She is also published in international journals such as Oxford's Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Muqarnas, Mamluk Studies Review, and the Harvard Middle Eastern and Islamic Review. Her more recent research focuses on urban heritage with special emphasis on the theoretical debate on heritage construction and consumption related to identity building and post war reconstruction. The research is published in leading journals such as IJMES and TDSR. In 2010, she edited and contributed to the book entitled Lessons in Post-War Reconstruction: Case Studies from Lebanon in the Aftermath of the 2006 War. Al-Harithy lectures in universities and conferences worldwide. She was a key note speaker in the IASTE 2004 conference, the IAPL 2007 conference and the 30th meeting of the Brazilian Committee for the History of Art in 2011.
Paola Pellegrini is an Associate Professor in Urban Design at the American University of Beirut. She was an Associate Professor at Xi'an Jiaotong–Liverpool University in China from 2017 to 2025, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the European Master in Urbanism (a consortium of TU Delft, KU Leuven, UPC Barcelona, and IUAV Venice) as well as at the School of Architecture and Society at Politecnico di Milano from 2008 to 2017.She was a Visiting Associate in Urban Planning and Design at Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2002; a Visiting Professor in Urbanism at Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Faculdade de Arquitetura, Bauru, Brazil, in 2020; and a Guest Professor in Urban Design at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Nanjing University, China, from 2023 to 2024.
Paola received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Architecture from the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, where she also completed her PhD in Urbanism. She is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and has held the Italian National Qualification as Associate Professor in Urban Planning and Design since 2014.
Her most recent research focuses on urbanization in China following the 1979 economic reforms, with particular emphasis on densification processes and the regeneration of urban resettlement areas. Paola has authored numerous book chapters and published scholarly articles in leading journals such as Urban Studies, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, and the Journal of Cultural Heritage.
Paola is also a registered architect in Italy and has consistently integrated academic research with professional practice for public authorities.
Maya Abou-Zeid is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and a research affiliate of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She has experience in the areas of travel behavior modeling and forecasting and urban transportation planning. Abou-Zeid holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from AUB (2001), a master’s in Transportation from MIT (2003), and a PhD in Transportation from MIT (2009). Her dissertation focused on measuring and modeling activity and travel well-being. She was an Associate at Cambridge Systematics from 2003 to 2005, working in travel demand forecasting and market research.
Her current research projects include studying measures for improved walkability and enhanced public transportation services in Lebanon, including new bus amenities and taxi-sharing services; modeling aggressive driving behavior using a driving simulator to quantify aggressiveness and improve road safety; analyzing mass effects on car ownership decisions across cultures to derive policy measures for reducing car ownership rates; developing enhanced activity-based travel demand models; and creating new measures of travel well-being using smartphone-based data collection.
Yaser Abunnasr is an Associate Professor at the Department of Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management at the American University of Beirut. He is trained as both an architect and a landscape architect and holds degrees in both fields. He received his PhD in Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Dr. Abunnasr adopts a landscape and environmental approach to urban and regional planning that integrates ecological concerns with community wellbeing and livelihood. His current research focuses on green infrastructure systems as tools for climate change adaptation and urban resilience. His work investigates planning frameworks that address environmental impacts, uncertainty, and community vulnerability.
His research conceptualizes green infrastructure as a multi-scalar landscape system that provides multiple benefits and enhances living environments. He is also studying the impact of land-use patterns and hybrid (natural-engineered) systems on urban space. Additionally, he extends his background in archaeology to community-based approaches for conserving cultural and archaeological heritage sites as active public spaces. In his spare time, he enjoys photography, travel, and reading.
Hana Alamuddine is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a LEED Green Associate. She holds a master’s degree in Architecture from MIT. In 1999, she founded her practice in Lebanon, Almimariya, Architects and Designers, which works on architectural, urban design, and landscape projects within the scope of sustainable development.
Alamuddine has served as a technical reviewer for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for three cycles and is a senior lecturer at the American University of Beirut. She was a member of the executive committee of the Association pour la Protection des Sites et Anciennes Demeures du Liban from 1999 to 2008, contributing to several heritage preservation projects. She is also an active member of the Lebanese Green Building Council.
Mona Khechen is a Senior Fellow at The Policy Initiative (TPI), co-director of the Climate, Land, and Rights (CLR) project, and a part-time instructor at the AUB School of Architecture and Design. She is an independent urban and regional development planner focusing on land governance, territorial planning, and climate change.
Mona has consulted for international organizations in Lebanon and abroad, addressing development challenges in contexts of crisis and rapid urbanization, with an emphasis on strategic, sustainable, and participatory approaches. She holds a BArch from AUB, an MSc in Development and Planning from UCL, and a Doctor of Design from Harvard University.
Serge Yazigi is an architect and urban planner with extensive experience in sustainable development, urban renewal, land-use planning, and strategic planning across Lebanon and the wider region, including Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt. In 2005, he founded Yazigi Atelier, a consultancy firm through which he conducts most of his work.
Between 1999 and 2009, Yazigi served as a senior external consultant for Dar Al-Handasah (Taleb & Partners), contributing to architectural and planning projects across the region. In 2007, he founded Majal, an academic urban observatory at ALBA (University of Balamand), which supports research and local development strategies. Through Majal, he has directed numerous publications, particularly on planning laws and regulations.
Yazigi has taught architecture and planning at ALBA, the Lebanese University, Université Saint Joseph, and the American University of Beirut. He holds a PhD in Contemporary History (urban renewal) from the University of Bordeaux III, as well as degrees in urban planning and architecture from the University of Balamand.