Rethinking Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: The Role of Aesthetics in Refugee Shelter

Abstract

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs has long served as a cornerstone for understanding human motivation and guiding interventions across diverse populations, including responses to forced migration. However, this working paper challenges the conventional application of Maslow’s model in refugee shelter projects, arguing that its static nature, individual focus, and universal application are misaligned with the realities of forced migration contexts, and it overlooks a critical component of wellbeing: aesthetics. Aesthetics is the overarching term encompassing the somatic appreciation – and the deliberate modification – of architectural elements, landscaping, materiality of shelter, spatial design, and manifestations of cultural symbolism. Despite its foundational role in shaping policies and interventions, Maslow’s Hierarchy fails to account for the importance of aesthetics and beauty in the built environment, particularly for forcibly displaced individuals and communities. By incorporating aesthetics into shelter design and planning, this paper argues for a holistic approach to fostering dignity, cultural identity, and community resilience among the forcibly displaced.

Keywords: Maslow, Hierarchy of Needs, Refugee, Shelter, Aesthetics in the built environment, Third realm beauty, Mental health