodies in recommended by the WHO,
ways that can help the municipality identify its vulnerable depending on the pollutant?
neighborhoods and coordinate, in partnership with local
dwellers and the police force, long term neighborhood These pollutants are
safety plans.
responsible for heart and lung
Implement the lighting plan proposed for the city as a soft, diseases, and affect childhood
desirable measure to improve security.
brain development.
Adopt a protocol for construction sites where sidewalks
can never be blocked and street safety always secured.

15
5.7 GREEN BUILDING, ENERGY CONSERVATION
OBJECTIVE
A city aware of its ecological footprint, applying state of the
art green building and energy conservation practices.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CITY?
Environmentally friendly building development practices
that reduce the air and noise pollution incurred by
construction activities;
A stock of new buildings and refurbished old buildings that
reduce their consumption of energy in ways that alleviate
the pressure on the crumbling infrastructure systems and
reduce the long term ecological footprint of the city;
A healthier living environment for current and future
generations.
A reduction of energy consumption costs that help business
efficiency.
OUR OVERARCHING STRATEGY
A combination of forward looking awareness raising
strategies, incentives to builders and developers, and active
lobbying for the adoption of new laws in partnership with
other local authorities and NGOs.
WHY DO WE NEED TO IT?
There is very little awareness of green building strategies
in Beirut, triggering poor environmental performance
and sizable business inefficiencies in building processes
(including building development, refurbishment, and
alteration of existing buildings) as well as in the long term
lives of buildings.
Introduce incentives and regulations for developers
and builders to reduce energy use in developments
(construction and operational phases, increase energy
efficiency in buildings, reduce CO2 emissions from
developments, and increase the use of renewable energy
technologies in developments. Similarly, introduce
incentives and regulations for developers and builders to
rely on green construction methods that reduce the amount
of water used in developments in their operational phases,
re-use water that is usually wasted in the operational phase
of developments, and avoid environmental damage from
water that must be wasted.
Introduce incentives and regulations for passive design
strategies (e.g. building site, location, form and orientation,
include building form, reducing excessive passive solar
gain, thermal mass heat absorption, natural ventilation and
passive solar gain) to ensure that comfort and conditions
are optimized at minimum cost and minimum energy
consumption.
Introduce incentives and regulations for developers and
builders to reuse buildings, by refurbishment, repair and
conversion as the ideal solution to reducing waste in
construction and find ways to alternatively reduce negative
externalities from the demolition phase to the construction
phase.
Introduce incentives and regulations for developers and
builders to enhance biodiversity through the use of green
roofs, greening vertical habitats, and the use of artificial
nesting sites.

HOW WILL WE DO IT?

IMMEDIATE MEASURES
Set up a municipal unit tasked with objectives of assessing
the performance of buildings in Beirut, articulated in
partnerships with local NGOs (e.g. Lebanese Green
Building Council) goals and benchmarks for the long
term sustainability of the city, and lobbying actively for
the adoption of rules proposed by these partnerships.
Initiate a pilot project for refurbishing the Municipality of
Beiruts main building as a green building that adopts strict
measures to conserve energy.

MEDIUM AND LONG TERM MEASURES

Lobby for the adoption of a framework for developers and
construction firms so that they can apply their creativity,
technical knowledge, good-practice and innovation
in developing better environmental solutions for both
construction/refurbishing of existing buildings and long-
term lives of buildings.
Introduce incentives and design guidelines for reducing
the environmental impacts of building development. This
should include measures to encourage reusing existing
elements of buildings and materials where possible and
relying on best environmental and restrict or prohibit
environmentally damaging materials.
PHOTO: MICHA WARDE

16
 5.8 CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE
OUR OBJECTIVE HOW WILL WE DO IT?
A city that cherishes its natural and cultural heritage as a IMMEDIATE STEPS
resource that enhances its character, enriches its cultural life, Identify, document and register natural and cultural sites
and plays a role in its economic development. (gardens, parks, buildings or groups of buildings) that are
valued, culturally or architecturally, as places of significance
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CITY? in the city and coordinate their protection with the Ministry
A city that capitalizes on its natural and cultural heritage as of Culture;
a resource that enhances local identities, enriches cultural
Protect all identified sites, particularly the waterfront where
life, and plays a role in Beiruts economic development.
no permanent buildings should be authorized;
A city that invests in heritage protection and rehabilitation
Demonstrate commitment and leadership in the
to foster urban and cultural tourism and enhance
management and protections of city-owned heritage parks
competitiveness in business recruitment and retention
and buildings;
A city with sustainable building and cultural practices.
Raise community awareness about heritage and
involvement in its protection and celebration.
OUR OVERARCHING STRATEGY
The strategy for protection and rehabilitation offers a
MEDIUM AND LONG TERM
framework for planning, management and investment
Build municipal expertise and capacity in heritage planning
in Beiruts natural and cultural heritage. This strategy
and decision making
is based on principles that recognize heritage protection
and rehabilitation as a holistic approach, as a shared Put in place clear processes and enforcement to protect
responsibility, and as an integrated component with other and promote the natural and cultural heritage sites to
strategies and planning processes that shape the city. strengthen character, encourage economic investment
and invite tourism
WHY DO WE NEED TO DO THAT?
Foster partnerships with key stakeholders, groups and
Beiruts natural and cultural heritage is at risk:
agencies that are active in heritage protection to enable
- Archeological and built heritage sites that tell the history a collaborative approach to heritage protection and
of Beirut and contribute to its memory character are management.
threatened by unregulated development;
Support and encourage investment in and protection of
- The cultural and green heritage of historical cultural heritage resources in general.
neighborhoods that are linked to the multi-layered
identity of the city and its collective memory are rapidly
disappearing;
- Nahr Beirut, a natural heritage and once a main
recreational area in the city, has seen its ecosystem DID YOU KNOW THAT
destroyed and has recently been turned into a waste
dump.
The protection of the built heritage, the recycling of building if the currently planned
materials, and giving new life to old structures reduces the developments on the waterfront
need for mining and stone quarrying; are implemented, Beirut will
Socio-cultural practices have gradually eroded due to the lose forever its main cultural
closure and/or privatization of public hosting spaces; heritage, its waterfront, a
- There is no more Sayran (social visiting of public spaces) key pillar for its social and
in places such as the Horsh, and no more celebrations
of the Eid;
economic development?
- Other practices in places such as Nahr Beirut where the
Armenian community celebrated Vartavar/ water day, or
Ramlet el Bayda where Ayoub Wednesday was celebrated,
or Burket Abdel Latif in Dalieh, where the Beirutis went
for a swim have all ceased;
- Hawch socio-spatial practices in old Beiruti neighborhoods
are under the threat of completely disappearing.

17
PHOTO: TALAL KHOURY

18
 5.9 LARGE-SCALE INFRASTRUCTURE: WATER, SEWERAGE AND ELECTRICITY
OUR OBJECTIVE
A city that perceives as its prime priority the delivery of safe
water and electricity to all its dwellers.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CITY?
A 24 hours uninterrupted electricity service through the
National Electric Agency;
A 24 hours uninterrupted water provision through the
National Water Agency;
A properly treated city sewer and no hazardous wastewater
spills or storm water floods should occur;
All city-dwellers have complete knowledge of the water
quality delivered (e.g. water sources, status of bacteriological
and chemical compositions) on regular basis;
Reduced noise and air pollution.
OUR OVERARCHING STRATEGY
Our strategy consists of activating the role of the municipality
as an advocate and team leader for the management and
organization of urban infrastructure. This includes direct
interventions and leveraging with public agencies entrusted
with the provision of water and electricity.
WHY DO WE NEED TO DO IT?
Beiruts infrastructure is crumbling and much of its
environmental and livability standards are negatively
affected by this poor state, as is the health of those who
live and work in the city and who suffer from the poor quality
of water and air (due to electricity generation). Frequent
electricity outages, old and deteriorating water pipes,
increasing salinity of water resulting from over-drawing
water and illegal wells, and poorly maintained sewer lines
that dump waste directly in the sea are some of these issues.
HOW WILL WE DO IT?
IMMEDIATE MEASURES
The municipality will establish an Office of Infrastructure
Management inside the Municipality of Beirut to revive
and strengthen institutional and administrative bodies
responsible for monitoring and improving the quality of
the water and electricity provision and the management
of the sewer system. This office will immediately:
- Reach out to central institutions to assess the urgent need
of personnel to run citys infrastructure.
- Coordinate between the fragmented institutions currently
managing wastewater and storm water to articulate an
integrated plan for their collection and channeling,
- Establish the framework through which urgently
needed infrastructure repair works are identified and
implemented, including a monitoring and re-evalution
of the currently allocated contracts to private companies
managing the maintenance and operations of service
provision of sewerage and wastewater treatment.
Regulate diesel generators to minimize the impacts of
their fumes and noise on public health.
19
MEDIUM AND LONG TERM
Advocate for the Water Agency to control physical water
leakage on the network and expand the water storage
capacity of the city by constructing new water towers and
reservoirs.
Monitor the quality of public water, in partnership between
the Municipal public health bureau and central laboratory
and the Water Authorities to ensure that safe drinking water
is being delivered.
Establish a municipal hotline and call center to follow-up
on infrastructure issues (e.g. cutoffs, leakage, floods, and
sewage on the streets).
Extend the water storage capacity through the construction
of more urban reservoirs in the city by redirecting the
cash-flows currently allocated towards the controversial
and expensive dams to softer, more efficient, and less
environmentally harmful options.
Survey, control, and curtail the drilling of water wells that
have led to the overexploitation of the water table and its
increasing salinity of water, control and heavily fine any
new drilling, and explore options to reverse the damage
caused by this drilling.
Articulate an incentive-driven contract between the
Municipality of Beirut and Electricit du Liban to supply
the usual 3 hours blackout, by expanding and encouraging
renewable energy produced in the city, reducing electricity
consumption and losses in the city, and improving
collection in ways that can make it possible to have central,
24 hours generation.
Monitor and gradually phase out health threatening
electricity generation until a long term solution for the
national electricity production and distribution is resolved,
the Municipality will take remedial measures to minimize
the public health impact of stand alone generator sets. For
example, the Municipality will require all exhaust stacks to
be of a height greater than the buildings that they serve and
generators with visible smoke emissions above a threshold
will not be allowed to operate.
Enforce laws pertaining to the protection, management,
conservation and utilization of the coastal zones and
groundwater aquifers.
Lobby for the improvement of efficiency and operations of
the water and electricity agency by setting up agreements
and providing incentives where agencies can be held
accountable.
Articulate, in partnership with other public agencies, a
solution for the 7 untreated sewage outfalls in Beirut to
prevent further pollution of the citys beaches and the
destruction of its sea life.
PHOTO: WISSAM BOU ASSI

20
 5.10 SHARED COMMUNAL AMENITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE
OUR OBJECTIVE - Build partnerships with the civil society, private
A city equipped with libraries, community centers and other educational centers and the private sector at large,
facilities essential for a sustainable social and educational and public institutions for implementation in order to
infrastructure. strengthen the social support bases of the city, including
services targeting youth groups;
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CITY?
- Build partnerships with civil society to integrate the needs
A city equipped with a social infrastructure that includes
of the elderly in the citys amenities;
public libraries, community centers where recreational
activities for all age groups can be organized, including - Build partnerships with civil society to strengthen the
meeting places for the elderly. provision of services and support networks for vulnerable
groups such as drug addicts;
A city animated by regular festivals, markets, leisure
and cultural events that strengthen the opportunities to - Allocate multiple and sufficient space for community
celebrate the wide range of local cultural production. centers in various neighborhoods in the city and
encourage the development of community gardens in
OUR OVERARCHING STRATEGY: neighborhoods where large land lots are left open;
The strategy requires the municipality to partner with NGOs,
- Establish a participatory and inclusive structure,
international partners, and local neighborhood committees,
independent of the municipal council that would follow
and actively support existing initiatives to build public
up and ensure the continuity and sustainability of these
libraries and other socio-cultural venues. It also requires
community centers regardless of the renewal of elected
the municipality to integrate components of its communal
municipal councils;
amenities and infrastructure provision strategies in
neighborhood scale interventions of the type described in
other sections of this report.

WHY DO WE NEED TO DO IT?

Beiruts municipalitys communal amenities and social
DID YOU KNOW THAT
infrastructure is very limited. In a city divided and polarized
by protracted sectarian conflict, places of social and
communal interaction are key to rebuilding community the closure of public spaces
trust, enhance social cohesion, and increase the sense of has gradually eroded socio-
belonging to the city and the nation. These sites are key to cultural practice?
fostering citizenship, civic responsibility and community
engagementkey values for Beirut Madinati. Thus, there is no more Sayran
in places such as the Horsh,
HOW WILL WE DO IT?
IMMEDIATE MEASURES and no more celebrations
The municipality will designate a local team whose tasks of the Eid. Other practices in
will be to establish, in partnership with NGOs active in this places such as Nahr Beirut
sector, a long-term strategy to build an infrastructure of
shared communal amenities with full coverage of the city,
where the Armenian community
including not only public libraries but also toy libraries, celebrated Vartavar/ water day,
cultural centers, youth centers, cafes, social clubs Ramlet el Bayda where Ayoub
etc. Their tasks will also be to promote the importance,
necessity and benefits of such shared community spaces
Wednesday was celebrated,
for the socio-cultural development of the city. and the Burket Abdel Latif
in Dalia, where the Beirutis
MEDIUM AND LONG TERM went for a swim, have all been
Strengthen and consolidate partnership with Non-
governmental organizations, Faith-based organizations, reduced due to privatization,
and community-based organizations to empower and inaccessibility and/ or neglect of
support their roles through: primary open spaces of the city
- Engage communities in the selection of projects and such as its water front, Horsh
activities of shared community spaces; and Nahr Beirut.

21
PHOTO: ABIR SAKSOUK

22
 FROM VISION TO IMPLEMENTATION
6.1. EXECUTING AN INTEGRATED PLAN

Beirut Madinatis program implementation is based on
integrated planning strategies, whereby coordinated
planning interventions are interlinked across sectors (e.g.
housing, transportation, health) to address local problems
in a holistic approach. This means that objectives and
interventions (in the form of policies, programs and projects)
are considered in relation to one another and institutional
structures are incrementally built through
partnerships across agencies, private and non-profit
actors as well as neighborhood coalitions in ways that can
support the sustainability of these projects. As such, issues
of transportation, land-use planning, waste, cultural and
heritage preservation, physical infrastructure, housing,
social and economic development, and public health are
conceived together and executed with multiple stakeholders.
Consequently, the impact of the program as a whole adds up
to more than the sum of its individual sectoral components.

6.2. THREE-SCALE IMPLEMENTATION

The Beirut Madinati integrated program will be implemented REGIONAL INTERVENTIONS BEYOND
along three scales: MUNICIPAL BOUNDARIES
The regional interventions will require collaborations and
Targeted neighborhood-specific initiatives
support from adjacent municipalities and possibly beyond.
Sectoral citywide interventions They respond to the reality of a large metropolitan zone that
does not exist on the administrative level in todays Beirut,
Regional interventions beyond municipal boundaries
despite the fact that statistics indicate the heavy imbrication
(long term)
of the citys problems and assets with its larger region. By
their nature, such interventions are beneficial only if scaled
TARGETED NEIGHBOURHOOD-SPECIFIC
beyond the boundaries of the city. They also allow the city
INITIATIVES
to address some of its deficiencies, most notably its lack
Each of Beiruts neighbourhoods has its unique history,
of large-scale open spaces and the absence of affordable
character, problems and assets that distinguish it from other
housing by building partnerships with other municipal
neighbourhoods in the city. One translation of the program
zones where interventions are financially more feasible
will consist of integrated, neighbourhood level upgrading that
and efficient.
combines interventions across several sectors.
One example of regional interventions would be the
A pilot case could typically combine short and medium
integration of housing and transportation policies at multiple
term interventions that, for example, promote soft mobility,
scales, in coordination with surrounding municipalities,
improve land-use, increase shared recreational spaces, and
as a strategy to increase the supply of land and hence the
create street markets to stimulate economic activity at the
production of affordable housing in the city, the reduction
same time. This could also be implemented along with solid
of commuting times, the improvement of air quality, and
waste management measures and physical infrastructure
other vital needs.
upgrading that further enhance the livability within the
chosen neighbourhood. Cross cutting to these interventions
are objectives ensuring a socio-economic development and
environmental sustainability.

SECTORAL CITYWIDE INTERVENTIONS

A number of the proposed interventions by BM program
need to be implemented at the city level because they
address problems that cannot be isolated and/or tackled at
the local scale. Such interventions would require longer time
frames for implementation as well as more collaboration
with stakeholders, including governmental agencies.
Typical of these interventions is the improvement of
electricity and/or water provision, waste collection and
treatment at the city level. These projects also include
interventions designed at the scale of the city such as the
re-organization of the entire citys shared and public spaces,
including its waterfront, the network of shared mobility (e.g.
service and taxis, buses and vans), and others.

23
 BEIRUT MADINATI INCLUSIVE DYNAMICS IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE OF TOMORROW

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES
ORGANIZATIONS COORDINATE
ESTABLISH OBSERVATORY ARTICULATE COMMON POLICIES
INTERNATIONAL
UNITS MONITORING (E.G. TRANSPORT, HOUSING) MUNICIPALITIES
AGENCIES
INDICATORS
PROVIDE RESEARCH
LEAD THE WAY WITH INCENTIVES
IN THE REGION
MUNICIPALITIES
& REGIONS

INTERNATIONAL THE MUNICIPALITY MINISTRY OF

COALITIONS
INTERIOR &
HEAD OF THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL MUNICIPALITIES
& MUNICIPAL COUNCIL (ELECTED)
COOPERATE OTHER
EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCES
DONATIONS AND SOFT LOANS COMMITTEES
SPECIALIZED MINISTRIES
OFFICES
TWINNING

CHIEF
CBOS CITY
COMMUNITY-BASED PLANNER

ORGANIZATIONS EXECUTIVE
GOVERNOR

TRANSPORT
MUNICIPAL
- (MUHAFEZ)
STRUCTURE
NGOS

WATER

EDL
NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS
- PUBLIC
FBOS ADVOCATE
LOBBY
COORDINATE
AGENCIES
PROVIDE FEEDBACK
PROVIDE INCENTIVES/
FAITH-BASED COOPERATE IN
SHARE IF NEEDED
PROJECTS
ORGANIZATIONS

PRIVATE SECTOR
LOCAL PRODUCERS
CITY DWELLERS PARTCIPATE IN SETTING
& CRAFTS
AGENDA, PRIORITIES, ETC. COOPERATE
ACTIVE CITIZEN PARTICIPATORY BUDGETS
GROUPS
WORK WITH INCENTIVES DEVELOPERS
ACCOUNTABILITY RECEIVE SUPPORT
PAYS TAXES GIVES DONATIONS
NEIGHBORHOOD ENTREPRENEURS
COMMITTEES & INNOVATORS

CONDOMINIUM TRADERS
GROUPS ASSOCIATION

SMALL SCALE
YOUTH GROUPS BUSINESSES

CITY DWELLERS LARGE SCALE

BUSINESSES

24
 6.3. TIME FRAME
The BM program deliverables will be achieved along short,
medium, and long term timelines with some objectives
expected to start with this municipal council but that will
materialize beyond its term. Each interventions scope and
scale determine its time frame. Financing and resources
also play a role. The time line of the BM program can be
generally divided as follows:
Short term:
- Establishment of partnerships, institutional agreements
with municipalities, monitoring and assessment
protocols, and other basis for program and project
interventions;
- Neighbourhood-specific initiatives that are expected to
start with a pilot and be replicated;
- Emergency responses, such as citywide interventions to
regulate traffic and waste.
6.4. PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATION
Implementation of the BM program cannot be accomplished
without the collaboration of a wide array of stakeholders.
Central to a success of every stage and element of the BM
program is the relation with dwellers (the people) and the
institutions.
6.4.1. A TWO-WAY BRIDGE BETWEEN
MUNICIPALITY AND DWELLERS
Different consultation mechanisms will be established
to form a two-way bridge linking city dwellers with the
municipality. Such consultation will insure that information
about municipal visions and projects is widely shared with
community groups while the latters voices and needs are
clearly heard and accounted for by the Municipality. Through
consultations, the municipality will align its priorities to the
everyday challenges of city dwellers while maintaining its
advocacy role for a socially and environmentally responsible
long term development.
Mechanisms of public participation will take the form of:
Neighbourhood committees according to geographical
criteria, including a diversity of representatives (youth,
women, elderly, religious groups, special needs persons
or groups, NGOs, private sector, family organizations, trade
organizations), members of the municipal council, and
experts of the Beirut Madinati Campaign.
Community meetings (or town hall meetings) that institute
a participatory process, through which neighbourhood
needs are identified, leading up to the establishment of a
collective City Charter to be approved by all neighbourhood
committees. This Charter will be shared with the governor,
and ratified as the basis of all operations of the MC.
25
Medium term: These are mainly the sectoral citywide
interventions that will require more resources before
starting and their impact could take a longer time to be felt.
Long term: Ambitious interventions at the scale of the
greater city boundaries cannot be realistically achieved
within the six years frame. They indeed require a process
of building trust and collaborations with other municipal
districts, public agencies, and other partners. These
interventions will be initiated during BMs first term, as a
visionary, long term strategy, but they will need a longer
time horizon for implementation. In addition, policies
and/or projects that require changes in the legal and
regulatory frameworks will be the subject of extensive
lobbying that will be subjected to the slower time frame
of the legislative body. Hence, policy reform and advocacy
for change beyond the municipality mandates are among
the BM program components that are expected to take a
longer time frame.
6.4.2. PRODUCTIVE INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS
BM program requires concerted effort from all active stakeholders
in the city and thus implementation presumes:
Ensuring active collaboration and alignment with central
government authorities, primarily the governor and the Ministry
of Interior and Municipalities, public agencies and institutions
and the executive authorities at large (mainly related ministries);
Cooperating with a large pool of skilled professionals and
community based organizations (CBOs) living today in Beirut
who can contribute by building on their previous experiences
and know-how and get involved in municipal committees to
respond to emerging challenges, suggest lines of action, and
translate them into projects;
Partnering with a large pool of non-governmental organizations
that have been contributing and responding constructively to
the citys needs for at least a decade. The BM program presumes
working hand in hand with NGOs in project implementation,
ensuring coordination and avoiding duplication in interventions,
as well as in joining efforts in advocacy and lobbying for policy
reform;
Partnering with the private sector: both the corporate sector,
directing its social engagement towards the objectives and
interventions of the BM program, and the private education
and health institutions in seeking their technical capacities
and consultancy;
Collaborating and partnering with other municipalities and
federations of municipalities in Lebanon, implementing
specific interventions together and learning from each other
experiences;
Exchanging knowledge, experiences, and resources with
international organizations and municipalities (e.g. twinning)
around the world .
6.5. FINANCING IMPLEMENTATION
The implementation of the BM program requires different
sizes and types of investment outlays, technical support,
and resources. The municipality of Beirut has managed to
accumulate a substantial budget surplus in reserves from its
multiple sources of revenues; the bulk of which is generated
from taxes on property development. Project financing
traditionally has been generated from such typical municipal
revenues (revenues collected directly from taxpayers, revenues
collected by other public institutions on the behalf of the
6.6. MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONAL REFORM
Implementation of the program hinges upon strong and
efficient local authority . A key pillar of the BM program is to
develop the institutional capacities within the municipality to
ensure the delivery of the objectives by extending cooperative
and constructive relationships primarily with the governor, other
municipalities, and all related governmental institutions. In
addition, mechanisms will be put in place to instill transparency
and participatory governance and, consequently, facilitate
monitoring and efficient delivery of services.
6.6.1 ENVISIONING A STRONG AND EFFICIENT
MUNICIPALITY
The current municipality does not have a strategic vision to
align its interventions along a long-term goal. Its procedures
and operations lack transparency and clarity on the roles and
prerogatives of each of its units/departments. It is severely
understaffed with no adequate human resources and
technical capacities to deliver its mandate. The municipality
does not have an officially institutionalized any consultative
mechanisms to liaise with its communities, and its website
has been under construction for several years.
BM aims for a municipality that is strong and efficient,
that embraces dwellers active participation, and that is
transparent, accountable, participatory, and capable. BM
aims to re-establish the municipality as a provider of public
goods and services for all city dwellers, and a public agent
responsible for promoting a livable and secure city for all.
6.6.2. INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS FOR
SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION
In parallel with the implementation of the integrated planning
framework, the BM program will embark on institutionalizing
consultative and accountability mechanisms, and building
cooperative and constructive relationships with other
governmental institutions and neighboring municipalities.
The key reforms that will be put into effect immediately in
order to ensure a successful delivery of the program focus on
strengthening the relationships and repositioning the image
of the municipality, specifically by:
Building a positive, constructive relationship with the
governor based on our electoral program, agreed upon
from the beginning of the term of the municipal council,
and re-establishing trust and communication through
institutionalized regular coordination mechanisms;
municipality, financial aid and loans, revenues from municipal
properties, fines, and donations). However, the success of the
BM program rests on diversifying the sources of revenues of the
Municipality of Beirut. In addition, to improving collection of
other municipal taxes, the municipal council will also collaborate
with all levels of government institutions and other potential
partners (refer to section 6.4.2) that could provide financing or
other resources for project implementation. It can also establish
a GIS base to document and monitor tax collections.
Setting up a human resources department, in cooperation
with the governor, which will evaluate municipal employee
performance, improve social security coverage, and address
the municipal civil servants inclusion in the civil servants
funds (taawuniyya), using needs assessments and clear hiring
procedures, based on merit;
Developing comprehensive Standard Operations Procedures
to organize and govern the work and performance of all
units and departments, and notify the Ministry of Interior
and Municipalities to insure their proper implementation;
Establishing a Planning Unit, led by a City Planner, and
a multidisciplinary planning team, and establishing a
Research Unit to produce background research and produce
performance indicators, as per international standards;
Introducing performance-based budgeting to better serve
the needs of its dwellers in transparent and accountable ways;
Developing information access by establishing an official
website and means of online communication to allow
city dwellers to access information about administrative,
financial, regulatory and other relevant matters, and relay
their complaints and needs;
In the medium to long term, BM program aims for structural
reforms that will upgrade the capacities of the municipality.
These include amongst other:
Training municipal police (circulation and regular), and
Beiruts guards to the standards of community policing, and
provide them with incentives to improve road safety, mobility,
cleanliness, and thus improve security and safety in the city,
in collaboration with other policing authorities;
Building databases and digitizing the work of the municipality,
especially administrative and fiscal formalities.;
Overhauling the municipalitys public revenue structure in
such a way to reduce inefficiency and facilitate dwellers needs;
Invigorating condominium/neighborhood committees,
and develop participatory measures and mechanisms with
dwellers, leading to the collaborative production of a city
charter, and a participatory budget;
Enhancing the working environment for civil society
organizations, and offering support in accordance with its
financial means and policy agenda.
26
 MEASURING SUCCESS
Monitoring the program progress and impact will take place throughout implementation and
afterward. Every component of the BM program will have qualitative and quantitative metrics
and, consequently, the appropriate sets of indicators to track the performance will be measured
periodically, at least annually. Accurate and regular documentation will be ensured.
The overall program will be reviewed comprehensively half way through, and at regular intervals.
The evaluation provides information about important changes in local conditions and progress
towards targets. It will inform the general public about challenges and achievements and ensure
accountability among the various partners involved in implementing an action plan.
Activity reports will be published online on a quarterly and/or yearly basis highlighting the
municipalitys projects and achievements.

BEIRUT MADINATI: AN OPPORTUNITY AND COMMITMENT TO

IMPROVE OUR CITY THROUGH THE ELECTORAL PROCESS.
PLEASE JOIN US.

PHOTO: MICHA WARDE

WWW.BEIRUTMADINATI.COM

27 2016 Beirut Madinati