Administrative Boundaries Research Articles

Pemetaaan Partisipatif Potensi Wisata Bantaran Sungai Sebagai Upaya Perencanaan Pembangunan Desa

The current management paradigm of the river area is no longer seen as a protected area without any exploitation activity in it. The involvement of the community around the river in the management is an effective alternative inining the sustainable functioning of the riverside area. One of the early approaches to achieving sustainable management of river transportation is by conducting participatory mapping for administrative boundaries and development of tourism activities. The objectives of this activity: 1) provide education on the functioning of the river transport area, potential threats and strategies for sustainable river management; 2) accompany the preparation of participatory maps of the administrative ducks and the development plan of tourist activities in the village of Peniti Besar. Dedication to the community is carried out by the method of community development. The stages are surveys, potential identification, base map making, participatory mapping, map finalisation, and evaluation. Through participatory mapping, the sustainable management of river basin areas based on tourist activities, has provided extensive space for the apparatus of the village, as well as the community in developing its territory independently and intelligently, as listed in the indicator of achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Do environmental regulation policies increase urban boundary pollution? Micro evidence from Chinese industrial enterprises

Industrial organizations frequently opt to relocate their activities to regions bordering administrative boundaries, where regulatory oversight is comparatively lax, to hinder adherence to environmental regulations, which leads to boundary pollution concerns. Using a staggered DID model to Assess the influence of governmental environmental regulations on pollution at administrative boundaries using microdata obtained from Chinese industrial enterprises, this research employs the low-carbon city pilot policy as a quasi-experiment. The following are the study's findings: (1) The low-carbon city pilot policy increase boundary pollution levels by 1.3 % at the industrial enterprise level, supporting the pollution haven hypothesis. A series of robustness tests, including boundary enterprise identification and boundary distance calculations, are used to validate this result. (2) The low-carbon city pilot policy's boundary pollution effect has a fluctuating, wave-like spatial pattern. The pollution effect is most noticeable at about 10 km from the administrative boundary. (3) There is no evidence that the low-carbon city pilot policy's impact on industrial enterprises is consistent with the Porter hypothesis. (4) Environmental regulations are like a two-edged sword. According to data obtained from the branches of financial institutions, environmental regulations not only contribute to boundary pollution but also influence the development of the boundary area to some degree. This research provides original empirical findings from the standpoint of micro-level enterprises, substantiating the presence of boundary pollution as a result of environmental regulation evasion, providing policy recommendations for the development of environmental regulatory policies and the management of urban boundary pollution.

Utilizing Qual2Kw software to calculate the pollution load capacity of Ciliwung River Segment IV (Depok City)

Situated in the administrative boundaries of West Java Province and DKI Jakarta Province, the Ciliwung River is a national river. Its river length is about 120 km, and its watershed area is about 425 km³ (DAS). The population of Depok City is growing at a pace of 1.79% annually, which leads to a rise in the demand for food, clothing, and housing, among other necessities. As a result of the growth of various industrial and community residential buildings to accommodate human needs, wastewater discharge into rivers will increase and the amount of pollution entering the Ciliwung River may surpass its carrying capacity if efforts are not made to control water pollution. As a result, research must be done to ascertain Segment IV Depok City's Ciliwung River Pollutant Load Capacity utilizing a simulation model and Qual2Kw software. Primary data samples of the Ciliwung River's water and pollution sources that enter it were collected for this study, in addition to firsthand field observations. Data calibration is carried out after entering hydraulic and quality data into worksheets. In order to ensure that river flow data still satisfies class II river water quality standards, modeling is done utilizing the following sources: (1) existing data; (2) upstream data of class II river water quality standards; and (3) current conditions of river flow and trial & error pollutant source data. The findings indicated that the Ciliwung River section IV, Depok City, has a somewhat contaminated water quality. Pollutant loads for TSS and COD criteria can still be accommodated in Ciliwung River section IV, Depok City. In the meantime, the BOD criteria for carrying pollutant loads has been surpassed; therefore, to meet class II water quality regulations, the BOD pollutant load needs to be reduced by 22.58% to 37.50%.

Sages of the street: violence management and neighborhood conflict among crime- and violence-exposed young males in southwest Houston

ABSTRACT This study presents efforts to mitigate the likelihood of violent victimization among a network of young males with varying degrees of criminal involvement and previous victimization. Already inhabiting an environment in which poverty, institutional segregation, drugs, guns, and gangs are prevalent, the young males’ risk of victimization is heightened by their volatile relationships, presence in crime-prone places and connection to illegal activities. Findings from ethnographic observations of violence management practices show that the young males’ interactions and whereabouts in the neighborhood are guided by knowledge of their neighborhood’s physical and administrative boundaries, built environment, and markers of place – all of which are used to demarcate places of belonging and relative safety. Broadening the conception of neighborhood conflict and violence management beyond their relation to identity performance and defended territory, this study articulates violence management as a contextually-informed skill set.

Evolution of the city borders of st. Petersburg – Leningrad (END OF 19th – 20th centuries): causes and consequences

The article is devoted to determining the causes and results of changes in the urban boundaries of St. Petersburg - Leningrad from the late 1870s to the early 1990s. Object of study: spatial and administrative boundaries of St. Petersburg-Leningrad, formed during this period. Purpose of the article: to determine the reasons for changes in the city boundaries of St. Petersburg - Leningrad since the late 1870s. – the period of development of local self-government, until the early 1990s. – the end of the Soviet period and analysis of the results of these changes. Objectives of the article: 1) identification of problems and proposals for establishing the city boundaries of St. Petersburg - Petrograd from the 1870s to 1917; 2) consideration and analysis of the General Plans of Leningrad of the 1920s – 1930s. to determine the causes and consequences of changes in city boundaries during this period; 3) analysis of changes in city boundaries in the post-war General Plans of Leningrad in 1948 and 1966. in connection with the new direction of development of the city “Towards the Bay”; 4) determining the reasons for the stabilization of the city borders of Leningrad by the beginning of the 1990s. – the end of the Soviet period of city development. Scientific novelty of the article: it consists in determining the causes, consequences and analysis of the results of the evolution of the urban boundaries of St. Petersburg - Leningrad from the 1870s to the early 1990s. influenced by the socio-economic and political conditions of this period.

The impact of administrative boundaries on foreign direct investments in China's Yangtze River Delta region

We investigate the theoretical mechanisms that underpin the influence of administrative boundaries on foreign direct investment (FDI), taking into account the dual impact of administrative boundary effects. Using panel data from Yangtze River Delta counties collected between 2011 and 2019, we empirically investigate administrative boundaries' effect on FDI within these regions. The findings show that from 2011 to 2019, China's Yangtze River Delta had a consistently positive but moderate global Moran's I index, indicating limited spatial interconnectivity among county-level FDIs. Inter-county FDI in the Yangtze River Delta is hampered by provincial administrative boundaries, with cross-provincial FDI disparities greater than those within the same province. Notably, the Anhui-Zhejiang border experienced a temporary shift from a negative to a positive effect coefficient between 2011 and 2015, whereas other interprovincial boundaries consistently had negative coefficients. The FDI boundary barrier effect is attributed to natural barriers, administrative boundaries, and government performance assessments. In contrast, the boundary intermediary effect results from economic activity diffusion, inter-regional industrial relocation, and inter-regional geographical interaction. This study examines the impact of administrative boundaries on regional economic development through the lens of FDI, intending to provide useful insights for promoting balanced regional development in China and other developing countries. Furthermore, it guides international investors on their ventures in China, attempting to enrich their decision-making framework with strategic perspectives on the country's investment environment.

Geographic drivers more important than landscape composition in predicting bee beta diversity and community structure

AbstractThe importance of microhabitat traits such as floral availability is well known; however, forest bee spatial dynamics have been variably studied across local to broad geographic scales. Past literature suggests that landscape factors from proximate to distal are important in determining forest bee community metrics, including richness, abundance, and taxonomic composition. Leveraging the interest and assistance of citizen science volunteers, we employed standard bee bowl trap transects across Maryland, Delaware, northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia and identified correlations between bee community composition, local and regional land cover, and broader geospatial patterns. We also identified the partial contributions of both specific species and sampling sites to total beta diversity. Various land cover metrics were significantly related to bee community structure, with bee abundance positively and negatively correlated with forest and wetland cover, respectively. In general, land cover metrics within 1000‐m buffer exhibited stronger correlations with bee communities; however, broader geographic variation, using Cartesian coordinates north and east as indices, was most significantly correlated with the bee community. Specifically, bee communities were less rich in the east and south of the study area. We also identified similar correlations with the bee community as categorized by both trophic and nesting behaviors, with both geographic northing and easting proving to be most strongly correlated with the forest bee community. Results of beta diversity and cluster analyses showed that the most species‐depauperate sites exhibited the highest contributions to beta diversity and that species‐poor sites consisted of a reduced subset of the greater community. Our results show that successful bee conservation must consider, beyond local‐scale resource availability, broad geospatial considerations and forest habitat connectivity across political and administrative boundaries.

A novel approach to identify priority areas for optimal nutrient management in mixed land-use watersheds through nutrient budget assessment

Excessive nutrient supply in agricultural regions has led to various environmental issues, thereby requiring concentrated management owing to its persistent upward trend. Nutrient budgets (NBs), a vital agricultural environmental indicator, are employed for nutrient management in agricultural areas, using data surveyed by administrative agencies. However, the spatial extent of nutrient data for nutrient budgeting is limited by administrative boundaries according to the surveying organization, posing challenges in interpreting spatial patterns at the watershed level. In this study, a novel approach was developed to identify priority nutrient management areas by applying hot spot spatial analysis to watershed-level NBs, considering hydrological characteristics. This method was applied to approximately 850 subwatersheds across the Republic of Korea, where land cover characteristics are complex. Reassessing nutrient budgets at the watershed scale, accounting for overlapping administrative boundary areas and crop cultivation ratios, indicated similar levels between the two methods. Hot spot analysis revealed that watersheds with elevated NBs mirrored the spatial patterns of livestock excreta and cropland. The spatial distribution characteristics of watersheds with high nutrient levels in rivers corresponded with the concentration characteristics of industrial and commercial areas. Therefore, applying watershed-level NBs based on land cover ratios that consider nutrient input characteristics in agricultural regions is deemed appropriate for selecting priority nutrient management areas. Collectively, this study presents a method for selecting nutrient management priority areas by simultaneously considering the spatial characteristics of various environmental factors, such as land cover, livestock excreta, river water quality, and land area-based watershed-specific NBs. The proposed approach, considering mixed land cover characteristics, is anticipated to be valuable for selecting priority management areas in watersheds with diverse pollution sources. Future research is needed to explore nutrient budgets within watersheds, the influence of land use on pollution sources, and their correlation with water quality.

Comparison of diverse machine learning algorithms for forest fire susceptibility mapping in Antalya, Türkiye

Antalya is one of the provinces with the highest number of forest fires in Türkiye. In 2021, 278 forest fires occurred within the administrative boundaries of Antalya Regional Directorate of Forestry. The main objective of this study is to produce forest fire susceptibility (FFS) maps of Antalya province using machine learning (ML) models. In addition to forest fire inventory data, 16 factors, including topographic, environmental, meteorological, and human-driven, were used in the study. Inventory data included 2166 fire ignition points from the General Directorate of Forestry. 70 % of the inventory dataset was used to train the ML models and 30 % to validate the models. Overall accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) approaches were considered as validation metrics. FFS maps of Antalya were produced using stand-alone ML algorithms, K-Nearest Neighbors, and Support Vector Machines, as well as tree-based Conditional Inference Trees (CTREE), Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting Machines (GBM), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study using the CTREE algorithm for forest fire susceptibility mapping. Therefore, this study is important for the related literature. The validation results revealed that the XGBoost model outperformed other models. It is thought that the FFS map produced using the XGBoost model will guide forest engineers, wildland firefighting teams, and firefighters to minimize damage and control forest fires.

Mapping Quranic Exegesis in West Java: Influential Figures and Linguistic Insights

This article delves into an exploration of Tafsir Al-Quran works by influential scholars from the West of Java. Unlike traditional geographic delineations, this study does not restrict its focus to the administrative boundaries of West Java as a province but extends to broader regions in the western part of the island. The investigation employs a qualitative research methodology, primarily engaging in library research which involves the comprehensive collection and analysis of data from authoritative books on the subject. Moreover, the study is enriched by a manuscript study approach, where ancient and contemporary Tafsir texts authored by scholars from this region are examined in detail. Through this meticulous research, the study has uncovered numerous Tafsir works, each bearing the unique interpretative style of its author. The findings highlight the intellectual and theological contributions of these scholars, emphasizing the diversity and richness of Islamic scholarship in western Java. One of the distinctive features of these Tafsir works is their linguistic variety. The texts are found in Arabic, which is widely used in Islamic scholarly writings, as well as in Sundanese and Indonesian, which reflects the local linguistic and cultural integration into Islamic scholarship.The study not only sheds light on the specific Tafsir works and the scholars behind them but also paints a broader picture of the religious and cultural landscape in western Java. This approach provides valuable insights into how regional characteristics influence religious interpretation and contribute to the broader discourse in Islamic studies. The research is pivotal for scholars interested in regional Islamic studies, comparative religion, and the interplay between language, culture, and religious scholarship.

Water quality aspects from Spanish sites to support managed aquifer recharge (MAR) guidelines not based on maximum allowable concentration standards

Most countries that have technical guidelines or regulations for artificial recharge or managed aquifer recharge (MAR), that include water quality aspects are based on the establishment of standards or Maximum Allowable Concentrations (MACs) to regulate the quality of the water percolated or injected into an aquifer. The number of parameters in these guidelines vary considerably (from 6 in Spain to 156 in the USA) and often apply to all aquifers within administrative boundaries (e.g., national territory), regardless of the nature of the receiving medium, the depth of the water table, and other key factors. Eleven MAR systems in Spain have been studied (eight operational and three experimental, with limited number of data from three sites), characterising both, the recharge water quality and the water resulting from the interaction processes recharge water-soil-unsaturated zone-saturated zone of the aquifer. In all cases, an improved effect on groundwater quality is observed, even though some parameters in the recharge water don’t comply with the standards employed in some European countries, where this article focuses. The article suggests that regulating water quality for MAR through MACs at national level gives room for another alternative approach specific for each site. It might be recommendable to establish local standards at the regional or aquifer-wide level to better reflect the diversity of groundwater occurrence. As per the article, sectoral water authorities could receive more decision-making power on granting permits for MAR based on the quality of the hydrogeological and risk studies for each request. This would help reduce the application of the precautionary principle when in granting permission.

The national distribution of lymphatic filariasis cases in Malawi using patient mapping and geostatistical modelling.

In 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that Malawi had successfully eliminated lymphatic filariasis (LF) as a public health problem. Understanding clinical case distributions at a national and sub-national level is important, so essential care packages can be provided to individuals living with LF symptoms. This study aimed to develop a national database and map of LF clinical cases across Malawi using geostatistical modelling approaches, programme-identified clinical cases, antigenaemia prevalence and climate information. LF clinical cases identified through programme house-to-house surveys across 90 sub-district administrative boundaries (Traditional Authority (TA)) and antigenaemia prevalence from 57 sampled villages in Malawi were used in a two-step geostatistical modelling process to predict LF clinical cases across all TAs of the country. First, we modelled antigenaemia prevalence in relation to climate covariates to predict nationwide antigenaemia prevalence. Second, we modelled clinical cases for unmapped TAs based on our antigenaemia prevalence spatial estimates. The models estimated 20,938 (95% CrI 18,091 to 24,071) clinical cases in unmapped TAs (70.3%) in addition to the 8,856 (29.7%), programme-identified cases in mapped TAs. In total, the overall national number of LF clinical cases was estimated to be 29,794 (95% CrI 26,957 to 32,927). The antigenaemia prevalence and clinical case mapping and modelling found the highest burden of disease in Chikwawa and Nsanje districts in the Southern Region and Karonga district in the Northern Region of the country. The models presented in this study have facilitated the development of the first national LF clinical case database and map in Malawi, the first endemic country in sub-Saharan Africa. It highlights the value of using existing LF antigenaemia prevalence and clinical case data together with modelling approaches to produce estimates that may be used for the WHO dossier requirements, to help target limited resources and implement long-term health strategies.

Uneven infection and government capacity: evidence from Shanghai lockdown

ABSTRACT In April, 2022 the government of Shanghai initiated a severe lockdown in which the city’s 25 million residents were required to remain in their apartment buildings for 2 months. During the lockdown, sub-district (‘Jiedao’) governments were responsible for implementing COVID policies and allocating basic goods to the residents within their local administrative boundaries. This paper documents a strong negative correlation between new COVID-19 infections and the distance to the sub-district boundaries. Such correlation is intensified when the government expenditures and goods accessibility are low. We argue that this pattern results from insufficient local government capacity to serve the entire sub-district; individuals near the boundary may evade regulations and seek private connections to obtain goods or services, thereby increasing their risk of being infected. Our results provide insight into government management in the pandemic context and offer new evidence that geography affects the implementation of government policy even at small local levels.

Land Surface Temperature Changes in Different Urbanization Increments in China since 2000

In the rapidly urbanizing world, as one of the distinct anthropogenic alterations of global climate change, global warming has attracted rising concerns due to its negative effects on human well-being and biodiversity. However, existing studies mostly focused on the difference in temperature elevation among urbanized areas and non-urbanized areas, i.e., rural or suburban areas. The allometric urban warming at intra-urban scales was overlooked. This research aimed to expand our understanding of urbanization–temperature relationships by applying a concept of a “previous-new” dichotomy of urbanized areas. To quantify the land surface temperature (LST) dynamics of 340 cities in China, we analyzed the LST of different land use types through trend analysis and absolute change calculation models. The urban heat island (UHI) effect of two spatial units, i.e., newly expanded urbanized area (“new UA” hereinafter) during 2000–2015 and previously existing urbanized area (“previous UA” hereinafter) in 2000, were compared and discussed. Our findings reveal that urban growth in China coincided with an LST increase of approximately 0.68 °C across the entire administrative boundary, with higher increases observed in regions between the Yellow River and Yangtze River and lower increases in other areas. Moreover, the new UA exhibited significantly greater LST increases and urban heat island intensity (HUII) compared to the previous UA. The dynamics of LST corresponded to the speed and scale of urban growth, with cities experiencing higher growth rates and percentages exhibiting more pronounced LST increases. This study reveals the impact of the underlying surface on human settlements on a large scale.

The 2-month lockdown and commuting behavior transformation in Shanghai: A phone signal data-based analysis

Research on COVID-19's influence on urban mobility often compares pre-pandemic patterns with those during or post-pandemic, emphasizing the decline due to lockdowns and recovery after vaccinations. However, the pandemic's impact on urban mobility and commuting trends, extending beyond the virus's immediate presence, is multifaceted, particularly considering its three-year span and diverse lockdown policies. Our study delves deeper into the effects of Shanghai's 2-month lockdown in 2022, from early April to end of May. Leveraging granular phone signal data, we meticulously compared and analyzed the geospatial dynamics of commuting between May 2021 and July 2022. Our findings revealed a notable contraction in commuting distances. Regions previously characterized by extensive long-distance commuting lost their allure post-lockdown. Intriguingly, administrative boundaries emerged as new impediments to commuting, an outcome that cannot be solely attributed to COVID-19 apprehensions. The empirical evidence suggests the possibility of a structural change in the commuting behavior of people in Shanghai, which is unlikely to be a consequence of the virus itself and more a result of stringent and arguably excessive lockdown protocols.

Combining vector and raster data in regionalization: A unified framework for delineating spatial unit boundaries for socio-environmental systems analyses

Regionalization has emerged as a crucial research area for the past 50 years, including aggregating smaller areas into larger, contiguous, and/or homogeneous regions. Spatial optimization techniques are advantageous for solving regionalization problems, yet their nondeterministic polynomial-time (NP) hard nature leads to computational complexity and time consumption, especially with extensive datasets. Although regionalization studies play a pivotal role in defining boundaries for multi-scalar analysis and modeling complex socio-environmental systems (SES), current approaches lack integrated consideration of raster and vector data. We introduce a unified, structured framework integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS), image segmentation, and regionalization to identify and characterize socio-environmental units accounting for various data models and types. We use a public geodatabase of the Rio Grande/Bravo basin, an SES covering diverse cultures, ecosystems, and economies, to demonstrate the functionality of our newly developed method, which effectively identifies spatial units for subsequent SES analysis and modeling. The delineation process accounts for various factors, including administrative boundaries, estimated total quantities, compactness, spatial contiguity, and similarity in socio-environmental characteristics. To make this work reproducible, replicable, and expandable, we developed the approach entirely based on open-source Python packages. Our method is easily transferable to other research using various data formats and spatial scales to delineate spatial unit boundaries effectively and efficiently.

Delineation of Vulnerable Areas Affected by the Eruption of Mount Agung, Bali

Vulnerability is a condition of a community or society that causes the inability to face the threat of disaster. Geographic information systems (GIS) have become essential tools in evaluating natural hazards and risks which is an aspect to define vulnerability of the volcano eruption-affected area. Based on activity of volcano, it is necessary to delineate the vulnerability of areas affected by the eruption of Mount Agung by integrating the Mount Agung Area Network Map and Geological Map with physical vulnerability data and social vulnerability. This research using processing methods and spatial analysis of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing methods. Geographic Information System (GIS) is used to create vulnerability maps using scoring, weighting, and overlay methods. The data used for making the vulnerability map include administrative boundaries, DEM (Digital Elevation Model), secondary data from the BPS 2020 Karangasem Regencyt in Figures, geological maps, settlement data and land cover maps. The results based on these data show the number of areas affected by the eruption of Mount Agung, the data states that the data area with low vulnerability has an area of 0.001490 Ha. Medium vulnerability data has an eruption affected area of 47.024493897 Ha. While the high vulnerability has an affected area of 36.878843877 Ha. Differences in the level of vulnerability are influenced by social vulnerability, physical vulnerability, and environmental vulnerability.Keywords: Delineation, Eruption, GIS, Mount Agung, Vulnerability

Do rural migrant parents intend to settle in cities? Impacts of childcare strategies, split households, migration duration, and distance

IntroductionThe current transnational and internal migration involve more and more circular and temporary residences in the host communities. However, few studies have examined the settlement intention of circular and temporary migrant parents with children under 18 years old, which has made inclusive planning for these migrants' needs difficult. This paper aimed to examine whether rural migrant parents intended to settle in cities, with specific discussion about the impacts of childcare strategies, split households, and migration duration and distance.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study design. The data was sourced from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey.ResultsThrough analysis of a sample of 4,247 rural migrant parents in the Pearl River Delta, this study found that 56% of rural migrant parents intended to become urban settlers. Higher levels of education and income and longer migration durations yielded the parents' increased intention to become urban settlers. The birthplaces and primary caregivers of migrants' children were also significant factors. Moreover, split households, especially households in which the youngest child did not live with the parents in cities, decreased parents' intention to settle permanently. Instead of geographic distance, administrative provincial boundaries were found to be a critical factor in inter-provincial migrant parents' decreased intention to settle in cities.DiscussionThis study provides insights into understanding urbanization in China and contributes to future policy studies regarding internal migration, social integration and population growth, especially in a low fertility and rapid aging contest.

Green digital finance and technology diffusion

Technology diffusion is essential for sustainable development. However, traditional financing faces structural problems in supporting technological innovation and diffusion. Fortunately, greening and digitalisation have become important directions for the financial development. It’s well worth examining whether green digital finance would promote the diffusion of technology among regions. Therefore, this study explores the causal relationship between green digital finance and technology diffusion using the panel data of 35,532 ‘citing city-cited city’ pair observations from 2002 to 2015. Considering different spatial spillover effects of administrative boundaries and geographic distances, it applies and extends the classic spatial Dubin model with a dual-weighted boundary and distance. The main findings of this study are as follows. First, green digital finance shows significant and considerable spatial stimulus effects, particularly in terms of spatial diffusion across cities. A slight cumulative phenomenon is revealed for different technology diffusion durations. Green digital credit, investment, and support have better stimulating effects on technology diffusion. Second, digital economy and market integration are effective mechanism pathways during this stimulating process of green digital finance on technology diffusion. Digitalisation innovation has a better mechanism effect than others. Third, considering the direction of technology diffusion, the diffusion effect from the east-region cities was better than that from the central-west-region cities.

Transformations of the Beirut River: Between Temporary and Permanent Liminality

This article presents the case of the Beirut River corridor in Lebanon, which defines the administrative border between the capital Beirut, its eastern and south-eastern suburbs. The Beirut River has undergone several transformations from being a lotic environment to becoming complex urban infrastructure. This is often unnoticeable due to the scarcity of its running water and its walled existence at the edge of administrative boundaries. The separation from its riverbanks, disconnection from the urban fabric, and continuous pollution have contributed to its liminality, being simultaneously neither present nor absent. To understand this in-betweenness, the river’s spatial, temporal, and social liminality are analysed by identifying major events, actors, and key urban planning interventions that impacted the river at the national, city region, and local scales. The article explores the development of the river corridor both in terms of urbanisation and population dynamics; its distinct positionality in different periods that corresponded to major events and decisions made; and the contrasting river experiences and perceptions across generations, which vary between reminiscence and aversion. By examining the various transformative processes, collective practices, perceptions, and diverse actors, the article highlights the contextual implications of this obdurate liminality, but also Beirut River’s potential alternative future positionality amidst present and imminent urban challenges.