Introduction

This chapter responds to several recent calls to extend the geographical scope of gentrification studies and to consider the potential contribution of theory-making from the Global South (Robinson, 2006; Roy, 2009a; McFarlane, 2010; Lees, 2012). We present two cases of gentrification in Beirut, Lebanon, and demonstrate the ways in which they differ from the existing literature on gentrification. Employing a post-colonial perspective, we argue that an account of these differences is essential if gentrification studies are to make a meaningful contribution to our understanding of uneven geographical development and social exclusion in a Southern context. Evidence from Beirut shows how and why historical and politico-economic specificities matter: the point of theory formation should not be to articulate a one-size-fits-all model that can be applied to apparent cases of gentrification anywhere in the world at any time. Indeed, the case of Beirut shows just how much gentrification processes can diverge within a single city, with different networks of capital formation and visions of the urban future reflecting Lebanon's history of confessional conflict and the various ways in which neighbourhoods and social groups are linked to regional and global circuits of capital. However – notwithstanding these differences – our case studies demonstrate that the driving forces and results of urban transformation in Beirut are much the same as elsewhere: gentrification has been instigated by a privileging of the logic of the market in housing provision and it has resulted in the displacement and exclusion of lower- and middle-income groups from central city locations. Gentrification in Beirut has been driven by transnational capital and facilitated by state interventions, including – inter alia – tax breaks for investors and the liberalisation of rental contracts.

It is hardly surprising that Beirut is sensitive to gentrification. Real estate is one of the most important sectors of the Lebanese economy. Post-civil war real estate booms have been numerous, and the sector has grown continuously during the past decade despite political turmoil and the financial crisis (which Beirut largely escaped due to considerable bank liquidity and the resources of its diaspora population; see Habib, 2011). For the past two years, the real estate sector has slowed down and stagnated, but land and apartment prices are still high (Daily Star, 2013; Makarem, 2013; Sakr, 2013).