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Poor Beirut neighborhood's facelift only skin deep

An art project in Beirut’s Ouzai neighborhood is bringing color to the area, but urban planners are not impressed with what they see as a simplistic approach to its complex legal and economic problems.
A man walks past houses, painted as part of the "Ouzville" project, in Beirut's southern Ouzai neighbourhood, on August 19, 2017.
Starting 18 months ago, Nasser began implementing a plan to invite international and local artists to beautify parts of Beirut with street art, and Ouzai in particular, by painting walls in brilliant blues, reds, yellows and greens, and adorning others with enormous murals, doodles, and cartoon characters. / AFP PHOTO / ANWAR AMRO        (Photo credit should read ANWAR AMRO/AFP/G
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Houses and other buildings in Ouzai, a poor southern neighborhood of Beirut near the airport, have come alive with color since Ayed Nasser set his heart on rebranding his childhood neighborhood. Nasser, a Lebanese investor and co-founder of real estate company Loft Investments, has attracted both praise and criticism with his Ouzville project.

“We only care of our origins, our religion, our political affiliations, but not our streets,” Nasser told Al-Monitor during a Sept. 16 visit to Ouzai, a neighborhood often associated with violence and crime that is currently bustling with artists and children painting the walls. “This place has been abandoned by politicians and people thinking only about their own interests,” he said.

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