Islam & Earth

A collection of voices and conversations on Earth connection, environmental issues, climate action,and sustainable solutions through an Islamic worldview.

Episode 6, Dhul Qadah 1444

Building Sustainable Urban Arab Cities

In this episode of Islam & Earth in the last Jumah of Dhul Qadah, 1444,  Sr. Huda Shaka speaks from over 15 years of experience in sustainable urban city planning for Arab cities
Sr. Huda speaks about innovative ways to address urban development.  She explains some of the major issues that arid Arab cities are facing in the midst of climate change and what it means to think about planning and developing livable, resilient and sustainable cities
Sr. Huda shares from her experiences in problem-solving and addressing the many stakeholder needs within an urban city-planning model and how to critically address environmental issues and think about multiple ways to plan and develop cities. 
She also speaks about her personal trailblazing experiences of building a space in the sector as a visible Muslim woman. 
Finally, Sr. Huda reflects on the unique perspectives Islam brings to creatively thinking about and building strategic solutions to  sustainable urban planning .
~~Huda Shaka is a chartered urban planner and chartered environmentalist based out of the UAE.  For over 15 years, her work has involved advising on city and regional plans, master plans and mega infrastructure projects as well as strategic policy frameworks for future-ready cities for Arab cities.  She utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to address opportunities, complexities, challenges and synergies for liveable, resilient and sustainable cities in a way to explore beyond the limits of current thinking frameworks.  She has been a part of several key planning and design projects including the Dubai Expo; Abu Dhabi Integrated Public Transport Network; the Royal Commission for Makkah city and Holy sites, and has been an adviser in planning and infrastructure for the Department of Municipalities and transport in  Abu Dhabi.  She is one of a small but growing number of female leaders in the built environment.  She has served on multiple boards including a board member of the Emirates Green building council where she introduced the Emirates Green Building Council Women’s network.  She is also an author & international speaker on topics related to sustainability, wellbeing and Arab cities.

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More info regarding  Sr. Huda's work can be found at:

Website - www.thegreenurbanista.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/green_urbanista
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegreenurbanista/

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