The Era of Peacebuilding Has Not Ended. It Has Moved Home
Why the built environment matters in an age of deterrence For much of the past three decades, Western governments believed that peace could be built. The language of international policy reflected that confidence. Democracy promotion, humanitarian assistance, institution building and post-conflict reconstruction became the dominant vocabulary of security. Architects, planners, conservationists and humanitarian organisations found themselves contributing to that ambition by re
Thank You, Urban Realm
I am delighted to thank Urban Realm for publishing my article, Rebuilding Without Erasing, which they boldly retitled Ghost Buildings. It is a real honour to feature in one of Scotland's leading publications covering architecture, design and the built environment. The article explores a question that architecture rarely asks: what should we do with buildings that have been used for violence? We are familiar with rebuilding homes, restoring infrastructure and repairing heritag
Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan: What Post-War Cities Must Learn About Memory
Ukrainian / Arabic Text Rebuilding After War: What Buildings Remember If you are planning the reconstruction of Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Syria (or any city emerging from war) there is a question that rarely appears in engineering briefs, donor frameworks, or architectural masterplans: What do the buildings remember? After conflict, the world mobilises to rebuild walls, roads, schools, and monuments. We measure recovery in square metres restored and skylines repaired. Yet in eve
Why Peacebuilding Needs Climate Thinking and Climate Action Needs Memory, Place, and Justice
By Frazer Macdonald Hay Across the UN and global policy landscape, the term “climate–conflict nexus” has become shorthand for the reality that environmental shocks and social instability are increasingly inseparable. But the nexus is often described in economic or technological terms, food security, water scarcity, critical infrastructure, adaptation finance, and “smart” responses. Yet missing from most of these discussions is something fundamentally human: How people inhabi
