Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Netherlands
fellow
Hazem Abuorf
2025-2026
Home institution
University of Palestine
Country of origin (home institution)
Palestinian Territories
Discipline(s)
Anthropology and ethnology
Geography
Urban and architectural studies
Theme(s)
Cities & States
Environment, Sustainability & Biodiversity
Peace & conflict
Fellowship dates
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Biography
Hazem is a Safe Haven Fellow at NIAS during 2025-2026.
I am Dr. Hazem Abuorf, a dedicated researcher and academic in Architecture and Urban Planning, currently focused on exploring the nexus of global challenges and local resilience. My professional journey has been dedicated to bridging the gaps between theory and practice, with a career that spans teaching, research, and non-academic experience across Europe and the Middle East.
My academic foundation includes a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the West of England, UK, and a German 'Dipl.-Ing.' (equivalent to an MA) in Architecture and Sustainable Urban Design. I’ve held positions as an Associate and Assistant Professor.
My work and spirit flow into three key themes:
Science and Sustainability: My research is driven by critical global issues, with recent work focusing on Circular Urbanism in Contested Cities and exploring low-tech innovation and peri-urban resilience. I also investigate sustainable building practices, such as the maximization of strength in rammed-earth construction.
Adventures and Experience: My career has included valuable, diverse fellowships and visiting roles at institutions like Clare College Cambridge, Durham University, and Queens' University Belfast. This global academic journey is a reflection of my commitment to being a lifelong traveler of ideas, cultures, and social diversity.
Spirits and Words: As an author, my publications delve into planning amid violent conflict, the conceptualization of formal and informal planning institutions, and the relation between culture and architecture. I seek to use my words to advance constructive dialogue and forge hope in challenging contexts.
Research Project
Circular Urbanism in Fragile Contexts
Research question: How do improvised circular economy practices in contested cities challenge mainstream high-tech circularity models, and what governance innovations emerge from these conflict-adaptive systems?
Hazem Abu-Orf’s research investigates improvised circular economy (CE) practices in contested cities such as Nicosia and Belfast. In these contexts, conflict and institutional fragmentation have led to the emergence of low-tech, community-based material flows—such as rubble reuse and shared utilities.
Challenging mainstream CE models that emphasise high-tech industrial solutions, his project asks: how do these conflict-adaptive systems redefine circularity as a survival strategy, and what governance innovations do they inspire?
Using spatial ethnography and comparative case studies, the project maps what Abuorf terms “resilience corridors”—peri-urban zones where informal material loops enable forms of coexistence. These are contrasted with formal CE hubs, such as those in Rotterdam studied by Alexander Wandl, to develop a new framework of “conflict-adaptive circularity”.
Funded by NIAS and linked to TU Delft’s Circular Built Environment Hub, the project contributes to rethinking post-war reconstruction strategies (e.g., in Ukraine) and offers fresh perspectives for addressing polarisation in divided cities. It bridges urban studies, peacebuilding, and the EU’s sustainability agendas.
Research Interests:
Circular economy in conflict zones; divided cities governance; informal material flows; conflict-adaptive urbanism; post-war reconstruction