Citizen Participation in Historic Cairo (CPHC)
ii. Categories of interventions There are two categories of interventions on open spaces: conservation or transformation. a) Conservation Interventions These interventions aim to protect heritage features and result in the preservation of the pathways with no or few changes in its morphology. The following types of conservation interventions are defined in this section: • Maintenance/Enhancement • Rehabilitation/Upgrading •
Maintenance/Enhancement o Maintenance: This type of intervention refers to the preservation of the integrity and usability of the existing assets in the open space. It includes both preventive and routine maintenance. It should include preserving the integrity of the furniture, the lighting units and signage, and street plantings; removing obsolete solid waste accumulations. o Enhancement: This type of intervention improves the street’s serviceability. This occurs by closing the street to vehicular access; by reducing the speed of vehicular traffic with speed reducers; by providing shaded areas with planted trees, etc. It allows for alterations and/or additions that are reversible.
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Rehabilitation/Upgrading o Rehabilitation: This type of intervention aims to make open spaces available for their previous uses or for new uses. The intervention implies no major transformations; rather, it preserves or partially recreates the typological layout by preserving street alignment, finishing or softscapes. In this type of intervention, existing inconsistent structures and additions have to be removed and potentially replaced with structures consistent with the traditional character of the space that fall within the defined prescriptions. o Upgrading: Upgrading interventions imply the possibility of improving previous uses, and/or making the space available for new uses without completely altering it. Major changes to the spatial layout, including volumes, surface materials, plantings and elements of the softscape are allowed, as are the removal and replacement of inconsistent structures and the construction of infrastructures. All the transformations have to be consistent with the spatial layout and must form a unique and integrated ensemble, using compatible building materials and techniques.
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