Urban Spaces and Political Participation in the Middle East

This paper critically assesses the circumstances under which the European idea of public spaces was imported and implemented in the Arab context. Starting with an overlook of the periods and the initial intentions behind the implementation of these spaces and going deeply into the case study of Lebanon. The context of Beirut, Lebanon acts as the set example of the whole paper with a look at the influence of colonisation and the unsettling situation post-independence, which resulted in an unbalanced development of the city with the various influencing factors that were deducted as mainly political and economic rather than social or cultural. With that background, the paper deduces that the intense political and colonial influences that led to the replication of the European public spaces in the Arab context were not sufficient for their success. This is backed up through a comparative study between Martyr's Square in Beirut and Piazza di Duomo in Milan, which share a similar form, but different culture and process of implementation. By reaching this conclusion, the importance of the social and cultural aspects in the success of public spaces was emphasized through a close spatial analysis of the example of the Lebanese revolution in October 2019, which was able to transform those spaces. This marked a proof as for how the essence of public spaces and their development should react to the needs of the people and their culture. It looks at how public spaces are made by the people. Nevertheless, the paper acknowledges the disparities between the regimes and systems of different Arab countries.

The neo-liberalism theory started to be applied at the middle of 19th
century, these theory depend a concept of freedom as higher value. It called
for the liberalization of the markets, considering the competition is the base
of marketing works(Harvey, 2005), which effect on the shape of states and
governments, and lead to new definition of the markets, depend on new
concepts such as Market competitiveness, Intellectual Property Rights (Harvey,
2005).
Neo-liberalism lead to huge changes in the structure of European
societies, and the shape of cities, as skyscrapers, and global economic centers
founded as Wall Street, housing projects and residential complexes became
something familiar, and residential neighborhoods far from the city centers
established.
In Palestine, from the period of 1967 to 1994 at Israeli occupation
period cooperative societies took upon themselves creating housing and
residential complexes without profit goals(Haddad, 2013). Some of cooperative
societies relied on the homogeneity of the career, such as doctors housing
project, Gerizim housing for engineers in Nablus city, and the “Safa and
Marwa” housing for teachers at the Islamic University in Gaza, or depending
on income such as Al-Masaken housing in Nablus.
After 1994 as entitlement for building independent state, donor states
stipulated adopting the neo-liberal system on the Palestinian Authority's
territory. The authority did not have the ability to reject because of
deteriorating economic situation and economic dependence of Israeli
occupation, but the apparent effect of the neo-liberalism haven't been seen
until the year of 2008 due to several reasons that will be mentioned later(Haddad,
2013). After 2008 a lot of housing projects have been established focusing on
high income layer, orMedium-high income earners, this projects effect on the
residential building sector in Palestine, such as Al-Jinan Neighborhood in
Jenin, started at year of 2009, Alrayhan housing project in Ramallah city.
From this point, the idea of this research founded, which aims to
prepare a research study. The objective of this study is to highlight the effect
of the neo-liberalism on the residential building sector in Palestine
. The study involves a case studies in order to assess neo-liberalism
housing projects in Palestine, through the analytical study of the project that
implemented in West Bank. This case studies will be Al-Jinan Neighborhood
in Jenin. To reach the main goal of the study, recommendations will suggested
in order to strength this important sector in Palestine.
The first Section is the concept of new-liberalism between pro and
exhibitions, in addition to their history and classification. The second section
highlights new-liberalism in Palestine. While the third section reviews the
reality of new-liberalism in Palestine and their effects on housing sector by
analyzing the case study of Al-Jinan Neighborhood in Palestine. This section
includes the stages of their works. The fourth section includes conclusions and
recommendations

The Hojjatiyeh Society is one of the most fascinating religious groups in modern Iran. The society started its way in the 1950s as an anti-Baha'i movement but found itself fighting Khomeini's Velayat-i Faqih and leading an anti-Khomeini and messianic agenda. Despite the Hojjatiyeh's fight against Khomeini, the Hojjatiyeh became, unwillingly and unintentionally, a leading faction in the Islamic Revolution, with its members coming to occupy some of the highest echelon posts in Iranian politics. The Hojjatiyeh was dismissed in 1983 by Khomeini, but it seems it never truly left the political sphere until today, when its traces can still be found on Iranian politics. Even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his mentor the Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi are reported to be Hojjatiyeh members.

Al-Tahrir Square, surrounded by commercial crowded streets, financial headquarters, and governmental institutions is one of the most iconic squares in Baghdad. It is part of daily life for many Iraqi people due to its central location, which is characterized by busy roads with honking cars. In this essay, I am going to explore Al-Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq as a venue of rebellion for Iraqi people. Since 2015, Iraqi people from diverse backgrounds have been gathering in the square to protest for their rights every Friday. It has been the site of many historical events in Iraq although it has been established as a social place. I will explore the sociopolitical significance of Al-Tahrir Square by connecting the history of the place with how it has been changed since 1961 when the Freedom Monument was first open to the public. The research addresses the urban landscape of Al-Tahrir Square and its transformation over time, taking into consideration the political issues that affect it. I will analyze policies and regulations that have discouraged people from gathering in the Square to prevent political threats to the government and suggest ways to create safer spaces and mixed used attractions, modify the natural landscape of Al-Ummah Garden to make it more connected to the Square, and revitalize the existing kaleidoscope for closer proximity to Tigris River.

Al-Tahrir Square, surrounded by commercial crowded streets, financial headquarters, and governmental institutions is one of the most iconic squares in Baghdad. It is part of daily life for many Iraqi people due to its central location, which is characterized by busy roads with honking cars. In this essay, I am going to explore Al-Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq as a venue of rebellion for Iraqi people. Since 2015, Iraqi people from diverse backgrounds have been gathering in the square to protest for their rights every Friday. It has been the site of many historical events in Iraq although it has been established as a social place. I will explore the sociopolitical significance of Al-Tahrir Square by connecting the history of the place with how it has been changed since 1961 when the Freedom Monument was first open to the public. The research addresses the urban landscape of Al-Tahrir Square and its transformation over time, taking into consideration the political issues that affect i...

Al-Tahrir Square, surrounded by commercial crowded streets, financial headquarters, and governmental institutions is one of the most iconic squares in Baghdad. It is part of daily life for many Iraqi people due to its central location, which is characterized by busy roads with honking cars. In this essay, I am going to explore Al-Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq as a venue of rebellion for Iraqi people. Since 2015, Iraqi people from diverse backgrounds have been gathering in the square to protest for their rights every Friday. It has been the site of many historical events in Iraq although it has been established as a social place. I will explore the sociopolitical significance of Al-Tahrir Square by connecting the history of the place with how it has been changed since 1961 when the Freedom Monument was first open to the public. The research addresses the urban landscape of Al-Tahrir Square and its transformation over time, taking into consideration the political issues that affect i...