Is Gaza Strip Resilient Enough? Adaptive Reuse and Community Innovation for Urban Futures of Post War Zones

Eiman Elbanhawy, University of Portsmouth

Southern Gaza's displacement settlements reveal an emerging architectural language born from catastrophe. This forensic study analyzes current urban footage to document building typologies created by northern populations forced into Khan Yunis and Rafah. Through spatial analysis of satellite imagery and ground documentation, this research identifies recurring adaptive patterns: skeletal concrete structures extended with salvaged materials, institutional buildings subdivided into multi-family dwellings, and courtyard spaces transformed into collective resource hubs. These configurations constitute Gaza's "urban DNA", embedded spatial logics that emerge under extreme constraint. The paper maps specific typological responses to displacement: vertical density adaptations in damaged mid-rise buildings, horizontal sprawl in tent cities interfacing with ruins, and hybrid zones where formal and informal construction merge. This empirical inventory provides essential data for reconstruction planning, arguing that future development must decode and build upon these survival typologies rather than imposing external frameworks. The research demonstrates how forensic architectural analysis reveals hidden spatial assets within destruction.