Amal is an urban planner who navigates the intersections of housing, spatial justice, and policy-driven urban change. With over a decade of experience in the social housing sector, she bridges research, advocacy, and strategy to address displacement and inequities in the built environment. More than just a researcher or planner, Amal is a systems thinker and a storyteller, using tools like GIS, data analysis, film, and community engagement to surface hidden narratives and drive policy impact. Her work balances pragmatic, on-the-ground problem-solving with a broader vision for structural change.
🌃Where can we typically find you on a week night?
In my home office most likely drinking herbal tea, doing some fun reading or listening my to my mother recap the news.
👯♀️If we were to find you on the dance floor, what kind of music would be playing?
Synthpop and South African House.
🍜When we say FOOD, you say…
Crepes
🗺Life quest?
Becoming untethered…
🩰If you were a shoe, what would it look like?
Chaco adjustable strap sandals
🧓What's something your grandparent doesn't think is a job, but you'd like to get paid for?
Pursuing creative ideas that center collective/collaborative memory keeping.
🎙What do you bring to The Outspoken Native?
Curiosity, care, and awareness of my own positionality.
🧐What's something unpopular that you believe?
Doing nothing should be accepted as a productive
exercise and celebrated widely.
My family still hasn’t fully grasped what I do exactly because I have a terrible habit of not staying put and a wondering that often takes me off the known path. They believe I’m capable but being immigrants, stability is treasured, and they think my wondering turns into wandering sometimes.
Professional sunbather who knows a lot about housing