The Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Baghdad organized a specialized training workshop entitled “Urban Planning as a Tool to Enhance Access to Adequate Housing.” The workshop was presented by Dr. Sarah Mahmoud, Assistant Professor and Head of the Quality Assurance Unit at the Center, and attended by a group of faculty members, staff, and students, as well as a number of specialists in urban planning and housing.
The workshop aimed to clarify the role of urban planning in creating built environments capable of providing diverse and equitable housing options. It also aimed to introduce participants to the concepts of adequate housing and its impact on the quality of urban life, raise professional and academic awareness of the importance of the relationship between urban planning and housing policies, and enhance postgraduate students’ understanding of the current housing challenges in Iraqi cities and the requirements for addressing them through sustainable planning.
Dr. Mahmoud presented planning tools that can be used to support low-income groups, students, and youth in accessing suitable housing after developing participants’ skills in interpreting urban indicators related to housing and using them in evaluation and planning. It is worth mentioning that the workshop came as part of the center’s plan to prepare teams capable of formulating realistic solutions to urban housing problems, in addition to supporting the center’s directions in strengthening the link between the academic aspect and practical applications in the field of urban housing.
