Ahmed Tarek al-Ahwal
Jun.-Prof. Transformation to Sustainable Energy Systems
& Urban Footprints Project
Faculty for Environment and Natural Resources
Institute for Environmental Social Sciences and Geography
Tennenbacher Str. 4
D-79106 Freiburg
Telephone: +49 159 067 970 92
Email: a.tarek.alahwal@enrlaw.uni-freiburg.de
About
Ahmed Tarek al-Ahwal is part of the Urban Footprints Project as a research assistant under the Project Lead, Dr. Cathrin Zengerling. The project is set within the Junior Professorship for “Transformation to Sustainable Energy Systems” at the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg. He works on content analysis, interview planning and conducting, as well as organizing the project's concluding conference.
His inclusion in the research project is based on his experience as an independent researcher in the fields of urban metabolism, urban water management, public space justice, and land governance. In addition to his education as an architect he draws from his master's in the field of urban management and development from the Institute of Housing and Urban Development studies in Rotterdam. His current focus is to study challenges to applying compact city principles in developing contexts.
Research | Professional career | Studies | Teaching | Publications | Presentations I Memberships
Research areas
Within the research topic he is interested in looking into the power of city level strategies to push for compact cities, against economic and political challenges. In working towards this, his current areas of research include urban density, land policy, land markets and climate.
Professional career
07/2021 – Current PhD Student at the Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg DE
07/2021 – 07/2024 Research Assistant for the Urban Footprints Project at the Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg DE
01/2020 – 07/2021 Independent researcher in research projects on Land Value Capture, expropriation, justice in transportation planning and open space
09/2018 – 07/2021 Co-founder and project coordinator at Tabdeel for cycling urbanism, Cairo EG
07/2015 – 09/2018 Urban program coordinator at Megawra - Built Environment Collective, Cairo EG
07/2014 – 07/2015 Researcher at the Eco-citizen world map project
Studies
10/2018 – 11/2019
Master of Science Urban Management and Development- Urban land governance specialization - Institute of Housing and Urban Development studies (IHS), Rotterdam
Thesis: Effect of Landuse change in urban Riverfront Eco-Restoration on Capabilities of land resources. Case study: the Cooum, Chennai.
09/2009 – 07/2014
Bachelor of Architecture - Cairo University's Faculty of Engineering
Teaching
- Teaching assistant in the "Urban Development" course in the Bachelor's program of the Architectural engineering department, of the Cairo university's Faculty of Engineering credit hours system. academic year 2014/2015.
- Teaching assistant in the "Architectural Design" course in the Arab Academy for Sciences and Technology (AAST), faculty of engineering. Academic year 2014/2015.
Publications
Academic papers:
- Khalil, H. A. E. E., & Al‐Ahwal, A. (2021). Reunderstanding Cairo through urban metabolism: Formal versus informal districts resource flow performance in fast urbanizing cities. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 25(1), 176-192.
Book chapters:
- al-Ahwal A.T., Abushadi, E., (2018). Integrating Public Space and Urban Systems. Reclaiming Public Space through Intercultural Dialogue, 17, 284
Academic conference speaker
- "7th Annual International Comparative and Urban Law Conference" Organized by Fordham University's urban law center and TU Berlin campus el-Gouna
Speaker on the panel "Urban perspectives from Egypt", presenting the paper "Urban cycling laws in Egypt". - “Interconnected voices: climate change, equity and the way forward” Organized by the Reiner Lemoine Institut, and the Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (2020)
Speaker on the panel “Socio-political solutions” with the presentation “The aspects of injustice of cycling infrastructure provision in Egypt” - “Being a citizen in the metropolis” international conference in Cairo. Organized by the CEDEJ (2020)
Speaker on the panel “Moving through the stretching city. Slow mobility, walkability, urban proximities through the metropolis.” - “International Conference II: Reclaiming Public Space within Metropolitan Areas” (2017)
Presenting work on public space quality upgrade through changes in water and waste systems in al-Khalifa area of Historic Cairo. - “Responsive Urbanism in Informal Areas” conference organized by Cairo University and UN-Habitat. (2014)
Presented the work done by the Cairo University team on Urban metabolism information system analysis in two neighborhoods of Cairo. - “Velo-city 15” conference in Nantes, France. Organized by the European Cycling Federation (2015)
Presented designs for cycling interventions in the Informal area of El-Marg in Cairo.
Memberships
- The Committee of the Egyptian code for cycling infrastructure