From survival to sustainability: a spatial implementation timeline for socially sustainable refugee camps

Abstract Refugee camps are planned as temporary humanitarian spaces; however, many evolve into complex and long-term settlements. This paper explores how camp transformations occur and how this transformation can be guided towards achieving socially sustainable communities. The paper shows that refugees’ everyday practices and spatial actions to meet their spatial needs contribute to the informal urbanization of camps. These acts challenge the existing assumption of temporality in humanitarian governance. Therefore, a shift from reactive management by humanitarian and governmental actors to more inclusive, long-term planning is required. Accordingly, the study develops a timeline framework based on expert interviews and document analysis that traces camp development through three overlapping phases: survival, liveable, and socially sustainable communities. The proposed framework offers both a conceptual and practical tool for aligning emergency response with community development, which places dignity, participation, and social resilience at the centre of refugee camp design and policy.