146 Electives Urban Spaces in Informal Areas in Cairo: Towards Understanding the Relation Between the Physical Settings and the Activities by Ahmed Abayazeed Background/Context
Most of the construction and urban growth in the world today is not in the hands of professionals, but mostly produced by unskilled, low income, and poor people. Most of the cities in the Global South are expanding rapidly through the growth of informal areas (GARCÍA, 2013). In the Egyptian context, it is found that the form and the nature of Egyptian cities were reshaped over the last decades by informality. This will continue into the future although a range of policies and legislation have been adopted by the Egyptian government to slow or limit the growth of informal areas (Tadamun, 2013). Due to the wrong governmental policies and the mismanagement of the housing sector, a gap between poor and upper classes has emerged. Upper classes have their own spaces, parks golf courses within their gated communities, while in poor areas which are mostly informal people treat the streets and open spaces as an extension of the home, secure space where they can leave their children playing and women can sit in the afternoon and exchange conversation (SHEHAYEB, 2009). Open public space may be more important for the poor majority who live at high density and make use of available urban spaces for recreation, work, and everyday social activities. Gehl (2001) mentions that when the physical environment of outdoor areas are of poor quality, only strictly necessary activities occur. This could work within planned areas but in the case of informal areas where the physical environment is mostly of poor quality, social activities also take place because people have no other option. We might reimagine the relationship between the physical environment and activities in urban spaces in informal areas.
Research Problem
Informal areas in general are characterised by dense urban patterns due to huge competition for resourses. Although open spaces are limited, it is considered a vital element in people’s daily lives since people living there use them heavily and they have their own ways to produce, use, modify, and interact with them. Knowledge of how people deal with their open spaces in informal areas is missed in the planner’s perspective. Although research into this area is important, limited reseach has been done. There is a missing link between the activities/physical setting in informal areas, and physical settings created by planners to host the same activities. Reasons for Choosing the Topic
●● Lack of researches dealing with urban spaces in informal areas of Egypt despite its impotance as an urban fabric. ●● Urban spaces play an important role in enhancing sense of belonging for inhabitants and shaping the main character of the community. By understanding the dynamics taking place in these spaces and taking this into connsideration, we could enhance positive influences. ●● Personal interst in the topic.
The relation between activities & the physical settings in informal areas
The physical setting created by the urban designer to host activities