Cairene Public Realm: An Analysis of the City Public Spaces and its Quality

Abstract

Cairo is a cosmopolitan city, which passed through several intervals that made radical changes in its social and economic life that is reflected in its Urban Fabric. In the seventies of the 20th century, the state began to take different trends toward urban development. Eight new satellite cities have been built around Cairo to absorb the extended population.

Accordingly, Public spaces differ in use between the old urban fabric in Cairo and the ones in the satellite cities. Although new cities are planned according to the assumption of accommodating all categories, the open spaces within new cities did not achieve success similar to their predecessors. In such context, this paper aims to enhance the Quality of Public Spaces’ use. To reach that, the research will conduct inductive and analytical methods to introduce public spaces and its reflection on the social and urban quality of life. The study will investigate comparatively the use of public spaces in the Cairene old urban fabric and 6th of October city, which represents traditional vs. modern urban spaces.

Based on the research answers, new criteria will be introduced in the area of designing public spaces aiming to understand the profound relationship between users and place.

Keywords: Inclusive City, Public Realm, Public Space, Quality of Life, Social Cohesion