The open-air markets are one of the activities related to urban spaces, while due to the weakness
of the supervisory role of the state and the increasing demand for these markets -whether by
traders or buyers- this resulted in the emergence of many physical, social, environmental and
security problems. These markets cause obstruction and disruption of traffic, increasing rates of
violent crime, and the occupation of public urban plazas by vendors, which has a negative impact
on the right of citizens to public space. The research explores the problem of the presence of
markets in urban public spaces based on an intrinsic case study of ‘Al Moez LiDin Allah Al‌Fatimi' street in Islamic Cairo. It investigates the mutual impact between these markets activities
and the use of the street as an urban plaza with reference to three concepts: Public Space, Public
Good, and Public Sphere. It aims at finding out how specialized markets can be integrated within
the public urban areas without affecting the characteristics of the public space, thus contributing
to the efficiency of urban spaces within cities. The research depends on a mixed methods case
study; a users' satisfaction survey was conducted, also data was collected by observation and
semi-structured interviews. The main results indicate that the more attention to the physical
environment of the street, the lower the impact of the market on the right of the rest of the users,
while the less management and follow-up to the street, this leads to dominate market activities.
Additionally, the lack of community participation in development processes negatively affects the
use of the street, and reflects the gap between policy makers and users.