The Role of the Banks in Shaping the Image of the Neo-Liberal City: Beirut as a Case Study

With the rise of a global communication cultureand new technologies, today’s cityscapes have beensystematically transformed into advertising andpropaganda tools for the dominant economic andpolitical powers. This display of influence is highlyvisible at the street level, on buildings, and in publicspaces and is symptomatic of the neo-liberal city.This paper presents a case study of the role of thebanking sector in shaping the city of Beirut, investigatingtwo aspects. The first is its instrumental role infinancing the real estate sector and the constructionactivities within specific local circumstances and awider global context in the early 1990’s. The secondis its contribution to the image of the city through thearchitecture of banks and associated symbols, signsand other forms of representations.The paper presents a reading of the new image ofBeirut based on a comparative analysis of overlappingphotographs and a recent photographic survey of themain streets. It will address the relationship of thebanks to their surrounding environment as well asthe perception of them held by users and inhabitantsof these places.In the conclusion, this paper confirms that the cityfabric has been drastically transformed since the 1990’sdue to the eminent participation of the banking sectorin the construction and the development of the city,thus questioning the future role of urbanism.

Volume Editors
Luis Francisco Rico-Gutierrez & Martha Thorne

ISBN
978-1-944214-08-1