URBAN PROGRAMS STRATEGIC URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND C ITIES AND C LIMATE C HANGE MAPPING OF RELEVANT INSTITUTIONS AND CENTERS OF COMPETENCE
Institut Français du Proche-Orient (IFPO) Observatoire Urbain du Proche-Orient Category: Research and training institute
Country: Lebanon
Director: Ms. Valérie Clerc Contact: Rue de Damas BP 11-1424 Beirut Lebanon Tel : 961 - (0)1 - 420 291/293/298 Fax : 961 - (0)1 - 420 295, ou 615 866 Email: adm.contemporaines@ifporient.org Website: www.ifporient.org Missions: The Urban Observatory is a research program on urban and planning issues within IFPO. The program has taken place in 1991-1992 when the reconstruction projects of Beirut center were launched. The Urban Observatory has been institutionalized as a research unit in 1993 and its activities covered the Greater Beirut. Eric Huybrechts, who was the Director from 1996 until 2000, developed its activities to include Lebanese urban spaces, and then city and planning in the Middle East. The Urban Observatory aims at federating and promoting research on cities within the four sites (Beirut, Amman, Damascus, and Aleppo) in collaboration with the researchers, the research teams working on urban issues. The Observatory works with its partners: local institutions of research and university education; French and European institutions working on urban issues in the Middle East. Relevance to the CMI urban programs: UD1— Urban expansion and renewal; Urban land management; Urban planning Date of entry: June 2010