Bad urban planning: Turning the commercial heart of a city in to private property

A sign should be erected at the entrance to the Down Town in Beirut, it should read, humourously: "Welcome to Down Town Abbey, the stately home of the Lords of Solidere, your lords and masters. The Lord of Solidere has kindly consented to open a part of his stately home to the general public between certain hours and on certain days. We are grateful for his lordship to give us, the unwashed masses, the opportunity to tour this sparkling (if useless) gem on the edge of Beirut city, a modern metropolis that is ruled by chaos and where the car horn is an indispensable appendage to any mobile human. But please keep in mind that Down Town Abbey is private property and should be treated as such. There can be no expectation of free and unfettered access to any parts of it. Just because in the long distant past this piece of property was once the commercial heart of a capital city, there is no justification to assume it still is so. We thank you for your understanding and continued patronage, sheep... Baaaaaa baaaaaaa baaaaaaaaa."

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