IMPROVING MOBILITY IN NASR CITY
a study of informal street practices
DIA ARCHITECTURE GRADUATE SCHOOL
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IMPROVING MOBILITY IN NASR CITY
a study of informal street practices
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DIA ARCHITECTURE GRADUATE SCHOOL Thesis Design Studio 2017-18 Studio Master Gunnar Hartmann Second Thesis Advisor Prof. Antje Buchholz + Jürgen Patzak-Poor (BAR Architekten)
LOAY MOHAMED
© 2018
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Contents Abstract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Cairo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Chapter 1: Rapid Urbanization and Unplanned Growth . . . . . . . . . 30 Cairo city growth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Cairo Downtown vs. New Cairo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Cairo Downtown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 New Cairo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Unplanned Informal Growth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Densification of Nasr City. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Chapter 2: Informal Street Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Street Vendors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Informal Transport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Spatial Practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Case Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Chapter 3: Mobility Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 The Neighbourhood of Nasr City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Street Interventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
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Abstract The world is now undergoing the most significant urbanization increase rate it has ever witnessed. Every week, there are 1.3 million new people in cities, with a total of 70 million more people in cities a year. This continued expansion has been presenting challenges to the world as a whole, with more struggles to developing countries in particular. The rapid urban growth in Cairo has been a major concern for planners, architects and politicians in the last decades, generating diverse urban problems such as urban informality, inefficient mobility systems, deteriorating infrastructure, lack of housing and degradation of the whole urban environment. A major concern of masterplans failing to have a significant effect on Cairo’s urban development has been the dominance of unplanned, uncontrolled and spontaneous physical expansions and practices in the city. The neighborhood of Nasr City in Cairo, is an evident example of these actions, hosting today more than triple the population in was planned for in 1952. A research study was conducted by Omar Akl (2016) on the modification in the building code in 1976 and the resulting urban densification of the neighborhood, acting as a spontaneous solution to the rapid population increase and the lack of housing in Cairo. As concluded, this change has significantly affected the real estate development and the housing market strategies in the neighborhood, expressed clearly in the gradual replacement of the low-rise apartment buildings by—up to 16 stories— high rise ones following the new building code, as a targeted result to densify
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Abstract
the neighborhood. My research explores the consequences of this massive densification on the urban environment, in terms of informal street behaviors. The question of how these associated spatial practices affect the urban mobility in the neighborhood of Nasr City has been explored in detail. Due to the significant population increase, Cairo has witnessed a massive gradual overload on its urban infrastructure, resources and the overall urban environment. As a result, Nasr City has experienced a process of degradation in the urban quality reflected in a large amount of informal street practices, interventions and behaviors that offer much needed different services that the state couldn’t provide over time for the over increasing population, while simultaneously having negative impacts on the urban mobility, health and environment. Until this day, traditional planning methods and approaches have failed to respond to this incredibly dynamic and fast-growing system of informal street practices, treating it as a negative part of the city that needs to be dealt with.
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Brand, Stewart. Whole Earth Discipline: an ecopragmatist manifesto. London: Atlantic Books, 2010.
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In Egypt, the informal transport sector provides much needed and much valued mobility, particularly for the poor. Photo: Pickup truck used everyday by children to go to school in Assiut, Egypt. Source: Youm7, edited by Author.
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What was paid little or no attention to before, is that these informal behaviors carry potentials. The approach of my research has therefore been to focus on these informal practices as opportunities. In fact, these informal street practices are not the urban problems that need to be eliminated. My thesis research is based upon a bottomup analysis approach that started by documenting various informal street practices. The aim was to understand these behaviors in their various contexts, evaluate and learn from them. My thesis project will propose multiple small and midsize urban design interventions that are eventually more integrated with these behaviors and their urban environment. Nowadays, rapid urbanization and the rapid increase in the cities’ urban growth presents more challenges to urban designers in terms of approaching the design process in these increasingly complex situations. In the context of a rapidly densified city like Cairo, urban informality has been a major concern in the last few decades, affecting urban mobility, economic growth, health and environment. While traditional planning and design methods becoming less effective due to the rapid urban growth in Cairo, my research is exploring an urban design approach of understanding, learning from and acting on Nasr City’s informal behaviors through more integrated urban design interventions with them and the urban environment.
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Sims, David. Greater Cairo: Density and the Private Car, 2014
CAIRO country: Egypt climate: hot desert climate with high humidity population: 9.5 million (19,376 people per km2) life expectancy: 73.2 years project tags: urban mobility project area: Nasr City project initiator: Loay Mohamed
Cairo
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Street Vendors Informal Microbus Restaurant and Cafes Extensions Food Carts
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Chapter 1
rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
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Cairo’s rapid urban growth has always been a major concern for planners and politicians. It resulted in continuous urban problems which are evident in the overcrowded conditions, poor infrastructure, huge housing shortage, deteriorated environment and proliferation of small enterprises (Scheffler, 1990). A major reason why master plans failed to have a significant effect on Cairo’s urban development over the last three decades, has been the dominance of unplanned and uncontrolled physical expansion and practices in the city or “spontaneous urbanization”.
1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
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HELIOPOLIS 1905
CAIRO DOWNTOWN
NASR CITY 1959
1988
Cairo city growth
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
NEW CAIRO 2000
Source: Akl, Omar, 2016
Cairo city growth
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Cairo Festival City - The Village
Downtown Cairo passageways - Saraya Al-Azbakiya Passageway
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
The urban structure and the land use planning of the areas of Downtown Cairo (1888) and New Cairo (2000); provoke a vastly different walkable environment and experience in both of the areas; affecting the health, interaction and behaviour of people, the economic activities and practices taking place there and the integration of the urban environment with such activities.
Source: Cluster, https://goo.gl/JwUrVF Source: https://goo.gl/MnBHqu
Cairo Downtown vs. New Cairo
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Cairo Downtown
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
Cairo Downtown street and Passageway networks
Source: Cluster, https://goo.gl/JwUrVF Source: https://goo.gl/MnBHqu
Cairo Downtown
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a. shop flooring signs
b. main flooring
a
b
c
d
e
f
c. seating areas
d. seating
e. lighting
f.
Source: Cluster, https://goo.gl/JwUrVF
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
Downtown Cairo was partially modeled after European cities of the late nineteenth century, such as Paris and Vienna. The commercial arcade was one of the key urban typologies inserted within, or between many buildings Downtown. Having undergone periods of prosperity, deterioration, and decay over the past decades, many Downtown passageways serve today as sites for rich and diverse uses and activities. These activities extend to the gaps between buildings, setbacks, courtyards, and side streets that were either officially or pedestrianized. Usage of these spaces range from food places and coffee shops, to sites for trade and retail: including stationeries and bookstores, bars and restaurants, galleries and art spaces, as well as small prayer corners. Being off the main channels of traffic, they operate as hubs for competing interests and claims to space (Cluster, 2013).
Cairo Downtown
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New Cairo
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
A shopping mall is the only walkable experience for residents in New Cairo area
Photo: Cairo festival city mall Source: Digitaleg
New Cairo
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a
b
c
d
e
f
a. al-rehab mall b. concord plaza mall c. cairo festival city mall e. downtown mall new cairo f. seven stars mall
d. point 90 mall
Source: https://goo.gl/VwSbsL
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
It is clear that the kind of sprawling urban development pattern that is very standard today not only in Cairo, but in the whole world; where parking lots in front of strip malls lined with chained restaurants and gas stations in a dizzying array of turn lanes and traffic; has changed our perspective of the city itself (Gravel, 2016). These consumer-oriented areas and landscapes have lately dissolved the clarity of practices and activities that once gave identity and coherence to older places like Downtown Cairo and others, where the streets and the public spaces in these places were directly designed for people in a very clear way, and not depending on cars in order to function. Today, generations of people, are growing up in towns and cities where the shopping mall is the highest standard of how a city is built. (Gravel, 2016)
New Cairo
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porto cairo mall
emerald empire
Ring road
NASR CITY
cairo festival city
downtown mall
silver star mall
ad
g ro
Rin
New Cairo Area shopping malls
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
al rehab mall 2
al rehab mall 1 al rehab food court
the waterway compound
NEW CAIRO concord plaza point 90
Source: Drawn By Author
New Cairo
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Unplanned Informal Growth
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
The Ring road in an attempt to physically contain informal developments in Cairo
Unplanned Informal Growth
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Informal addition of stairs for a better connection to transport
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
The Cairo Ring Road was completed towards the end of the 1990s. It was targeted not only to decrease and divert the regional traffic from the city center, but also to physically contain the informal development and set a new limit to the city, beyond which construction would be illegal. What wasn’t intended to be done was giving access to communities in informal areas alongside, despite the immediate proximity between the elevated highways and neighboring buildings. This segregation reflects a broader and more abstract economic and political condition of exclusion of the largerly marginalized urban underclass, who lack connectivity to the city and society. (Nagati, 2013)
Photo: Sims, David. Greater Cairo: Density and the Private Car, 2014
Unplanned Informal Growth
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Communities began informally implementing their own interventions and solutions, beginning with constructed stairways and giving access to the road, creating informal microbus hubs, tea stands on the road sides, coffee shops and more. The Ring road became more accessible and serving the surrounding neighbourhoods in their own way.
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
Source: Way, Tiffany, 2013 Redrawn by Author
Unplanned Informal Growth
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Densification of Nasr City Consequences of past unplanned decisions
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
The change of the unified building code regulations led to a massive increase of Nasr City’s population since late 1980s
Source: - Sutton and Wael, 2001 - Akl, Omar, 2016 Drawn by author
Densification of Nasr City
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A massive a mount of time, energy and money wasted in Nasr City traffic for everyday workers and students resulting in daily productivity losses
Photo: Mostafa Al-Nahas street, Nasr City Photo by Heba Mannoun, https://goo.gl/TA4XeC
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
After the 1952 revolution, the new regime struggled in tackling urban demands, most of were offering better services and more affordable housing. As a result of popular low-income housing projects failing to be economically feasible and to meet the overall demand, Nasr City was targeted as a large scale urban development plan. The beginning urban plan and design of Nasr City was mostly by the architect and city planner Sayed Karim, he emphasized that the new city will be “planned according to the latest theories of city planning.�
Densification of Nasr City
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Densification of Nasr City
1. Family Dwelling (1959 - 1980s) Low-rise buildings were being built until the 1980s, rising up to a maximum height of 4 stories according to regulations at the time. While the infrastructure was developed by the publicly owned “Nasr City Company“ land parcels were sold privately, mostly for families seeking extended family dwelling as a prevalent mode of development.
2- Investment (1976 - 2000s)
In 1976, the “unified building code“ was issued in Egypt, it stated: “It is not possible for the total building height to exceed one and a half times the street width with a maximum height of 36m.” This law allowed the construction of high-rise buildings in Nasr city reaching 11 stories. As a result, a wave of high-rise building construction started in the early 1980s, Nasr city today has buildings rising up to 16 stories, and houses around 500,000 inhabitants, more than double the population it was planned for. This unplanned densification has exhausted the infrastructure designed for a lower density community.
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
3- Migration and Displacement (2000s - current) Replacement of Low-rise buildings with high-rise buildings started to occur in the last two decades. Influenced by the extension of the formal city of Cairo, the development of “New Cairo� in 2000 took place. As a result, more and more low-rise buildings are being demolished and replaced by high-rise buildings, the investment is shared between informal developers and migrating families.
As a result of the massive population increase resulting from the inner migration from the village to the city in the early 1970s, a rapid decision was taken in order to adapt to the unprecedented population increase in the Egyptian capital.
Source: Akl, Omar, 2016
Densification of Nasr City
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Garage entrances blocking the pedestrian flow
Street vendors and kiosks
Informal micro bus hubs
Unorganized garbage collection
Illegal street parking
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Source: Drawn by Author
1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
As a result of the densification and the large population increase, Nasr city has witnessed a massive overload on it’s urban infrastructure, public spaces, resources and on the overall urban enviornment. As a result, Nasr City experienced a process of urban transformation Over time, reflected in a large amount of informal interventions in it’s streets and public spaces that take advantage of the vulnerability of the state, and to contribute to the urban landscape in a state of flux. Through time, such interventions function as dependent systems all together in direct and indirect ways; e.g. sidewalk stalls, coffee and tea stands working mainly for microbus drivers of the informal microbus hubs, those hubs and the illegal street parking together slow down the road traffic for the pedestrians to naturally walk on the road, rather than the busy sidewalk.
Densification of Nasr City
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Agglomerations in Nasr city streets
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
Source: Drawn by Author
Densification of Nasr City
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Parking garage access cutting the sidewalk flow, Abbas Al-Akkad street in Nasr City
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
Source: Google Maps
Densification of Nasr City
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Illegal street parking effect on traffic flow, possessing 2-3 lanes from the street width
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
Source: Google maps, Edited by Author
Densification of Nasr City
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Garbage under a sidewalk-blocking and garage entrance-defining tree in Nasr City
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1. Rapid urbanization and unplanned growth
Photo by: Marwan Magdy
Densification of Nasr City
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Chapter 2
INFORMAL STREET PRACTICES
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2. Informal Street Practices
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An Egyptian man approaching to get in a microbus in the middle of a road in Nasr City
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2. Informal Street Practices
Moving in the streets of Cairo is not an easy experience nowadays, due to different factors such as lack of proper infrastructure, inefficiency of urban mobility systems, traffic congestion and air pollution. However, due to the unplanned rapid urban growth and the resulting informal interventions and practices providing much needed services for the overlyincreased population, more challenges and factors affect the urban mobility experience in the streets of Cairo, presented in—as perceived by locals—chaotic vehicular, pedestrian and economical street behaviours and practices. Influenced by these informal services and practices, the normal pedestrian behaviours in the urban environment were significantly affected over the years.
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STREET VENDORS
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2. Informal Street Practices
Street vendors represent a notable percentage of Egypt’s informal economy, it makes up almost half of the Egyptian non-agricultural domestic economy, as stated by the International Labor Organization (ILO). studies estimate their numbers at a range between 1.5 and 5 million. Informal trade, street vending in particular, has represented and are always considered a vital element of Cairo’s streetscape for many decades, the breakdown of the security system and the state’s unwillingness or inability to reinforce the “urban order” after the January 2011 revolution has led to a massive increase in street vendor activity in almost every neighborhood. The enormity and severeness of this phenomenon have been extensive in Nasr City and Downtown Cairo in particular.
Cluster, Learning from Cairo, 2013
Street Vendors
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Normal sidewalk activity in Downtown Cairo, where street vendors are daily in posession of a significant space of the sidewalk, leaving almost no room for pedestrians to walk
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2. Informal Street Practices
Photo by: Cluster, Learning from Cairo, 2013
Street Vendors
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A typical movable setup of a street vendor using recycled cardboard cylinders for storage and wooden tray for display
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2. Informal Street Practices
As much as informal urban economical practices provides much needed services and goods for the over-increasing population due to rapid urban growth, they have huge negative effects on urban mobility flow in Cairo, affecting both vehicular and pedestrian movement in the city.
Photo: Mostafa Al-Nahas street, Nasr City Photo by Heba Mannoun, https://goo.gl/TA4XeC
Street Vendors
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1.5
0.6
4.2
2.7
Street vendors 64% of sidewalk width
1.9
Informal parking is regulated by informal valets who often have informal “arrangements� with traffic police and street vendors. It unintentionally helps the vendors physically defining their space with cars from one side and buildings from the other.
Sidewalks as a margin of demarcation between private and public domains are often rendered irrelevant as passageways for pedestrians, raising questions about the right of public space.
Space occupation of a street vendor setup
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2. Informal Street Practices
Displayed goods range from clothing and accessories, to toys and small appliances/mobile phones. Shop owners see these illicit goods as a threat to their legitimate businesses.
Barrels used as a pedestal to support merchandise displays, as well as storage. These barrels can be moved at the end of the evening to a safe area often through arrangements with buildings doormen.
Pedestrian and window shoppers are squeezed between shops and street vendors, enjoying a wider range of displayed goods, while suffering crowdedness and occasional harrasment
Cluster, Archiving the City in Flux, 2013
Street Vendors
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Early Morning
Unfolding
c
Peak Hour
During Rain
A timelapse of street vendors
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2. Informal Street Practices
Mass gatherings
Eviction
Cleaning
Seasonal festivities
Cluster, Archiving the City in Flux, 2013. Redrawn by Author
Street Vendors
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Street vendors often use mobile carts and negotiate parking areas when stationary
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2. Informal Street Practices
By observation, most of these practices and micro-projects are located beside microbus and bus stops, at cross-roads, under bridges or at pivotal shaded spaces. These are places where individuals gather in the morning time on their way to work to have a quick breakfast or hot drinks such as tea or coffee, buy some cigaretts, snacks and other goods before they take their transport method heading to work.
Street Vendors
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Umbrellas and other shading devices are used by street vendors to mark territorial domains.
Parking cars compete for space with vendors, often resulting in conflict.
A common food cart layout
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2. Informal Street Practices
Food prepared by vendors creates an olfactory space attracting passers-by.
Sidewalks as a margin of demarcation between public and private domains are encroached upon and often rendered impassable by pedestrians
Mobile Carts enable food vendors to enact a fluid space whereby they negotiate their position with municipal authorities, traffic police, shop owners and car drivers. Cluster, Archiving the City in Flux, 2013
Street Vendors
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Street kiosks using modulated blocks to create extended territories and define their own space on the sidewalk
Photo by: Cluster, 2013
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2. Informal Street Practices
The lack of a regulated planning process that assists vendors in formalizing their services and assists them with disposal of waste, spatial organization, etc. has led them to make due with limited resources and act spontaneously.
Source: Cairobserver, https://goo.gl/WJuixK
Street Vendors
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Chips and water cartons (sometimes empty) for defining kiosk footprint
Shelving for chips and packed goods
Fridges for water and soft drinks
A typical street kiosk layout
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2. Informal Street Practices
Chips boxes Main kiosk Cluster, Archiving the City in Flux, 2013
Street Vendors
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9:00 AM
Before opening time
9:30 AM
10:00 AM
Daily unfolding process of a kiosk in a commercial passageway Downtown
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2. Informal Street Practices
1:00 PM
3:00 PM
Afternoon peak hour
6:00 PM
Cluster, Archiving the City in Flux, 2013. Redrawn by Author
Street Vendors
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INFORMAL TRANSPORT
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2. Informal Street Practices
As informal pedestrian activities and practices is considered a product of rapid urbanization and unplanned development which provides a needed service for the over increasing population, public transportation was significantly affected by the booming population over the various areas of Cairo, struggling to provide the required service for such increasing population, making using public transport in Cairo is one of the most tiring experiences and challenges facing residents in their daily life. As a result of the unplanned development and the high demand, there were major consequences in the transport service sector over the past decades that affect both the service and the urban environment as a whole, ranging from the degradation of the service to appearing of new informal ways of transportation.
Informal Transport
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Transport types Public transport
Big bus
Mini bus
Micro bus Informal
Tuk-tuk Informal
Transport types
Shared and private transport
Taxi
Ride sharing services
Private Car
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2. Informal Street Practices
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55
24
2
14
Percentage of different vehicle types on the street surface
Informal Transport
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Big bus
Public transport
A model of Cairo C.T.A bus - line 9 30-32 seats
Big bus
Strengths
Most Affordable Fare*
2 EGP = 0.10 euro
3 EGP = 0.15 euro
Longest Range
*As of July 2017
Big bus
Weaknesses
Crowded
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Slow and unreliable
Not easy to reach
Limited routes
2. Informal Street Practices
Cairo C.T.A bus seats layout 30 Passenger seats
Cairo C.T.A bus seats layout 30 Passenger seats
Maximum number of passengers
Cairo C.T.A bus seats layout 30 Passenger seats +10 to 25 extra passeners Situation most of the day
Source: Drawn by author
Informal Transport
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Mini bus
Public transport
An approximate model of Cairo Mini Bus 24-28 Seats
Mini bus
Strengths
Affordable Fare*
3 EGP = 0.15 euro
Easier to reach than the big bus
*As of July 2017
Mini bus
Weaknesses
Small size Not enough seats
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Sudden stops anywhere to pick/drop passengers
Limited routes
2. Informal Street Practices
Availability on main transport modes on street vs their actual travel demand
The big bus and the mini bus are the two main public transportation options provided by the government. Despite offering slow, tiring, and unreliable service, they are only option for many of Egyptians around Cairo. Source: - El-Dorghamy, Fuel Economy and CO2 emissions of light duty vehicles in Egypt, 2015 - World Bank, Redrawn by author
Informal Transport
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Security and safety concerns are a barrier for public transport use by children, women and elderly whereas overcrowding can expose travellers to undesirable behaviour with fellow passengers.
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2. Informal Street Practices
Photo: Everyday commuting experience in Cairo Boshra. Cairo 678. Directed by Mohamed Diab, Cairo, 2013
Informal Transport
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Micro bus
Informal transport
An approximate model of Cairo Micro Bus 12-14 Seats
Micro bus
Strengths
Fare** 2-3 EGP/20km = 0.100.15 euro
Easy to spot everywhere
Easy to spot everywhere
*As of July 2017
Almost the only affordable transport method to New Cairo *As of July 2017
*Varies per distance
Micro bus
Weaknesses
The whole vehicle must be full to start moving
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Unplanned locations of the collection hubs
2. Informal Street Practices
Passengers rushing to gurantee a place in a morning micro bus
With the big bus and the mini bus being overcrowded, slow, not covering many areas and unreliable most of the day, new informal transportation modes like the micro bus appeared to serve the severe demand on public transportation. Source: Masralarabia, https://goo.gl/qD87yv
Informal Transport
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Microbusses line up under the “Dokki� flyover
Microbus hubs are self formed and organized in unplanned locations, depending on the demand in this area and how connected it is in terms of transport, mostly they are located near major road intersections and main public bus stations.
Source: Cairo From Below, https://goo.gl/kRtK6n
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2. Informal Street Practices
Al-Hay Al Asher informal micro bus hub in Nasr city is the only affordable way for many residents to get to New Cairo area
In most cases, microbus drivers organize themselves in the collection hub and take turns loading their cars with passengers, this area is one of the ideal locations for street vendors to locate, transforming the area into a spontaneous informal economic agglomeration which benefits all it’s informal stakeholders, but in most cases, disbenefits the mobility flow and the urban environment as a whole. Source: Bing maps
Informal Transport
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Micro bus
Informal transport
rab’a microbus hub
NASR CITY
al hay al-asher microbus hub
zahraa microbus hub
THE FIFTH SETTLEMENT
Micro bus networks connects people of Nasr City to the newly developed New Cairo Area
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2. Informal Street Practices
AL BANAFSEG
AL REHAB CITY
NEW CAIRO AREA
Source: By Author
Informal Transport
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Tuk-tuk
Informal transport
An approximate model of a tuktuk in Cairo 2-3 Seats
Tuk-tuk
Strengths
Affordable Fare*
1.5 EGP = 0.07 euro
*As of July 2017
Connecting the residents of the informal areas to the public transportation
Fast
Tuk-tuk
Weaknesses
Very short distances and limited connections
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Unsafe and uncomfortable
2. Informal Street Practices
A tuk-tuk offers a faster and easier way of movement than walking in informal areas
Informal agglomerations are only marginally developed in Cairo and suffering from lack of infrastructure and funding. Rickshaws (Tuktuks) are quickly filling a mobility need in these neglected areas, providing an innovative mode of transport within the areas, connecting them to the main public bus stops and offering an affordable economic investment for families of young and poor population. Source: Tastevin 2007, 2012 Photo by: Ferhat al-Yatim, 2006
Informal Transport
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Micro bus
Informal transport
IZBAT AL-HAGANA
NASR CITY
Tuk-tuk is what the residents of the infrormal area of Izbat Al-Hagana use everyday to move within the area and to reach the nearest stations and microbus points
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2. Informal Street Practices
NEW CAIRO
CAIRO FESTIVAL CITY MALL
Source: By Author
Informal Transport
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SPATIAL PRACTICES
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2. Informal Street Practices
As a result of the increasing population and the insufficient infrastructure, neighbourhoods in Cairo are characterized by spontaneously taking over of streets and open spaces and sharing them for communal purposes; e.g. street vendors, unplanned microbus stops, illegal street parking and coffee shop/restaurant extensions. Using different modular elements of demarcation for their used areas; e.g. tables and chairs, vendor setups, temporarily parked cars and people waiting for a microbus at a random point on the road; the shared area is physically formed. Photo by: Cluster, Archiving the City in Flux, 2013.
Spatial Practices
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Restaurant extensions accompanied with street vendors in Cairo, taking over the space and narrowing down a street to almost half of it’s total width
Boshra. Cairo 678. Directed by Mohamed Diab, Cairo, 2013
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2. Informal Street Practices
Photo by: Cluster, Archiving the City in Flux, 2013.
Spatial Practices
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The shared zone
Varies in size in different areas
a
b
a
b
Non uniform
a
a b
Always in motion in the same area
a
aa
b
Can split and reform
b
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a
b
2. Informal Street Practices
Having different utilization in Cairo’s neighbourhoods, the “shared zone” is normally what people use in the contestation of space, it provides users of informal practices with extra space next to the sidewalk. it lies in the middle between the sidewalk and the road lanes. Using different modular elements of demarcation by space contestants, the shared zone has a massive number of physical outlines and shapes defined by the informal practices taking place in the area, the location and the time.
Source: Drawn by Author
Spatial Practices
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A street vendor “setup” in a busy area
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2. Informal Street Practices
A street vendor “setup” in a busy area
Informal economic practices taking place on the sidewalk and the road, drives pedestrians to using the “shared zone” more as the main walking space for better flow, and avoid the busy sidewalk.
Photo by: Mohamed Omar, 2014
Spatial Practices
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Passengers gather together at a point to wait for a micro bus
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2. Informal Street Practices
Passengers gather together at a point to wait for a micro bus, spontaneously creating their own small collection hub
Sudden stops of informal transportation methods; e.g. the micro bus; to pick passengers from unplanned random locations “the shared zone” along it’s route.
Source: Tastevin 2007, 2012 Photo by: Ferhat al-Yatim, 2006
Spatial Practices
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Double parallel parking lines are a common scene in the streets of Cairo
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2. Informal Street Practices
Double parallel parking lines are a common scene in the streets of Cairo
With the increase in the number of cars in the last two decades, and the lower pace of development to adapt to the rapid change, illegal street parking lines in the“shared zone� is one of the key reasons of narrowing the street width, generating traffic bottlenecks and affecting the overall traffic flow. Photo by: Mohamed Meabed, 2016
Spatial Practices
121
Restaurants and cafes’ extensions
122
2. Informal Street Practices
In many cases, people sit and dine at restaurants with only a few meters between them and cars on the road
At busy times, cafes and restaurants extend their territory to the sidewalk and the“shared zone�of the road.
Photo by: Alahram, 2012
Spatial Practices
123
Informal street practices
124
2. Informal Street Practices
Future Potentials
share space
provide goods and services
mobile
modular
use minimal spaces
recycled resources
pedestrian street life
What was paid little attention to in the past is that these informal practices carry potentials and benefits in the urban enviornment. To apply a future integrated solution in this context of practices, it was very important to understand not only their behaviour and how they function in the street space, but also their potentials. The focus in the next chapter is to develop future mobility solutions that inherit the logic and potentials of these practices in the urban street space.
Spatial Practices
125
Case Studies
126
2. Informal Street Practices
Bus Rapid Transit ‘Lite’ in Lagos, Nigeria
The BRT Lite system in Lagos, Nigeria
Photo by: WorldBank
Lagos, the sixth largest city in the world, is notable for the speed at which it has reformed transport governance, empowered agencies to develop and finance long-term transport plans for the region, consulted with multiple stakeholders and implemented a low-cost version of bus rapid transit (BRT) to deliver major benefits to transport users. Source: Mobereola, Dayo. Africa’s First Bus Rapid Transit Scheme, The Lagos BRT-Lite System. 2009
Case Studies
127
The BRT Lite system in Lagos, Nigeria
Source: Mobereola, Dayo. Africa’s First Bus Rapid Transit Scheme, The Lagos BRT-Lite System. 2009
128
2. Informal Street Practices
The BRT Lite System The concept of a BRT Lite system was the subject of an open discussion with the BRT Steering Committee. The group viewed an artist’s impressions of the median and bilateral operation of cars and buses on the chosen corridor, both equipped with physical segregation of BRT buses from the rest of the vehicular traffic. Participants quickly recognized that the BRT system was not necessarily a long-term grand aspiration, but was instead something readily deliverable. The visualization showed immediately what benefit the system would bring to bus run times and consequently to those traveling along the corridor. From that point on, and in parallel with the development Result The final result is a BRT Lite system in which about 65 percent is physically segregated from other traffic, 20 percent is separated by bus lanes (marked in paint), and 15 percent mixes with other traffic. Average journey time savings are 25 minutes, with average of 30 seconds in the peaks. The maximum peak time queuing times is 15 minutes and an estimated 10 000 passengers are being carried per hour in the peak direction. BRT vehicles carry 37% of total public transport demand along the pilot scheme corridor. Modal shift from other modes is estimated to be as follows: 93% from other public transport, 4% from private cars and 2% from taxis. This finding is unsurprising given that BRT lite is quicker, cheaper and more comfortable than traditional buses, as well as offering a direct service into the central business district.
Case Studies
129
Inclusive Design for Street Vendors in Ahmedabad, India
Interesting street environment
Employment for many people
Providing affordable goods
Outlet for formal sector goods
Keeping the street busy
Availability at convinient locations
130
2. Informal Street Practices
For generations, street vending has provided vibrancy, color and a market outlet in Indian cities. However, as the 21st century progresses, the dynamic growth of city populations, the scale of physical development, and globalizing economies create new challenges for street vendors, who face changing political, economic and social contexts and increasing competition for space. Today, modern street vending plays a vital role in the urban economy, as a source of jobs, revenue and ‘value added’ to the economy. Street vending provides a flexible link in economic supply chains, gives vitality to urban streets, and provides affordable goods for many urban residents. Yet street vending exacerbates congestion at busy sites (e.g. city centers where competition for space is acute) and vendors lack the facilities for their everyday work.
Source: Centre for Urban Equity (CUE), CEPT University. Inclusive Design for Street Vendors in India. Ahmedabad, 2009
Case Studies
131
Mapping street vending
Understanding the context
Understanding the street space
132
2. Informal Street Practices
Participatory design Street vendors have innovative ideas of how space conflicts can be resolved, and when secured vending space is assured many vendor associations can manage the vending space. Management may include, space allocation, collection of fees or license payments, and cleaning and litter collection. Context analysis The context analysis explores the role of the market in its wider area, looking at: • Surrounding land uses (including generators of pedestrian traffic) • Existing access for pedestrians, autorickshaws, motorcycles, cars and market goods • Nearby landmarks that draw people to the area • Type of market, eg: city level, area level, roadside, bus stand etc • Main goods sold: daily (eg: vegetables, perishables), consumer goods (eg: clothes, household, etc.) • Understand the linkages (supplies, customers, role in urban retail hierarchy) Mapping the existing situation Detailed market mapping is crucial, because often official planning processes do not show what is happening informally, and thus there is no documented information on the scale and size of vending activities. Market mapping is best undertaken with or by vendor associations, who understand the daily and weekly fluctuation of trade. The mapping should consider: numbers of vendors at different times; types of goods sold; location of facilities, eg: toilets, taps. Any redesign or rearrangement of space should accommodate all existing vendors, otherwise those excluded will suffer increased hardship and poverty. Source: Centre for Urban Equity (CUE), CEPT University. Inclusive Design for Street Vendors in India. Ahmedabad, 2009
Case Studies
133
Broad Pavement
Narrow Pavement
Road open on normal weekday
134
Road closed on market day
2. Informal Street Practices
Street space requirements The sketches show minimum cross-sections of streets used for vending if no obstructions occur. Pavement widths of 2.0m-2.5m allow two people to pass. Seated vendors with a stall or stand usually require a further 2.0m to display their goods.
Source: Centre for Urban Equity (CUE), CEPT University. Inclusive Design for Street Vendors in India. Ahmedabad, 2009
Case Studies
135
Types of vending activies
Shoes and clothes displayed on the ground
Selling vegetables on the ground
Vegetables on a moving cart
136
2. Informal Street Practices
Vending activities and street space use
Road Space The following sketch is based on a street market in Ahmedabad, to show how unorganized trading in a service lane could be rearranged to allow for better space sharing, to reduce the conflict between vendors, vehicles and pedestrians. Vending activities and street space use Vending activities and
Source: Centre for Urban Equity (CUE), CEPT University. Inclusive Design for Street Vendors in India. Ahmedabad, 2009
Case Studies
137
Alternative 1 Plan
138
2. Informal Street Practices
Elevation
Section
Alternative 1 This scheme shows a narrowed service road and a 4m pavement. There is now scope for tree-planting on the road and the provision of a water tap, and trash bin.
Source: Centre for Urban Equity (CUE), CEPT University. Inclusive Design for Street Vendors in India. Ahmedabad, 2009
Case Studies
139
Alternative 2 Plan
140
2. Informal Street Practices
Elevation
Section
Alternative 2 This scheme also shows a narrowed service road and a 4m pavement, but is specifically designed to accommodate traders using a cart.
Source: Centre for Urban Equity (CUE), CEPT University. Inclusive Design for Street Vendors in India. Ahmedabad, 2009
Case Studies
141
Smartphone adoption rate in Egypt and the resulting implementations
27.9 25.8 23.6 21 18.2 15.5 12.6
2013
2014
2014 2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Number of Smartphone users in Egypt (millions)
As global technological advancements are rapidly occuring place around the world, it opens the doors for simple but effective technological applications and implementations in all contexts and especially in developing countries, where technology can have a greater impact on people’s day to day lives.
142
Using services for making online transactions without the need to have a bank account
The number of smartphone users has more than doubled in Egypt in the last five years, witnessing an unprecedented leap towards creative applications that use the virtual platforms to improve the day to day experiences of people ranging from finances, health, education, trading...etc.
Case Studies
143
Shopping websites offer the speed and ease of buying and selling used goods to a huge amount of audience and other users
144
Alexandria, Egypt
Real estate trading on social media networks began to overshadow the real estate brokers’ job in Cairo in the last few years
With the increase in the number of users to different virtual platforms, and more people having access to the virtual world, some services; eg. souks and real estate services, began to the shift from having a physical existence towards existing virtually, on the user’s smartpone, which allows an instant access to a wider range of goods and services. Source: Facebook OLX
Case Studies
145
Daily commuters in Cairo are subject to massive everyday time waste, loss of productivity, increased expences and health risks as a result of their everyday commuting experience.
146
Applications to urban mobility
Number of motorized vehicles in Egypt (millions)
With the increased number of population and the resulting effects to the neighbourhoods, commuting times and deteriorating public transport infrastructure has led people and households into shifting towards an essential standard of owning a car to move within the city. Supported by factors such as cheap oil prices, cheap parking and building more roads in the last 4 decades, the number of motorized vehicles has increased to almost 10 million vehicles by 2017. Source: Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics http://www.capmas.gov.eg
Case Studies
147
Transport on demand services in Cairo Uber Egypt
150,000
4 Million
Car owners shared their car with other Uber users in 2017 alone
Users used Uber as a transport on demand service in Cairo since 2014
4 Minutes Average waiting time for an Uber ride
148
Transport on demand service in Cairo
With the yearly increasing number of smartphone users in Egypt, the transport on demand services in the streets of Cairo are one of the most successful implementations of technology as a tool to solve urban problems in the last few years encouraging car sharing which helps reduce the number of cars on the road and can eliminate the need to buy a car for some. It can have more postive advantages such as offering the service to the elderly, young people and others who can’t drive, reduced fuel consumption, reduced need for parking spaces and less yearly maintenance costs. Source: Uber Egypt
Case Studies
149
150
Applications to informal transport?
The next chapter explores how can the massive technological adoption rate benefit the informal transport sector. How can it help with offering a better service, a more convenient everyday commuting experience to the users and less negative impacts on urban mobility.
Case Studies
151
Chapter 3
mobility solutions
152
The Neighbourhood of Nasr City
153
ad
El-Nasr Ro
ge
Downtown Cairo
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NASR CITY
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The Neighbourhood of Nasr City
154
3. Mobility Solutions
Cairo International Airport
NEW CAIRO
oad
gR
Rin
Source: Google Maps, Re-drawn by Author
Main Connections
The Neighbourhood of Nasr City
Secondary Connections
155
The First Zone of Nasr City 1960
Masterplan 1960
Built Areas 2010
156
3. Mobility Solutions
The “First zone” was the first phase in the construction of the new city due to it’s immediate proximity to “EL-Nasr” road being a main access to the new city from the Cairo Downtown area from one side and the Suez area from the other. Today, this area is almost the busiest area of Nasr City during the day, due to it’s high contextual importance presented in the massive rate of formal and informal economic activities and practices and the high urban mobility value presented in it’s direct connection to “EL-Nasr” road.
Source: https://goo.gl/TvF2QU
The Neighbourhood of Nasr City
157
ad
El-Nasr Ro
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Downtown Cairo
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NASR CITY
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The area of intervention: Abbas El-Akkad Street
158
3. Mobility Solutions
Cairo International Airport
NEW CAIRO
oad
gR
Rin
Source: Google Maps, Re-drawn by Author
Main Connections
The Neighbourhood of Nasr City
Secondary Connections
159
Abbas El-Akkad
Hourly trafficBuilt flow_ 10:002010 Areas
160
3. Mobility Solutions
Fast
Slow
Source: Google Maps
The Neighbourhood of Nasr City
161
Abbas El-Akkad
Hourly traffic flow_12:00
162
3. Mobility Solutions
Fast
Slow
Source: Google Maps
The Neighbourhood of Nasr City
163
Abbas El-Akkad
Hourly traffic flow_14:00
164
3. Mobility Solutions
Fast
Slow
Source: Google Maps
The Neighbourhood of Nasr City
165
Abbas El-Akkad
Hourly traffic flow_16:00
166
3. Mobility Solutions
Fast
Slow
Source: Google Maps
The Neighbourhood of Nasr City
167
Abbas El-Akkad
Hourly traffic flow_18:00
168
3. Mobility Solutions
Fast
Slow
Source: Google Maps
The Neighbourhood of Nasr City
169
Abbas El-Akkad
Hourly traffic flow_22:00
170
3. Mobility Solutions
Fast
Slow
Source: Google Maps
The Neighbourhood of Nasr City
171
integration
Of informal public transport into the existing infrastructure
172
space organization
Of the informal Street Practices’ usage of the urban street space
173
Project approach
Street
Random collection points Source: Drawn by Author
174
3. Mobility Solutions
Random and unpredicted sudden stops of microbuses to pick up or drop passengers
The lack of integration to the urban infrastructure of the informal public transport methods is reflected not only on the microbuses and the drivers of these methods; e.g. microbuses and tuktuks; but also on the passengers of these transport methods. Along the way of one road; e.g. Abbas ElAkkad; there are infinite possible undefined and unpredicted locations for the passenger to stand on the road and wait for a microbus to take, thus the microbus doors are already open most of the times in preparation of these repeatedly sudden stops that negatively affect both the traffic flow and the every day pedestrian experience.
Street Interventions
175
Sudden, random and unpredicted stops of microbuses for passengers to get in or out of the microbus causes major traffic slowdowns in the neighbourhood’s streets.
176
3. Mobility Solutions
Fast
Slow
Traffic slowdowns demonstration due to random and unpredicted sudden stops of microbuses to pick up or drop passengers
Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
177
Virtual space definers
Defining collection points
Defined collection points Source: Drawn by Author
178
3. Mobility Solutions
Until this day, one of the major challenges to dealing with such situations is the unpredictability of these random points (fig. 93). The project aim is to start first with “attracting” pedestrians into multiple different defined points (figure c,d) along the length of the road, these points serve as a step towards the integration of informal public transport into the existing street. From studying and learning from different informal street practices, these points will be prepared to follow a direction towards economic agglomeration; e.g. street vendors and cafe extensions; especially with the high economic contextual value of Abbas El Akkad, that’s where the importance of the second part of the intervention comes into place, which aims towards a better spatial organization of these “follow up” street practices.
Street Interventions
179
Example of the proposed intervention
180
181
(Before) Random, unpredicted and constantly changing passenger locations along the neighbourhood
182
3. Mobility Solutions
Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
183
(After) Virtually defined microbus collection points along the neighbourhood
184
3. Mobility Solutions
Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
185
(Before) Sudden, random and unpredicted stops of microbuses for passengers to get in or out of the microbus causes major traffic slowdowns in the neighbourhood’s streets.
186
3. Mobility Solutions
(After) Virtually-defined microbus collection points along the neighbourhood explores a new way of virtually creating and defining certain spaces in the street.
Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
187
(Before) Sudden, random and unpredicted stops of microbuses for passengers to get in or out of the microbus causes major traffic slowdowns in the neighbourhood’s streets.
188
3. Mobility Solutions
(After) As the virtually-defined microbus collection points significantly reduce the number of stops thus helping reducing the impact on traffic flow, they may occasionaly be physically blocked by other factors; eg. parked cars. Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
189
4 Stops to take 4 passengers ≈ 60 seconds
Average time consumed for individual microbus stops for every passenger
190
3. Mobility Solutions
1 Stop to take 4 passengers ≈ 30 seconds
Average time consumed for one microbus stop for a collective passenger pick up Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
191
The smartphone as a virtual space definer
192
3. Mobility Solutions
One space, multiple utilizations during the day
As the daily activity increases in the new virtuallydefined microbus collection points and after studying the different types of informal street practices, we now have an understanding of what types of practices may form agglomerations along such collection points, what are the main needed services that they offer, how they utilize their space and most importantly, what they lack in terms of basic infrastructure.
Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
193
integration
Of informal public transport into the existing infrastructure
194
space organization
Of the informal Street Practices’ usage of the urban street space
195
Street vendor’s chase for more exposed locations causes traffic slowdowns and has a significant effect on traffic flow Source: AFP File Photo/ Mahmud Hams
196
3. Mobility Solutions
Unawareness of the spatial locations of the inforamal street practices
Street vendor’s chase for more exposed locations causes traffic slowdowns and has a significant effect on traffic flow Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
197
Street vendor’s chase for more exposed locations causes traffic slowdowns and has a significant effect on traffic flow
198
3. Mobility Solutions
Although informal street practices are in constant chase for better locations in the neighbourhood’s street even if it means more traffic slow downs and a less pleasant pedestrian walkability experience, sometimes relocating and moving a very small distance can help towards a better traffic and pedestrian flow without risking the exposure of the activity.
Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
199
Basic infrastructural needs
Lack of electrical supply
Lack of proper waste management
Lack of proper materials
Lack of street furniture
200
Need for water supply
3. Mobility Solutions
Nudging the informal practices
Waste management and upcycling system
Versatile street furniture
Water supply system
Renewable electricity supply
Versatile recycled materials
Another factor that influences the informal street practices location is the constant need of basic infrastructural elements; eg. water supply for food carts. The availability of these essential infrastructural elements can not only influence their practice and how they locate and utilitze their space in the urban environment in their chase of these needs, but also reduce the environmental impact of these practices; eg. introduction of waste management and renewable electric supply systems. Towards a better efficient space utilization with less impacts on the mobility flow, the approach is to nudge the informal street practices to move a small but effective distance by providing these needs in a convenient way as a cheap rentable street services by using their smartphone devices.
Street Interventions
201
Street locations: Before
Street locations: After
Nudging street vendors for a small effective re-location
202
3. Mobility Solutions
Allocation of basic infrastructural neeeds along the course of the street Source: Drawn by Author/Google maps
Street Interventions
203
Food carts daily daily convenient renting of electricity outlet and the water supply street tap offers a better service, street experience and less environmental impact
204
3. Mobility Solutions
To use the offered and needed street electricity outlets, coffe shops’ extensions are now occupying certain locations that won’t obstruct the pedestrian sidewalk flow Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
205
Utilizing the electricity power outlets for a better experience of sidewalk extensions
206
3. Mobility Solutions
Targeted street lights for vendors at night Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
207
(Before) Food cart and street vendors activity slowing down vehicular traffic and affecting pedestrian sidewalk flow
208
3. Mobility Solutions
(After) Street vendors and food cart relocate next to an electricity supply, water tap and garbage bins Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
209
(Before) Food cart and street vendors activity slowing down vehicular traffic and affecting pedestrian sidewalk flow
210
3. Mobility Solutions
(After) Street vendors and food cart relocate next to an electricity supply, water tap and garbage bins Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
211
(Before) Informal street practices affecting pedestrian walkability sidewalk flow
212
3. Mobility Solutions
(After) An improved spatial layout for street vendors to make use of the existing street lights, water and electric supplies as well as allowing for a smooth pedestrian sidewalk Source: Drawn by Author
Street Interventions
213
Water supply
Grey water
Street Planting
Waste management
Upcycling through NGOs
Versatile cheap street furniture
Renewable electricity supply
Continous money savings
More solar electricity street implementation
Future benefits of the implemented system of interventions
214
Due to the significant population increase, Cairo has witnessed a massive gradual overload on its urban infrastructure, resources and the overall urban environment. As a result, Nasr City has experienced a process of degradation in the urban quality reflected in a large amount of informal street practices, interventions and behaviors that offer much needed different services that the state couldn’t provide over time for the over increasing population, while simultaneously having negative impacts on the urban mobility, health and environment. Until this day, traditional planning methods and approaches have failed to respond to this incredibly dynamic and fast-growing system of informal street practices. This project explores a new way to approach these informal street practices by studying, understanding, evaluating them in their various contexts and learning from them. Influenced by the increased adoption rate of technology and it’s increased availability in the hands of the users, this project imagines new creative implementantions and applications of this technological exposure towards more integrated urban design interventions, that helps towards approaching urban mobility problems by providing basic street infrastructural needs for the users.
215
Pedestrian flow before
Pedestrian flow after
216
3. Mobility Solutions
Street Interventions
217
Vehicular flow before
Vehicular flow after
218
3. Mobility Solutions
Street Interventions
219
Informal street practices before
Informal street practices after the system of interventions
220
3. Mobility Solutions
Street Interventions
221
New Interventions Street Vendors Informal Microbus Restaurant and Cafes Extensions Food Carts
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
List of Figures (87) (88) (89) (90) (91) (92) (93) (94) (95) (96) (97)
(98) (99) (100) (101) (102) (103) (104) (105) (106) (107)
238
Cairo city growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Cairo Festival City - The Village. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Downtown Cairo passageways - Saraya Al-Azbakiya Passageway. . . . . . 32 Cairo Downtown street and Passageway networks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 a. shop flooring b. main flooring c. seating areas d. seating e. lighting f. signs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 A shopping mall is the only walkable experience for residents in New Cairo area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 a. al-rehab mall b. concord plaza mall c. cairo festival city mall d. point 90 mall e. downtown mall new cairo f. seven stars mall. . . . . 40 New Cairo Area shopping malls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 The Ring road in an attempt to physically contain informal developments in Cairo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Informal addition of stairs for a better connection to transport. . . . . . . 46 Communities began informally implementing their own interventions and solutions, beginning with constructed stairways and giving access to the road, creating informal microbus hubs, tea stands on the road sides, coffee shops and more. The Ring road became more accessible and serving the surrounding neighbourhoods in their own way. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 The change of the unified building code regulations led to a massive increase of Nasr City’s population since late 1980s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 A massive a mount of time, energy and money wasted in Nasr City traffic for everyday workers and students resulting in daily productivity losses . . 52 Garage entrances blocking the pedestrian flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Informal micro bus hubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Illegal street parking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Street vendors and kiosks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Unorganized garbage collection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Agglomerations in Nasr city streets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Parking garage access cutting the sidewalk flow, Abbas Al-Akkad street in Nasr City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Illegal street parking effect on traffic flow, possessing 2-3 lanes from the street width. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
(108) (109) (110)
(111) (112) (113) (114) (115) (116) (117) (118) (119) (120) (121) (122) (123)
(124) (125) (126) (127) (128) (129) (130)
Garbage under a sidewalk-blocking and garage entrance-defining tree in Nasr City. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 An Egyptian man approaching to get in a microbus in the middle of a road in Nasr City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Normal sidewalk activity in Downtown Cairo, where street vendors are daily in posession of a significant space of the sidewalk, leaving almost no room for pedestrians to walk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 A typical movable setup of a street vendor using recycled cardboard cylinders for storage and wooden tray for display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Space occupation of a street vendor setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 A timelapse of street vendors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Street vendors often use mobile carts and negotiate parking areas when stationary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 A common food cart layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Street kiosks using modulated blocks to create extended territories and define their own space on the sidewalk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 A typical street kiosk layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Daily unfolding process of a kiosk in a commercial passageway Downtown.88 Percentage of different vehicle types on the street surface . . . . . . . . . 93 A model of Cairo C.T.A bus - line 9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 An approximate model of Cairo Mini Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Availability on main transport modes on street vs their actual travel demand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Security and safety concerns are a barrier for public transport use by children, women and elderly whereas overcrowding can expose travellers to undesirable behaviour with fellow passengers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 An approximate model of Cairo Micro Bus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Passengers rushing to gurantee a place in a morning micro bus. . . . . . 101 Microbusses line up under the “Dokki� flyover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Al-Hay Al Asher informal micro bus hub in Nasr city is the only affordable way for many residents to get to New Cairo area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Micro bus networks connects people of Nasr City to the newly developed New Cairo Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . An approximate model of a tuk-tuk in Cairo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
239
(131) (132)
(133)
(134) (135) (136) (137) (138) (139) (140) (141) (142) (143) (144) (145) (146) (147) (148) (149) (150) (151) (152) (153) (154) (155) (156) (157) (158)
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A tuk-tuk offers a faster and easier way of movement than walking in informal areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Tuk-tuk is what the residents of the infrormal area of Izbat Al-Hagana use everyday to move within the area and to reach the nearest stations and microbus points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Restaurant extensions accompanied with street vendors in Cairo, taking over the space and narrowing down a street to almost half of it’s total width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 A street vendor “setup” in a busy area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 A street vendor “setup” in a busy area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Passengers gather together at a point to wait for a micro bus. . . . . . . 118 Passengers gather together at a point to wait for a micro bus, spontaneously creating their own small collection hub. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Double parallel parking lines are a common scene in the streets of Cairo.120 Double parallel parking lines are a common scene in the streets of Cairo.121 Restaurants and cafes’ extensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 In many cases, people sit and dine at restaurants with only a few meters between them and cars on the road. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Informal street practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 The BRT Lite system in Lagos, Nigeria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 The BRT Lite system in Lagos, Nigeria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Interesting street environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Providing affordable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Keeping the street busy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Employment for many people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Outlet for formal sector goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Availability at convinient locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Mapping street vending. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Understanding the street space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Understanding the context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Shoes and clothes displayed on the ground. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Selling vegetables on the ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Vegetables on a moving cart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Vending activities and street space use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Alternative 1 Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
(159) (160) (161) (162) (163) (164) (165) (166) (167) (168)
(169) (170) (171) (172) (173) (174) (175) (176) (177) (178) (179) (180) (181) (182) (183) (184)
(185)
Elevation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Alternative 2 Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Elevation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Number of Smartphone users in Egypt (millions). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Using services for making online transactions without the need to have a bank account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Shopping websites offer the speed and ease of buying and selling used goods to a huge amount of audience and other users. . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Real estate trading on social media networks began to overshadow the real estate brokers’ job in Cairo in the last few years . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Daily commuters in Cairo are subject to massive everyday time waste, loss of productivity, increased expences and health risks as a result of their everyday commuting experience.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Number of motorized vehicles in Egypt (millions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Transport on demand service in Cairo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 The Neighbourhood of Nasr City. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Masterplan 1960. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Built Areas 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 The area of intervention: Abbas El-Akkad Street. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Hourly traffic flow_10:00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Hourly traffic flow_12:00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Hourly traffic flow_14:00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Hourly traffic flow_16:00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Hourly traffic flow_18:00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Hourly traffic flow_22:00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Street . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Random collection points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Random and unpredicted sudden stops of microbuses to pick up or drop passengers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Sudden, random and unpredicted stops of microbuses for passengers to get in or out of the microbus causes major traffic slowdowns in the neighbourhood’s streets.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Traffic slowdowns demonstration due to random and unpredicted sudden
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(186) (187) (188) (189) (190) (191)
(192)
(193)
(194)
(195) (196) (197) (198) (199) (200) (201) (202) (203) (204) (205)
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stops of microbuses to pick up or drop passengers. . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Defining collection points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Defined collection points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Example of the proposed intervention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 (Before) Random, unpredicted and constantly changing passenger locations along the neighbourhood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 (After) Virtually defined microbus collection points along the neighbourhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 (Before) Sudden, random and unpredicted stops of microbuses for passengers to get in or out of the microbus causes major traffic slowdowns in the neighbourhood’s streets.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 (After) Virtually-defined microbus collection points along the neighbourhood explores a new way of virtually creating and defining certain spaces in the street.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 (Before) Sudden, random and unpredicted stops of microbuses for passengers to get in or out of the microbus causes major traffic slowdowns in the neighbourhood’s streets.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 (After) As the virtually-defined microbus collection points significantly reduce the number of stops thus helping reducing the impact on traffic flow, they may occasionaly be physically blocked by other factors; eg. parked cars.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Average time consumed for individual microbus stops for every passenger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Average time consumed for one microbus stop for a collective passenger pick up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 The smartphone as a virtual space definer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 One space, multiple utilizations during the day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Street vendor’s chase for more exposed locations causes traffic slowdowns and has a significant effect on traffic flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Street vendor’s chase for more exposed locations causes traffic slowdowns and has a significant effect on traffic flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Street vendor’s chase for more exposed locations causes traffic slowdowns and has a significant effect on traffic flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Lack of electrical supply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Lack of proper materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Lack of street furniture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Lack of proper waste management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
(206) (207) (208) (209) (210)
(211)
(212) (213) (214) (215) (216) (217) (218) (219)
(220) (221) (222) (223) (224) (225) (226)
Need for water supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Street locations: Before. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Street locations: After. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Allocation of basic infrastructural neeeds along the course of the street. 203 Food carts daily daily convenient renting of electricity outlet and the water supply street tap offers a better service, street experience and less environmental impact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 To use the offered and needed street electricity outlets, coffe shops’ extensions are now occupying certain locations that won’t obstruct the pedestrian sidewalk flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Utilizing the electricity power outlets for a better experience of sidewalk extensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Targeted street lights for vendors at night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 (Before) Food cart and street vendors activity slowing down vehicular traffic and affecting pedestrian sidewalk flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 (After) Street vendors and food cart relocate next to an electricity supply, water tap and garbage bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 (Before) Food cart and street vendors activity slowing down vehicular traffic and affecting pedestrian sidewalk flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 (After) Street vendors and food cart relocate next to an electricity supply, water tap and garbage bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 (Before) Informal street practices affecting pedestrian walkability sidewalk flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 (After) An improved spatial layout for street vendors to make use of the existing street lights, water and electric supplies as well as allowing for a smooth pedestrian sidewalk flow.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Future benefits of the implemented system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 Pedestrian flow before . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 Pedestrian flow after . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 Vehicular flow before . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 Vehicular flow after. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 Informal street practices before. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 Informal street practices after the system of interventions. . . . . . . . . 236
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Thesis Design Studio 2017-18 Studio Master Gunnar Hartmann Second Thesis Advisor Prof. Antje Buchholz + Jürgen Patzak-Poor (BAR Architekten) Printing Kopie & Druck GbR, Dessau-Roßlau Copyright the author, photographers and designers © 2018
LOAY MOHAMED
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