A Novel Approach for Establishing Design Criteria for Refugees’ Shelters

There is currently growing interest amongst the international community of policy makers about finding solutions for accommodating refugees, who currently concentrate mainly in countries located in the MENA region such as Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Palestine and Libya. Man-made disasters were the main cause for displacing people, whether inside their countries or forced to cross the border. This paper discusses the impact on refugees produced by not adequate accommodations and gathers refugees’ inputs on customizing a suitable place for living. The paper focuses on a case study, the Al Zaatari camp in Jordan, which is the most recent camp of MENA region. The case study is developed through an extensive primary data collection, including interviews with refugees in the Al Zaatari camp. Refugees provided the researchers with their inputs by sharing their needs and desires in a new situation. Further insights were provided by involving NGOs experts and their insights and experiences, through an iteration cycle within the design science method. The main finding from the research is a new perspective opposite to a standardized approach to refugees’ needs, built through listening to what refugees have to say on how to improve their lives in camps.