Academic Staff

Dr.-Ing. Genet Alem

Profile

From 2015 to 2023 , I was part of the IPS research group. I delivered lectures in Land Policy in Africa and Development Theories.

Before joining IPS, I was guest lecturer at Dohuk University in Iraq and at Civil Service University in Ethiopia. I studied in Cuba, Tanzania, and Germany. My professional career began in planning practice as an architect and planner in Ethiopia, and I participated in important planning projects such as the Addis Ababa Master Plan. Planning and land policy, risk and resilient land governance are the core areas of my research.

Genet Alem, profile picture — Genet Alem (2022)

CV

Academic education:

2011: Dr. Ing. Degree in Spatial Planning, Dissertation „Traditional Use and Meaning of Urban Spaces: The case of Highland Towns of North Ethiopia“, TU Dortmund, Germany
2002 – 2004: M.Sc. Spatial Planning for Regions in Growing Economies (SPRING), TU Dortmund, Germany and Universitity Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
1991 – 1995: Study of Architecture, CUJAE (Centro Universitario José Antonio Echeverría), Havana, Cuba

Work experience:

Since 2017: Researcher, GOPLAREA project, IRPUD, Department of Spatial Planning, TU Dortmund, Germany
Since 2015: Academic staff, IPS, Department of Spatial Planning, TU Dortmund, Germany
2013 – 2015: Guest Lecturer, PLIQ (Planning Education in Iraq), TU Dortmund, Germany and University of Duhok, Iraq
2011 – 2013: Freelance researcher and consultant (Partners: District Government of Arnsberg, TU Dortmund, UNAM – Mexico, Universidad Barcelona, CEA-IUL – Portugal)
2009 – 2010: Lecturer, ECSU (Ethiopian Civil Service University), Urban Management Master Program, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2007: Project coordination and supervision, PHOENIX Park Dortmund, LEG Stadtentwicklung GmbH & Co.KG, Germany
1999 – 2002: Architect Planner, ORAAMP (Office for the Revision of Addis Ababa Master Plan), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
1998 – 1999: Architect Planner, Addis Ababa Works and Urban Development Bureau, Ethiopia
1996 – 1997: Architect Planner, NUPI (National Urban Planning Institute), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Scholarships & awards:

2011: DAAD Prize for the Outstanding Achievement of a Foreign Student
2009: DAAD Scholarship Award for PhD Research in Ethiopia
2002: KAAD Scholarship Award for Masters Studies in Urban and Regional Planning and Management in Germany and Tanzania
2000: Addis Ababa Urban Development and Works Bureau, Award for outstanding professional input
1989: ICAP (Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos), Scholarship Award for Architecture study in Cuba

Language skills:

Amharic: Mother tongue
German: Business fluent
English: Business fluent
Spanish: Business fluent

Research

Research areas:

Urban resilient land governance
Risk and Critical Infrastructure management
Transformation and dynamics of built environment and urban spaces

Research projects (at IPS):

Since 2017: GOPLAREA (Governance and Planning of Resilient Cities in East Africa), BMBF and DAAD
2016 – 2017: Evaluation long-term study “Global Learning for Sustainable Development”, Phase II, DAAD

Publications:

Alem, G., Hassan, A., Greiving, S., Kombe, W. (eds.) (2022) ‘Planning Cities in Africa—Current Issues and Future Prospects of Urban Governance and Planning: An Introduction‘ in The Urban Book Series. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-06550-7_1.
Alem, G. and Domogalla, F. (2022) ‘The alley as an expression of urban form: Understanding the logic of African urban dynamics’, in Journal of Urban Affairs. doi: 10.1080/07352166.2022.2070496.
Alem, G. and Namangaya, A. (2021) ‘Households’ and Community Initiatives Towards City Resilience: The Case of Flood Resilience in Dar es Salaam’, in Faldi, Fisher, Moretto (eds.) African Cities Through Local Eyes. Cham: SPRINGER.
Alem, G. (2021) ‘Urban Plans and conflicting Interests in Sustainable Cross-Boundary Land Governance, the case of National Urban and Regional Plans in Ethiopia, in Sustainability 13(3081), pp.c 1-23,
Alem, G. and Scholz, W. (eds.) (2019) ‘Resilient Urban Development vs. Right to the City’, in Trialog Journal, 134.
Alem, G., Scholz, W. and Alfaro d Alencon, P. (eds.) (2017) ‘Who Wins and Who loses? Exploring and Learning from Transformations and Actors in the Cities of the South’, in Trialog Journal, 122.
Scholz, W., Alfaro d Alencon und Alem, G. (2017) ‘Who Wins and Who loses? Exploring and Learning from Transformations and Actors in the Cities of the South’, in Trialog Journal, 122., pp. 4-7.
Alem, G. (2016) ‘Persisting Meanings and Evolving Spaces,’ in Heisel, F. and Kifle, B. (eds.) Lessons of Informality: Architecture and Urban Planning for Emerging Territories. Concepts from Ethiopia. Basel: Birkhäuser, pp. 93-107
Alem, G. (2012) ‘Holy Places or contested Public Spaces?’, in Trialog Journal, 107, pp. 48-52.
Alem, G. (2011) Traditional Use and Meaning of Urban Spaces, the Case of Highland Towns of North Ethiopia. Hamburg: Dr. Kovac Publisher.
Alem, G. (2010) ‘Traditional Values, Meaning and Use of Urban Space’, in Brunfaut, V. et al. (eds.) The Production, Use and Dissemination of Urban Knowledge in Cities of the South. Brussels: KUL.