Evaluating the SDATL

This research evaluates the efficiency and relevance of the national master plan of the Lebanese territory: the SDATL (Schéma Directeur d’Aménagement du Territoire Libanais). The plan was developed between 2001 and 2005, and is still, to this day, the only planning and development reference document on the national scale. The SDATL is a land-use planning master plan developed according to the law of urbanism of 1983, aimed at ensuring the cohesion of the Lebanese territory and its balanced development. However, a number of disparities can be observed between the orientations set by the plan and the reality of the Lebanese territory, suggesting that the plan failed to achieve its objectives. Consequently, the following work reconsiders the concepts of territories and land-use planning and their associated literature, coupled with a thorough analysis of the Lebanese context: its history and socio-political setting, followed by an analysis of the operational and legislative framework of planning practices in Lebanon. Subsequently the content of the SDATL is studied and reviewed and crossed with the previous analysis. Finally, as part of the evaluation process the different impacts of the plan are identified and assessed, and hypotheses are emitted based on all the collected data and on a series of conducted interviews. The hypotheses aim at answering the research question i.e. why did the SDATL, a national master plan and development strategy, born out of a general consensus and aimed at ensuring the balanced development and the cohesion of the Lebanese territory, fail to achieve its objectives? The evaluation of the SDATL may become crucial in light of recent developments and ongoing crises within the Lebanese territory in order to identify potential limitations and opportunities of any potential national strategy. In reality, the SDATL’s evaluation serves as a benchmark for any national strategy given its national scale and the variety of actors and processes it engages. Thus the findings of its evaluation can be extrapolated to serve in overcoming the current crises. Understanding where the plan fell short might prevent setbacks at a time when urgency is the watchword since the plan is not isolated inside its context but rather a reflection of it.