Since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011, over 4 million refugees settled in neighbouring countries. While Jordan and Turkey have decided to open refugee camps, Lebanon still refuses this option. However, at a regional level less than 20% of the registered refugees reside in camps. Settlement in refugee camps is well documented whereas self-settled refugee groups have been less studied. This presentation will analyse the settlement strategies developed by refugees to adapt in contexts of high constraints, due to the precarious legal status of these refugees and their socio-economic vulnerability, as well as the policies developed by host states and humanitarian organisations. I will analyse the construction process itself, looking at the material evolution of housing units (from tents to temporary shelters), in relation to the diversity of the contexts in which they settle (camps vs. self-settlements). How do refugees appropriate their new housing? How do they use and transform humanitarian materials in order to build their house? What is the role of kinship, village and tribal networks in shaping forms of gatherings at a local level in host states? This presentation is based on fieldwork since 2013 on Syrian refugees in Northern Jordan, and Palestinians from Syria in South Lebanon. The Palestinian settlement experience in Lebanon that I have been studying since the mid-1990s, can contribute to a better understanding of the current Syrian refugee crisis, which saw the creation of new refugee camps in the Middle East. It invites us to rethink the issue of camps vs. self-settlement processes as management tools or tools of control of refugees.