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Urban Design | Housing Policy |Resilience and Climate | Geographic Information Systems | Qualitative Methods

Azza is an urbanist, architect, and policy researcher. Her research is at the intersection of geotechnology and social and environmental justice, where she addresses policy gaps in housing instability and affordability, sustainable and just development, and resilient communities. 

With funding from , , and , she led a research and senior studio at UTSA to address climate change mitigation. With her team, they developed a  to retrofit high-pollutant load sites with Low Impact Development. She was also commissioned by  to assess impact and inclusion of HUD’s post-recession  in Phoenix, AR and Denver, CO. The program helped Hispanic-majority neighborhoods regeneration and recovery from high foreclosure rate. Her  that advocated for sustainable workforce housing in Eagle Ford Shale region was cited by several . Azza’s research is published in the Journal of Urban Planning and Development, International Journal of Architectural Research, Camino Real Journal, Elsevier books, ARCC and CUPUM proceedings.

Azza won over 16 research and teaching awards including several Fulbright awards. As a 2023 Fulbright specialist to Germany, she co-organized the International  on Real Estate Economics at , where she spoke about ESG framework in mega real estate projects. She also co-taught a graduate urban design seminar. She received the 2023 Faculty Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring from the University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning and was also awarded the 2016 Faculty Award for Service to Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry by UT San Antonio. Her storytelling instructional methods entice engagement, bridge the tech-skills gap, and incorporate DEI to maximize impact and accommodate students’ unique perspectives. Her students won several international, national, and academic awards including DAAD Rise to Germany and AIA Baltimore.