URBAN TALK
January 12, 2016 | 18.00 Uhr | Room HBS 010

Ayham Dalal
Beyond Camp-Cities: Learning from the Urbanization of the Syrian Refugee Camp ‘Zaatari’ in Jordan

In 2012 ‘Zaatari’ was constructed as a temporal station for Syrian refugees near the Jordanian borders until a durable solution can be found; however, by time, it grew as one of the most problematic spaces of exile. This presentation will focus on exploring the relationship between camps and cities through studying the urbanization of ‘Zaatari’ camp in Jordan, and the processes that led to its transformation from a ‘state of exception’ and ‘bare life’ into spaces for urban identity and resistance. Applying the Lefebvrian concept of near order vis-à-vis far order, the study explains the emergence of habitats, social spaces, socioeconomics and informal power structures as counter-strategies to victimization and the standardized humanitarian planning. By doing so, not only the importance of approaching refugee camps as urban environments is stressed, but also the role of urban planning within our cities is revisited.

Ayham Dalal is an architect and urban planner holding a master degree in Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design from Stuttgart University and Ain Shams University. His research interests in regard to urban space are social justice, migration, informality, resistance, resilience, and the politics of identity. He has been engaged in several initiatives and consultancy work regarding the current refugee crisis with the Innovation and Planning Agency, City of Amsterdam and GIZ. He published in peer-reviewed magazines and Journals like Migration Letters, Trialog and Idafat (The Arab Journal of Sociology). Before that he worked as a research and teaching assistant in the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech), and currently he has started a PhD research at the Habitat Unit in TU Berlin with support from DAAD.

The lecture series 'Urban Talks' is jointly organised by the Habitat Unit and the Urban Management Program at Technical University Berlin.

Room HBS 010
Urban Management
TU Berlin, Hardenbergstr. 16-18
10623 Berlin