This lecture is open to the public and registration is not required.

This presentation features the inquiries that underlie Luna Khirfan's research on urbanism and urban design. In particular, it highlights how these inquiries translate into connections between, on the one hand, the theories of urban design (e.g., M.R.G. Conzen’s urban morphology, Kevin Lynch’s dimensions of good city form, David Canter’s place theory, Ian McHarg’sdesign with nature, and Aldo Rossi’s genius loci) and, on the other hand, an array of theories on social, cultural, economic, and ecological aspects of urbanism (e.g., knowledge exchange, urban governance, and urban resilience). Through these connections Luna will reveal how her work builds on Louis Wirth’s (1938) conceptualization of “the city as a mode of life” whereby urbanism encompasses a complexity of urban attributes that extends beyond the physical and the spatial and that transcends the city’s physical boundaries.

The presentation also highlights how these theoretical underpinnings and connections are operationalized into empirical studies through developing inquiry-specific methodologies. Importantly, the presentation includes a discussion of the various ways of involving students and collaborating with faculty on Luna's research projects. Luna will also briefly discuss future research initiatives.

Luna Khirfan is Associate Professor at the School of Planning, the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada. Building on her interdisciplinary background in architecture, archaeology, heritage management, and urban planning, her research underscores the complexities of urbanism especially, the connections between the city’s physical and spatial attributes and its social, cultural, economic, and ecological aspects. Her recent book “Order and Disorder: Urban Governance and the Making of Middle Eastern Cities” (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2017) is an edited volume that highlights the dynamics between civil society, the state, and the market in shaping the contemporary urban landscapes of Amman and Cairo. Her first book “World Heritage, Urban Design and Tourism: Three Cities in the Middle East” (Routledge, 2014) explores the connections between public engagement, place making, and place experience in the urban rehabilitation of historic urban landscapes in Aleppo (Syria), Acre (Israel), and al-Salt (Jordan). Dr. Khirfan has also researched and published on the impacts of the cross-national transfer of planning knowledge from Toronto to Amman and from Vancouver to Abu Dhabi on these cities’ urban development. Her more recent research projects and publications underscore adaptation to climate change through community engagement by deploying the charrette as a participatory design tactic, a data collection method, and a knowledge exchange mechanism. Dr. Khirfan’s current research project explores the potential of de-culverting/daylighting urban streams for place-making and for climate change adaptation and mitigation.