Noor Marji
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 paper uses Jordan as a case study, as it has been the country hosting the largest number of refugees since 1947. Daily practices by refugees subvert the initial planned camp into organic formations suitable for their changing needs, overriding the rigid built environment which no longer serves them. Addressing SDGs number 10: Reduced Inequalities, 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and 17: Partnerships of change, this ongoing research assesses the use of segmentation algorithms as a first step in identifying morphological patterns in the built environment and understanding transient scenarios of a refugee camp's spatial organization. By understanding patterns of spatial change, the inevitable transition from temporary to permanent settlement can be guided away from “slummification” and towards creating adequate low-income housing for refugees in Jordan.
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