Yahia Shawkat is an urban and housing researcher who specialises in policy and legislative analysis, data visualization and historical mapping. With a focus on spatial justice and the right to housing he co-founded the research studio 10 Tooba in 2014, where he developed the Built Environment Observatory, an open knowledge portal identifying deprivation, scrutinising state spending, and advocating equitable urban and housing policies.

As housing rights officer at EIPR (2013-2015), Yahia focused on commodification-based eviction, the deadly building collapse phenomenon and produced a series of housing policy notes on the exclusionary social housing programme. In 2012, he directed the Right to Housing Initiative producing an infographic book and 10 short documentaries.

Yahia is a regular guest lecturer, and his work has been published in Egypte Monde Arabe and Architecture_MPS, while he has contributed to Mada Masr, Open Democracy, Heinrich Boell, MEI, among others. Yahia has consulted on housing policy for the watchdog BIC, as well as UN-Habitat and UNHCR.

He received the 2018 IHS AI Urban Professional Award (Runner up), and has been the 2010 recipient of the National Award for Architecture. In 2008 Yahia curated the Egyptian Pavillion at the 11th Venice Architecture Biennale. He holds a BSc in Architecture from Cairo University.