Arab Urbanism Magazine Launch

Urbanisation is one of the central forces shaping social life in the Arab region. As cities grow, disappear, and organise new realities, critical debate on urban policies, histories and everyday life becomes crucial. Arab Urbanism is a new online platform that gives space for urbanists to document, debate and disseminate knowledge on the past, present and future of cities in the region. This panel will discuss the launch of the bi-lingual magazine that aims to bridge academia and urban practice, and highlight critical knowledge from and on the region. Speakers will share their thoughts on the aim behind the platform, the editorial processes, the Arab Urbanism collective, and the state of urban research on and in the Arab World. Nadi Abusaada is a Ph.D. candidate in architecture at the University of Cambridge. He is a Cambridge Trust scholar and member of the Centre for Urban Conflicts Research. His research focuses on urban governance and architectural shifts in Levantine cities in the 19th and early 20th centuries. He holds an M.Phil. in architecture and urban studies from the University of Cambridge and an H.B.A. in architecture from the University of Toronto. Lana Judeh is an architect who teaches at Birzeit University. She previously worked on Riwaq's rehabilitation projects of historic centres in Palestinian villages, and on producing a manual for the rehabilitation of the old city of Ramallah. She holds an MA in architecture, cultural Identity and globalisation from the University of Westminster, UK, and a BSc in architectural engineering from Birzeit University. Noura Wahby is an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge. Her doctoral research at Cambridge’s Centre of Development Studies focused on the political economy of urban development and urban waterscapes in Cairo, Egypt. She previously worked at the Cambridge Centre of Smart Infrastructure looking at citizen engagement, digital technologies, and local infrastructure in the UK. She has also worked in the Middle East in a diversity of international development projects, and her research interests include the urban commons, informality, water, and political geography. Join the conversation on Twitter using #LSEMiddleEast