Urban design principles of a historic part of Cairo : a dialogue for sustainable urban regeneration

• Main Author: Nasser, Noha
• Published: Birmingham City University 2000
• Subjects: 307.12; Urban planning & rural planning
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.367471

The city of Cairo, like many other historic cities, experienced a break in the continuum of its traditional urban pattern due to the modernisation project. The break was not only limited to the physical pattern but to social and economic activities. The swing of emphasis from the historic area to the modern quarters left the city peripheral to administrative and economic activities, augmenting urban and sociocultural decay. This study analyses these changes and forwards an argument that there is a strong need to conserve the human scale, individuality, richness and diversity of the historic city of Cairo and integrate it into the modern metropolis as a living and vigorous entity. The objective is to reconcile the old with the new through the perpetuation of culture. In this study, culture is considered as a vehicle to generate the need for conservation and regeneration of the old area, while at the same time maintaining a context for both continuity and diversity in the traditional urban fabric. In doing so, the study examines the historical and cultural urban processes that shaped the traditional city, focusing on the complex interaction between social and physical entities. The study then considers the current dimension, where tourism and small-scale manufacturing have enabled the historic city to reposition itself as the most powerful secondary economic base in the metropolis, drawing on the legacy of its urban heritage. The study argues that by learning from the past that created unity in the built environment, the future of the city could be shaped: balancing the conservation of its cultural heritage and the promotion of sustainable development to suit contemporary needs.