Unusual City Tour: Badaoui Area

Zone 7 (highlighted in light blue) running at the eastern edge of the Beirut river, holds within its realm many contrasting landscapes. Badaoui area, just below Armenia street, exemplifies this out-of-context urban situation. Spatial inequality in dwelling conditions or accessibility to social and physical infrastructure often materialize in urban areas in cities in developing countries, affecting the quality of life of those living in these areas. To narrow the increasing gap between better-off and worse-off neighborhoods, policymakers are trying to compensate for discrepancies and target these underprivileged areas.

The specific morphology of cities, their histories, their geographical characteristics, the extent of inequality in society are just a few of the contingencies that determine the present and future of divided cities. From those contingencies emerge divisions and if not recognized, it is impossible to draw a clear roadmap for the elaboration of a sustainable planning strategy. Although the results on the ground can work out very differently for each place, it will be crucial to look at divided cities keeping in mind individual preferences, individual constraints, and opportunities.

Maps and Images by D. Aouad