One of the things I don’t like about Beirut, is the lack of green space. In most large cities I’ve lived in, the planners make a deliberate effort to place parks and such throughout the city. For many reasons, not the least of which being the age of the city, Beirut doesn’t follow that type of urban planning. Thus, people have been rather creative in fashioning different styles of living. For example, on of the apartment buildings across the street from us has converted the roof of the building into a very deliberate recreation area. Folks play games, play around and generally make use of the space for things that might be more typically seen in a traditional park.
During my time in NY, I saw people do things like this, but not on the same scale or usage as the Beirut folks. In any case, there are also several very interesting (to me anyway) aspects of architecture in this part of the world that contribute to having fairly drab buildings take up all the room, and having parks, gardens and play areas elsewhere.
4 comments:
My family and I moved to West Beirut from Washington DC in September and we are STILL missing green space. We have a 2.5 year old son who sometimes is running up the walls. We don't particularly like the idea of "private parks" either....Yet, how many times can one walk up and down the Corniche? Can't tell that I'm a little homesick for some wide open spaces, huh?
come to hong kong and you can ply on roof tops over 30 storeys high.. best thing is, only the people on the top floor apartment get roof access.
"For many reasons, not the least of which being the age of the city, Beirut doesn’t follow that type of urban planning"
Actually, beirut follows NO urban planning whatsoever. That may explain it.
Jennifer, you have some parks scattered over beirut, but trouble is they are far apart and pretty small. In west beirut you have the sanayeh garden, in hamra. You can also visit AUB.
If you want to see "wide open spaces" like endless fields, the closest you can get here is the bekaa... not very close though and not practical. There are some very nice sceneries and lakes near the syrian border.
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