School of Planning
Faculty of Environment
Environment 3 (EV3) - Third Floor
University of Waterloo
519-888-4567, ext. 46564
Graduate certificate - Museum Studies, University of Michigan, United States
Ph.D. Urban & Regional Planning, University of Michigan, United States
M.A. Heritage Management, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
M.A. Archaeology, University of Jordan
B.Sc. Architecture, University of Jordan
lkhirfan@uwaterloo.ca
519-888-4567 ext. 43906
Location: EV3 3257
Funding Source: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
Role: Principal Investigator
Amount: $243,814
Grant Period: 2016-2022
Dr. Khirfan’s current research project investigates the potential of daylighting (or deculverting) urban streams and the consequences of covering (culverting) them.
Empirical studies abound on the ecological consequences of covering and uncovering urban streams such as, the hydrological effects (e.g. runoff and flooding) and geomorphological impacts (e.g. rise in temperatures and decreased fish habitat). Yet, there is a dearth in studies that address the links between urban stream daylighting and climate change adaptation and mitigation, and also, the enhancement of the public realm. Therefore, Dr. Khirfan’s research project draws on landscape ecology, urban morphology, and urban design theories to investigate the potential of urban stream daylighting at three interrelated levels:
Specifically, this research project investigates the following research questions: What are the current scope and nature of the urban stream daylighting practice? What lessons can be learned from this current practice to inform future ecological planning and design? How might the daylighting of urban streams and their ecological regeneration become catalysts for climate adaptation and mitigation? How do the covering and the daylighting of urban streams influence the meso-level urban morphology (e.g. transit and land use) and the micro-level public space design? And, how can vernacular architecture and contemporary local knowledge inform the practice of daylighting?
Through a rigorous review of the literature, this research project will build an on-line database that documents urban stream daylighting projects from across the globe so as to develop a better understanding of the scope and nature of daylighting and identify the criteria for best practices. Concurrently, a cross-national comparative case study research design will guide an in-depth study of two recent urban stream projects: the Seil in Amman, Jordan and the Cheonggyecheon in Seoul, South Korea. The remarkable similarities between the two streams include: their covering in the 1950s to prioritize urban infrastructure – a major street in Amman and an expressway in Seoul; their links to regional watersheds (the Zarqa River in Jordan and the Han River in Korea); their length and location extending for nearly eight kilometres at the core of the country’s capital; their strong historic associations with the surrounding urban fabric. Yet while Amman’s project completely covered the Seil and replaced it with a manufactured stream, Seoul’s project sought to ecologically regenerate the Cheoggyechoen and improve public transit. Through a qualitative and participatory methodology, this research project will involve GIS layering of historic and contemporary maps; visual typological analyses; content analysis of planning documents; and design charrettes with local planning experts and laypeople. The design charrettes will be deployed as tools for: participatory design, data collection, and knowledge exchange.
Title: A Contested Public Realm: Development, Inequality, and Mobility in Amman and Beirut
Funding source: Arab Council for the Social Sciences, Beirut
Role: PI (Co-applicant: Eliana Abu-Hamdi, Berkeley)
Amount: US $45,000
Grant period: 2013-2015
Title: The Middle East’s New Urban Landscape: Inclusive Urban Planning or Democratic Deficit?
Funding source: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
Role: PI (Co-investigator, Bessma Momani, Political Science, Waterloo & CIGI)
Amount: $73,856
Grant period: 2011-2014
Title: The Global Appcability of Planning Models: Lessons from Toronto and Vancouver to Amman and Abu Dhabi, and back
Funding source: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
Role: PI
Amount: $23,695
Grant period: 2011-2013
Title: Partnership for Canada-Caribbean Community Climate Change Adaptation (ParCA)
Funding source: IDRC and the Canadian Research Councils (SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR)
Role: Co-Applicant (PI: Dan Scott, Geography, Waterloo and Murray Simpson, CARIBSAVE)
Amount: $2.5 million
My share: $100,000
Grant period: 2011-2016
Contact Luna Khirfan for more information on research opportunities.
Number of students currently supervising/co-supervising | Total number of student supervisions/co-supervisions | |
---|---|---|
Masters | 9 | 22 |
PhD | 2 | 3 |
[* = student co-authors]
Luna Khirfan, editor (2017). Order and disorder: urban governance and the making of Middle Eastern cities. McGill-Queens University Press: Montreal.
Luna Khirfan (December 2014). World Heritage, Urban Design and Tourism: Three Cities in the Middle East. Routledge: London
Luna Khirfan, Niloofar Mohtat*, Megan Peck*, Andrew Chan*, and Lucas Ma* (2020). Dataset for assessing the scope and nature of global stream daylighting practices. Data in Brief, Volume 33, 106366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2020.106366
Luna Khirfan, Megan Peck*, and Niloofar Mohtat* (2020). Systematic content analysis: A combined method to analyze the literature on stream daylighting (de-culverting). MethodsX 7 (2020) 100984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2020.100984
Luna Khirfan, Niloofar Mohtat*, and Megan Peck* (2020). A Systematic Literature Review and Content Analysis Combination to "Shed Some Light" on Stream Daylighting (Deculverting). The special issue of Water Security titled "Water, adaptation and resilience" co-edited by Dr. Aditi Mukherji and Dr. Martina Caretta. Water Security 10 (2020) 100067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2020.100067
Luna Khirfan, Niloofar Mohtat*, and Megan Peck* (2020). Combining Systematic Literature Review with Content Analysis to "Shed Some Light" on Stream Daylighting (De-Culverting). Water Security’s special issue on “Water, adaptation and resilience: A meta-review of promising interventions and core principles”. Water Security, 10, 100067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2020.100067
Luna Khirfan and Hadi El-Shayeb* (2019). Urban Climate Resilience through Socio-Ecological Planning: A Case Study in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Journal of Urbanism. Volume 13, Issue 2, Pages: 187-212. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549175.2019.1650801
Tapan Dhar* and Luna Khirfan (2017). Climate Change Adaption in Planning and Design Research: Missing Links and Research Agenda. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. Volume 60, Number 4, pages: 602-627. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2016.1178107
Brown, H.C.P., Angus, R., Armitage, D., Brown, S., Charles, A., Khirfan, L. and J. MacFadyen (2017). Building Resilient Coastal Communities in the Context of Climate Change. In Building Community Resilience: From Dark Horses to White Steeds. Edited by: L. Brinklow and R. Gibson. Island Studies Press, Charlottetown, PEI. PP: 169-190.
Luna Khirfan (2017). Introduction to The Middle East’s New Urban Landscape: Urban Governance and Participatory Planning. Edited by Luna Khirfan. McGill-Queens University Press: Montreal. PP: 3-31.
Luna Khirfan and Bessma Momani (2017). Tracing Participatory Planning In Amman. In The Middle East’s New Urban Landscape: Urban Governance and Participatory Planning. Edited by Luna Khirfan. McGill-Queens University Press: Montreal. PP: 79-102.
Luna Khirfan (2016). ‘Design charrettes: an approach to community climate change adaptation in Tobago.’ In ‘Global Change and the Caribbean: Adaptation and Resilience’, edited by David Barker, Duncan McGregor, Kevon Rhiney, and Thera Edwards. The University of the West Indies Press and Jamaica National Foundation: Kingston, Jamaica. P: 223-247.
Luna Khirfan and Mandy Zhang* (2016). Climate Change Adaptation in Tobago. ARCH+ Planetary Urbanism: The Transformative Power of Cities. Volume 223, May 2016, pages 178-181.
Tapan Dhar* and Luna Khirfan (2016). Community-based Adaptation through Ecological Design: Lessons from Negril, Jamaica. Journal of Urban Design, Volume 21, Issue 2, pages: 234–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2015.1133224
Luna Khirfan (2016). Design and beyond: accessibility at community gardens in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario.Chapter in Planning Canada: A Case Study Approach. Edited by: Ren Thomas. Oxford University Press Canada. P: 106-116.
Luna Khirfan (2015). Place experience and place making in World Heritage Cities. Chapter 12 in World Heritage, Tourism and Identity: Inscription and Co-production, edited by Laurent Bourdeau, Maria Gravari-Barbas, and Mike Robinson. Routledge. P: 157-171.
Luna Khirfan and Zahra Jaffer* (2014). Sustainable Urbanism in Abu Dhabi: Transferring the Vancouver Model. Journal of Urban Affairs. Volume 36, Issue 3, pages 482–502. https://doi.org/10.1111/juaf.12050
Luna Khirfan (2014). Learning from Petra. Essay in: Ecotourism, Nature Conservation and Development: Re-imagining Jordan's Shobak Arid Region. Edited by Aziza Chaouni. Birkhauser: Basel. P: 28-31.
Luna Khirfan (2014). Documentation and Policy Making: Preserving the Built Heritage or the Life Within? Chapter 11 in: World Heritage and National Registers: Stewardship in Perspective, edited by Celeste Guichard and Thomas Gensheimer. Transaction Publications, a branch of Rutgers University Press. P: 123-137.
Luna Khirfan, Bessma Momani, and Zahra Jaffer* (2013). Whose authority? Exporting Canadian urban planning expertise to Jordan and Abu Dhabi. Geoforum. Volume 50, pages 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.07.007
Bessma Momani and Luna Khirfan (2013). Explaining the Use of Consultants in Ontario Cities. Canadian Public Administration. pages 391–413. https://doi.org/10.1111/capa.12027
Khirfan, Luna and Bessma Momani (2013). (Re)Branding Amman: the values, the image and the making of place. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. Volume 9, pages 49–65. https://doi.org/10.1057/pb.2013.1
Luna Khirfan (2013). Ornamented Facades and Panoramic Views: The Impact of Tourism Development on al-Salt’s Historic Urban Landscape. The International Journal of Islamic Architecture. Volume 2, No. 2, pages 307–324. https://doi.org/10.1386/ijia.2.2.307_1
Luna Khirfan and Zahra Jaffer* (2012). Canadian Planning Knowledge in the Middle East: Transferring Toronto to Amman and Vancouver to Abu Dhabi. The Canadian Journal of Urban Research, special issue on Canadian Planning and Policy, pages 1–28. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26193896
Luna Khirfan (2011).From Toronto to Amman: the cross-national transfer of planning knowledge. The Journal of Planning Theory and Practice. Volume 12, Issue 4, pages 525–547. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649357.2011.626307
Luna Khirfan (2011). GIS, town plan analysis, and historical archival research:understanding the links between inherited built forms and contemporary urban design.Urban Morphology. Volume 5, Issue 1, pages 39–53.
Luna Khirfan (2010). Traces on the palimpsest: Heritage and the urban forms of Athens and Alexandria. Cities. Volume 27, Issue 5, pages 315–325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2010.03.009
Luna Khirfan (2010). From Documentation to Policy Making: Management of Built Heritage in Old Aleppo and Old Acre. Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review. Volume 21, Issue 2, pages 35–54.
The following datasets are refereed and connect to the refereed article published in Data in Brief (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2020.106366)
I have been invited by the journal Sustainability (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability) to serve as Guest Editor for a special issue on “Sustainability and stream daylighting research”: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/river_sustainability
To view more photos and information about Dr. Khirfan's award, please visit: Luna Khirfan wins ARCH + International Design Competition!
School of Planning
Faculty of Environment
Environment 3 (EV3) - Third Floor
University of Waterloo
519-888-4567, ext. 46564
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Office of Indigenous Relations.