Doctoral Thesis

Working Title:
A Framework for a Decision Support Tool for Multi-Stakeholder Decision-Making in the Reuse of Buildings.

Supervisors:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Knippschild, IOER and Dresden University of Technology (TUD); Dr.-Ing. Georg Schiller, IOER

TUD Faculty:
Faculty of Environmental Sciences

IOER Research areas:
Transformative Capacity
Built Environment - Resources and Environmental Risks

Abstract:
Climate change and the housing crisis are intricately linked, making them two of the most critical challenges of our time. By 2030, it is expected that 60% of the world's population will live in cities. This increase in housing demand within cities, will account for 75% of global energy demand and 81% of global consumption. Implementing Circularity principles offer a solution in that setting because it has the capacity to eliminate waste, minimise material and resource consumption as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In an attempt to benefit from what circularity offers the housing sector, housing associations and co-ops have recently begun to actively promote the use of circular principles and have expressed willingness to involve their housing communities in a transition towards circular economy (CE) models. Although there are multiple circular economy initiatives and strategies focused on housing and the built environment, these initiatives majorly focus on innovation through technical solutions, ignoring social aspects, user behavior, and practices. This technical perspective on circularity and CE reveals a gap in how circularity is implemented in the housing sector. This gap in providing circular socio-technical solutions poses the study's main research question: how can social innovation support the transition of housing co-ops towards a circular economy business model in the time of anthropogenic climate change?

Therefore, the study aims to investigate the role of social innovation in transitioning co-op housing to a circular economy model to create sustainable and resilient cities. In order to address the research questions and objectives the study adopts the conceptual framework of the theory of change. The study findings contribute to envisioning sustainable, resilient communities beyond 2030. In addition, it critiques present circularity policies, practices, and normative claims for being techno-centric, while addressing the role of community participation and socio-technical solutions in future co-creation and sustainable transformation.

CV

Education:

Since 05/2023
Doctoral Fellow at the Dresden Leibniz Graduate School (DLGS)

2015 – 2019
Ain Shams University (Egypt)
Academic Degree: M.Sc. in Architecture

2009 – 2014
Ain Shams University (Egypt)
Academic Degree: B.Sc. in Architecture

Professional Experience:

08/ 2022 – 03/ 2023
Urban AI MOOC - Smart & Future cities laboratory (SFCL) for Sustainable Urban Solutions, Ain Shams University (Egypt)
Research Assistant & Project Coordinator

03/ 2022 – 03/2023
Impact Circles, NGO, Berlin (Germany)
Research Associate

02/2015 – 12/2019
German University in Cairo (Egypt)
Teaching assistant

12/2019 – 03/2023
German University in Cairo (Egypt)
Assistant Lecturer

10/2021 – 02/2022
German International University, Berlin (Germany)
Assistant Lecturer

Since 2019
Interior Design & Kitchen Design
Freelancer

12/2014 – 02/2015
Land Consultant Architectural firm
Junior Architect