City Debates 2023 is open to the public, and will be live streamed on City Debates website and the Beirut Urban Lab’s facebook page
To join the event in-person, and given places are limited, we encourage you to register ahead by emailing: ab154@aub.edu.lb

DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY MARCH 15

5:30 – 6:00 PM [Registration & Coffee]
6:00 – 6:15 PM Opening Session: Locating the Debates
Alan Shihadeh, MSFEA Dean, American University of Beirut
Mona Fawaz, Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, American University of Beirut

6:15-8:00, Keynote 1:
Finding Answers in Land:  Land Policy for Sustainable and Equitable Cities
Enrique Silva, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Discussant: Raghda Jaber, Independent Consultant

DAY 2 – THURSDAY MARCH 16

9:30-11:00, Panel 1: Opportunities for Land Value Capture
Using Land Value Capture and Local Area Development Planning to Foster Adequate Housing
Deena Khalil, American Univeristy of Cairo
Public Value Capture, Climate Change and the Infrastructure Gap in the Context of Development Rights Allocation Processes in Greece
Nikos Karadimitriou, UCL
Climate Value and Land Capture
Richard Dunning, Liverpool University
Discussant: Petra Samaha, Sciences-Po, Paris

11:00-11:30 PM Coffee Break

11:30 – 1:00, Panel 2: Insights from Beirut
Beirut Urban Lab
Public Works Studio

1:00-2:30 PM Lunch

2:30 -4:30, Panel 3: Land Value Capture & Development, Developers
Land Value Challenges in Urban Africa: Creation, Distortion, and Capture
Tom Goodfellow, University of Sheffield
Land Value Capture, A Good Idea, More Hazardous Path
Sonia Guelton, Parisian School of Urban Planning and Studies
Developer Obligations, Funder Requirements, and Safeguard Challenges in Lebanon
Mona Khechen, American Unviersity of Beirut
Discussant: Elizabeth Saleh, American University of Beirut

4:30-5:00 PM Coffee Break

5:00-7:00, Keynote 2:
No Future?  Banking on Future Land Values During Uncertain Times
Rachel Weber, University of Illinois at Chicago
Discussant: Camillo Boano, Politecnico di Torino and UCL, Bartlett.
                       Nada Moumtaz, University of Toronto 

DAY 3 – FRIDAY MARCH 17

9:30-11:00 Panel 4: Housing and Value Capture
The Housing Global Crisis Experienced from Chile: Political and Academic Challenges
Francisco Sabatini, Universidad del Bío-Bío
The Impact of Taxing Vacancy on Housing Markets: Evidence from France
Mariona Segú, CY Cergy Paris University
Questioning Public Value Capture in Inner City Renewal, Current Practices in Istanbul
Şevkiye Şence TÜRK, Istanbul Technical University
Discussant: Jad Tabet, American University of Beirut

11:00-11:30 PM Coffee Break

11:30- 1:00, Panel 5: Making It Happen
Recouping the Value: Land Value Capture and Urban Planning in Jordan
Astrid Haas, Independent Urban Economist
Introducing LVC Tools in Egypt and the MENA Region, Recent Experiences
Mohamad Nada, World Bank
The Role of Land Value Capture in Financing Inclusive Cities: Civil Society Experiences of Institutionalizing LVC in South Africa
Helen Rourke, Development Action Group, South Africa
Claudia Hitzeroth, Development Action Group, South Africa
Discussant: Sami Atallah, The Policy Initiative

1:00-2:30 PM Lunch

2:30-4:30, Roundtable and Wrap Up
Traveling Lessons, Circulating Ideas, Learning from Other Contexts
Moderator: Mona Harb, American University of Beirut