Urban infrastructure under occupation: Reimagining sustainability in Beita municipality

Urban infrastructure in occupied territories is shaped more by political constraint than technical design. This study explores how Israeli occupation affects essential systems-water, electricity, roads, and waste management—in the West Bank town of Beita. Drawing on interviews with municipal officials, engineers, business owners, youth leaders, and residents, it reveals a landscape of infrastructural decay, bureaucratic obstruction, and spatial neglect. Despite these challenges, residents have adopted adaptive strategies such as improvised repairs, shared water storage, and informal livelihoods. These grassroots efforts reflect a form of resilience rooted in everyday resistance and community cooperation. While local institutions attempt to sustain basic services, their work is often limited by external political control and inconsistent aid. The study contributes to political ecology and decolonial urbanism by arguing that sustainability under occupation is a contested, collective practice shaped by power and place. It calls for context-sensitive urban planning that centers local agency in militarized settings.