I am an urban and land use planner and sustainable development expert with nearly two decades of working experience with municipal governments, research institutes, international development agencies, private sector firms and local community organizations. I have worked extensively in areas adjacent to national parks and coastal areas that are designated settlements, dense urban forms, and historic urban centers across the Middle east and Africa. My research focuses on finding the appropriate balance between the trendies of rapid urbanization and maintaining ecological integrity in both dense cities as well as remote nomadic towns. My doctorate research in Dep. Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning at UC Berkeley focused on understanding tourism development and its direct impact on the environment. I obtained previous degrees in Urban & Regional planning from Cairo university, a Master in Urban design from Oxford Brookes University, and a diploma in Land Management from Institute of Housing & Urban Development Studies from Erasmus University.