SEVENTEEN: Transition of the Built Environment in Jordan´s Refugee Camps

Abstract

Refugee camps are defined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as temporary facilities built to provide immediate protection and assistance to people who were forced to flee their homes due to war, persecution or violence. The average lifespan of a refugee camp is seventeen years after which they organically transition into new towns. This transition is inevitable, and all cases of refugee camps in Jordan have resulted in the establishment of informal slums after decade

Refugee camps are defined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as temporary facilities built to provide immediate protection and assistance to people who were forced to flee their homes due to war, persecution or violence. The average lifespan of a refugee camp is seventeen years after which they organically transition into new towns. This transition is inevitable, and all cases of refugee camps in Jordan have resulted in the establishment of informal slums after decades of being inhabited. Jordan hosts the largest number of refugees per country since 1947. Daily practices by refugees subvert the initially planned camp into organic formations suitable for their changing needs, overriding the rigid built environment which no longer serves them. Despite the current boom of emerging digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, they remain insufficiently used in planning for emergency humanitarian scenarios, a field that could benefit from such tools. Using the cases of Al-Baqaa and Al-Azraq refugee camps in Jordan, this doctoral research aims to understand transient scenarios of a refugee camps spatial organization by using clustering and segmentation algorithms to identify morphological patterns in the built environment. The research develops a systematic framework for analyzing camp evolution through the application of clustering and segmentation algorithms to identify morphological patterns in the built environment. This integrated approach combines traditional morphological theory with contemporary computational methods to establish distinct camp typologies and identify critical intervention points. Through quantifying spatial changes and studying patterns of transition, the research provides both analytical tools for understanding camp evolution and practical guidelines for implementation, offering new approaches to refugee camp planning and management that acknowledge and work with inevitable transitions rather than resisting change.