Between the 12th and 14th of March leading experts and organizations gathered to discuss key issues for the reconstruction of Beirut, such as mobility, housing, heritage, and, of course, port-city relationship.
The Beirut Urban Declaration is a joint effort by the Order of Engineers and Architects (OEA) in Beirut, in partnership with the Faculties of Architecture in Lebanon, to define the main vectors of a general vision on ways to reform the affected areas.
In the event, representatives from the World Bank, UN Habitat, UNESCO, several ministries, NGOs and academics and experts presented their ideas to overcome the terrible consequences of the blast that took place in August 2020.
AIVP was represented by José M Pagés Sánchez, that presented the AIVP Agenda 2030, with a special emphasis on co-construction processes with all stakeholders, including citizens and the need to develop a common vision.
Other AIVP members like the ports of Marseille and Barcelona, and Porto Antico from Genoa, also shared their experiences in the online event, providing new ideas regarding governance and planning.
Prof. Carola Hein, from the expert’s network of AIVP also participated in the same session sharing the findings of her research group Port City Futures. The explosion that decimated the port and city of Beirut is one of the worst industrial accidents in history, showing the importance of careful port-city planning and alert systems, as discussed in the webinar hosted by AIVP in October 2020. Our organization looks forward to see the further development of this initiative and the reconstruction of the port-city relationships in Beirut.
