Heba Allah Khalil

Area of Expertise: , , , , ,

Experience:

Professional Experience

·       Cairo University, Faculty of Engineering, Giza, Egypt, 2000-current.

Professor of Sustainable Urbanism, Department of Architecture since December 2017.

o Teaching diverse undergraduate & graduate courses including Architecture & Humanities, Architectural Design, Working Drawings & Details, Community Design, Urban Planning, Community Development, Housing & Integrated Urban Systems.

o Principal investigator & team leader with multiple international partnerships in UK, Germany, Sweden, France, Morocco, USA, North Africa & the Arab Region focusing on Green & Healthy Cities, Gender Equity, Land Governance, Urban Metabolism, Resource Efficiency, Urban Climate & Informal Areas Upgrading, with a budget surpassing 1.5 million Euros.

Program Senior Coordinator of the Architectural Engineering & Technology AET program August 2018-current.

o Successfully leading the academic program with 70 courses, 300+ students, 40+ instructors & 70+ teaching assistants, overseeing program strategic planning, budgeting, supervision of education & accreditation.

·       Cairo National University, Giza, Egypt, 2025-current.

Head of Program, the Sustainable Architecture and Urbanism SAU program.

o Successfully initiating and leading the academic program with 58 courses, 100+ students, overseeing program strategic planning, budgeting, supervision of education & accreditation.

·       Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering (ACE), Gothenburg, Sweden, 2022-2024

Visiting Professor, GENIE (Gender Initiative for Excellence)

o Contributing to both research & education within different courses in the field of social inclusion, gender equity, resource efficiency & urban microclimate.

·       American University in Cairo AUC, School of Sciences & Engineering, Department of Architectural Engineering, Cairo, Egypt, 2014- 2024.

Adjunct Professor since December 2017.

o Conducting Studios in Contextual Design, Vertical Studio A & B, Senior Project 1 & Senior Project 2.

·       Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT, Department of Urban Studies & Planning DUSP, Special Program in Urban & Regional Studies SPURS, MA, USA.

Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow, September 2016 – June 2017: Research & teaching activities.

·        Participatory sustainable urban development, housing, informal areas & capacity building expert, 2009-current. Worked for multiple public agencies & international organizations as detailed below:

o VisionRI Connexion Services Private Limited, India: Urban Planning & Design Specialist & Team Leader, leading the team for the development of the Western Area Regional Structure Plan (WARSP), Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project (RUSLP), Sierra Leone (Oct 2023-present), project funded by the World Bank.

o General Organization of Physical Planning GOPP, Egypt: Housing expert, Shubra Alkhiema city replanning (April 2023-Oct 2024)

 

o GIZ, Egypt: Urban Climate Resilience Expert for developing Local Climate Resilient Action Plan LCR-AP in Kirdasa, Giza, CBUID II, Egypt. (Sept. 2025-present). Climate Resilient Urban Development Expert, Institutional Development for Mainstreaming Climate Resilience & Socially Just Urban Development, for GOPP & UDF, CBUID, Egypt. (Jan 2024 – Nov 2024). Participatory Sustainable Urban Development Expert, developed Local Area Development Plans LADP for 5 unplanned areas, Qaliobya Governorate, within the Participatory Infrastructure Program, Egypt. (Sep 2021-Oct 2022 & Sep 2018-Jun 2020). As a Capacity Development Expert developed a capacity building program for Local Authorities in Cairo & Giza Governorate (defining needs, gaps, job descriptions & required training) within the Participatory Development Programme in Urban Areas (Dec 2013-Aug. 2014).

o World Bank, Washington DC: Urban Consultant for promoting Energy Efficiency in buildings & neighbourhoods in Cote D’Ivoire, Urban & Disaster Risk Reduction Africa group. (Dec 2016-April 2017).

o UN-Habitat, Egypt: Urban Development Consultant in multiple projects including developing the “Strategy for Sustainable Urban Development & Housing in the Arab Countries” for The League of Arab States (2014-2015). As a Housing Expert, developed housing studies & plans within strategic urban plans for 3 cities & city regions in Egypt (2011-2015). Stakeholder Facilitator & Community Liaison expert within the participatory process of strategic urban planning projects (2009-2012).

o General Organization of Physical Planning GOPP, Egypt & The League of Arab States: Informal Areas Development Expert, monitored, evaluated, prepared manuals & conducted a comparative study of Informal Housing Concept in Arab Countries (2009-2010).

·       Associated Consultants Office (Architects, Planners, Engineers), Cairo, Egypt.

Senior Architect & Planner/ Team leader & Housing expert, 2007-2014, lead various multiscale projects.

Architect, Sept. 2000- June 2004, concept, design development & construction drawings for diverse projects.

·       GIZ, Participatory Development Program in Urban Areas, Cairo, Egypt.

Consultant in Community Development, Facilitation & Program Evaluation, May 2004- June 2005, evaluated GIZ projects in Egypt & networked among local CBOs, NGOs & other consultants working in the area.

Selected Publications

Published more than 50 papers in journals, conferences & co-authored books. Samples of latest publications:

·         Khalil, H., Gammaz, S., Yousif, I., Haroun, M., Shahin, D. & Ragab, Y. (2025) Activating Urban Micro-Lungs in Highly Dense Cities: Green and Healthy Corridors in Greater Cairo Region, Cities & Health, https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2025.2496011.

·         Reckien, D., Juhola, S., Haque, A. N., Khalil, H. A., Lemos, M. F., Lwasa, S., Niamir, L., Osorio, J. & Visconti, C. (2025). Justice for Resilient Development in Climate-Stressed Cities in W. Solecki, M. Pathak, M. Barata, A. Barau, M. Dombrov, & C. Rosenzweig, ARC3.3 Climate Change and Cities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009587105.

·         Zahran, R., Bahgat, H., Abd El Aziz, T. & Khalil, H. (2024) Joyful Living Labs – Pedagogical Approach for Urban Design Thinking Soft Skills, IJAR, https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-08-2024-0332

 

·         Khalil, H., 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, 6395. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116395

·         Eissa, Y. & Khalil, H. Urban Climate Change Governance within Centralised Governments: A Case Study of Giza, Egypt, Urban Forum 2022, 33(2), pp. 197–221, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-021-09441-9

·         Abdel-Moneim, N.M., Khalil, H.A.E. & Kamel, R.R. (2021) Developing QOL Index for Resettlement Projects of Unsafe Areas in Egypt. Urban Forum, 32(3), pp. 349-371. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-021-09419-7.

 

·         Khalil HAEE, Al-Ahwal A. Reunderstanding Cairo through urban metabolism: Formal versus informal districts resource flow performance in fast urbanizing cities. J Ind Ecol. 2021; 25:176–192. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13056

·         Khalil, H., Ibrahim, A., 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? Case study, Cairo, Urban Climate, 24, pp. 63-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2018.01.007

·         Khalil, H. & Khalil, E.E. (2015) Energy Efficiency in the Urban Environment, CRC press, Taylor & Francis., https://doi.org/10.1201/b18098

Highest Level of Education: PhD in Architectural Engineering, Cairo University

Languages Spoken: Arabic, English, French

Country of Residence: Egypt

NELGA Alumni Status: Yes

LinkedIn / Website:

Map location.
Back to Directory