scholarly journals The Segregation in Access to Spaces for Urban Activities during COVID-19 Pandemic in Relation to Gated Communities in Egypt

2021 ◽  
pp. 123-134
Author(s):  
Hellen Aziz ◽  
Salma Ellakany

Despite the long history of physical and social segregation by various types of gated communities in Egypt, they are attracting more residents. This is a result of the sense of privacy, security, access to proper services and the quality of green areas and public spaces that they offer. In most cases, such privileges and spaces for urban activities have restricted access to users who do not own residential units in such gated communities. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, starting in early 2020, and the Egyptian government’s preventive measures, people’s daily lives have been affected both economically and socially. Regulations such as the application of a curfew, and the closure of public services and facilities have had a considerable impact on population’s urban activities and the use of the public spaces. Yet, it could be argued that urban activities within gated communities have increased as the residents were forced to stay at home, or within the gated compounds’ walls. Thus, this paper investigates the use of the spaces for urban activities inside the gated communities; whether residential or beach destinations, in Egypt during the pandemic. It then studies the segregation in the rights of use of open urban spaces inside and outside gated communities, during the pandemic.

2021 ◽  
pp. 25-46
Author(s):  
Aseel Naamani ◽  
Ruth Simpson

The issue of public spaces is increasingly at the core of civic movements and discourse of reform in Lebanon, coming to the fore most recently in the mass protests of October 2019. Yet, these most recent movements build on years of activism and contestation, seeking to reclaim rights to access and engage with public spaces in the face of encroachments, mainly by the private sector. Urban spaces, including the country’s two biggest cities – Beirut and Tripoli – have been largely privatised and the preserve of an elite few, and post-war development has been marred with criticism of corruption and exclusivity. This article explores the history of public spaces in Beirut and Tripoli and the successive civic movements, which have sought to realise rights to public space. The article argues that reclaiming public space is central to reform and re-building relationships across divides after years of conflict. First, the article describes the evolution of Lebanon’s two main urban centres. Second, it moves to discuss the role of the consociational system in the partition and regulation of public space. Then it describes the various civic movements related to public space and examines the opportunities created by the October 2019 movement. Penultimately it interrogates the limits imposed by COVID-19 and recent crises. Lastly, it explores how placemaking and public space can contribute to peacebuilding and concludes that public spaces are essential to citizen relationships and inclusive participation in public life and affairs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2089 (1) ◽  
pp. 012051
Author(s):  
O Facho ◽  
T Cama ◽  
D Esenarro ◽  
J Livia ◽  
C Cuetoand ◽  
...  

Abstract The present research aims to propose a model for the recovery of residual public spaces to improve the quality of life of the district of San Borja’s inhabitants. San Borja is in the process of densification and requires a more significant number of public spaces that offer, in addition to vegetation, public places for active and passive recreation, such as spaces for sports and games, walking pets, and relaxation. These needs have increased due to the confinement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, it was noted that the median strip, or central reservation of the avenue, can be recovered for people to use. Therefore, a four-phase study was carried out that included reviewing the literature and observing two cases. In conclusion, a model was proposed to recover the public space of the median strips of San Borja Norte Avenue and San Borja Sur Avenue to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of San Borja, which can be replicated in other avenues with residual spaces with similar characteristics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-199
Author(s):  
Regina M. Frey

At present, there is no societally relevant political newspaper in Germany that is based on a Christian worldview. The Rheinischer Merkur, founded in 1946 shortly after the end of the Second World War and shut down by the German Bishops’ Conference in 2010, was a newspaper of this kind. It went beyond the Christian milieu in the fulfilment of its mission in the public arena. The closure of the Rheinischer Merkur obscures even today the decisive role it played in the elaboration of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany and the substantial quality of the paper. This essay sketches the history of the Rheinischer Merkur and its self-understanding, as well as its decline, locating these in the context of the journalistic autonomies and media-ethical tensions to which every journalistic medium is subject.


Author(s):  
Senada Arucevic

Over the last decade, vast research has been conducted on assistive technology devices and the potential implementation of these devices in the daily lives of individuals with disabilities. Many devices are new to the public and may require further development, but it is important to disseminate information about these useful technologies, which often afford users more independence with their activities of daily living. Unfortunately individuals with disabilities often encounter stigma; research suggests that assistive technology devices may at times contribute to this ostracism. This chapter reviews a variety of technologies that have been used to improve the quality of life of individuals with varying disabilities. These devices are presented in the context of introducing a new children's television show, Realabilities, a pro-social and stop-bullying children's television program that seeks to enhance the social interaction and initiation of typical children towards children with disabilities. Directions for future research and implementation of these devices are also discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eirini Dimidi ◽  
S. Mark Scott ◽  
Kevin Whelan

The aim of this narrative review is to assess and present evidence on the mechanisms of action of probiotics in constipation, their effectiveness and their utilisation by patients and healthcare professionals. Chronic constipation is a common bothersome disorder that has a considerable impact on patients' quality of life. Probiotics have been increasingly investigated for their effectiveness in various disorders, including chronic constipation. Probiotics may affect gut motility and constipation through their impact on the gut microbiota and fermentation, the central and enteric nervous system and the immune system. However, evidence for the effectiveness of probiotics in the management of constipation remains varied, with some strains demonstrating improvements, while others show no effect. Despite the uncertainty in evidence and the fact that the majority of healthcare professionals do not recommend probiotics for constipation, an increased prevalence of probiotic use by people with constipation has been shown. Therefore, there is a need for public health strategies to inform the public about where strong evidence of probiotic effectiveness exist, and where evidence is still weak. Education of healthcare professionals on the increased utilisation of probiotics for constipation by the public and on current evidence for the effectiveness of specific strains is also required.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farshid Emami

This essay examines the urban topography, physical structure, and social context of coffeehouses in Safavid Iran (1501–1722), particularly in the capital city of Isfahan. Through a reconstruction of the architecture and urban configuration of coffeehouses, the essay shows how, as an utterly novel institution, the coffeehouse opened up a new sphere of public life, engendered new conceptions of urbanity, and altered the social meaning of urban spaces. The essay will specifically focus on the drinking houses that existed in the Maydan-i Naqsh-i Jahan and Khiyaban-i Chaharbagh, the grand urban spaces of seventeenth-century Isfahan. The remaining physical traces, together with textual and visual evidence, permit us to reconstruct Isfahan’s major coffeehouses. This analysis not only reveals a less-appreciated aspect of urbanity in the age of Shah ʿAbbas (r. 1587–1629) but also elucidates the ways in which the public spaces of Safavid Isfahan contained and shaped novel social practices particular to the early modern age.



2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Kratochvíl

The study deals with public space both as a physical phenomenon and social phenomenon. It defines its fundamental meaning by referring to the works of sociologists Richard Sennett and Hans Paul Bahrdt: The public space offers the opportunity to meet other people, confront the differences, and at the same time it is a place where we can strengthen social solidarity and mutual respect. The study briefly mentions the development of public spaces in Czech towns at the time of communist regime. However in the first instance it shows selected current works to document the attempts to express the openness of democratic society after 1989 and the new arrangements of public spaces. Evaluation of the development during the recent years shows both positive and negative aspects: On one side it is a sensitive reconstruction of previously neglected public spaces in historical centres of towns and several completely new spaces in other town quarters, on the other side it is too strong commercialisation of these spaces, their submission to tourism, and the lack of interesting public spaces in the places of everyday life of the inhabitants and in newly developing areas of towns. The increasing interest of professional community and general public in the quality of public space, as well as attempts to make the care for public spaces a substantial part of municipal strategies in some cities give a hope for the future.


Penamas ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 519
Author(s):  
Eko Saputra

Abstract The Islamic da'wah movement is an interesting discussion study to always be discussed. Post-Suharto 1998, the da'wah movement in Indonesia experienced very significant developments in various public spaces. Like campus, school, place of worship and social media. This is because the tap of democracy is increasingly wide open, so that da'wah actors are increasingly free to express the Islamic movement to the public space in its own way. Interestingly, the da'wah movement in Indonesia always presents a new way of how da'wah activities are applied in the daily lives of Muslims. This article wants to explore how the Islamic market-based da'wah movement is carried out by Rafa Muslim Fashion, part of the Rafa Group as the largest Islamic publication center (Jaringan Islam) in Solo. The author arguments that the Islamic market-based da'wah movement carried out by Rafa Muslim Fashion shapes the practice of piety, the Islamic market and Islamic ideology. This important article is discussed to see how Islamic market-based da'wah movements are carried out. Previously, scholars still did not discuss much about how the da'wah movement was oriented to the Islamic market. The results of this study show that the emergence of the Islamic market-based da'wah movement as an alternative to the new da'wah movement formed piety, market competition, and Islamic ideology. Keywords: Kaos Dakwah, piety, Market Islam, Islamic ideology.


1970 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 42-49
Author(s):  
Leszek Maluga

The study consists of two parts. In the first one, the author outlines a methodological concept of researching the quality of compositional and artistic spatial systems that are created, for example, in the urban environment with the participation of, inter alia, architectural objects and works of art. The subject of this type of research was called a ‘compositional situation’. In the second part, the author uses the proposed research method to analyze specific cases. These are two situations existing in the public spaces of Mexico City, in which sculptures of famous Mexican sculptor Sebastian were located.


2021 ◽  
pp. 99-99
Author(s):  
Elena Grigoryeva

Nowadays, one can hardly deny the importance of the system of public spaces. Its role as an integral element of urban infrastructure is actively studied, yet not fully comprehended. This section presents a collection of publications devoted to the history of the question using the example of public spaces in Krasnoyarsk. The therapeutic role of urban gardens is an example of the innovative approach of the Crimean scientists to the problem of the city infrastructure.Philosophy of separate objects is discussed in the articles of our regular authors. The fountain and the city well, of course, are both part of the public spaces and part of the engineering infrastructure that (for free!) ensures life of the city and citizens. The city is indeed rooted in wells.


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