The three projects show neither a home-grown trend in urban design nor innovative theories. However, all three design provisions of open space are model examples of how practitioners of urban design understand local culture and decide how to cater for the Lebanese love of interactivity and leisure. Unlike many cases in the United States where urban designers like Michael Sorkin describe the end of public space in light of the emergence of a mall culture, public and privately-owned public spaces in cities like Beirut can been seen as examples that promote a vibrant political sphere, in addition to retail and leisure activity, and albeit differently than in street protests.
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