MATUP Class of 2015–

Project Associate at Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB).

Rania has a rich background in community engagement, freelance research among library archives and refugee camps, as well as access to education in Lebanon. Before moving to NYC, she co-founded Creative Space Beirut, where people were offered free design education. This led her to the MA Theories of Urban Practice program and since graduation she has held a full-time position as a Project Associate at the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) , an organization deeply embedded in the history of NYC.

This experience has actively  involved her in the preservation of limited-equity housing cooperatives in the city and taught her “how to engage in housing from different angles.” Rania is also one of the co-founders of the in•site collaborative which is a multidisciplinary research and design consultancy tackling issues surrounding uneven urban development. She and other co-founders had received the coveted Parsons Entrepreneurship Lab Fellowship which provided mentorship, legal aid and business support for the in•site collaborative. Her time at Parsons contributed in many ways to her current work both at UHAB and within the in•site collaborative.

According to Rania, MATUP “experience is not a given, it is a privilege. Never take it for granted and think about how many people would give anything for what you have […] Be kind, appreciative and good to all the staff in those buildings who pick up after everyone (when they shouldn’t have to). Respect your space, yourself and those around you.”