Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the Department of Architecture and Design (ArD) at the American University of Beirut. Her research focuses on urban heritage. Her current research theorizes socio-spatial practices and conceptualizes urban recovery in relation to processes of historical editing, urban trauma, and protracted displacement.

Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at the American University of Beirut. She writes about urban history and historiography, social and spatial justice, informality and the law, property and space, as well as planning practice, theory, and pedagogy. She researches, teaches, and advocates strategies for more inclusive cities.

Associate Professor of Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut. His scholarly work explores mapping as a method of researching, representing and analyzing socio-spatial phenomena. His work in critical cartography has covered many subjects including urban security, public space and, most recently, refugee practices in the city. At the Lab, he directs the Critical Mapping team.

Professor of Urban Studies and Politics at the American University of Beirut where she is also co-founder and research lead at the Beirut Urban Lab. Her research investigates governance and territoriality in contexts of contested sovereignty; urban activism and oppositional politics; and how people make collective life in fragmented cities. She is the author of Le Hezbollah à Beirut: de la banlieue à la ville, co-author of Leisurely Islam: Negotiating Geography and Morality in Shi’i South Beirut (with Lara Deeb), co-editor of Local Governments and Public Goods: Assessing Decentralization in the Arab World (with Sami Atallah), and co-editor of Refugees as City-Makers (with Mona Fawaz et al.). She serves on the editorial boards of MELG, IJMES, EPC, and CSSAME.

Antonia is a PhD. candidate at Université Lyon 2 Lumières in geography and urban planning. Her academic research focuses on the stabilization and reconstruction of Aleppo by analyzing the spatial imbalances and territorial fragmentation. As the Lab manager, she works closely with the researchers and directors on all the ongoing projects. 

Karim Chaltaf is an art director and graphic designer who holds a bachelor's degree in graphic design from the Lebanese American University. In his role as the Lab's graphic designer, he collaborates with researchers and directors to develop and visualize communication strategies for the lab's social media presence. His professional background spans independent publications, corporate marketing, UX research, event planning and on-set art direction.

Abir Cheaitli holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Lebanese American University, and a master’s degree in urban design from the American University of Beirut. She also holds a Pro-Green diploma in green technologies and buildings. She is interested in socio-spatial practices, urban graphic representations, and emergent ways of visualization. Her work at the lab encompasses research on the post recovery framework for Karantina after Beirut’s port explosion. 

Jawad holds an engineering degree in surveying from the Islamic University of Lebanon and a research master’s degree in Geography with an emphasis on environmental and regional planning from Saint Joseph University in Beirut. He’s passionate about cartography and data management. At the lab, Jawad is a link to both the GIS team and the mapping and visualization team. 

Zeina El-Hoss is a translator, editor and copywriter who holds a bachelor’s degree in English language from the American University of Beirut. She drafts, edits, and translates media releases, social media content, and other communication material. She also supports the Lab’s work by implementing internal and external communication strategies and projects. 

Shareef Tarhini is a perceptive and motivated geomatics engineer adept at mapping and data management. He is passionate about showing a new perspective on reality through spatializing and visualizing data. At the Lab, he is the Built Environment Database guardian, and uses ArcGIS tools to combine information, find patterns, and make new connections.

Nadine holds a PhD from the Department of Landscape at the University of Sheffield awarded in July 2023. Her thesis looks at mundane practices of seafront public space to understand it as a sociably equitable resource that can unite across usual divisions such as class, sect, gender, and nationality, and – conversely –  further entrench divisions across time and scale in a high-migration, high-density, and divided context of Beirut. Nadine’s research also interrogates governance of public spaces by public authorities and their contestation by urban social movements and activists. This work intersects with the Lab’s overall strategic interests in working on spatial practices, planning actors and scales and social value of land. She’s currently focused on working on publications and projects within BUL and beyond focused on migration and displacement, multiculturalism, leisure practice, physical and social integration and territoriality in public spaces.

Hannah Sender is a postdoctoral research fellow at University College London and a research associate at the Beirut Urban Lab. Her research examines the rapid urbanisation of small towns affected by mass forced migration. She is interested in property, land and planning injustice, and supports the Lab with data analysis and dissemination.

Cynthia is a practicing architect and architecture design teacher. She also holds an active research portfolio focused on the legal frameworks guiding urban planning, heritage protection, and landscape design. She is also a passionate advocate for the protection of public space, including Lebanon's coastline. Cynthia is the co-author of Le Littoral and Le Patrimoine (with Sebastien Lamy, Majal, Beirut). At the Lab, Cynthia coordinates the efforts to establish a Planning Unit in Beirut, including the Green Path pilot project – Al-Masar Al-Akhdar–  designed to that end. Cynthia holds a Master's in architecture from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA). 

Hayes is an urban planner and graphic designer. His previous research has focused on climate justice, racial equity and governance in urban planning. He supports the Lab’s research efforts by conceptualizing, designing and producing maps and other infographics across our portfolio of projects. Hayes received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Georgia and his Master’s in Urban Planning from Columbia University with an emphasis on the built environment and international development. 

Isabela is an architect and urban planner. Her work at the Lab focuses on housing justice, public policy, and producing research that supports innovative housing strategies in the city.  She is interested in urban public space and has worked on projects that contribute to reclaiming Beirut’s coast for the public. Isabela holds a bachelor's degree in architecture and a master's degree in urban planning and policy from the American University of Beirut. 

Batoul Yassine is an urban designer and architect. She is a research coordinator at the Beirut Urban Lab, American University of Beirut. Her research focuses on forced displacement within the discourse of informality and urban recovery in post-conflict and crisis sites. She is interested in residual private/public spaces and their appropriation by different communities. She holds a Master’s in urban design from the American University of Beirut and a Master’s in architecture from the Lebanese University.

Abir is an urban planning researcher and architect. Abir’s research focuses on urban housing and land policies and how they influence different modes of housing provision and acquisition. Her current research projects are focused on Beirut’s housing rental market(s) and on examining potential ways for improving land management policies in Lebanon, starting with the Betterment taxation principle. Abir received her Bachelor's in architecture and Master's in urban planning and policy from the American University of Beirut.

Mariam is a researcher trained in landscape architecture and urban design. She is involved in research projects at the Beirut Urban Lab addressing landscape heritage, integrated open space networks, and forms of archiving and unarchiving the city. Her research interests also span water management and governance, particularly riparian landscapes. She holds a master’s degree in urban design (2020) and a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture (2017) from the American University of Beirut.

Reine Chedid is an architect and urban planner. Her research at the Beirut Urban Lab focuses on housing, property, and urban transformation. Reine holds a master's degree in urban planning and policy (2024) from the American University of Beirut and a bachelor's degree in architecture (2021) from the Lebanese American University. 

Wiaam is an architect and researcher. He is interested in regional architecture and built heritage and its role in activating urban space. Wiaam holds a Bachelor’s in architecture with minors in urban studies and Arabic literature from the American University of Beirut. He also holds a Baccalaureate in piano performance from the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music and a Diploma in Byzantine music interpretation from the Hellenic Conservatory of Music and Arts. Wiaam is the co-founder and musical director of the AUB Classical Music Club.

Maria Rajha is an architect, researcher, and activist. At the Lab, Maria is working on the Fouad Boutros - Masar Al Akhdar project and supporting the establishment of a Planning Unit. Her interests also include human-centered architectural and urban design. Maria holds a Bachelor's in architecture from Notre Dame University - Louaize.

Jocelyne Hilal is an architect and researcher at Beirut Urban Lab. She works primarily on the BBED Project. Her role encompasses data cleaning and analysis, fieldwork, GIS mapping, and supporting the core team. Jocelyne earned her Bachelor's in architecture from Notre Dame University - Louaize and is currently pursuing her Master’s in urban design studies at the American University of Beirut.

Nour Zoghby Fares (PhD. candidate in Development Planning, Development Planning Unit, University College London) - 2022 

Nour’s research uses electricity provision as an entry point for understanding how cities of the South are governed. This provision happens typically by stitching hybrid, formal and informal forms of supply and distribution. By investigating the organization, control, circulation of resources, and modalities of negotiation, one can unravel the power dynamics of public and private stakeholders in a given city. Nour further seeks to expand the existing modes of cartographic investigations in ways that can allow her to visualize the informal and rely on cartography and visual investigation as a method of research.
Thesis Supervisors: Cassidy Johnson, Mona Fawaz, Camillo Boano

Hayfaa Abou Ibrahim, Jan Altaner, Monica Basbous, Sophie Bloemeke, Mahmoud Bou Kanaan, Mohamad El Chamaa, Lea Al Chaa, Carla Al Hage, Tala Chehayeb, Layla Dadouch, Amina Darwish, Luna Dayekh, Leyla El-Sayyed Hussein, Lynn Hamdar, Dima Haydamous, Ismail Hutet, Chaza Jazzar, Antoine Kallab, Ali Kassem,  Rana Khachab, Kareim El-Khansa, Ali Khodr, Ali Ghaddar, Myriam Khoury, Zeina Maasri, Jean Makhlouta, Natalie Marj, Dana Mazraani, Soha Mneimneh, Batoul Mohamad, Michelle Mouawad, Nada Moumtaz, Ranime Nahle, Yara Nahle, Rania Noueihed, Dounia Salame, Majd Al-Shehabi, Najmeh Viki, David Wehbe