Beta
135180

The Role of Urban Space Configuration in Maintaining Social Inclusion: A Comparison of Four Types of Neighborhoods in Greater Cairo Region-Egypt

Article

Last updated: 22 Jan 2023

Subjects

-

Tags

Housing
Social Urban Studies
Sustainable Development
Urban Design

Abstract

Since the mid-twentieth century, the process of modernization caused an adaptation of westernized prototypes of residential neighborhoods in Greater Cairo Region. This evolution caused a relevant evolution of various prototypes of urban spaces, an evolution from traditional neighborhoods where street works as public space to new planned neighborhoods that concern quantitative provision of urban spaces as internal gardens inside superblock. The evolution was attractive for residents who escaped crowded traditional neighborhoods and claimed quantitative provision of urban spaces with well-designed landscape to enjoy better living conditions. Egyptian National Organization for Urban Harmony developed urban space design guidelines, to ensure quantitative and accessibility criteria. However, observation of urban spaces in new cities revealed failure to host residents and probably have negative impacts on social inclusion, cohesion, and participation. One reason behind that failure is the lack of empirical knowledge of expected impacts of design guidelines on social behavior. This research examines social sustainability of urban space configuration in four prototypes of neighborhoods, it also questions how socially sustainable are NOUH2010 design guidelines. The research depends on ethnographic observation and questionnaire survey that were conducted in selected neighborhoods. The paper reports, based on empirical findings, that modern urban spaces with quantitative provision of urban-spaces, hierarchical distribution, merged and central location, good accessibility and well-designed landscape are short sighted to achieve urban social sustainability; rather qualitative mixed use is most influential factor to encourage social inclusion, interaction and participation as by-product of movement and as subsidiary to other attractive activities.

DOI

10.21608/jur.2021.30232.1002

Keywords

urban space, Urban Social sustainability, Social cohesion, Social Inclusion, social participation, National Organization for Urban Harmony (NOUH)

Authors

First Name

Islam

Last Name

Ghonimi

MiddleName

Ghonimi

Affiliation

department of architecture, shoubra faculty of engineering, benha university

Email

islam.ghonimi@feng.bu.edu.eg

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

39

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

20370

Issue Date

2021-01-01

Receive Date

2020-05-14

Publish Date

2021-01-01

Page Start

75

Page End

104

Print ISSN

2090-0694

Online ISSN

2682-4515

Link

https://jur.journals.ekb.eg/article_135180.html

Detail API

https://jur.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=135180

Order

5

Type

Original Article

Type Code

1,227

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Journal of Urban Research

Publication Link

https://jur.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

-

Details

Type

Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023