Dr. Yasser Elsheshtawy

Dr. Yasser Elsheshtawy’s work focuses on the city aiming to capture the urban experience of city dwellers. He was an Associate Professor of Architecture at the United Arab Emirates University, where he also ran the Urban Research Lab. His scholarship deals with urbanization in developing societies, informal urbanism, urban history and environment-behavior studies, with a particular focus on Middle Eastern cities.

Elsheshtawy authored more than 70 publications in leading international journals and publishing houses which includes Dubai: Behind an Urban Spectacle. Additionally, he edited The Evolving Arab City and Planning Middle Eastern Cities, all of which have become main references on urbanism and architecture in the region. He has been invited to present his research at numerous international institutions such as Columbia University, Harvard Graduate School of Design, the ETH/Zurich, the Louvre Auditorium/Paris and the Canadian Center of Architecture/Montreal. Additionally, his multimedia work has been exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum, and in New York University. He also produces a series of online initiatives including a blog on Dubai (dubaization.com) hailed by The Guardian as one of the leading blogs in the world; and uaemodern.com exploring the modernist urban and architectural landscape of the UAE.