Young people’s perspectives of inequitable urban change in Lebanese towns affected by mass displacement

Abstract

This paper assesses the planning processes which shape urban change in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon, from the perspectives of adults working in planning, and young residents. Beginning with the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the towns of Bar Elias, Marj and Majdal Anjar have grown rapidly, as tens of thousands of people have been displaced there. Young Syrians and Lebanese residents’ experiences of urban change point to the role that planning processes play in inequitable urban change. Inequitable urban change negatively impacts Lebanese as well as Syrian residents. Post-2011 planning policies addressing the Syrian Refugee Crisis do not effectively address the planning processes which create and enable inequalities. They risk obscuring this source of common struggles and exacerbating inequalities.