Regional planning scenarios in South Lebanon: the challenge of rural–urban interactions in the era of liberation and globalization

After more than 20 years, Israeli troops withdrew in 2000 from the occupied part of southern Lebanon. The Israeli occupation left the region with complicated environmental and planning problems. Spontaneous development has taken place, and it has become the main feature of physical growth. In order to tackle the problems that have resulted, regional planning scenarios have evolved. This paper attempts to apply the location-allocation approach, as a tool for rural–urban linkages, to regional planning development of the southern Lebanon along with the rest of the country. Three main regional plan scenarios, immediate, intermediate and consolidated, have emerged. Each of these has developed in the southern part of Lebanon and various actors have been involved in the rural–urban development processes. The enhancement of rural–urban linkages would enable the state and professionals to improve the economic and environmental development within the region. Therefore, the tremendous economic values of rural–urban integration should be harnessed to promote development and alleviate poverty on one hand, and to set up regional planning schemes on the other.