02/12/2024
This very relevant talk is TODAY @ 4pm.
In this talk about my new book project, "Sedimentary Urbanization," I explore the concept of what I term the "new geographies of dead futures." If the envisioned and planned future is disrupted or left incomplete due to unforeseen events, a "dead future," what alternative futures manifest in these geographies? What role does planning play in this context? This framework explores the ways the geographies of the imagined futures of the past have been reconfigured through temporalities and spatialities of displacement, refugeeness, occupation, and humanitarian aid in the peripheries of Beirut, Lebanon, in informalized sites that have been shared by impoverished Lebanese families and Syrian refugees over the past decade. These reconfigured dead futures present opportunities for new forms of urban habitation and existence to emerge, particularly for those lacking access to shelter amidst state neglect of the urban poor. Thinking from Beirut, I consider humanitarian interventions in the urbanization of the Middle East, including cities like Gaza, to explore the complex web of jurisdictions governing refugee urban spaces and the physical infrastructure of humanitarian aid in conflict zones.
Bio:
Hiba Bou Akar is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University. Her research focuses on planning in conflict and post-conflict cities, the question of urban violence, and the role of religious political organizations and aid organizations in the making of cities. She is the founder and director of the Post-Conflict Cities Lab at Columbia University. Bou Akar received her Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the American University of Beirut (AUB) and Master in Urban Studies and Planning from MIT.
