René Boer

René BOER holds a Master's degree in Urban Studies from University College London's Urban Laboratory. He works as an urban and architectural researcher in Cairo and is affiliated with the Amsterdam-based research foundation Failed Architecture; and various urban social movements. His work focuses on grass root urban practices, architecture's urban afterlife and artistic representations of the built environment. In the past, he has worked as a freelance journalist for a number of media outlets in Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories. He has also been associated with the urban research collectives Citymine(d) in Barcelona, ICAHD in Ramallah/Jerusalem and Archis/Volume in Amsterdam. René joins CILAS as visiting fellow in the fields of study Arts and Natural Sciences, and will coordinate the thematic courses Art and the City, and Urban Resilience.