Founded in Beirut in 2014 by an architect and a graphic designer, Public Works Studio (PWS) is a women-led non-governmental organisation advancing spatial justice through critical research, participatory design, and policy advocacy. In a city where rising rents, evictions, and environmental degradation threaten vulnerable residents, PWS works to protect the right to housing and promote equitable urban governance.

At the heart of its work is the Housing Monitor, the first platform of its kind in the SWANA region enabling residents to safely report eviction threats and housing violations. These reports trigger legal and social support, mobilise tenant networks, and generate evidence to challenge unjust policies. 

Complementing this, is the Land Policy Observatory which tackles legislative change, monitors urban planning abuses, and makes complex spatial issues accessible to the public. From defending refugee tenants against mass evictions to drafting Lebanon’s first Holistic Right to Housing Law, PWS combines grassroots organising with institutional advocacy to shift power toward communities historically excluded from decision-making.

PWS’s model blends data-driven monitoring with direct action, education, and coalition-building. Its approach is transferable, with partnerships across the region adapting its tools to other contexts facing housing precarity. In an era of deep urban inequality, PWS stands as both watchdog and catalyst, showing that cities can be reclaimed through collective action, evidence, and inclusive policy.