The millennial Medina

Discourses of time, space and authenticity in projects to market and renovate Beirut and Nazareth

Abstract

The article compares the inception, execution, reception and results of two renovation projects and city marketing campaigns: "Beirut Horizons 2000 ” and "Nazareth 2000. ”Analysis reveals parallel sociopolitical processes despite the two projects' different nation-state contexts and recent political histories. Comparisons highlight research questions about the diminished role and constricted capacities of citizens, cities and city systems in the contemporary Middle East. Both projects raised questions about the locus and deployment of power, the ownership of memory and the changing constellations of rights and obligations in rapidly transforming settings during a transitional period.