Campus & Community

Wahba new Meyer fellow

2 min read

The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University has named Sameh Naguib Wahba as the John R. Meyer Dissertation Fellow for 2000-01. The fellowship carries a stipend of $10,000 in support of a dissertation on a housing-related topic.

The Joint Center is a collaborative unit affiliated with the Graduate School of Design (GSD) and the Kennedy School of Government (KSG). The Center analyzes the ways in which housing policy and practices are shaped by economic and demographic trends, and provides leaders in government, business, and the nonprofit sector with knowledge and tools for formulating effective policies and strategies.

Wahba is a doctoral candidate in Urban Planning at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School of Design. His dissertation topic, “The evolving role of NGOs in coordinating and implementing poverty-alleviation-driven housing programs for the urban poor in developing countries” examines public-NGO partnerships in Fortaleza, Brazil, and Nouakchott, Mauritania.

“We are pleased to be able to help support Sam’s work,” said Nicolas P. Retsinas, director of the Joint Center. “The complexity of housing issues in the developing world presents challenges to the academic community. His research into ‘integrated community development’ should be both illuminating and helpful.”

Wahba graduated with a master’s degree in urban planning from the GSD in 1997. He also holds a master’s degree in architecture in urban design and a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from Cairo University, where he holds a teaching position in the fields of planning and design. He previously worked as an architect and urban designer in Egypt and Belgium. Other fields of research include linkages between microfinance initiatives and provision of housing; evaluation of the municipal infrastructure program in South Africa; and the rehabilitation of the historic city of Fez. He is also a teaching fellow for joint GSD and KSG courses in microeconomics and public and private development.