ACCLIMATIZATION MEASURES FOR TEMPORARY REFUGEE SHELTERS IN HOT ARID CLIMATES; LOW-TECH MOBILE SOLUTIONS USING BEDOUIN TENTS

Global climate change has enormous impacts on urban areas in the developing world. The known and growing effects of climate change, like increased temperatures and increased incidence of severe storms, is evident. This winter, 2015, extreme cold waves and snow storms hit the Middle East region. Death rates in Syrian refugee camps were significant due to inefficient temporary shelters. Children and seniors were typically the most vulnerable. Additionally, the urban structures did not consider social needs and cultural behaviors. This paper investigates current social and environmental problems within Syrian refugee camps in Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. The paper offers an analysis of Bedouin communities in the Middle East for possible use of Bedouin tents structures and clustering as a resilient solution for housing and shelter. The aim of this study is to understand the environmental behavior of the Bedouin tent structure together with socio-cultural implications among the Bedouin community. The paper applied an investigative and analytical approach using qualitative site survey methods. It concludes by defining thermal comfort adaptation measures and social clustering adopted by local Bedouin inhabitants inside their tents and draws an applicable and hands-on proposal for using such adaptation measures in current low-tech emergency shelters, especially for low-income refugees.