Public Works Studio, in collaboration with The Green Southerners and under the patronage of Tyre Municipality, organized an open discussion session titled: “The Open Meeting in Tyre: Towards Comprehensive and Equitable Reconstruction and Recovery” on Saturday, July 26, 2025, at Tyre Public Secondary School.
The meeting opened with presentations outlining the challenges Tyre faces in terms of reconstruction and recovery. This was followed by a roundtable where residents from the city’s affected neighborhoods shared their firsthand testimonies. The discussion was structured around three main themes to better understand the war’s impact and the pathways to recovery in Tyre, culminating in a set of recommendations that were discussed with key stakeholders involved in the reconstruction effort.
Official and public participation in the discussion meeting.
The meeting was attended by MPs Hassan Ezzeddine and Ali Khreis; Tyre Municipality President, Engineer Hassan Dbouk; a representative of the President of the Council of the South, Engineer Hassan Hani; Director General of Antiquities, Engineer Sarkis Khoury; Director General of Urban Planning, Engineer Ali Ramadan; and a representative of the Order of Engineers in Beirut, Engineer Haitham Ismail, along with neighborhood mukhtars from Tyre, community representatives, experts, and activists.
The meeting opened with a speech by the President of Tyre Municipality, welcoming the attendees.
Documentation as a First Step Towards Equitable Recovery
Researcher Tala Alaa El-Din from Public Works Studio gave a presentation outlining the studio’s efforts, since the start of the Israeli war, to document the attacks—highlighting the scale of destruction in Tyre, which endured seven mass evacuation warnings issued by the spokesperson of the Israeli army and 48 days of heavy shelling.
She explained how this documentation became the foundation for launching the project “How Can Reconstruction Be Inclusive and Equitable? Pathways to Recovery in the City of Tyre”, which began with field research that recorded 79 completely destroyed buildings and 166 partially damaged ones in the city, placing this physical destruction in the context of social, economic, cultural, and environmental data.
This was carried out through walking tours of the city and holding meetings and workshops with residents of the affected neighborhoods to identify key recovery challenges. These included damage assessment and evaluation, debris removal and public safety, displacement and the search for alternative housing, and the risk of eviction faced by affected tenants.
Major challenges also emerged concerning the restoration and reconstruction process itself—such as rehabilitating heritage buildings, addressing shared property ownership, and rebuilding structures located on state-owned land.
Alaa El-Din announced that the studio will soon publish a detailed report on its website outlining these challenges and the related recommendations.
Preserving the City’s Identity as Part of Recovery
Journalist Hussein Shaaban from The Green Southerners gave a talk highlighting the importance of preserving cultural identity by safeguarding the city’s archaeological sites and traditional houses, and by integrating their elements into contemporary architecture. He also emphasized the need to protect the old city and the Phoenician–fishermen’s harbor, as well as to preserve Tyre’s natural identity by protecting and enhancing its urban wilderness—an ecosystem sustained by its wetlands, coastline, nature reserve, and archaeological sites that serve as a refuge for various species.
He stressed that these sites are not merely empty spaces, but part of an interconnected system that helps improve air and water quality, moderate the climate, support environmental justice, and strengthen community resilience. Shaaban called for these assets to be incorporated into the city’s urban planning vision, rooted in the belief that a city is a living environment where nature and the built environment are inseparable.
Firsthand Testimonies from Residents of Affected Neighborhoods
At the start of the roundtable with reconstruction stakeholders, several residents from Tyre’s affected neighborhoods gave four firsthand testimonies on the different forms of destruction.
Widad Jerjoui spoke about the old quarter; Mukhtar Khalil Al-Zein addressed the popular housing areas; Mukhtar Jaafar Gharib discussed the Brasilia building in the Balouta neighborhood; and Zahra Habballah spoke about the Raml area—specifically the Habballah neighborhood.
The roundtable was structured around three main themes to understand the war’s impact and the recovery pathways in Tyre: reconstruction, displacement and housing, and damage assessment, compensation, and debris removal.
It was co-moderated by Sami Zoughaib from The Policy Initiative and Abir Saksek from Public Works Studio.
.First topic : Rebuilding on State-Owned Land and Legal Challenges
The discussion addressed the challenges of rebuilding on state-owned land and the residents’ right to reconstruct their homes. Participants also examined Law No. 22, recently passed to grant certain tax exemptions to those affected by the Israeli war, highlighting its shortcomings—particularly the complexities of the institutional framework for damage assessments, the lack of clarity around aid distribution mechanisms, and the absence of fair compensation.
Director General of Urban Planning Ali Ramadan pointed to the lack of a comprehensive recovery vision. MPs Hassan Ezzeddine and Ali Khreis affirmed their commitment to following up on the matter and to proposing amendments to the law, with Ezzeddine stressing the government’s central role and responsibility in seriously addressing reconstruction.
The discussion also covered ways to curb real estate speculation and to prevent the destruction from being turned into an investment opportunity at the expense of residents.
Second topic : Displacement and Housing Alternatives Amid Scarce Resources
The second topic focused on displacement and housing alternatives, discussing the municipality’s role in regulating rental prices, providing temporary alternative housing, and ensuring the gradual return of displaced residents. Mayor Hassan Dbouk pointed out the limited resources and the difficulty of intervening in the rental market. In this context, Saqsouq stressed the importance of starting from clear principles that place the right to decent housing at the heart of the recovery process, considering that reconstruction is not merely restoration, but a sustainable act capable of reinforcing return, reuniting the social fabric, and reviving ties to the land and memory. In this regard, Sami Zgheib raised with the attending MPs the importance of the parliament addressing the displacement issue through legislation that safeguards the right to housing in emergency situations.
Third Topic: Damage Assessment, Compensation, and Debris Removal
The third topic addressed damage assessment, debris removal, and compensation. The discussion with President of the Council of the South Hashem Haidar focused on the need for a clear and transparent timeline to complete damage assessments in Tyre’s affected neighborhoods, ensuring that residents are informed to end the uncertainty and prolonged waiting.
With Haitham Ismail, representative of the Order of Engineers in Beirut, participants explored the syndicate’s role in assessing the structural safety of buildings and supporting reconstruction—drawing on its experience after the Beirut Port explosion.
Regarding heritage buildings, Director General of Antiquities Sarkis Khoury discussed the current approach to dealing with damaged heritage structures and whether there is a clear mechanism for processing their debris and restoring them quickly and effectively.
