Urban Stress Relief in Heritage Sites as a Sustaining Approach

Associate Professor Dr. Abeer Elshater, Department of Urban Planning and Design, Ain Shams University Prof. Johann Jessen, Professor of Urban & Regional Planning University of Stuttgart

Spaces are being abandoned, neglected and eventually forgotten, though they, physically speaking, still exist but would rather vanish than flourish in our visual and mental environment. Decay is a progress and a pervasive parasite, absorbing and constantly consuming where things, slowly, start to disappear. Damages and ruins are the leftovers, resulting from a lack of attention and recognition. Moreover, it is the ignorance of something or the misconception of it. Urban voids, architectural jewels, structural masterpieces, impressive innovations are

milestones in history, and the very simple existence of an element of our habitat is an essential part which we blindly overlook every day. The scars of our city remain in each corner of our spaces, and while some of us can grasp and feel them in a way, others perceive them as disturbing and redundant, or a waste of space. Each wound result in a scar and each scar has a story to tell. These places, that symbolize history, past, and future, evoke memories and feelings. They visualize strength and fragility in co-existence in a profound and daunting way.

Keywords: Urban stress; Stress Relief; Preservation; Identity; Sense of place; Port Said; Architecture

Cities are expanding and the world is shifting towards a more urbanized environment with growing challenges as, in the next thirty years, the urban population is estimated to increase rapidly. Though urbanization is an inevitable process, it comes mostly with deficient infrastructure due to the lack of space, recourses and the amount of people living in dense areas. Urban living, therefore, results in stress, triggered by different factors such as overcrowding and pollution, which not only influences public spaces and nature but, more significantly, affects our built environment and heritage, causing deterioration and degradation. Urban stress is, additionally, impacting human health heavily, as city dwellers are subjected to a higher stress value than others. When not being able to cope with these challenges, people’s well-being is disturbed; they show a higher vulnerability for developing health and mood disorders such as anxiety or schizophrenia, in addition to feeling lonely, insecure or annoyed. Port Said, a Mediterranean city in Egypt, bordered by the Suez Canal, once a very delicate and cosmopolitan city nowadays, suffers from governmental neglect and the deterioration of buildings. The diversified and unique architecture is impressively influenced by the European style and creativity; artistic and structural, but threatened to fall apart or be demolished due to abandonment. By discovering the traces of the city’s historical roots and architectural finesse, this work tackles how the connection, perception and commitment of residents towards their urban fabric can preserve the valuable heritage and a how a fortiori can enhance urban living in many different ways.

The research is a further attempt to identify the potentials of urban heritage which is endangered by city development, and benefit from these advantages in order to relieve the city from stress and stabilize it. Heritage does not only play a crucial role in the identity and image of the city; it is also a key for development and stimulation of urban harmony. The proposed framework should serve as a guideline for the city’s selfassessment by measuring urban qualities through different relevant factors, which are strongly connected to physical features as well as personal and collective perceptions and, in turn, people’s behavioural reaction.

Port Said, the seaport – which lies at the northern tip of the Suez Canal, enclosed by the Mediterranean and the Manzala lake – was inaugurated in 1859 and named after Muhammad Said Pasha, the viceroy of Egypt at that time, who commissioned the Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps with the construction of the great Suez Canal. Besides Alexandria, the city, nowadays, is one of the country’s most significant commercial hubs as well as the

second biggest harbour. Witnessing crucial periods in time – namely the construction of the canal, the colonial phase, war and demolition and the recovery stage – it is one of the less discussed topics in Egyptian history, despite its significance as a Port, not only to one country but to the world. Linking the east to the west by creating a waterway, which connects the Mediterranean with the Atlantic with the lands of Suez, was the paramount goal for a foundation of “un port centre nature” – a harbour in spite of itself. After the often-doubted implementation of the project succeeded and the canal was finally established, it served as an international centre for trade, exchange, and communications throughout many years. The city, that was planned on a grid design of a triangular tract of land, soon flourished and attracted merchants as well as businessmen, mostly Europeans. Soon after the establishment, Port Said grew to be a city of global transport and trade and gained significance as being the headquarters for the Suez Canal Company, one of the biggest at its time. At its glorious times, the town fascinated many people and drew foreigners, especially from the Mediterranean region, to move and settle in the coastal city. Foreign languages, mostly French, followed by Italian, strengthened multilingualism as a main characteristic of the city, accompanied by many other languages within the population. This led to the establishment of foreign schools, cultural centres and religious institutions for each community. The idyllic scene, nevertheless, started to shake when the city witnessed times of war and deconstruction: It is the year 1952 when Port Said’s stability starts to shake as a consequence of conflicted relations between the ruling powers. The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also knows as the 23rd July Revolution, gives particularly far-reaching implications after the military coup on King Farouk, when Mohamed Naguib takes over. He is then replaced by Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, who follows harsh political goals and insists on stirring up hatred among the Egyptian population against the British occupation, besides aiming at an economical improvement trough the construction of the Aswan High Dam (Milner, 2011). The following years of the Nasser era were dominated by his ideology of nationalism and socialism, mainly in the anti-colonialism movement.

Later on, Nasser’s ideology is further transferred to the phase of reconstruction, taking the destruction as an opportunity for a new start, as a revolution for modernism – architectural, and as heralding the phase of a new Egypt. The state’s propaganda is most significantly reflected in magazines, books and other publications depicting the image of the progressive modern city that offers collective housing, public parks, low-cost housing districts for workers, presentable residential housing, service and industrial zones as well as beach amenities. A substantial and rather unexpected turn of the events takes place with the outbreak of the six-day war of 1967 when Port Said again becomes the target of the bombing. Due to attacks by the Israeli forces, “Port Said was once again devastated, much of the still-new reconstruction made into ruins” (Elshahed, 2012). Unfortunately, this time, Nasser’s regime was not able to cope that easily with this sudden challenge. The city is intended to collapse again, the canal is closed down and residents are evacuated to other regions. The Yom-Kippur War follows, and so do years of uncertainty and stagnation.

Years later, people get to return to their homes, but the city is not the same anymore. It is marked by decades of various characteristics: emergence, erection, renowned, war, destruction, reconstruction, gasp of relief, and a

new demolition, forgotten and eventually trying to get up again. Another important aspect is the immigration of thousands of Egyptians from the various, mostly rural areas of the country, being attracted by the establishment of the Free Zone, which was introduced to stimulate the local economy and as a reward for the city’s sacrifices (Ahmed, 2014). The new residents heavily impact the further cultural and social development.

Port Said's heritage is today threatened by the ongoing demolition of historical buildings. This goes along with the governmental neglect and corrupt business. Saving heritage and landmarks is, therefore, a key issue when talking about the preservation of a culture that is in the danger of getting lost. Recently, the city is going through a rapid construction boom which is heavily encroaching the urban fabric and initiating growing threats at the same time. House Owners mostly exploit the loophole by enforcing their plans through corrupt practices.

Buildings are being neglected until they fall apart or are being torn down due to their good location, for instance, to build new, mostly high-rise housing on the plot. Resulting from this are partly (informal) encroachments and unparalleled architecture. In today's context, the city is suffering from a tremendous housing shortage leading, therefore, to Figure 1: Research process diagram severe real estate prices. Port Said, lying in a very strategic location, bordered in a triangular location from the northern Mediterranean Sea – the Suez Canal on the eastern side and the great Manzala lake from the west. Due to these preconditions, spatial extensions are rather limited and critical. As the demand for residential property becomes high, old housing areas in the city centre become a desirable focus point for investments and corrupt businesses. With the growing pressure rises the demolition of classical old

buildings and the construction of new high-rise buildings instead, arisen during the past 15 years, mainly by corrupt actions, and which are a distraction to the visual connection, especially to the harbour’s front suffering from neglect and vacantness. Throughout the years, several changes and interventions took place in- and outside the buildings as well as encroachments, huts, vandalism and other relevant issues. This enormous disorder mainly results from an unclear division versus the appropriation of users, causing instant difficulties. In addition, old buildings, that are not in use anymore, are nothing else than forgotten, neglected voids turning into ruins within the city.

In this context, the pressure which the urban sprawl is creating on that district, is becoming a more crucial issue throughout trends of city planning and development. At the same time, it is important needs to be aware that development is an inevitable process that always entails positive and negative aspects. Even legally-protected buildings are endangered to have to yield to new modern houses. The term "urban stress" hereby describes the difficulties and external forces that dominate or affect the development or existence of our historical cores. The aim is to take control over the dimensions that generate urban stress and relieve the city of them by introducing strategies that can ease the strained urban situation. Relieving the city from urban stress is also an attempt to encounter, on the one hand, and on the other fight against a more urbanized, characterless, depressed, disorganized city without identity and roots of (in)tangible heritage. The described ‘heritage fabric’, the district under observation in this research, by this means, defines a broader spectrum of Port Said’s city core of Hay el Frang (the European quarter). It was home to many foreign communities like Greek, French, and Italian, who influenced the built environment enormously.

The district is, therefore, the most significant part of the city containing a very diversified architecture. Heritage is one of the most important assets of a society. It represents a set of historical layers, ways of living and structures that were passed on from generation to another, whether recognized as tangible or intangible cultural heritage, which is due to its significance of immeasurable value for humanity. This research aims at achieving guidelines/ strategies that initiate development in a sustainable way to foster prosperity and quality of life, not only for the users on site but also for neighbours, citizens and visitors of the city itself. The careful attempt of preserving heritage comes along with the reclamation – definition of urban public spaces and their potential for generating growth of economic and social structures.

Enhancing the functional assimilation of urban space can, therefore, be defined by a more comprehensive planning and research approach. The broader, general objective is to relieve the city from the enormous pressure resulting from the ongoing demolition and the consequent construction boom. The interdependency of relief and revival means to ease the conflict situation and help the historical city centre to recover again. It is not necessary to give the building back its original state but turn them again to more liveable spaces that play an active role as part of the urban fabric. The challenge lies in identifying those dead places and reanimate them by integrating them into the cityscape. Furthermore, and as a crucial foundation for this change, it is to be investigated what the impact of residents is on their heritage. What is the meaning of responsibility and integrity towards one’s environment and what role do the different factors play for achieving a well-being and harmonized living in

dense, urban areas? Through this approach, the city’s identity can be regained and preserved and, therefore, its heritage, as well.

The present urban setting comes along with many other crucial factors influencing the atmosphere and urban coulisse. The image is burdened with noise disturbance by cars and their constant honking, with a permanent environmental pollution that results from dirt, dust, smell and trash and the massive traffic volume, especially during peak times and the resulting lack of space. Moreover, historical buildings stand there abandoned, in the midst of the urban chaos of the 21st century. They are the victims of globalization, population and city growth, neglect and, more significantly, abuse and vandalism. In these prevailing circumstances, a city resident is more likely to be exposed to stress. More specifically, urban stress triggers inter alia anxiousness, feelings of anonymity and isolation, insecurity and physical tension. These do not only arouse due to environmental conditions but, moreover, through insufficient infrastructure, too high sidewalks or even harassment. Figure 2 Old Historical Buildings are torn down to be replaced by new high-rise buildings

Source: the author

All these factors lead to unbalanced city dwellers who are not able to balance their environment in a satisfying way. Urban living, therefore, becomes a challenge with lots of obstacles disturbing our everyday life patterns. Identifying ourselves with our surroundings or even with a city becomes even more difficult when not feeling comfortable and the absence of feelings of ease and security. The result is that our direct and immediate vicinity moves to a far distance as we try to avoid the exposure to it, bypass the

encounter or just ignore their sight since it would have already vanished from our field of vision. Hence, the present conflict of the urban setting can be summarized into three main components being dominant in the city: urban stress, residents, and heritage. These can, thus, be viewed in a triangular relationship influencing and affecting each other, shaping a city and its performance. Nevertheless, the people in this connection seem to be the key player.

The question that arises is how this disorder can be set aside to reproduce an urban setting which is balanced in activities, less stress-loaded and inhabited by residents who are at peace with their environment. Through the researcher’s observations and encounters during the field study in Port Said, it became clear how crucial the role of residents in this urban interplay becomes in terms of renewal processes. Cities are complex systems in an ever-changing progress, shaped by human interactions and interventions. People do not only significantly influence their environment but also form a very distinct cultural identity, be it on an individual or a collective scale. Either way, identity is mostly bound to cultural values, whether tangible or intangible. The product of identity is represented in the attachment to a certain place, strongly connected to virtues such as memories, a sense of continuity, beliefs or spiritual matters. Therefore, there should be a focus on the behaviour of people as cultural morals are decisive in the handling of heritage in precise and built environments, in general. The point is that, when humans are aware of their identity, which is shaped by historical events, places, and values, they are also able to be in harmony with the urban environment when establishing a certain affiliation and wellbeing. Identity, in this sense, stands for the nature of one’s personality and where one belongs. Identity, also being strongly bound to memory, shows how continuity can be disturbed by certain historical events. Memory, in turn, is connected to the concept of place, which is always endowed with meaning by its people. The narratives that stand behind these places are the key points to keeping a place alive. When talking with the residents about their environment and their historical buildings, the researcher was able to: recall their memories; recall the places in their mental imagination; recall the remembrance that these places still exist, which might not be in a flawless condition anymore, but which continue to live inside people's minds; recall how these places flourished long time ago and how they impacted city living in Port Said.

The reason why these important sites seem to disappear lies in the development of our more and more urbanized world and the spatial patterns of our everyday life habits that keep us apart from recognizing the value and significance of heritage in the city, hence other factors come to the fore. Heritage buildings in strategic locations are pressured due to the competitive land use where city cores lose their cultural qualities and become only places of practical planning standards of a consumerism-based global society with influential stakeholders, on the one hand, and homeless, powerless losers of the play on the other hand. The symbolism of a local place might, therefore, lose interest to its people when other factors become predominant. At this point, it is important to recognize a place as home because ‘place making' then means to give it a certain notion and meaning. What people perceive as important depends on their memory, which is strongly connected to different previous events, evoking difficulties and disagreements when it comes to the question of how to deal with heritage. It might, thus, be a critical point whether a statue, like De Lesseps that is associated with the colonial oppression should be restored on its original plinth or not. Nevertheless, memory as essentially recognized by the researcher, is in

need of a social setting in order to survive. This can be achieved through constant communication and people’s narratives as well as the association with certain places. While the visual component of a personal experience is the strongest, when an image becomes even more solid through a memory, it can be recalled at any time. Memories, on the other hand, as a collective act, are more likely to be passed on and circulated in cultural contexts. It is also an essential supplement to history which can, sometimes, be misleading or lacking parts of information. Thus, history is not only told in written form nor by the physical performance of a place, but by its people, as well.

Besides, considering the sense of place is an essential catalyst for maintaining or recovering the character of an area. The former concept describes the relationship of places and people while the latter shares a culturally, emotional feeling with space. This tradition is further endowed with beliefs and represents a sense of attachment. Moreover, it stands for a human need, impacting our mental state and is, therefore, strongly related to one's well-being within our environment. However, memory cannot solely be counted on when it comes to safeguarding heritage sites as it might not be a universally shared impression. However, in order to establish a sense of place where people are in harmony with their environment, awareness should be raised in the society, firstly towards their heritage as an essential part of the city. As also being expressed in the World Heritage Convention, programs for education and awareness raising stand for the commitment towards the conventions principles of safeguarding sites. Here, not only older generations, that experienced the buildings in real life, should be considered, but all age groups and especially children who will, in turn, when growing up, endow the memory that was once educated to them. When knowing the virtue of heritage and its importance to the city, as well as the more specific the impact it can have, people will value it differently and engage in sustaining heritage.

“Society’s identification with an ownership of heritage is the primary motivating […] conservation; but it is the securing of financial support that enables implementation”

(Orbasly, 2000)

According to this, another development catalyst, like financial revenues, should be considered in addition to the education sector. A property’s inscription, on a national or international heritage list, can solve existing conflicts on site, change the perspective to a place and, in the best case, attract visitors. However, tourist flows also need to be managed to avoid possible threats to heritage and surroundings. This involves sustainable strategies for planning and infrastructure principles, where vehicular and pedestrian traffic need to be considered as well as the overall performance of the public space which comprises all those sites. In this way, the quality of a place will, indirectly but more crucially, be increased not only for visitors and tourists, but also for the locals themselves, who will be relieved from stress when they are truly consistent with their environment. By involving the community in decision-making processes, people will be aware of a higher sensitivity towards a certain place, which will, yet again, be also reflected on the visitor's experience. Strengthening the emotional bond and responsibility towards a city is, then again, demonstrated in a human's wellbeing.

Finally, the importance of local initiatives, NGO’s and universities needs to be emphasized as an enriching and valuable power and recourse for further safeguarding campaigns, elucidation, and education. The currently rather poor field of research would require expansion to contribute to a more elaborated and grounded knowledge about heritage and the context it is embedded in. On a long-term perspective, this can enhance the education and especially the understanding in order to empower the community and develop skills. In this way, the value of heritage can be demonstrated, sustained and kept alive in a balanced environment where none of the components of the urban fabric bears competitive disadvantages towards each other.

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