To sustain the ongoing maintenance of the street, funds
were raised from the governorate and unions of many banks.
During the recent development, the street was defined with
carefully zoned cafés, and boundaries were set by flower
metal boxes carrying the café/restaurant name. The marble
seats were replaced with 24 wooden seats. To keep an avid
eye on the street, three security cameras were installed, in
addition to two security kiosks plus hiring security officers
belonging to the Tenants Association. All kiosks were
removed just keeping existing licensed kiosks and cafés.
Users and residents of the street started to feel some sense
of belonging to the space and started an initiative called ‘Put
a book…Take a book’ aiming to spread the reading habit by
providing small libraries to benefit passers-by with free
books to read and return or to replace the book with another.
This initiative started in Al-Alfi passageway and targeted 25
other places in Downtown Cairo. It was funded by Bavaria
Fire Fighting Solutions; however, it did not succeed as
expected since some took the books and never returned them
(Alshenawy 2017a, b, 2018a, b).
Haidi Shalabi (from the National Organisation for Urban
Harmony) describes the street now as “…newly rehabilitated
with the participation of the local community. Al-Alfi is now
a buzzing recreational center, with the zoning of cafés taking
place under the scrutiny of security cameras. We have created a Tenants Association and fund for the street and have
hired a company in charge of rubbish-collection and security.” (Shahine 2018).
4.2.4 The Effect
Authorities dealt with this passageway as an experimental
prototype for street interventions in Downtown that can be
reimplemented in other streets. This made the most regeneration efforts along many years of incomplete intervention
trials that focused superficially on physical aspects like
paving roads, painting façade and installing fixed benches
without anticipating the real economic implications, not to
mention how to sustain the revitalization process. Pedestrianization strategy was not appreciated as pedestrian area
shrunk in favour of side cafés. Simultaneously, those cafes
encouraged different types of users to frequent the street and
turn it into a kinetic hub once again. Some street events and
dancing performances even took place in recent years
engaging many locals and visitors of the street to perceive
the street from a different perspective. El Kadi sums up this
continuous process of revitalization in a few words ‘The
province has accelerated the implementation of Al-Alfi
development in a short period of time, thus some errors in
implementation have emerged and re-development of the
street took place once again’ (Alshenawy 2018a, b).
The following photo-mapping explains the conditions of
both streets before and after interventions Fig. 8.
5 Post Occupancy Evaluation
from a Sustainable Viewpoint (POE),
Successes or Failures
…The power of architecture is believed to support social ideals,
human needs, physical health, and spiritual aspirations. With the
aim to fulfil the various dimensions of human needs that are
linked to architecture, different environment-behaviour methods
have been applied to the profession, e.g. Evidence-based design
and Post Occupational Evaluations… (Eberhard 2009)
Sustainability has a social dimension based on fair distribution, and a material dimension based on efficiency,
savings and sufficiency. It can be achieved by accelerating
the refurbishment and regeneration of the constructed city, as
well as maximizing the performance of the city machinery
(Citizen Commitment to Sustainability 2012–2022).
Consequently, the quality of a sustainable public space
automatically leads to place attachment, simply because
when a space is being successfully sociable, freely accessible, and supported by different types of uses and a variety of
activities, this can automatically boost the economic force
within that space and accordingly in the area surrounding it
as well. In his writings, Jan Gehl highlighted six issues that
need to be addressed in order to evaluate a space:
1. Are reclaimed streets providing more equitable distribution of open space?
2. Do new spaces promote greater diversity of users and
choices of outdoor activity?
3. Are public places facilitating greater transit and social
connectivity?
4. Can improved access to public space promote greater
neighbourhood health and wellness?
5. Can these spaces deepen a sense of community participation, belonging and ownership by residents, businesses
and stakeholders?
6. Do the new spaces inspire creativity and improve beauty
in the neighbourhood?
The United Nations World Commission on Environment
and Development in 1987 (Brundtland report 1987) restricted the sustainable development to meet the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Many guidelines for measuring the sustainability of cities already exist. Four main
methods are as follows:
1. The Circles of Sustainability model developed by the
Global Compact Cities initiatives
2. The Green City Index
3. The Improvement and Efficiency Social Enterprise
(IESE) Cities in Motion Index
142
S. Ashour and B. Braker
were raised from the governorate and unions of many banks.
During the recent development, the street was defined with
carefully zoned cafés, and boundaries were set by flower
metal boxes carrying the café/restaurant name. The marble
seats were replaced with 24 wooden seats. To keep an avid
eye on the street, three security cameras were installed, in
addition to two security kiosks plus hiring security officers
belonging to the Tenants Association. All kiosks were
removed just keeping existing licensed kiosks and cafés.
Users and residents of the street started to feel some sense
of belonging to the space and started an initiative called ‘Put
a book…Take a book’ aiming to spread the reading habit by
providing small libraries to benefit passers-by with free
books to read and return or to replace the book with another.
This initiative started in Al-Alfi passageway and targeted 25
other places in Downtown Cairo. It was funded by Bavaria
Fire Fighting Solutions; however, it did not succeed as
expected since some took the books and never returned them
(Alshenawy 2017a, b, 2018a, b).
Haidi Shalabi (from the National Organisation for Urban
Harmony) describes the street now as “…newly rehabilitated
with the participation of the local community. Al-Alfi is now
a buzzing recreational center, with the zoning of cafés taking
place under the scrutiny of security cameras. We have created a Tenants Association and fund for the street and have
hired a company in charge of rubbish-collection and security.” (Shahine 2018).
4.2.4 The Effect
Authorities dealt with this passageway as an experimental
prototype for street interventions in Downtown that can be
reimplemented in other streets. This made the most regeneration efforts along many years of incomplete intervention
trials that focused superficially on physical aspects like
paving roads, painting façade and installing fixed benches
without anticipating the real economic implications, not to
mention how to sustain the revitalization process. Pedestrianization strategy was not appreciated as pedestrian area
shrunk in favour of side cafés. Simultaneously, those cafes
encouraged different types of users to frequent the street and
turn it into a kinetic hub once again. Some street events and
dancing performances even took place in recent years
engaging many locals and visitors of the street to perceive
the street from a different perspective. El Kadi sums up this
continuous process of revitalization in a few words ‘The
province has accelerated the implementation of Al-Alfi
development in a short period of time, thus some errors in
implementation have emerged and re-development of the
street took place once again’ (Alshenawy 2018a, b).
The following photo-mapping explains the conditions of
both streets before and after interventions Fig. 8.
5 Post Occupancy Evaluation
from a Sustainable Viewpoint (POE),
Successes or Failures
…The power of architecture is believed to support social ideals,
human needs, physical health, and spiritual aspirations. With the
aim to fulfil the various dimensions of human needs that are
linked to architecture, different environment-behaviour methods
have been applied to the profession, e.g. Evidence-based design
and Post Occupational Evaluations… (Eberhard 2009)
Sustainability has a social dimension based on fair distribution, and a material dimension based on efficiency,
savings and sufficiency. It can be achieved by accelerating
the refurbishment and regeneration of the constructed city, as
well as maximizing the performance of the city machinery
(Citizen Commitment to Sustainability 2012–2022).
Consequently, the quality of a sustainable public space
automatically leads to place attachment, simply because
when a space is being successfully sociable, freely accessible, and supported by different types of uses and a variety of
activities, this can automatically boost the economic force
within that space and accordingly in the area surrounding it
as well. In his writings, Jan Gehl highlighted six issues that
need to be addressed in order to evaluate a space:
1. Are reclaimed streets providing more equitable distribution of open space?
2. Do new spaces promote greater diversity of users and
choices of outdoor activity?
3. Are public places facilitating greater transit and social
connectivity?
4. Can improved access to public space promote greater
neighbourhood health and wellness?
5. Can these spaces deepen a sense of community participation, belonging and ownership by residents, businesses
and stakeholders?
6. Do the new spaces inspire creativity and improve beauty
in the neighbourhood?
The United Nations World Commission on Environment
and Development in 1987 (Brundtland report 1987) restricted the sustainable development to meet the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Many guidelines for measuring the sustainability of cities already exist. Four main
methods are as follows:
1. The Circles of Sustainability model developed by the
Global Compact Cities initiatives
2. The Green City Index
3. The Improvement and Efficiency Social Enterprise
(IESE) Cities in Motion Index
142
S. Ashour and B. Braker