How many times do we feel like going out, not to any specific place, but just to enjoy some fresh air and reconnect with nature?

When people who live outside of Lebanon have this thought, they automatically head to the park. However, What about the people of Lebanon? Where do we go? how many Lebanese actually have access to a public park?

We do have parks in Lebanon, but they’re quite a rare scene, with only a few famous ones like Horsh Beirut and Sioufi Gardens.

I was sure we had more than that? so exploring Lebanese public parks was the goal, and what I found …. isn’t very “green”

Our mini traffic light system shows the conditions of existing parks in Lebanon. Meanwhile, the large grey sections? That’s towns with no park whatsoever. And as you can see, they dominate every single governorate.

In fact, more than two-thirds of Lebanese towns lack any public park. Even in Mount Lebanon, which has the largest number of towns overall, about three-quarters don’t have a single public park.

The few that do exist aren’t doing great either. The green bars representing good parks are tiny…

Most parks fall into the acceptable or bad categories, which means they’re either poorly maintained, lack facilities, or aren’t truly accessible to the public.

So, the big takeaway? We don’t just have a shortage of parks, we have a shortage of good parks.

And when we look at specific aspects of quality in parks, like lighting, the story doesn’t get brighter …. literally.

This chart shows the share of parks in each governorate based on how good their lighting is. Again, Mount Lebanon stands out,  it’s the only region where lighting conditions reach around 30% good or acceptable.

But across most of Lebanon, fewer than 10% of parks are well-lit. Poor lighting doesn’t just mean inconvenience, it affects safety, accessibility, and how communities use these spaces after sunset.

So even when a town has a park, it’s often not a place people can enjoy freely or safely.

ALTOGETHER, these visuals tell one clear story:

Most Lebanese towns don’t have parks, and when they do, those parks often lack quality and safety.

This highlights a huge gap in public infrastructure and urban planning.

If Lebanon wants to build healthier, more livable communities, we need to start investing not just in creating green spaces, but also in maintaining them, so every town can have a park that’s safe, bright, and alive with people.

Because everyone deserves a place to breathe.