Revolt in the Square: Spatial Modelling of Urban Stability in Modern Cities

In 2015, Lebanon’s capital Beirut hit the global headlines. Thousands of citizens had begun to converge and congregate in the city’s main squares to enact forms of protest against state governance that was corrupt and failing. The protest was aptly titled #YouStink. Trash prompted the protest, but in the unfolding events the fundamental political failings of the Lebanese state were also exposed. State authorities, including the police, army, civil defence and a variety of state-supported proxies, sought to undertake measures to manage the public spaces that the protesters were occupying. Such measures were met with only temporary and mixed effect in terms of managing and resolving this battle for space.

Our case study – funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF)/Interdisciplinary Research Innovation Awards on Conflict and International Development (PaCCS) Conflict Theme and Interdisciplinary Research Innovation – examined the impact of urban design and the function of state and state-contracted private actors in relation to mass urban protest. We focused on an area of downtown Beirut and Riad Al Solh Square. We employed a multidisciplinary approach and visual platform, using GIS ArcMap mapping techniques that elucidated patterns of change and stability. We closely engaged with local community actors including protesters, public officials, activists, journalists, non-governmental organisations, academics and planners to reconstruct the narratives of the 2015 #YouStink protests. We used a design informed spatio-temporal analysis to relate the frequency of acts of protest to the socio-economic and political context at the time.

From these activities we have developed a spatial model of urban stability (SMUS) that involves socio-economic, political and spatial factors which, we contend, address design research in the context of UN sustainable global challenges as they relate to Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) peace, justice and strong institutions. As we demonstrate in this chapter, design has an essential function in involving communities and comprehending everyday experiences to bridge the gap between disciplines and policy approaches to preventing conflict in the promotion of peaceful and just societies.