Beyond Humanitarian Architecture and Urbanism: A response to forced displacement in Tigray, Ethiopia

War and conflict are among the most significant man-made disasters affecting Africa, causing widespread destruction of the built environment and the forced displacement of millions. In response, various humanitarian actors play pivotal roles in supporting communities living under precarious conditions, alongside the efforts of the displaced themselves. Humanitarian architecture and urbanism—as a conceptual and theoretical framework—together with aid organizations, are critical in providing emergency shelter and settlement solutions for affected populations during the immediate aftermath. These interventions are followed by medium- and long-term relief, recovery, and reconstruction efforts aimed at restoring lives, infrastructure, and urban systems. This research focuses on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), returnees, and war-affected communities resulting from the two-year war in Tigray, Ethiopia (2020–2022). It investigates spatial responses implemented by humanitarian actors and affected communities, with particular attention to the production of confined and temporary spaces, including emergency shelters and both spontaneous and planned settlements. The study tests the hypothesis that sustainable humanitarian architecture and urbanism responses—spanning emergency shelter, settlement planning, and reconstruction—are conceptually and operationally under stress in practice, and that they can be more effectively informed by vernacular housing traditions, indigenous spatial patterns, and the surrounding landscape. Simultaneously, it examines the value added by vernacular architecture in post-war reconstruction efforts and how the introduction of standardized emergency shelters in a war-torn context can disrupt local building practices and sustainability, potentially hindering long-term recovery and reconstruction processes. A multi-sited ethnographic and longitudinal approach using mixed methods was adopted, combining an extensive literature review with a series of fieldwork activities conducted at multiple case study sites across Tigray. These sites range from individual households and emergency shelters to informal and planned displacement camps, collective centers, and host communities. The study explores the spatial, socio-economic, management dimensions and adaptations of war-affected communities to understand the complexities of post-conflict shelter, settlement dynamics, and reconstruction processes. The findings are organized into four thematic areas. First, the research identifies and analyzes existing typologies of shelters, settlements, architectural interventions, and management practices implemented both by humanitarian organizations and by IDPs themselves across urban and rural settings. Second, it presents an in-depth investigation of two planned displacement camps and their spatial, social, and economic interactions with adjacent peri-urban and urban areas in the cities of Mekelle (Seba Care 4 camp) and Shire (Mai Dimu camp), revealing emerging dynamics of post-war humanitarian urbanism. Third, the study examines war-damaged housing reconstruction practices and proposes context-sensitive models for future rebuilding efforts that integrate vernacular knowledge with NGO-led reconstruction initiatives. Finally, it highlights the technological aspects of vernacular architecture, demonstrating how traditional construction knowledge can inform and strengthen humanitarian interventions across the emergency, relief, recovery, and reconstruction (ERRR) phases, as well as contemporary practices. Keywords: Humanitarian Architecture and Urbanism; Forced Displacement; Emergency Shelter; Displacement Camps and Settlements; Vernacular Architecture; Post-Conflict Reconstruction; Tigray War (2020–2022); Ethiopia.