scholarly journals Greening and opening the public space of the Nile banks. A demonstration case study in Maadi, Cairo

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-48
Author(s):  
Amir Gohar
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Phoenix Dactylifera ◽  
Public Access ◽  
City Center ◽  
The Public ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Military Facilities ◽  
Or Organization ◽  
The City

The Nile, in general, and particularly in Cairo, is an ecological, cultural and social corridor that is not yet fully utilized. The 2011 Cairo workshop “Connecting Cairo to the Nile” identified the potential to increase accessibility to the river, suggested longitude trail system, proposed connecting the waterfront with adjacent neighborhoods and proposed expanding the ferry system. I studied a 2-km reach of the east bank in Maadi, a wealthy suburb about 10 km upstream of the city center, with relatively greener banks, availability of resources at the district level, higher awareness of local residents, physical setting allow for banks re-use, existence of community organizations (i.e. Tree Lovers and Midan).  Findings of fieldwork and interviews show that: (i) species of native vegetation found are Phoenix Dactylifera, Jacaranda, Cortedarea and Papyrus alba; these are concentrated along 115 meter in southern part of the study area. (ii) Public access was categorized into: public space (accessible), private or semi-public space (accessible with conditions), and prohibited (inaccessible). Along this representative stretch of the Nile, the public access was limited to 16%, the private or semi-public makes 29% and the prohibited zones are 55%. (iii) Boating operations found to be in three categories, floating hotels (Nile cruises), motor boats (including ferries) and sailing boats, all are scattered along the banks without an overall plan or organization, which affects water flow and block public access to the banks. To better develop the banks, I recommend (i) maintaining existing riparian vegetation and expand it to other areas with healthy banks or planted nurseries, (ii) connecting open public spaces to create a pleasant walking trail along the banks in addition to improving public access by relocating government buildings (such as the police or military facilities) and facilitate access to the river for general public, (iii) reducing the anchoring points to two locations and redistribute boating operations to group all motor boats to use the ferry anchoring points and all the sailing boats to use Al-Yacht club marina.

scholarly journals Parameters for Public Space Architecture. Informal Commerce Dynamics, as an Opportunity to Stimulate Urban Scenarios. Case Study Cali-Colombia

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Gustavo Arteaga ◽  
Edier Segura ◽  
Diego Escobar
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
City Center ◽  
Interesting Phenomenon ◽  
The Public ◽  
General Terms ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Space Architecture ◽  
The City

In the last decades, the occupation of the pedestrian routes and in general of the public space in the city center of Cali Colombia, have been evidencing diverse phenomena, which to a great extent respond to the accelerated growth of the urban population, where the migrations that have occurred in the interior of the country (fruit of the social conflicts of the last decades), have particularly marked the realities. In Cali, on 10th and 15th streets, near the Government Building, the Palace of Justice and the Municipal Administrative Center - CAM, the public space in general terms has been stressed in a particular way, which has generated conflicts in the surfaces designed for the pedestrians, since they are occupied by vendors in the midst of the informality routines, forcing the pedestrian to use the automobile tracks being a notorious and interesting phenomenon, when observing the factors that produce it and using them as parameters in the design of architectural spaces that contribute to improvement.

SPACE AND ITS USE FOR PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC IN CENTER AREAS OF SELECTED POLISH CITIES

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (0) ◽  
pp. 45-52
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Nosal ◽  
Łukasz Franek ◽  
Sylwia Rogala
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
City Center ◽  
Technical Parameters ◽  
The Public ◽  
Pedestrian Traffic ◽  
Street Furniture ◽  
Pedestrian Infrastructure ◽  
The City

The quality of urban space in terms of walkability can be assessed taking many parameters into account, such as the presence of sidewalks, their density and continuity, appropriate technical parameters as well as the presence of greenery, squares, parks, which create the environment for pedestrian traffic. The lack of travel barriers, the possibility to shorten the route, travel safety and security, the presence of street furniture, shops and services are also significant. This article concerns some of the above described factors and presents selected research results on the use of space in city centers of several Polish cities – Kraków, Gdańsk, Szczecin, Warsaw, Gdynia, Wrocław and Poznań as well as the results of an analysis on the friendliness of this space for pedestrian traffic. The first phase of this study was to determine the share of public space within the analyzed city center areas, and then define areas used as roads, infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, squares, green areas, parks and public courtyards. The balance of the used space was created for each researched area, and the space dedicated to pedestrian traffic was additionally analyzed in terms of the presence of obstacles as well as sidewalk location. The analysis results prove that that greatest amount of the public space is located in the city center of Poznań, and the smallest in Kraków. Warsaw is characterized by the greatest and Szczecin by the smallest percentage of the pedestrian infrastructure. Szczecin dominates in terms of the share of roads in the downtown area, Wrocław in terms of squares and Gdańsk – public courtyards.

scholarly journals Batna City from Organized Planning to Distortion (Case Study Biskra Road Axis - Algeria)

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Khireddine Dounia ◽  
Aichour Boudjemaa
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
The Public ◽  
Urban Scene ◽  
The City ◽  
Constructed Environment

The ecological processes known to the various manifestations of visual pollution, which is defined as: every element of the physical environment is affected by changes or interventions made by man to the natural and constructed environment, which leads to its distortion and harms the public health of citizens. In order to understand its reasons for reaching a balanced urban scene and thus affecting human health. Where its features appear in various visual and visual aspects of public space, especially roads, due to the misuse of this space, which stems from wrong behaviors in addition to the lack of the planning system,which leads to emptying the architectural image of the city of its content.   Received: 11 October 2021 / Accepted: 20 November 2021 / Published: 5 January 2022

The Historical Memory Law and its role in redesigning semiotic cityscapes in Spain

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Guilat ◽  
Antonio B. Espinosa-Ramírez
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Franco Regime ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Law ◽  
The City

In its Historical Memory Law (October 2007), Spain recognized victims on both sides of its 1936–1939 Civil War and established entitlements for victims and descendants of victims of the war and the Franco regime that followed (1939–1975). The law requires authorities to remove Francoist symbols and signs from public buildings and spaces, rename streets and squares, and cleanse the public space of monuments and artifacts that glorify or commemorate the regime. By allowing exceptions on artistic, architectural, or religious grounds, however, the law triggered persistent public struggles over monuments, memorials, and outdoor sculptures. This article examines the implementation of the law in the city of Granada, via a case study relating to the removal of a sculpture honoring the founder of the Spanish Fascist movement, José Antonio Primo de Rivera. The controversy over the statue sparked a debate in Granada about the implementation of the law in the public space and raised questions about the role of text, material and visual culture in redesigning Linguistic Landscape by articulating contested memories.

The Changes in Character of the City Center in Sofia

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Nanitchkova-Ozturk ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic System ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
City Center ◽  
The Public ◽  
The City

This paper aims to provide insight into the repercussions of the recent changes in power structures and economic system in Bulgaria on the architectural features of public spaces in the city center. Within the general instability and confusion, increasing deterioration of the public domain is observed and this is interpreted as a field of opportunities through which the meaning of architectural environment as support of public life and its social significance could be regained. Whether and how this potential can turn into quality depends on a variety of factors, some of which are suggested as areas of inquiry. These include value systems of the society and the architectural practice respectively and their relationship. The architectural environment cannot fully determine the public life of a city, rather it can support the attainment of the practical and spiritual needs of people, expanding experience while allowing for dwelling. In a general condition of confusion and deterioration observable in almost every aspect of life in Bulgaria resulting from the fragmentation of power, the change of the economic system and the instability of values, the weight of responsibility concerning the qualities of public space tends to shift. It is important to identify the changing features of public space in relation to the forces effecting them. Thus directions of inqulry into conditions promoting positive developments could be recognized in terms of aspects of cultural wealth of the society as well as in terms of reassessing the role of the architect-planner.

scholarly journals OPTIMASI LAHAN TERLANTAR MENJADI RUANG PUBLIK DI KAMPUNG KOTA; Studi Kasus: Lahan Terlantar Kampung Badran RW. 09, Yogyakarta

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Wiliarto Wirasmoyo
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
City Center ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
The Public ◽  
Inappropriate Use ◽  
Space Design ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The City ◽  
Public Space Design

Abstract: The urban kampong is a phenomenon created by the uncontrolled growth of the city and the inappropriate use of land. The city of Yogyakarta is known as a city of culture and tourism, inhabited by communities living around the city center. The area around downtown Yogyakarta has a high population density, so that almost all roads and rivers are filled with settlements (kampong), leaving a small portion for urban open spaces. Kampung Badran is a kampong-kota located in the center of economic activity of Yogyakarta city. Uncontrolled land use in the kampong Badran produces displaced space among the houses. The effort to transform displaced space into public spaces is an alternative to creating public spaces for citizens. The purpose of the research is the direction of optimization of multifunctional public space design that is suitable with the needs of Badran villagers. The results of the design optimization of displaced space were positive, that is, the public space became active, increased in quality and beneficial to the citizens because it suited their needs.Keywords: urban kampong, displaced space, public space, optimization.Abstrak: Kampung kota merupakan fenomena yang tercipta akibat dari pertumbuhan kota yang tidak terkendali dan pemanfaatan lahan yang tidak sesuai peruntukan. Kota Yogyakarta dikenal sebagai kota budaya dan pariwisata, dihuni komunitas masyarakat yang tinggal di sekitar pusat kota. Kawasan sekitar pusat kota Yogyakarta memiliki tingkat kepadatan penduduk yang tinggi, sehingga hampir semua tepian jalan dan sungai terisi permukiman (kampung), dan menyisakan sebagian kecil untuk ruang terbuka kota. Kampung Badran merupakan kampung-kota terletak di pusat kegiatan ekonomi kota Yogyakarta. Penggunaan lahan yang tidak terkendali di kampung Badran menghasilkan lahan-lahan terlantar di antara rumah-rumah warga. Upaya mengubah lahan terlantar menjadi ruang publik merupakan alternatif menciptakan ruang publik bagi warga. Tujuan penelitian adalah arahan optimasi desain ruang publik multifungsi yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan warga kampung Badran. Hasil optimasi desain lahan terlantar ternyata positif, yaitu ruang publik menjadi aktif, meningkat kualitasnya dan bermanfaat bagi warga karena cocok dengan kebutuhan mereka.Kata kunci: kampung kota, lahan terlantar, ruang publik, optimasi

Variation in the Nature of the Activities, Interactions, and Behavior Patterns of Visitors of Public Spaces in the City of Amman: The New Abdali and Al-Balad Districts as a Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Ghodieh ◽  
Durgham A. Shtaya
Keyword(s):  
Public Spaces ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Behavior Patterns ◽  
City Center ◽  
The Public ◽  
Old City ◽  
And Gender ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The City

Public spaces differ from city to another, and in the city itself, in terms of nature, designs, as well as behavior patterns and social integration of visitors. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of the activities, interactions, and behavior patterns in both the New Abdali and Al-Balad districts (the old city center or downtown). To collect data, a field study was conducted on a sample of visitors of these public spaces with the aim of identifying the visitors’ behavior patterns in their leisure time, types of their activities, their favorite public spaces, the purpose of their visits, and the extent of their social interaction. The study showed that there were diverse activities in the public spaces in the study area. However, the occurrence of these activities varied depending on the visitors’ economic and social characteristics and place of residence. Besides, these public spaces were dissimilar in terms of availability of amenities and services, social communication, and gender interaction. The study showed that there was a form of social segregation, which means that the New Abdali visitors’ characteristics and behavior patterns were totally different from those of the old city center with little or no interaction between both groups.

scholarly journals Using Location Quotients to Determine Public–Natural Space Spatial Patterns: A Zurich Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning Xu ◽  
Yuning Cheng ◽  
Xiaodong Xu
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Natural System ◽  
Location Quotient ◽  
Natural Landscape ◽  
Urban Public Space ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Dependence Relationship ◽  
The City

The layout relationship between the public space system and the natural system of cities determines the trend of urban spatial forms. From the perspective of the integration of landscape architecture and urban design discipline, this paper generalizes three restriction/dependence relationship modes between urban public space and natural landscape layout: (1) overlapping mode, (2) separation mode, and (3) the mode of edge combination. Using Zurich, Switzerland, as a case study, this paper quantitatively explores the layout relationship between public space and natural landscape using the location quotient method. The research findings reveal an obvious layer distribution trend of Zurich urban public space and natural factors: the public space and mountain layout have a clear separation relationship. The regressive equation is PQ = −0.188lnMQ + 0.660, forming the mutually supplementary mechanism of the advantageous resources of public activities. The Zurich model shows that when a proper relationship is established among the natural system and the urban public space, human activities, and the public activity centers of the city, the new system provides significant ecological and social benefits. This finding provides an exemplary reference for urban construction in other countries.

scholarly journals Participatory Budget – An Effective Tool for Social Participation and Building Local Identity. A Case Study of the City of Lodz

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (32) ◽  
pp. 129-151
Author(s):  
Magdalena Ślebocka ◽  
Artur Kilanowski
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Local Community ◽  
City Management ◽  
Local Identity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Participatory Budget ◽  
The City

The aim of the article: The main aim of the article is to present the essence and significance the institution of civic budget as a tool not only allowing citizens to actively participate in the process of deciding about the directions of spending public funds, but also a tool to determine the directions of social expectations, the essence and importance of social participation. Hypothesis: The hypothesis accepted in the study stipulates that the growing popularity of the civic budget makes it an effective tool for social participation. Methodology: The study was based on a literature review, legal acts, information on the functioning of the civic budget in Lodz as well as a questionnaire conducted among the city residents. Results of the research: The civic budget in Lodz has been functioning for eight years, and during this time it has been constantly contributing to the idea of citizen involvement in the decision-making process. Although the budget procedure itself is undergoing numerous corrections and transformations, as the ongoing political, social and macroeconomic changes must be taken into account, it is still a basic tool enabling active participation and involvement of citizens. The matters it concerns are important to the community, and the civic budget offers an opportunity to express their opinions on key issues. The conducted survey indicates that Lodz is a positive example of using the participatory budget mechanism in the city management process. The sustained high (on a Polish scale) turnout confirms the inhabitants’ interest and willingness to change the public space, thus positively influencing the building of a sense of local community.

scholarly journals The Noise of Silent Machines: A Case Study of LinkNYC

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-186
Author(s):  
Audrey Amsellem
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Homeless People ◽  
Sound Studies ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
The Public ◽  
Technological Study ◽  
The City

In early 2016, the city of New York and the Google-backed consortium CityBridge launched LinkNYC, a communication network that enables residents and visitors to access Wi-Fi, charge their phones, and make domestic calls—all for free. The ten-feet tall kiosks scattered around the city are also equipped with screens, cameras, a tablet, speakers, and a microphone. Almost immediately after its launch, many raised concerns about LinkNYC: noise complaints concerning users listening to loud music, homeless people gathering around the kiosks, outrage regarding users watching pornography, as well as the potential threat to privacy the kiosks present. In this paper, I argue that LinkNYC functions as a neoliberal apparatus of listening and silencing in the public sphere through data collection and restrictions of usage of the kiosk in the name of accessibility. As Google’s first attempt at occupying the public space, LinkNYC reveals the aspirations for the neoliberal city. Through an ethnographic socio-technological study of LinkNYC, I engage sound studies in current discussions about surveillance. I theorize the modalities of listening in the neoliberal city and discuss competing notions of the public space in smart/responsive cities. I investigate the ideological difference between the smart city and the responsive city and trace the movement from a listening entity to a responsive one, analyzing the implications for privacy. I theorize unsilencing and its politics, discussing examples of re-appropriation of the kiosks. I conducted fieldwork by observing interactions with the kiosks and by doing interviews with citizens, homeless advocacy groups, CityBridge employees, and experts. In addition, I analyze the discourses of CityBridge, local politicians, activists, journalists, and citizens surrounding LinkNYC. This paper is at the theoretical intersection of sound studies, urban studies, science and technology studies, and surveillance studies. Through this case study, I open a theorization of the listening practices of surveillance to look at how power circulates through sound.

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