Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Towards Urban Biodiversity: Simulating Design Parameters For Wildlife-Inclusive Green Infrastrcuture, Alisa Abdulghany, Baher Farahat

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

As of 2021, more than half of the global population resides in urban areas. This resulted in an overwhelming footprint affecting species habitat areas leading to biodiversity loss. By definition, urban biodiversity is the diversity of living things within the urban realm. By providing chances for habitat as part of new developments, preserving on-site habitats, and attempting to connect with the local ecosystems, we can help promote biodiversity. Green infrastructure (GI), which includes all semi-natural areas in the urban context, can serve as a vessel for biodiversity. Therefore, the problem can be defined by the urban footprint that expands on …

Revitalizing The Borderlines Through Architecture Of Green Networking - Case Study: Beirut, Lebanon, Karim Al-Khatib, Maged Youssef, Mona M. Salem

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Borders are an essential part of cities and countries, and they can create both physical and cultural divides. Inner-city borders can lead to social isolation and inequality, which can contribute to tensions and conflicts. Borders around the world have become a symbol of conflict, racism, fear, inequity, and division. One single line could divide between opportunity and hope and poverty and oblivion. Accordingly, some borders create social isolation between various cultures in cities that increase socio-political problems and remove urban connectivity. Green networking involves using urban green spaces, such as parks and gardens, to connect different areas of a city …

Investigating Commercial Urban Corridors - A Pilot Study In Beirut Lebanon, Nour El Baba, Ibtihal Y. El-Bastawissi, Ayman Afify, Hiba Mohsen

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Urban environments are multifaceted, varied, dynamic, complex, and evolving as are the underlying features for human health and wellbeing (Bai, Nath, Capon, Hasan & Jaron, 2020). Healthy and resilient cities can be entry points and platforms for change, adaptation and innovation to achieve optimal health for urban communities and the environment (Regional Framework for Urban Health in the Western Pacific 2016–2020: Healthy and Resilient Cities, 2016). Planners considered urban corridors, which are connection and access between urban districts, as major elements in shaping the city image and forming its identity and investigating them are vital for enhancing healthy and resilient …

Exploring The Attributes Of Open Public Spaces In The Developing Cities, Aya Chehab

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Open Public Spaces, according to Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), are vital elements of urban fabrics that animate communities in cities. These significant spaces not only provide the residents with different facilities, but also promote social, economic, environmental and health opportunities. Successful open public spaces meet the needs of people of various social classes, ethnicities, and different backgrounds in general. Despite its importance within the city, the lack of appropriate design and planning strategies in developing cities have resulted in a degradation of the urban environment and subsequently the quality of urban life. The problem needs to …

Developing An Agent-Based Model Of Pedestrian Wayfinding To Conduct The Best Touristic Path In Historic Districts, Saada Hassan Khaled, Eslam M. Elsamahy, Mary Felix

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

A historic district is a historic and cultural conservation area that reflects traditional aspects from the past. A sense of memorable pathway allows pedestrian to experience the city happily and attract touristic activity in urban historic districts. The characteristics of touristic districts which facilitate pedestrian movement help in determining the optimum track. The aim of the research is to create an agent-based model (ABM) to simulate the activity of pedestrians in historic districts in order to way find the best touristic paths. Using Space-Syntax, a simulation of the interaction of tourists with the attraction points in old districts pathway will …

The Relationship Between School Architecture And Self-Efficacy Of Students With Special Needs In Some Schools In Lebanon - The Reciprocal Architectural Design Method, Hayat M. Itani

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

This study sought to develop a new architectural design methodology for educational facilities. The design factors of inclusive schools built environment affect the self-efficacy of students with special needs. Self-efficacy being defined by Albert Bandura as one's belief in one's ability to succeed completing specific tasks in a certain environmental action. This research is conducted by following the sequential explanatory research design, surveyed by a mixed method. Participants were a group of 35 special education teachers and 25 students with special needs, conveniently selected from some schools in Lebanon. The two questionnaires and the individual interviews administered by the researcher …

Partial Systems' Analysis Of Traffic Noise Reduction In Tarik Al Jadidah, Beirut, Ibtihal Y. El-Bastawissi, Nour El Baba, Shireen Khalil, Nour El Hage, Rouba Joumblat, Franz Gatzweiler

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Traffic noise is considered one of the main pollutants in an urban space and has multiple side effects regarding the physical and mental health of the human being. Tarik Al Jadidah, one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Beirut City- Lebanon, is selected as urban area for a project-based initiative and the focal point of different studies in BAU Urban Lab. The area suffers from various urban problems, but prominently traffic noise that highly damages the urban residents' quality of life due to its high levels of traffic noise that surpasses the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

BAU Urban …

Reviving The Neglected Urban Spaces Using Recreational Facilities, Malek Demashkieh

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Neglection is the act of failing to care about something, it is the act of carelessness and forgetting. Adding to that in the same context, neglected urban spaces are barren lands that have been forgotten by the government making these lands gaps scattered in the city like rivers that are natural freshwater streams that flow into a canal that leads to the sea, a lake, or another river. Harmonizing these areas into the society will offer opportunities for these spaces to become a liveable, social, urban public spaces. Unfortunately, forgotten, and neglected riverfronts areas are found in the cities, thus …

Role Of Public Spaces In Re-Activating The Cultural Identity, Reem Al-Zein

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Culture plays an important role in defining a society's values and identity. Craftsmanship has remained an important aspect of Lebanese cultural identity and history, contributing to the shaping of many public and private spaces as well as supporting families and people's livelihoods. Unfortunately, considering the significance of craftsmen cultural production in the country's social and economic development, it is still a lost field nowadays. Therefore, as result, this tradition is diminishing, threatening Lebanon's intangible cultural heritage. Therefore, this paper aims to develop convenient solutions to regenerate and to preserve the city's social, historical, and cultural image and identity through creating …

Proposing Guidelines To Upgrade The Open Public Spaces In The Informal Settlements, Lena Hosni, Ayman Afify, Hiba Mohsen, Maged Youssef

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Informal Settlements have expanded rapidly in the last fifty years and have kept rising. With rapid population expansion has come an increase in haphazard urbanisation and informal settlements, frequently referred as slums. Defined as a settlement that was formed in an unplanned and uncontrolled way, which means they are mostly unrecognized. Unfortunately, focusing on the problem of current challenges in informal settlements, on the socio-cultural and environmental levels, which are facing a massive shift in the quality of life in these sites, this is reflected in urban fragmentations, social and infrastructures are lacking, service systems that have become progressively inefficient …

Extensive Descriptive Literature Review Revealing The Impact Of Banking Secrecy On Money Laundering: Prominence On The Lebanese Banking Sector, Nour Mohamad Fayad, Sara Karam Nassredine

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Worldwide financial institutions face complexity in balancing between business ethical standards on one hand, and the act of competitiveness on the other hand. Thus, while selecting their customers they seek customers that lead them to the optimum position of competitiveness in the market, taking into consideration the act of financial investigation to avoid money launderer customers. Money launderer customers seek to deal with financial institutions to proceed with operating their financial crimes. Therefore, this paper spots the light on “money laundering” alongside with the impact of banking secrecy on money laundering with prominence on the Lebanese banking sector. Thus, in …

Detecting Types Of Phobia In Contemporary Architecture, Fatima Ghosn, Loulwa Alama, Mohamad Azhari

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Phobia in its broadest sense is an irrational fear or feeling, created in a person toward an object or a certain situation that might happen around him or in his imagination and it can be related to natural elements such as animals, insects, oceans, fire and heights. Furthermore, it can be related to build environment and manmade spaces or more simply, to architecture. Unfortunately, architects shifted from the standardisation and regularity to creating innovative and irregular spaces that are reflected by the exterior and interior design of the building without having any concern of the negative consequences such as phobias …

Exploring Potentials Of Leftover Spaces Using Urban Metamorphosis, Huda Maatouk, Marwan Halabi, Hiba Mohsen, Maged Youssef

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

In a dynamic world, the challenge behind reaching utopia is a result of the continuity of change and the metamorphosis. Metamorphosis, from the Greek meta signifying the change and morphe referring to the form, is a change and adaptation of the form or nature of something into a different one through time. However, when it comes to urban metamorphosis, it is a tension between the traditional living and the raise of technology through history, and this adaptation is affecting cities, buildings, identity, and environment. Urban metamorphosis of undeveloped non-organized cities had created urban and social fragmentation; unorganized cities are broken …

Revisiting Prehistoric Archeological Sites: Envisioning First Built Environments To Repossess Geographically Specific Approaches In Architecture, Alisa Mohammad Kheir Abdulghany, Marwan Halabi, Maged Youssef, Bahaa El Dine Abou El Khoudoud

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Since Prehistoric times, architecture had been a human response to an occurring natural setting. Starting from places of dwelling to buildings that no longer only serve physical requirements for survival. Architectural languages were approached initially as an expression of culture, evolution, and growth of a community within a natural setting. This response resulted in the creation of built environments, humanity’s decision to become sedentary. This decision took place in the Late Stone age, a key phase in our timeline. First built environments were born in a time known as the Neolithic revolution, which shown itself as humans transitioned from hunter-gatherer …

The Role Of Smart Architectural Elements In Reducing The Pandemic Effect In Residential Compounds, Christina Najem, Marwan Halabi, Hiba Mohsen, Maged Youssef

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Pandemic is an episode of an illness that happens over a wide geographic zone, (for example, different nations or countries) and regularly influences a huge extent of the population, which is in our case a virus called COVID-19. The problem or the gap lies in the houses and type of residents we have now, that aren’t adaptable and flexible enough to survive a pandemic while focusing on social distancing, safe living, and many other decisions, all the while keeping the human interaction alive. Therefore, the main aim of this research is to propose guidelines on how new smart architectural elements …

Exploring The Qualities Of Child-Friendly Outdoor Spaces: A Field Study In Low Income Neighbourhoods - Case Study: Sabra, Beirut, Lebanon, Farah Ahmad Mefleh, Hiba Mohsen, Baher Farahat

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Children’s play areas are from the past an indispensable right for children, in which it allows children to build their physical environment and assess it cognitive thinking. But today, the city, especially in low-income population suffers from a clear shortage of open spaces, where the leftover spaces are left empty used for garbage, old tanks car parts, and many other bad issues. This has negatively affected society, mainly children, where they become vulnerable to many social ills and problems that threaten their lives and behaviour. This paper tries to ameliorate and presents adequate children’s play areas, for the low-income population, …

Detecting A New Approach To Revive Dystopian Paranoid Sites, Shadi Osta, Marwan Halabi, Maged Youssef

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Until the nineteenth century, space delineation was tied only to the architectural norm, and even now, space is considered as a fundamental area that provide a safe and shelter for its user. Architecture historically has evolved significantly, altering the way people perceive space. Anciently, world civilization used to pay great attention in portraying semiotic of spatial experience in their architectural practices. Back when reflecting moods in architecture was part of utilization of the function. Moreover, Civilization has revolutionized the means of spatial delineation due to new trends in technological evolution. Therefore, to comprehend this association, the studies can distinguish how …

Exploring Utopian Concepts In The Contemporary Water Architecture, Aya Chehab, Hiba Mohsen

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Water has since the beginning of civilizations been known to be the vital component of mankind’s existence. The inseparable relation between architecture and water is well-established from the beginning of ages where humans first settlements arose; that inevitably led to the creation of long-lasting shelters. Despite their strong bond, the architectural relationship with water has been through an unfortunate downfall throughout the years. Some contemporary architects admire to achieve an innovative approach in their projects, but are still lacking the risk of incorporating water as a key component for it; where it can act as a symbol of grandeur, creating …

Architecture Of Utopian Social Battery In The Neoliberal Cities, Al Hadi Taha, Marwan Halabi, Hiba Mohsen, Bahaa El Dine Abou El Khoudoud

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

During the span of the recorded history, there has been always a continual eagerness to reach what is seen as a perfect place, this perfection has been later called utopia or the ‘non-existent place’ in Greek. Eventually, the perception of utopia differs between people, groups, eras, and many other factors, it’s a simultaneous desire of improving the current conditions. One of these perceived utopias was Neo-liberalism, which is an economic philosophy with ideas linked with free-market, economic liberalism, and capitalism. Indeed, this utopia has turned into a dystopia in which this philosophy became a prevalent mode of producing cities that …