City Of Beirut Research Articles

The Sustainable Micro-Landscape Urban Building Gardens: Case of Factory 4376, Sama Beirut and Tamlis–Tarik Jdideh

This paper tackles the sustainable micro-landscape urban building gardens, and aims to explore innovative planning and green design approaches, thus finding solutions to the depletion of green spaces in Beirut. This study is conducted on three buildings located within Beirut city, each having a different architectural typology. The first is Factory 4376 located in Sin EL Fil, the second is Sama Beirut located in Achrafieh, and the third Al Tamlis – Tarik Jdideh. Each building is either residential, commercial or both; and each is surrounded by different socio-economic neighborhoods. This study adopts a comparative methodology; it relies on detailed analysis of maps and aerial photographs, obtained from one of the local municipalities, as well as interviews with residents in the investigated areas, surveys, pictures, and similar case studies. Three solutions were suggested for the locations stated above:  First solution: the implantation of a metallic structure on an old building that forms an extension to preexisting balconies.  Second solution: the integration of the green sliding balconies on buildings with glass façades.  Third solution: the integration of prefabricated modules to buildings with no balconies. The paper concludes that green technologies, if integrated in the context of sustainability, can make a great difference, even if space is limited; hence overcoming the risk of losing greenery.

The Impact of the Air-Conditioning Systems on the Urban Microclimate of Beirut City

The urban heat island consists of the increase in the ambient temperature in urban areas with respect to their rural surroundings, due to artificial modifications of the natural land cover. As a result, significant increase in the demand on cooling loads occurs in cities during summer, inducing more energy consumption in buildings. Furthermore, air-conditioning systems release anthropogenic waste heat to outdoor intensifying the urban heat island. Therefore, an interactive relation exists between the heat islands formation and the cooling systems as well as mutual impacts. Hence, the contribution of the air-conditioning systems to the urban heat island is assessed through an appropriate numerical simulation for Beirut city. It is found that the intensive use of air conditioning systems in Beirut during summer could rise the street air temperature of about 0.8°C in the daytime and up to 4.7°C in the nighttime.

Energy consumption and feasibility study of a hybrid desiccant dehumidification air conditioning system in Beirut

In this work, the transient performance of a hybrid desiccant vapor compression air conditioning system is numerically simulated for the ambient conditions of Beirut. The main feature of this hybrid system is that the regenerative heat needed by the desiccant wheel is partly supplied by the condenser dissipated heat while the rest is supplied by an auxiliary gas heater. The hybrid air conditioning system of the present study replaces a 23 kW vapor compression unit for a typical office in Beirut characterized by a high latent load. The vapor compression subsystem size in the hybrid air conditioning system is reduced to 15 kW at the peak load when the regeneration temperature was fixed at 75 °C. Also the sensible heat ratio of the combined hybrid system increased from 0.47 to 0.73. Based on hour by hour simulation studies for a wide range of recorded ambient conditions of Beirut city, this paper predicts the annual energy consumption of the hybrid system in comparison with the conventional vapor compression system for the entire cooling season. The annual running costs savings for the hybrid system is 418.39 USD for a gas cost price of 0.141 USD/kg. The pay back period of the hybrid system is less than 5 years when the initial cost of the hybrid air conditioning system priced an additional 1712.00 USD. Hence, for a 20-year life cycle, the life cycle savings of the hybrid air conditioning system are 4295.19 USD.

Estimating urban seismic damages and debris from building-level simulations: application to the city of Beirut, Lebanon

Estimating urban seismic damages and debris from building-level simulations: application to the city of Beirut, Lebanon

Agent-based simulation of seismic crisis including human behavior: application to the city of Beirut, Lebanon

Earthquake simulations at the urban scale usually focus on estimating the damages to the built environment and the consequent losses without fully taking into account human behavior in crisis. Yet, human behavior is a key element for improving crisis disaster management; therefore, it is important to include it in seismic crisis simulations. In this study, an agent-based model for the simulation of pedestrian evacuation during earthquakes at the city scale is developed following an interdisciplinary approach. The model recreates the urban conditions using Geographic Information System (GIS) and a synthetic population, in addition to the earthquake consequences on the urban fabric. Moreover, the model integrates realistic human behaviors calibrated using quantitative survey results. We simulate pedestrian outdoor mobility with the different constraints that affect it such as the topography and the presence of debris. The simulator is applied to the case of Beirut, Lebanon. A what-if approach is adopted to analyze the population’s safety in case of earthquakes in Beirut, particularly the open spaces’ capacity to provide shelters and the effect of debris and realistic human behaviors on people’s safety. The simulation results show that less than 40% of the population is able to arrive at an open space within 15 min after an earthquake. This number is further reduced when some open spaces are locked. Debris and realistic human behaviors significantly delay the arrivals to safe areas and, therefore, should not be neglected in earthquake simulations.

ASSESSMENT OF THE KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE TOWARDS EXPIRED DRUG DISPOSAL AMONG THE COMMUNITY IN BEIRUT CITY, LEBANON

The global increase in pharmaceutical spending has led to enhanced international awareness of the unused and expired drug issues due to improper drug disposal's harmful economic, environmental, and health effects. Consequently, the study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice toward expired drug disposal among the community in Beirut City, Lebanon. A cross-sectional, observational, questionnaire-based study was conducted. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. The fact that improper disposal of expired medicine affects the environment and health was acknowledged by 70.7% of the 450 participants. Even though 72.2% of the participants knew that the best method for drug disposal was medication disposal boxes, 50.4% did not know about the use of the drug take-back system. Expired drugs were present in 71.1% of the participants’ homes, and 78.9% of the participants discarded them in household garbage. In fact, 53.6% agreed that there is a lack of adequate information on the safe disposal of expired household medicines. This study revealed a lack of proper advice on the safe disposal of expired medicines. Consequently, the government should initiate feasible expired drug programs to educate the public. Improper disposal of expired drugs has a negative impact on the environment. The current study revealed that 78.9% of the participants discards expired drugs in an improper way. Accordingly, actions should be taken to save the planet.

EXPLORING VIRTUAL REALITY AS AN APPROACH TO RESURRECT DESTROYED HISTORICAL BUILDINGS - AN APPROACH TO REVIVE THE DESTROYED “EGG BUILDING” THROUGH VR

An important part of a city, that gives it a sense of community and character, is its history. One way of acknowledging this heritage is by preserving historic building and structures. Old buildings are witnesses to the aesthetic and cultural history of a city, helping to give people a sense of place and connection to the past. Unfortunately, despite their importance within the city, historical buildings are most of the time subject to demolition and to be replaced- leaving behind stories told and untold of what use to be. The paper, therefore, aims to explore the capability of the metaverse, using virtual reality touring, to revive the memory of historical buildings that are subject to fade. Where preserving historical buildings can not only act as a symbol of grandeur but is also vital for reviving the community’s collective memory. The case study focused upon in the research paper shows a first step in the development of an immersive virtual tour for the significant building of “The Egg” or “Beirut City Center” in Downtown- which is a building that witnessed a series of unfortunate events that lead to destruction, erasure, and demolition of the building. Therefore, examining the recovery and revival of this unique historic site in an unconventional way which is in the metaverse, specifically the Virtual Reality (VR). The paper assumes that virtual reality, as the main metaverse approach, would help people ‘remember’ and ‘mentally revive’ the destroyed historical buildings that once acted as the building blocks in the impacted city. To prove this hypothesis, two different methodologies will be used, by theorical analysis and literature review, such as analyzing the main keyword, and analyzing datum from previous works. The second method will rely on the physical methodology, where virtual 3D Models will be built in a computer software, Autodesk Revit, then imported within a VR experience for an enhanced experience within the historical site to preserve the historic buildings and revive the collective memory within the community, enabling people to view how these historic sites once were and how they have now become.

Gucci and the waqf: Inalienability in Beirut's postwar reconstruction

AbstractOn August 4, 2020, one of the largest nonnuclear explosions in history rocked the city of Beirut, leaving over 200 people dead, 6,500 injured, and 300,000 homeless. As Beirutis debated strategies for rebuilding, another reconstruction project haunted their discussions: the postwar reconstruction of Beirut's city center, overseen by the private company Solidere. For many, Solidere stands for a neoliberal reconstruction project that placed profits over people, expropriating rights‐holders for company shares. While most organizing against Solidere in the 1990s failed, this article turns to a little‐known but more‐successful mobilization involving Solidere's expropriation of parcels and buildings that had been endowed as inalienable Islamic trusts. Many Beiruti Muslims rallied against these expropriations, citing endowment inalienability and resulting in publicized recuperations. Yet, archival and ethnographic research shows that this mobilization led to the recuperation of only some of these endowed properties. Many others were taken to market in order to allow for the perpetuation of the few. This chapter in the reconstruction of Beirut's city center complicates our understanding of capitalism, alienability, and inalienability, illustrating both the constant work needed to create free markets and the continued effectiveness of discourses of inalienability that perpetuate other forms of value and property under capitalism.

Source apportionment of PM2.5 using organic/inorganic markers and emission inventory evaluation in the East Mediterranean-Middle East city of Beirut

Source contributions to PM2.5 concentrations were evaluated in Greater Beirut (Lebanon), a typical East Mediterranean-Middle East (EMME) city, using Positive Matrix Factorization with two approaches. The first approach included only inorganic species (PMF-trad) and the other approach added organic markers (PMF-org). PMF-org identified 4 additional sources, and large discrepancies in contributions were observed for some major sources found in both approaches, highlighting the importance of including organic markers. The traffic factor was underestimated in PMF-trad by 2 to 7 folds. Moreover, results showed that this city is prone to high desert dust concentrations originating from uncontrollable dust storm events, like all cities in the Middle East. A PM2.5 mitigation plan taking into account the potency of the identified sources was developed. Sources like diesel generators or traffic presented smaller contributions in term of mass compared to desert dust, however the health impact of the latter is relatively small and actions should target sources with the highest potency. Local emission inventories in the EMME region are scarce and studies typically rely on global emission inventories for local air quality management plans, but these inventories significantly underestimate Beirut's road transport emissions by more than an order of magnitude.

Assessment of air quality and damage caused after an anthropogenic disaster in the city of Beirut

Air pollution is an important cause of concern and has a significant impact on health as well as the environment. Air pollutants are released into the atmosphere by various sources, and the concentration in cities is mainly due to anthropogenic sources like emissions from industries, factories, vehicles, fossil fuel combustion, waste production, etc. But certain high episodes of air pollution can be witnessed in cities which can cause serious threats to human beings and the environment. Remote sensing is one of the sustainable measures, which allows the integration and presentation of useful information at various temporal and spatial scales. This tool can be helpful in understanding and managing natural disasters and man-made risks contributing to air pollution. Analyzing the cause of such high pollution episodes can help to take necessary steps to reduce the emissions, and damage or to take precautions to avoid man-made disasters. One such incident of an explosion of ammonium nitrate in a port had a long-lasting impact on the air quality in Beirut where the average concentration of air pollution already exceeds WHO threshold limits. This paper explores the concentration of aerosols and NO2, before and after the incident of an explosion that took place in Beirut. Assessment of the damage near the port caused by the explosion in Beirut was done using a change detection technique for which an algorithm was developed. Due to the non-availability of field data for the study area of Beirut, the algorithm was developed and validated for Chennai city and extended to Beirut. The aerosol and NO2 concentration data were extracted from sentinel-5p/TROPOMOI and validated with ground data through regression analysis. The results obtained from this study can be used as an early warning system and decision support system for mitigating loss due to the explosion.

A Concise Overview of Numerical Simulation Tools and Techniques for Anti-Explosion Response Prediction of Infrastructures and Facilities

In the wake of recent devastating explosions, like the tragic blast in Lebanon’s Beirut City, there has been a growing recognition of the need for blast-resistant design. Previously, this type of design was mainly reserved for critical infrastructures such as embassies and military facilities. However, the destructive power unleashed by these incidents has highlighted the importance of implementing blast-resistant measures in a wider range of buildings and infrastructure. The focus is now shifting towards incorporating blast-resistant features into various types of structures to enhance public safety and minimize the devastating impact of future explosive events. Collapse of infrastructures in the surrounding area of the explosion and the potential damage to buildings located at significant distances has raised serious concerns among structural engineers regarding the safety of infrastructures and facilities when subjected to explosive detonations. The level of devastation caused by the explosion can differ, spanning from reparable damage to total structural failure, leading to loss of life. Some engineers propose that buildings in areas prone to vulnerability or affected by war should be constructed with the ability to withstand explosive detonations, in order to prioritize the safety of human lives and preserve the integrity of the infrastructure. This article provides a concise overview of the latest advancements in numerical simulation tools and methodologies for predicting the response of infrastructures and facilities to explosions. It covers topics such as structural responses, pressure-impulse diagrams, existing design methods, and various numerical simulation tools and methodologies. The article also delves into the challenges faced in modeling blast scenarios and analyzing structural responses using different numerical methods. Additionally, it offers recommendations for overcoming these difficulties.

Effect of concrete strength on the dynamic behavior of axially loaded reinforced concrete column subjected to close-range explosive loading

In a structural system, the load-bearing columns are one of the most important and vulnerable structural members. The destruction of columns may lead to partial failure or even catastrophic progressive collapse of the structure, resulting in tremendous casualties and significant economic loss, as exemplified by the accidental detonation of 2,750 tons of Ammonium Nitrate in the Beirut City of Lebanon. Satisfactory structural response of columns with regards to maximum deflection under such extreme loading is one of the essential criteria for the survivability of the building and its users. In this paper, a finite element model of 300 mm × 300 mm experimentally tested square RC column of normal strength concrete (30 MPa) carrying axial compression subjected to an explosive load of 82 kg TNT is developed and validated using a high-fidelity program, ABAQUS/Explicit with concrete-damaged plasticity (CDP) model. Following validation, parametric study has been conducted by varying the concrete strength from 30 to 50 MPa following IS 4991: 1968 without altering the other design strength parameters. Dynamic responses including maximum displacement, damage dissipation energy, stresses, and crack patterns have been compared and discussed.

The embodied city: Reconstructing Beirut in Zeina Abirached’s A Game for Swallows

In her graphic memoir, A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return, Zeina Abirached depicts the city of Beirut during its protracted civil war, relying on her own recollections and those of family and neighbours to reconstruct an urban environment that was radically altered by conflict. This article examines the book’s depiction of Beirut as an embodied space of experience, a city that is full of life not only because of how its inhabitants adjust to the spatial disruptions of the war, but also because it lives in memory. Through both images and text, Abirached’s memoir suggests that while the body of the city reflects the trauma felt by its inhabitants during conflict, it also fosters a sense of identity, illustrating that figuratively reconstructed places can serve to memorialize both individual and collective responses to trauma and its aftermath.

Impact of land cover change on land surface temperature over Greater Beirut Area – Lebanon

Remote sensing (RS) technology has been used together with geographic information systems (GIS) to determine the LC types, retrieve LST, and analyze their relationships. The term Greater Beirut Area (GBA) is used to refer to the city of Beirut and its suburbs, which witnessed rapid urban growth after the end of the civil war in the last decade of the twentieth century, due to the increase in the number of its inhabitants, and the prosperity and development of sectors such as; industrial, trade, tourism, and construction. These factors led to a wide change in land cover (LC) types and increased land surface temperature (LST). The results showed an increase in built-up areas by 29.1% and agricultural lands by 6%, while bare land, forests, and seawater decreased by 28.5%, 4.9%, and 1.9%, respectively. These changes caused large differences in the LST between built-up areas and other LC types. The highest LST recorded was in built-up areas (33.03°C in 1985, and 34.01°C in 2020), followed by bare lands (32.61 °C in 1985 and 33.49°C in 2020), cropland (31.23°C in 1985 and 32.17°C in 2020), forest (30.08°C in 1985 and 30.47°C in 2020), and water (24.97°C in 1985 and 28.15°C in 2020). Consequently, converting different LC types into built-up areas led to increases in LST and a changed microclimate.

Implementation of automation system-based model checking for managing imperfect maintenance actions in chemical plant projects

PurposeThe chemical plant (CP) maintenance industry has been under increasing pressure by process designers to demonstrate its evaluation and information management of model checking (MC) on the durability’s performance and design of plant control instrument. This main problem has been termed as imperfect maintenance actions (IMAs) level. Although IMAs have been explored in interdisciplinary maintenance environments, less is known about what imperfect maintenance problems currently exist and what their causes are, such as the recent explosion in the Beirut city (4 August 2020, about 181 fatalities). The aim of this paper is to identify how CP maintenance environments could integrate MC within their processes.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve this aim, a comprehensive literature review of the existing conceptualisation of MC practices is reviewed and the main features of information and communication technology tools and techniques currently being employed on such IMA projects are carried out and synthesised into a conceptual framework for integrating MC in the automation system process.FindingsThe literature reveals that various CP designers conceptualise MC in different ways. MC is commonly shaped by long-term compliance to fulfil the requirement for maintaining a comfortable durability risk on imperfect maintenance schemes of CP projects. Also, there is a lack of common approaches for integrating the delivery process of MC. The conceptual framework demonstrates the importance of early integration of MC in the design phase to identify alternative methods to cogenerate, monitor and optimise MC.Originality/valueThus far, this study advances the knowledge about how CP maintenance environments can ensure MC delivery. This paper highlights the need for further research to integrate MC in CP maintenance environments. A future study could validate the framework across the design phase with different CP project designers.

Analysis of ammonium nitrate detonation destruction in Beirut city using geospatial techniques

Applications of geospatial techniques plays an important role in disaster management and mitigation. This study focuses to analyze how can geospatial technology could have been utilized to minimize the destruction created by the Ammonium Nitrate detonation in Beirut city. Firstly, the disaster impacts on the build-up area were demarcated using Google Earth-based survey, Remote Sensing, and ArcGIS applications. According to the analysis, it was identified that the Ammonium Nitrate detonation incident in the Beirut port has extensively damaged the built-up area within a 2 km buffer zone from the explosion. Among them, fully demolished constructions are bounded to a 1 km buffer area while partially damage and less damage to buildings were encompassed within 5 km from the epicenter of the incident. The Quantity Distance Mapping Tool results depicted more as similar results to the results obtained through the aforementioned geospatial techniques in post-disaster impact analysis. Therefore, proper planning to locate built-up areas considering vulnerable places away from the possible disaster-induced location utilizing spatial techniques like Quantity Distance Mapping Tool would be more effective in pre-disaster preparedness as we all live in a hidden catastrophic environment. Thus, lessons learned from this Ammonium Nitrate detonation incident of the Beirut city, especially the importance of risk assessment and adherence to precaution measures are needed in any chemical operation sites as well as chemical storing sites.

Diurnal Selective Radiative Cooling Impact in Mitigating Urban Heat Island Effect

This study investigates the impact of diurnal radiative cooling (RC) roof panels RC roofs in mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) at city scale in comparison with high albedo roofs and concrete roofs. A validated microclimate model that embeds a building energy model is used to predict the street level temperature and thermal comfort. The effective radiative properties of RC surface are calculated using their spectral angular properties in a spectral angular atmospheric model. A case study of Beirut city with its morphology and microclimate was simulated on representative days of the year. At the peak of a humid summer day in Beirut, daytime RC roof panels resulted in a reduction in air temperature at the pedestrian level by at least 0.8°C in high building density regions enhancing outdoor thermal comfort. While the RC panel's surface temperature drop was greatest at night, its effect on the microclimate at night was negligible. At lower humidity days, the RC surface temperature was lower, however, RC impact on pedestrian level air temperature was not significantly changed. At moderate and high humidity days, RC panels yielded a similar microclimate influence on pedestrian level air temperature and outdoor thermal comfort to high-performance cool roofs.

Comprehensive chemical characterization of PM2.5 in the large East Mediterranean-Middle East city of Beirut, Lebanon

The chemical composition of PM2.5 at two sites in Lebanon, a country in the East Mediterranean - Middle East region, is investigated in the spring and summer seasons. The average PM2.5 concentrations were of (29 ± 16) µg/m3 for Beirut urban site and (32 ± 14) µg/m3 for Beirut suburban site. This study showed that the geographic location of the East Mediterranean region, such as its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea and the dust storm intrusion are a significant contributor to the high PM levels from natural sources, which cannot be mitigated, rendering the PM2.5 WHO annual Air Quality guideline unattainable due to high natural background, which also applies to the entire Middle East region. Turkey and Eastern Europe are the dominant origin of air masses throughout our sampling days, suggesting the long-range transport as an important potential contributor to the high observed concentrations of V, Ni, and sulfate in this region most probably in other East Mediterranean countries than Lebanon too. Main local sources determined through the chemical speciation including organics are road transport, resuspension of dust and diesel private generators. A health risk assessment of airborne metals was performed and the carcinogenic risk for all the metals exceeded by 42 (adults) and 14 (children) times the acceptable risk level (10−6) at both sites. Vanadium was the predominant carcinogenic metal, emphasizing the need to replace energy production with cleaner energy on a regional level and highlighting the severe impact of air pollution on the health of inhabitants in this region's main cities.

ESTIMATING THE DEMOLITION PROBABILITY OF BUILDINGS USING A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH

The sources and quantities of construction and demolition waste (CDW) are a major source of uncertainty hindering the optimization of the reverse-logistics network design for this waste stream. This study proposes a bottom-up approach that can be used to forecast the quantities of demolition waste (DW) in a specific region. The proposed method scans each building in a region to determine its age, height, composition and other relevant factors. Given the individual building parameters along with the neighborhood and regional market conditions in which the building is situated, each building is assigned a probability of demolition. The study then describes the methodology by which these individual probabilities are aggregated, along with the anticipated waste from each building, in order to obtain an overall estimation of demolition waste in a region. The main factors constituting this probability are the age at the building level, location or surroundings at the neighborhood level, and the overall market conditions at the regional level. This method is applied in the city of Beirut as a case study. The findings of this study will help in the estimation and mapping of demolition waste generation for any specific year of forecast. The suggested framework can also help decision-makers in optimizing the selection of capacities and locations of CDW treatment facilities to reduce both costs incurred and environmental impacts.

ESTIMATING THE DEMOLITION PROBABILITY OF BUILDINGS USING A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH

The sources and quantities of construction and demolition waste (CDW) are a major source of uncertainty hindering the optimization of the reverse-logistics network design for this waste stream. This study proposes a bottom-up approach that can be used to forecast the quantities of demolition waste (DW) in a specific region. The proposed method scans each building in a region to determine its age, height, composition and other relevant factors. Given the individual building parameters along with the neighborhood and regional market conditions in which the building is situated, each building is assigned a probability of demolition. The study then describes the methodology by which these individual probabilities are aggregated, along with the anticipated waste from each building, in order to obtain an overall estimation of demolition waste in a region. The main factors constituting this probability are the age at the building level, location or surroundings at the neighborhood level, and the overall market conditions at the regional level. This method is applied in the city of Beirut as a case study. The findings of this study will help in the estimation and mapping of demolition waste generation for any specific year of forecast. The suggested framework can also help decision-makers in optimizing the selection of capacities and locations of CDW treatment facilities to reduce both costs incurred and environmental impacts.