• Lobby

  • Public Parks in Beirut

I've really been wondering about this topic... there doesn't really seem to be a whole lot of info out there about this kind of stuff. The only park I know is in Sanayeh.

How many public parks are there?
How many are actually open to the general public?
Where are they?
What condition are they in?
What improvements would you suggest?

Keep in mind were only discussing the ones located in Beirut.
I read a study once about green spaces in Beirut. The biggest public park, by far, is the Pine Garden. But more then 2/3 of it is closed to the public, for a stupid reason if you ask me - that people will make it dirty and do illicit things there.
The other "parks" are rather small, and more like gardens.
Well knowing the "typical lebanese way of respecting nature" I sure do understand why the 2/3 are closed
Monkey D. Luffy wroteWell knowing the "typical lebanese way of respecting nature" I sure do understand why the 2/3 are closed
Well I don't think that's an excuse...
Sanayeh, Syoofeh, Pine Garden (Horosh Beirut), Hasan khaled's park. Well those are the ones i remember.

Also rolf, it really is actually dangerous to allow people in this park. It will be more of a territorial and alot of problems WILL arise. Also its not acceptable to be @ a park and smoke (watever comes to your mind) and do to the parks the same whats being done on the beaches (raouche and ain el mrayse)...
I think if you open the park for public during day hours (9am to 7pm or something similar), and then close them at night, it will be easy to avoid any problem.

Gangs and za3ran won't be interested in something closed at night (I guess they're asleep during the day), and a whole night is enough for a couple of guys to pass by and clean the whole thing.

I mean, how are they managing to do it here in France? I don't see any other difference. And if you think that people here are more respectful of nature, or cleaner, think again. It's a 1000 times more messy due to a higher number of visitors and a very high number of tourists.

Otherwise, I heard that Sioufi public garden offered free wifi connections. Is this true?
Otherwise, I heard that Sioufi public garden offered free wifi connections. Is this true?
Heres your answer to that: http://www.plus961.com/2011/06/lebanon-getting-free-wifi-in-public-parks/

Also, i was thinking, there are so many broken down building that no one lives in, why cant they be torn down and made into like small gardens with a couple of benches? Is it because these buildings are private property of someone or some company?
I agree with rahmu, if a private company does something like that in Beirut, it will pull in tons and tons of tourists, it will make millions, and as you said, if they have a few guards, and cleaners it will work perfectly
rolf wrote
Monkey D. Luffy wroteWell knowing the "typical lebanese way of respecting nature" I sure do understand why the 2/3 are closed
Well I don't think that's an excuse...
I think it is.
So this is the biggest park in Beirut, and it's not like Beirut don't need parks.
It was made the way it is now not so long ago (90ies?) through French government contributions. If you go there you'll it written somewhere. So the French are paying millions to build that in Lebanon.
And then here they close most of it because... what... they can't post 3 or 4 cops or guards there to take care of this problem?
Wba3dein it's not like if they reduce it it's going to keep people from breaking stuff... and they're not. And it's not that huge park it's not central park or something. 2 guards could probably cover everything at anytime.
True the government just wants to cut costs, anything said is total BS. However you mentioned that the park is 1/3 open so what's the condition of this 1/3? Honestly i'd rather be left with 2/3 of clean green area in beirut regardless of wether or not you can go facebook there ...
Beej wroteAlso its not acceptable to be @ a park and smoke (watever comes to ur mind) and do to the parks the same whats being done on the beaches (rawshe and 3een 2el mrayse)...
Why not ?
unforgiven wroteTrue the government just wants to cut costs, anything said is total BS. However you mentioned that the park is 1/3 open so what's the condition of this 1/3? Honestly i'd rather be left with 2/3 of clean green area in beirut regardless of wether or not you can go facebook there ...
The open part is in good condition, but it does not have lots of green stuff. It's mostly a place to walk with benches. Not much grass and just some trees.
You're right that people can do lots of damage, but closing the park is just giving up, and it's not fair for the people in Beirut who are able to use a park without vandalizing it.
rolf wroteThe open part is in good condition, but it does not have lots of green stuff. It's mostly a place to walk with benches. Not much grass and just some trees.
You're right that people can do lots of damage, but closing the park is just giving up, and it's not fair for the people in Beirut who are able to use a park without vandalizing it.
The open part is a mess, why? Cause
it does not have lots of green stuff
, well last time i checked, parks are made of green stuffs, the open part only have rocks, and big trees that make you fill of some little black stuffs in the spring, and WTF are those yellow stuffs coming down of these trees!!! :/ Anyone sees park as an organized natural place, full of trees and plants, have clean air and territory, in an urban surrounding. These are the real parks.
But so I'm not just complaining, it's an open place 500m long, with some benches, more than enough for a jogging or a friendly chatting meeting. The fountains will make this place a heaven if they're turned on. An improvement is always for the best.
But why the 2/3 is closed, my dad got a permission, an official paper or something, since 1-2 years, and I went more than a couple of times with him down there, and it's just AMAZING, you'll throw Switzerland in garbage :p .
I think you can get a permission from the "Baladiyeh" or somewhere if you're interested to go jogging and walking, or just have some fresh air and give your dog a walk ...... Investigate it.
If there were forward thinking officials around (or ones that cared), they should consider doing what a lot of cash strapped governments are doing around the world: enter into partnerships with private companies to manage or pay for the park's maintenance (first idea better here) in return for some consideration like advertising, tax breaks, or something else. It is truly sad that in this country where there are natural forests that there are so few green areas around the capital that people can enjoy. Almost all big cities in the world have large parks for their citizens to enjoy: Central Park in NYC, Hyde Park in London, Griffith Park in LA and the list goes on and on.
xazbrat wroteIf there were forward thinking officials around (or ones that cared), they should consider doing what a lot of cash strapped governments are doing around the world: enter into partnerships with private companies to manage or pay for the park's maintenance (first idea better here) in return for some consideration like advertising, tax breaks, or something else.
Sounds like a good case for volunteer work. If they do anything, they could get donations too. But should people really fill in for the government when they are already paying taxes?
I'm sure they will be openings and solutions will appear if they just do anything at all.
ILIA_93 wroteWell these guys are also behind this issue:
https://www.facebook.com/ydhrlebanon
It seems that they're just starting their campaign, they're on Facebook ads list now, and well this video was posted on their FB page wall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=51hOmjfLhJs
They have a good cause. Some people are so desperate that they play on the grass on roundabouts. And it's kinda bizarre and funny in a sad way - there is a huge roundabout not far from the Geant, surrounded by large and very busy roads, and they have fitted a bench right in the middle of it.
rolf wrote
xazbrat wroteIf there were forward thinking officials around (or ones that cared), they should consider doing what a lot of cash strapped governments are doing around the world: enter into partnerships with private companies to manage or pay for the park's maintenance (first idea better here) in return for some consideration like advertising, tax breaks, or something else.
Sounds like a good case for volunteer work. If they do anything, they could get donations too. But should people really fill in for the government when they are already paying taxes?
I'm sure they will be openings and solutions will appear if they just do anything at all.
Rolf, I don't disagree with you, but in these times, governments are struggling to be everything to everyone. They cannot do everything, so they chose to defund items that are way down on their priorities and it just happens that parks are on that list. Utilizing a partnership with a private company is win/win for the people who want the parks to be open and maintained. The green areas would probably increase the property values in areas where they are located.

And as a final point, look around and ask yourself, if you had kids, where do you take them out to play?

In other news, I have heard of this project, but don't believe it has begun yet or had any "official" interest. If this were completed, it would be an awesome addition to the city.
Another initiative to point out is the Beirut Green Project.
Beirut Green Project is a dream; it’s a voice being raised to say that we love green spaces, and that we have the right to have these spaces in our city.
I went to one of their events last year. What they did is basically install a carpet made of real grass on Sassine square. People gathered around, brought their dogs, instruments and food and just enjoyed themselves for a couple of hours. It was great!

Here's a video of the event: http://vimeo.com/25762784
they chose to defund items that are way down on their priorities and it just happens that parks are on that list
In a way, isn't this what we're trying to change?
I guess the real message behind those initiatives (and this Lebgeeks topic) is mainly to send "people in power" the clear message:

Public parks and green spaces should be a priority, since they're relatively easy to implement and would improve the general lifestyle and well being of all the city.