Houses and other buildings in Ouzai, a poor southern neighborhood of Beirut near the airport, have come alive with color since Ayed Nasser set his heart on rebranding his childhood neighborhood. Nasser, a Lebanese investor and co-founder of real estate company Loft Investments, has attracted both praise and criticism with his Ouzville project.
“We only care of our origins, our religion, our political affiliations, but not our streets,” Nasser told Al-Monitor during a Sept. 16 visit to Ouzai, a neighborhood often associated with violence and crime that is currently bustling with artists and children painting the walls. “This place has been abandoned by politicians and people thinking only about their own interests,” he said.