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Urbani izziv Volume 32, No. supplement, December 2021 : 77-90

(Articles)
doi: 10.5379/urbani-izziv-en-2021-32-supplement-5

 

   Article in PDF format

 

Author

Carine Assaf

Department of Architecture, KU Leuven, Belgium
carine.assaf@kuleuven.be

Christine Mady

Department of Architecture, Notre Dame University-Louaize, Zouk Mosbeh, Lebanon
christine.mady@ndu.edu.lb

Pieter Van den Broeck

Department of Architecture, KU Leuven, Belgium
pieter.vandenbroeck@kuleuven.be

Chadi Faraj

Riders’ Rights NGO, Beirut, Lebanon
chadi.faraj@gmail.com

 

Title

Seeds for socio-spatial justice and equitable mobility for all: The “Bus Map Project” as “Riders’ Rights” in Beirut

 

Abstract

The present article discusses the possibilities and limitations of transport-related innovative initiatives in Beirut, Lebanon, through a socio-spatial institutionalist perspective, within a socially divided neoliberal context splintered by sectarianism and political turmoil. The article examines the reach of the grassroots initiative “Bus Map Project”, which in 2019 became the NGO “Riders Rights” (BMP–RR), in achieving socio-spatial justice and equitable mobility by recreating and reshaping the debate on Beirut’s informal transit system. The latter has various ambivalent features, and an often negative connotation, since it operates in mixed traffic with other vehicles, with no fixed stops, and is not considered as formal transit. However, it is a private–publicؘ–civil hybrid system. The empirical data is built on participatory action research (PAR) with BMP–RR since 2018, socio-spatial and ethnographic analysis of the informal transit system, and in-depth interviews with various transport-related agencies. The conclusion emphasizes that the radical ambitions of socially innovative arrangements are possible even in so unstable and divided contexts as Beirut. However, they are limited by the structural problems of a consociational government, which are deeply rooted in the Lebanese history and cannot be easily overcome by such initiatives.

 

Key Words

Beirut informal transit, mobility injustice, participatory action research, social innovation

 

 

 

PUBLISHER

Urbanistični inštitut RS
Urbani izziv - Editorial Board
Trnovski pristan 2, 1000 Ljubljana, SLO

  + 386 (0)1 420 13 10
  urbani.izziv@uirs.si

ISSN

Print edition: 0353-6483
Web edition: 1855-8399
Professional edition: 2232-481X

INDEX

GOOGLE SCHOLAR
h5-index: 14
h5-median: 20
INDEX COPERNICUS
ICI Journals master list 2022: 121,34
CLARIVATE ANALYTICS
Indeksirano v ESCI

 

SCOPUS ELSEVIER

SCImago Journal & Country Rank

1.7
2021CiteScore
 
88th percentile
Powered by  Scopus

SNIP (2020): 0.79
CiteScoreTracker (2022): 1.8

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