MONA FAWAZ is Professor in Urban Studies and Planning at the American University of Beirut. She is also a research director and co-founder of the Beirut Urban Lab, a regional research center based at the American University of Beirut and invested in working towards more inclusive, just, and viable cities.
Mona’s research stems from the imperative of making cities more just. Her research has addressed urbanization through the lenses of informality and the law, land, housing, property and space, always responding to the urge of informing planning theory and practice. Her findings are published in scholarly articles, book sections, and reports but also in the local press where she is a vocal advocate of the right to housing, inclusive public space, and just urban governance. Mona has also worked as a consultant, advising on urban and regional development, housing, land, and property issues.
Mona holds a BArch (AUB, 1995), a Master in City Planning (MIT, 1998) and a Ph.D. in Urban Studies and Planning (MIT, 2004). She was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Studies at Harvard University in 2014/15. She currently holds the position of Honorary Professor at the University College London, and she serves on the boards of the Arab Council for the Social Sciences, The Policy Initiative, and The Century Foundation International. She also serves as editor for the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research and sits on the board of the journals Planning Theory and City and Society.
