Dr. Khaled Alawadi is the first UAE national scholar and an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Urbanism at Khalifa University. His research is devoted to urban design, housing, and urbanism, especially the relationships between the built environment and sustainable development. He curated the National Pavilion UAE at the Venice Biennale in 2018, which presented Lifescapes Beyond Bigness, an exhibition exploring human-scale architectural landscapes.

“In the realm of urban analytics, my focus has shifted to studying the alley spaces between buildings, known as “Sikka” in our local language. These alleys, often overlooked in traditional studies of streets, play a crucial role in providing shortcuts and enhancing connectivity. While urban design literature tends to neglect alleys, our mapping efforts have revealed their diversity and patterns, highlighting their potential as crucial components of the urban fabric.”