In order to, “avoid words that are already overladen with conditions and consequences,” in order to define a, “regularity (an order, correlations, positions and functionings, transformations),” one has to deal with a, “discursive formation.” Reference: Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge, trans. A. M. Sheridan Smith (London & New York: Routledge, 2002) [L'Archéologie du Savoir, 1969]. See also Wikipedia
DISCURSIVE FORMATIONS is a Beirut-based critical think tank and research platform operating in the realms of spatial analysis and intervention of the built and unbuilt environment. Our work addresses issues of spatial culture, development politics, urban governance, spatial (un)justice, social structures, urbanization, landscape transformations, (un)sustainability, (un)public space, and formal aesthetics in areas of regional and urban planning, urban design and architecture, and landscape planning and design.
We believe in the inherency of the dimensions of space and place to human societies, specifically in urban contexts that are the milieu of social change, environmental transformation, and cultural production. Our work draws on Beirut’s complex and multi-faceted contemporary urban scene. We are culturally-critical, socially-oriented, and ecologically-aware in discourse and undertaking, and we adopt multidisciplinary approaches and methods in research.
DISCURSIVE FORMATIONS took off in November 2008 with the research project At the Edge of the City, which resulted in a manuscript on Beirut’s park and public space. During 2009, our team was involved in a number of consultancies, including: “Survey of the Built Environment” for the Neighborhood Initiative/American University of Beirut [sponsored by the Ford Foundation]; “Landscape Accreditation Project” for the Department of Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management/American University of Beirut; “A Park Trail of Natural and Cultural Heritage” for the Bureau Technique des Villes Libanaises, Cités et Gouvernements Locaux Unis (Liban, Syrie, Jordanie) [sponsored by the Council of Barcelona]; and, “Infographics of the Geopolitics of Health and Education Services in Lebanon” for the Collective for Research and Training on Development – Action [in collaboration with the International Development and Research Center].
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