TEMPORARY REMOVAL: Navigating post-conflict challenges: Quality of life and heritage conservation in Bab El-Sarai, Saida's old city

Saida's Old City in southern Lebanon, protected by national heritage law and on UNESCO's Tentative List, faces severe deterioration. Despite legal protections and restoration efforts, ongoing conflict, refugee influx, and economic crisis have accelerated its decline. These challenges, compounded by unsympathetic restoration, continue to impact the urban environment and residents' quality of life. Focusing on Bab El-Sarai—a mixed-use zone of public, commercial, and residential buildings—this study examines heritage conservation, environmental conditions, and living standards through a multi-phase, mixed-methods approach, including literature review, site investigations, stakeholder interviews, advanced 3D documentation, and dynamic thermal simulations. Findings reveal 50% of residents wish to leave due to poor conditions; 70% cite inadequate ventilation and daylight, 50% economic precarity, and 40% safety concerns. Overcrowding (4.5 occupants/unit), low Lebanese ownership (44.4%), and cultural disengagement (90% with limited education) weaken heritage stewardship. This study critiques the applicability of EU and UNESCO guidelines in Arab post-conflict contexts, calling for more inclusive, context-sensitive approaches. It emphasizes redefining diversity and inclusion, fostering social cohesion through shared traditions, and addressing physical discomfort from poor microclimate and daylight access. This research informs urban heritage discourse in the Arab Region, promoting sustainable and culturally sensitive policies in historic centers like Old Saida.