Investigating the urban structure of newly planned cities in Egypt: The case study of New Cairo city (original) (raw)
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Syntactic Stitching: Towards a Better Integration of Cairo's Urban Fabric
This paper focuses on studying Cairo’s urban fabric, which is composed of a mixture of planned districts built by the government and private sector, and informal districts, self-generated to fulfil the needs of a rapidly expanding population. The case studies selected are continuous parts of the city that show variation in the urban fabric and a distinction between planned and informal districts. This paper argues that even though there is a high percentage of unplanned districts in close proximity to planned districts, the city as a whole functions and is connected. This indicates that there exists an underlying, naturally generated global structure, a super-grid, which can be used to better integrate between the different districts, both planned and informal (Peponis et al., 2015). The study will show variations between the selected districts in terms of emergence, morphology and syntactical structure. The study will analyse syntactically the selected districts as they currently exist both locally within the district and globally in the entire case study. A similar analysis was conducted on informal settlements in Santiago, Chile. One of the principle findings was that the more spatially integrated the existing settlement is on its edge boundary with the surrounding urban layout, in terms of vehicular movement and local accessibility, the higher the level of self-generated economic activity and community development (Hillier, Greene, & Desyllas, 2000). This paper aims to build upon that, by exploring ways in which the existing informal settlements can be better integrated with the surrounding urban form to benefit the entire community by harnessing the super-grid. The analysis indicates that the highway super-grid is based on the pre-existing canal system in Cairo, but it is incomplete and creates a boundary around informal settlements rather than becoming a connector. The analysis also indicates that the main roads in informal settlements have developed using the same canal system super-grid and that this can be used to reconnect them to the city. After the initial syntactical and morphological analysis of the existing fabric, different approaches to create ‘syntactic stitching’ between the districts are suggested following the previous analysis and underlying global structure. The focus is on adjusting the existing fabric, such as aligning existing streets, creating new thoroughfares to increase edge movement and consolidation into the main urban form.
One of the most potent concepts recently to have emerged within the repertoire of space syntax is that of generic function. While urban space clearly derives its intelligibility and functionality in part from characteristics that are local and specific, the key properties that shape the urban complex are primarily generic: patterns of occupation and occupancy are rooted in shared fields of possibility. In the present study axial mapping is used to examine the spatial structure of the city of Assiut on the west bank of the Nile south of Cairo (GOPP 2000). Assiut can be traced back to 4000 B.C., but the modern city dates largely from 1800 A.D. Consisting of 14 distinct districts, the extant city exhibits a range of morphological types: from the deformed grid commonly associated with uncontrolled 'organic' growth to strictly orthogonal layouts. Many have been subject to growth and change over time. Assuit is seen to have widespread problems, most notably in the perpetuation of ...
Street morphology and its effect on pedestrian movement in historical Cairo
Cognitive Processing, 2009
The paper examines three-dimensional method of analysis to space syntax, focusing on the route cross sections along the axial map. The paper's aim is to understand the potential effects of route's cross-section morphology inside historical Cairo on pedestrian movement and land use distribution.
Social networks in space of unplanned settlements in Cairo metropolitan area
This paper is a comparison between two different typologies of informal housing in the Cairo metropolitan area. Ezbet Bekhit is an example of unplanned areas built on state-owned desert land, while Abu Qatada is a different example built on former privately-owned agricultural land. The paper aims to reveal social divergences through differences in spatial patterns. The challenge is to view settlement community as a spatial system through spatial configuration. Space syntax is used to analyse the spatial configuration of the two areas, in addition to the virtual gate method that is employed to get data on peoples' movement. The results show that there is a significant positive relationship between pedestrian movement pattern and spatial accessibility implying that opportunities of social interaction, co-presence, and co-awareness of different groups of people can be predicted through spatial design. In Ezbet Bekhit, the association was found at both scales: the settlement, and citywide scales, while in Abu Qatada it was found only on the citywide context. The findings also show that there are differences in gender movements in both informal settlements spaces. Differences in cultural movement pattern—co-presence or co-absence of different categories of people (gender, ethnic groups and others)— are also observed in both areas, where some categories avoid meeting some other in Ezbet Bekhit or local people intermingle with non-local in Abu Qatada. Moreover, adult men affirmed their existence in both alleyways and on boundaries between settlements indicating territorial behaviour in informal areas. This in turn, influences social issues such as locations of conflict and feeling of safety.
Establishment of space syntax to read urban road network; the case of Sari, Iran
Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs, 2017
Cities have permanent changes as a living organism, where the transformation required in designing a solution for structural and social demands achieving safe and healthy human contacts. Some scholars divide city sustainable development toward two main views, as the building's set are connected by a space, on the other hand, human social actions are linked by urban network interaction. The aim of this paper is to study on the urban road network by the establishment of space syntax logic, this issue is divided into two main parts, as a first part, the study on already existing and the second part is bringing the new suggestions to a more qualified urban road network. Sari city of Iran is selected for this Case Study.
Reading urban spaces by the space-syntax method: A proposal for the South Haliç Region
Cities, 2010
For a designer-architect to be able to make accurate predictions for any particular urban space, he/she needs to know the development stages of the city, as well as the city's various features across time. Thus, it is necessary to read the different segments that constitute the city to reveal its historical, cultural, social, physical and symbolic features. The aim of this study is to determine the social and physical problems of a historical urban space and subsequently to introduce physical and functional suggestions to improve the identified problems, and for the development of the area. The South Haliç Area was chosen as a work-space because of its special importance in protecting the historical and cultural heritage found there and transferring it to future generations. With this in mind, in addition to literature studies, on-site observations and interviews, the area has been analyzed and evaluated using the space syntax method. The suggestions developed for the identified problems and solutions have been re-analyzed, and both the present data and the data obtained after the suggestions have been examined and the results have been presented.
The socio-economic implications of the spatial configuration in greater Cairo metropolitan area
2013
The aim of this paper is to present the implications of the physical urban form on the socio-economic aspects of the Greater Cairo Metropolitan Area. The purpose here is to understand the relationship between the socio-economic conditions of a settlement and its overall spatial structure. The spatial characteristics of socio-economically disadvantaged areas were compared with the rest of the city to explore the reasons behind in-equality in socio-economic aspects from a syntactic point of view. As it turns out, these disadvantaged areas have a strong internal spatial structure, but lack external integrators that link them to surrounding areas and the whole city. When correlating social and spatial factors, socio-economic differences are significantly correlated with the spatial structure of the street network. For instance, the regression analysis shows a strong correlation between literacy and crime rates, and angular global integration values. However, this is not the case for loc...
Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs, 2019
Architects and designers should be familiar with the city developmental process to know about all the city aspects if they are hidden the whole time. This matter shows the importance of studying the urban sections to find out the city critical points. The method is the space syntax in one view which is the consideration of urban network analysis and it would be presented by graphs and maps by a computational description of the selected places. The main target of the space syntax establishment is to study the urban network issue by clarifying the most logical routes in the urban road network. This study has the aim to implement the space syntax as a method to determine urban network problems in order to achieve new suggestions to increase the urban network integration. In this regards, Famagusta city in Cyprus is chosen to study to present the new suggestion.
Investigating walkability and bikeability in compact vs. new extensions: the case of Greater Cairo
Frontiers in Built Environment, 2023
Despite the urgent need to adopt sustainable transportation methods to reduce pollution, some cities, particularly in developing countries, are still prioritizing the construction of roads for private cars. The Greater Cairo Region is experiencing increased reliance on cars, causing strain on the road network, leading to traffic congestion, decreased walkability, and social isolation, especially in gated communities. Old Cairo downtown has implemented sustainable transportation options, but more action is needed from city authorities to prioritize sustainable transportation methods for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit users to create livable cities and promote public health. The objective of this study is to assess the walkability and bikeability of three distinct city centers: Old Cairo, which represents the historic area of the Greater Cairo Region, and the newer extensions, namely, New Cairo and 6th October City. The analysis of walkability and bikeability will be based on the Walk Score metric, while the relationship with urban form integration will be evaluated using space syntax in-depth maps. The results indicate that the walkability rates in Old Cairo downtown surpass those of the newer extensions of the Greater Cairo Region due to the compact urban fabric and highly integrated street network and activities. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the reasons for car dependency in the new extensions of Greater Cairo and emphasizes the significance of collaboration between local public transportation authorities, the Ministry of Housing, global organizations, and international agendas.
Muscat City Expansion and Accessibility to the Historical Core: Space Syntax Analysis
Energy Procedia
Expansion of cities is an international phenomenon that occurs mainly due to population growth. With the expansion of the new cities, the accessibility to the old cities might be affected. The focus of this research is on the governorate of Muscat in Oman and its old city, Greater Mutrah. Our aim is to investigate how the expansion of Muscat had affected the accessibility to the old city. This city was selected because of its inherent value in history, economy, and tourism in the country and the region. In order to understanding how the accessibility is affected in terms of vehicle movement, space syntax theory and its associated methodology -i.e. Axial Maps- is used. Using DepthMapX software, Integration radius 3 was calculated for the old city before and after the expansion of Muscat, and the data were analyzed statistically. The results showed that the expansion has positively affected the accessibility to the old city while altering the spatial structure within it. This paper contributes to interpret the spatial characteristics of the street networks and how these characteristics affect accessibility, and subsequently tourism attraction, to old cities.