Noheir Elgendy

Noheir Elgendy is an adjunct professor of Urbanism at the University of Toronto, specializing in inclusive design, urban regeneration, and participatory planning. Committed to Urban Justice, she champions the rights and experiences of minorities, racialized individuals, and marginalized community members. Beyond academia, she actively impacts her community as the executive director of QED, a nonprofit organization focused on newcomer and refugee experiences in the GTA. Additionally, she contributes as a board member of the Women for Justice Foundation and is affiliated with the Center for Refugee Studies at York University. Through hands-on engagement with refugees and newcomers, she gains invaluable insights into their specific challenges.

Recognized for her dedication, Noheir received the Leading Social Justice Fellowship from the University of Toronto's School of Cities in 2023. This fellowship enabled her to spearhead the project "Fearless Cities: Fighting Gendered-Islamophobia and Racism in Toronto Public Spaces." Her commitment to positive change has garnered her numerous awards and fellowships. With a passion for using research-backed strategies and direct support, she advocates for sustainable and inclusive urban development.

2023 Leading Social Justice Fellowship - School of Cities, University of Toronto

2016 Venice Biennale 2016 Egypt's Pavilion

2011-2012 ERASMUS MUNDUS Fellowship

2010 Bergamo Prize 2010

2010 Elfarouq Foundation Scholarship

2009 Lausanne Jardins - Award winner.

2007 Monte Po’ Park Design - 1st Place

2006 Scuola Superiore di Catania Masters Scholarship

2005 Egyptian Architects Association Award - Best Graduation Project

2005 Ali Raafat Award in Architecture 2005.

2005 When Community Meets History Design Competition - 2nd Place

2004 Redesign of the faculty of Engineering Piazza Competition - 1st Place

• 2023 - current : Women for Justice Foundation (WJF), Ottawa, Canada - Board Member
• 2016- 2021: Toronto Metropolitan University Lifeline Syria Challenge (RULSC)– Volunteer in Integrating Syrian Newcomers.
• 2014-2015: Egypt Without Slums National Campaign – General Coordinator.
• 2014-2015: National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education - Representative of the Architecture Department at Cairo University.
• 2014: Architecture and Cinema Workshop: Representation of Informal Architecture in the Egyptian Cinema – Co-organizer.
• 2014: 6th International Conference: Towards A Regional Agenda For Habitat III-Responsive Urbanism in Informal Areas –Co-organizer, PhD Forum Responsible and Rapporteur.
• 2014: UNESCO/ UIA Validation of Architectural Department– Cairo University- Organizer of the visit and Contributed in the Report.
• 2012: Ard al-Liwa Public Park Design Project - Design team member of CLUSTER (Cairo Lab for Urban Studies, Training and Environmental Research).
• 2008: Almaryotia Channel Parks - Design team member.
• 2006: When Community Meets Nature Design Competition - Organizer and Jury Member
• 2006: Egyptian Earth Construction Association – Member

2024: Are cities designed for women too? Public event and interactive workshop at the School of Cities, University of Toronto.

2023: Al-Zaatari Camp: A case of human agency. Toronto Metropolitan University

2023: Creating safe spaces defying structured racism and gender-based violence towards Arab-speaking women in the GTA. Carleton University

2014: Informalities: Myths, Facts and Perceptions. Criticism and Cinema Public Event. Cairo University 

2014: Ard al-Liwa’Project: Stitching Two Parallel Cities. Public Lecture at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport (AASTMT)

2013: Tahrir Square: The Public Space Revisited. At Zawia#00: Change launching event in Cairo. Megawra Hub 

2012: Occupy Square: Transformations in the notion of Public Space. Public Lecture in Kingston University London 

2011: Cairo- A city changing its skin. In Saint-Petersburg: the City and its Image. Venice : Doctorate School of the IUAV University

• Tandazo, Jessica (Expected in June 2024) Transforming Jane and Finch's Temporary Social Infrastructure into a Permanent Urban Living Room. MArch - Toronto Metropolitan University .
• Hamdan, Noor (2024) In Search of Palestine that is more than Just a Memory. MARC (Post Professonal) - John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto.
• Caccavella, Nicola (2022) ARCHITECT-ING IN-BETWEENNESS: Human-Centred Design for Toronto’s Arrival Cities. MArch - Toronto Metropolitan University .
• Hussein, Noha (2018). Syrian Refugees Mobility and the Concept of Homemaking. Cairo University .
• Abubakr, Eman. (2016). Analytical Study of Spatial Relations and Its Impact on Way finding in Subway Stations. Cairo University .
• Mekawy, Asmaa. Cairo Happiness Mapping: An Investigation of Happiness Status in New Urban Communities in Cairo. Cairo University (In progress) .
• Ehab, Mohamed. In Egypt, How Do Walking and Cycling Affect the Urban Nature of the Environment and the Behaviour of the Egyptian Person? (In progress)

FULL-LENGTH BOOKS:

• Elgendy, N. & Mofeed, R. ( Eds). Slum Films’ Architecture: A Critical Reading of the Contemporary Egyptian Cinema between 1994 – 2014 (Expected in September 2024)

CONTRIBUTIONS TO BOOKS:

• Kyriakedes, C. McLuhan,A. Anderson,K. Bajjali, L. and Elgendy, N. (2021). Building Trust in Third Space of Refugee Reception, In Theodoros Fouskas (ed). Immigrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Times of Crises: An International Handbook on Migration and Refugee Studies, Management Policies and Governance.
• Elgendy, N. & Frigerio, A. (2018). Right to the City and Public Space in the Post-Revolutionary Cairo, In Rocco R. & van Ballegooijen J. (eds). The Routledge Handbook on Informal Urbanization, Routledge.

JOURNAL PAPERS, PERIODICALS AND PROFESSIONAL ARTICLES: 

• . Khalil, H. A., Ibrahim, A., Elgendy, N., Makhlouf, N.,(2022) Enhancing Livability in Informal Areas: A Participatory Approach to Improve Urban Microclimate in Outdoor Spaces, Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6395.
• Kyriakides, C. McLuhan, A. Anderson, K. Bajjali, L. Elgendy, N. (2019) (Mis)trusted Contact: Resettlement Knowledge Assets and the Third Space of Refugee Reception. Refuge. Vol 35 No 2 (2019): Refugee Sponsorship: Lessons learned, ways forward .
• Khalil, H. AbdelKhalek, I., Elgendy, N., Makhlouf, N. (2018) Could/should improving the urban climate in informal areas of fast-growing cities be an integral part of upgrading processes? Cairo case.
• Abou Bakr, E. and Elgendy, N. (2017) Spatial Complexity: Identifying Critical Zones in the Egyptian Underground Reciprocal Stations. REAL CORP 2017. pp. 527-539. ISSN to 2521 .
• Elgendy, N., 2016. A Window: Reflections on Post-Revolutionary Participatory Practices in Egypt, 2011-2015. Political Imagination and the City Collective processes and practices in architecture and design Proceedings. July 2016. ISBN: 978-956-362-751-0 .
• Elgendy, N., Hussein, N. 2016. Tracing Syrian Refugees Urban Mobilities: The Case of Egypt and Canada. International Journal of Social, Behavioural, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering, Vol 10 (6) .
• Mofeed, R. and Elgendy, N., 2016. Re-Presenting the Egyptian Informal Urbanism in films between 1994-2014, International Journal of Social, Behavioural, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering, Vol 10 (6).
• Elgendy, N., 2016. Who defines Informalities? Tarek Waly Magazine. Vol.11. February 2016.
• Abdelaziz, M. & Elgendy, N., 2014. Governance of Resilient Societies: The case of Cairo Informalities. Journal of Urban Research. Vol.10. Issue 2014
• Elgendy, N. & Shoaib, H., 2013. Infrastructures: potentials and possibilities in reclaiming public space. In SB13 Cairo Conference 2013 Proceedings. Cairo.
• Elgendy, N., 2013. Tahrir Square Revisited: on the roles of public space. Atlantis , 23(4).
• Elgendy, N., 2013. The Parallel City : A Proposal for Re-connecting the Formal and Informal Cities - The Case of Greater Cairo. PhD Thesis. Milan Polytechnic University.
• Nagati, O. & Elgendy, N., 2012. Ard Al-Liwa Park Project: Towards a New Urban Order and Mode of Professional Practice. Planum: The Journal of Urbanism, n.26, vol. 1/2013 January 2013
• Elgendy, N., 2007. Re-Envisioning Energy in our Land: A Paradigm Shift in Landscape Perception. Masters Thesis - Scuola Superiore di Catania.

POSTERS: 

• Elgendy, N. & Fontanella, E. 2013. Regenerating through the modification of Open Spaces: A design proposal for Gallaratese - QT8 neighbourhoods in Milan. In p-public: international meeting of emerging professionals concerning public space/ life and Voluntary Initiatives, 7-9 June 2013. .
• Elgendy, N. & Fontanella, E. 2013. Regenerating the Gallaratese - QT8 Chain of Spaces. In Rigenerare Milano Ovest: Un percorso di ricerca tramite sperimentazioni progettuali Exhibition, 5-14 June 2013.
• Elgendy, N. 2012. The Islands within the City: Tales of a transition. In Cities in Transformation: Research & Design Ideas, Methods, Techniques, Tools, Case Studies - EAAE/ARCC Conference on Architectural Research, Milano 7-10 June 2012 - Politecnico di Milano.

• Mason White Professor and Director, of the Master of Urban Design
  and the Post-Professional Programs at John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto

       Email: ckyriak@yorku.ca Phone: +1 416 828 8780

• Christopher Kyriakides Canada Research Chair in Citizenship, Social Justice and Ethno-Racialization Department of Sociology, York University.

Email: ckyriak@yorku.ca Phone: +1 647 641 1602

• Nouman Ashraf Associate Professor, Teaching Stream in Organizational Behaviour & Human Resources Management at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

       Email : nouman.ashraf@rotman.utoronto.ca  Phone: +1 416 978 6998