AZZA KAMAL PhD, LEED AP ND
URBANIST I ARCHITECT I RESEARCHER I EDUCATOR I FULBRIGHT ALUMNA
Dr. Kamal is an architect, urban planner, and policy researcher. She is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Program in Environmental Design at University of Colorado Boulder. Before moving to Boulder in 2024, she was Instructional Assistant Professor in the Sustainability and the Built Environment Program and the Department of Urban & Regional Planning at the University of Florida's College of Design, Construction and Planning, where she also coordinated the Geodesign Specialization and was a Faculty Affiliate in the UF Center for European Studies. Dr. Kamal specializes in affordable housing policy and development, sustainable and resilient communities, geospatial analysis and modeling, equitable planning, and data-driven programs to eradicate homelessness. She also served in different capacities in the local government and nonprofits, including founding and directing the Research Department at Close to Home [HUD's Continuum of Care agency in San Antonio].
Dr. Kamal is a regularly invited studio and seminar critic (in architecture, urban design/and planning) at several campuses including State University of New York-Delhi, Technische Universität Berlin, (Germany), McEwen School of Architecture (Canada), Texas A&M University, Texas State University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and University of Florida, . She won several academic and national awards. In January 2023, she was invited to Technische Universität Berlin, Germany as a Fulbright Specialist, where she lectured and led workshops on Environmental, Social and Governance [ESG] framework of sustainable urban development. In 2023, she was the recipient of the UF College of Design, Construction and Planning Faculty Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring, and the UF Research Tutorials Abroad Award from the UF International Center. In 2016, she was one of two recipients of the University of Texas at San Antonio Faculty Award for Service to Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry.
In architecture and urban design practice, she led Phase-V design team of El Gouna master planned community in Cairo-based Shehab Mazhar Architects. The community was awarded the 2014 UN Environment Program Global Human Settlements Award for global human settlement. Dr. Kamal earned a PhD in architecture & Urban Planning from Cairo University, M.Sc. in architecture from Texas A&M University, M.Sc. in architecture from Cairo University, and a five-year professional B.S. in architecture from the same University. She holds two graduate certificates (in GIS & Geodesign) from Penn State and is a LEED ND Accredited Professional.
Dr. Kamal's research is published in the Journal of Urban Planning and Development, International Journal of Architectural Research, Camino Real, Elsevier, Taylor and Francis, Computational Urban Planning and Urban Management (CUPUM) proceedings, and other international publications. She was funded by the Institute for Economic Development, Najim Foundation, and several academic units. Her grant from Edwards Aquifer Authority and San Antonio River Authority supported a study she and her students conducted to create a geospatial toolkit to identify water management sites with high-pollutant load in Bexar county, Texas, and created retrofit modeling scenarios using Low Impact Development and placemaking concepts. She was also commissioned to assess federal post-recession policy, HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), in Phoenix, Arizona and Denver, Colorado by NALCAB and a consortium of 15 nonprofit organizations. And her technical report on projecting demand and sustainable redesign of workforce housing in Eagle Ford Shale region was cited by several media and news outlets.
In her local government experience in San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Kamal developed several policies including the 2019 ordinance writing and community engagement for the $1M Emergency Housing Assistance Program, and developed a geospatial data-supporting tool for equitable allocation of more than $10M for city-wide Home Repair Programs. Dr. Kamal has served in several cities commission and advisory boards. She is currently a Board Member in the International Women in GIS organization and the Chair of its Awards and Scholarships Committee, and a reviewer for several journals and conferences.
She enjoys walking, travelling, scouting cities' urban centers, cooking Mediterranean food, and listening to the 80s music!