Eiman
Elbanhawy

Dr Eiman Y. Elbanhawy is a Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Technology at the University of Portsmouth, UK. Her interdisciplinary research sits at the intersection of migration and displacement, urban resilience, mobility, living heritage and the energy–water–food nexus, with a particular focus on conflict-affected and resource-constrained communities. Her current work examines how displacement reshapes everyday mobility, access to essential resources, education, care and relationships with place. She is particularly interested in the improvised forms of resilience developed by displaced communities and in participatory approaches that enable people experiencing displacement to contribute to imagining more equitable and resilient urban futures. Eiman’s research spans the UK, Middle East, North Africa and conflict-affected contexts, with current work and collaborations engaging communities and researchers connected to Palestine, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Ukraine. Her methodological interests include participatory research, interviews and surveys, co-design, GIS and spatial analysis, speculative methods and AI-supported visualisation. She leads Mobilities of Care, an international and interdisciplinary research group bringing together researchers working across displacement, mobility, architecture, urban studies, education, environmental sustainability and community wellbeing. The group explores how care is mobilised, negotiated and sustained across displacement and unsettled urban conditions, connecting research across different conflict-affected and diasporic contexts.