Parametric design tools are digital tools used by the architect, for the purpose of creativity. B... more Parametric design tools are digital tools used by the architect, for the purpose of creativity. BIM platforms tend to simplify the work of designers and engineers, if their products are within standards. Within the digital construction field, creativity and information modelling are frequently in contrast. An interaction between parametric design and BIM platforms is necessary to avoid the influence of predefined parametric elements on the design concept. Parallel origami is suggested as a generative tool to produce complex shapes. This research proposes a new tool for Revit architecture software (BIM tool), based on the BIM-Parametric-Origami (BimPO) integration framework. This tool directly generates optimized alternatives of complex or non-conventional solar devices, for specific target performances of building envelopes. The BimPO script provides more possibilities for an increasing number of form generation. Results will prove BimPO’s ability to efficiently achieve numerous Ori...
opportunities in their daily lives. Arguably, recreation and socio-economic status have always ha... more opportunities in their daily lives. Arguably, recreation and socio-economic status have always had a longstanding relationship. However, spatial perception is seen as the criteria which decides whether architecture succeeded at delivering a certain message, or satisfied a certain role within a specific context. In fact, perception is a highly creative process; although people relate to the same reality, they will perceive it in a different way according to what the environment means to each of them. Different environments will have different perceptual influences. These differences are derived from various personal backgrounds (knowledge, experience, culture, and physical). Furthermore, some studies suggest that low level of physical and recreational activities is more prevalent among lower income, less educated, and unemployed populations compared to higher income individuals. In turn, this could cause dissatisfaction with the living condition in the low-income neighborhoods and ma...
Planning of cities during this decade is oriented to car use, and therefore physical environment ... more Planning of cities during this decade is oriented to car use, and therefore physical environment that encourages physical activity in the streets is neglected and drastically affected. Studies showed that features that have the strongest effect on residents differ from a community to another depending on culture, social norms and others. This paper identifies the built environment factors that have the most significant influence on engaging residents to physical activity in Alexandria City, Egypt. It also investigates the barriers and facilitators that the residents face while commuting the city. In this study two surveys were conducted, the first (survey I) assessed the value and frequency of participation of residents to physical activity in Alexandria city and identified the specific facilitators and barriers that affects their participation in any kind of physical activity. The second survey (survey II), followed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Long Form (IPA...
In the past half-century, researchers started paying attention to enhancing the performance of ur... more In the past half-century, researchers started paying attention to enhancing the performance of urban spaces. Their perception of performance comprised urban climate changes, space synthesis, economic performance, and enhancing the quality of life in spaces. However, it has been agreed that Good Governance(GG) is the key to achieving any of the previously mentioned enhancement projects. Good Governance(GG) pillars ensures the participation of the public. Public participation is a cornerstone in any planning process. Nevertheless, the way in which the participation practices are accomplished guarantees its effectiveness as a planning tool. In these regards, Good Governance (GG) stands as a keyword. Having good governance allows citizens to participate freely in development projects, ensuring the deep fulfillment of users' needs, and the efficient use of city resources and assets. This paper proposes a framework for effective public participation based on Good Governance (GG) under...
Social interaction is an essential component of the collegiate experience. Studies presume that t... more Social interaction is an essential component of the collegiate experience. Studies presume that the provision of appropriate space for interaction enhances its possibility. This study aims to reveal the effect of physical urban design elements on the quantity of social interaction between students on their university campuses. It takes place on the Faculty of Engineering campus in Alexandria University. Student questionnaires investigate students' sense of ownership, their satisfaction with their current campus and the features that would make them spend more time on campus. Furthermore, they reveal common movement patterns around campus throughout a standard day, and highlight the common gathering spaces. The on-site observation investigates the urban design components of these spaces. Based on the space syntax theory, which proposes that movement can be a good predictor for social encounters, the results are compared with integration and choice analyses maps along with the phy...
Cities are continually changing in an adaptation process to overcome a diverse range of natural a... more Cities are continually changing in an adaptation process to overcome a diverse range of natural and man-made pressures. Natural disaster, political upheavals or economic crisis are examples of stresses that cities face and try to overcome in different ways by developing mechanisms for handling continues changes. Most of these stresses and pressures are interrelated, complicated and hard to predict in the future time. As a result of the wide range of shocks and stresses, cities may decay or collapse, affecting the lives of millions of people living within the urban areas. Therefore, to a certain extent, urban resilience is considered as one of the most essential topics within the discourses of the sustainable development as it tackles issues as risk reduction and disaster prevention. Accordingly, it was essential to develop and plan cities in ways that allow them to foster resilience to the uncertainty of the environmental, socio-economic and political changes overtime. Subsequently,...
Outdoor human comfort is a key parameter in the evaluation of city's liveability. In addition... more Outdoor human comfort is a key parameter in the evaluation of city's liveability. In addition, it helps in promoting people's health and well-being, leading to the improvement of quality of life. Egyptian cities are impacted by urban heat island due to the dense urban fabric causing an obvious deterioration in the quality of their public spaces. Open public spaces provide various benefits to citizens; as they may intensify the economic, social and environmental aspects of the urban environment. Unfortunately, some cities' open public spaces are unattractive to human activity due to the challenges they face. The enhancement of microclimatic conditions in urban spaces can enable people to spend more time outdoors, with the potential to influence the social cohesion of a space and increase in the economic activity. Therefore, the wider aim of this research is to develop a better understanding of the complex relationship between the microclimate and human behaviour. The stud...
With the rapid spread of urbanization, cities started to witness challenges related to its street... more With the rapid spread of urbanization, cities started to witness challenges related to its streets. It is becoming imperative that the mobility should be managed appropriately to minimize its negative impacts on urban areas. Unfortunately, city leaders in many developing countries like Egypt are following the same Car-Oriented development patterns made by cities in developed countries. Ironically, the developed countries are trying to recover from a car dominated development era by re-allocating road space for public and non-motorized transport. In this respect, this research aims at exploring the key aspects and factors that affect individuals' mobility choices in Egypt. It focuses on the socio-demographic, attitudinal and physical factors that are associated with commuters' mobility behaviour and their choice of mode for daily trips. Two neighborhoods in Alexandria are selected for comparative and analytical analyses . First, a survey is carried out in the two selected areas. Second, Pearson’s Chi-square χ2 test is performed to explore the significant differences of commuter's attitudinal, personal and built environment factors between the two areas. Finally, crosstabulation distribution of categorical variables are presented in terms of absolute frequencies, p-values from Pearson’s Chisquare χ2 test and t-test so as to look for the association of the urban form and non-urban form factors to mobility choices.
Abstract In today's world, most cities face physical threats posed by climate change. These t... more Abstract In today's world, most cities face physical threats posed by climate change. These threats create environmental hazards, along with urban problems resulting from rapid urbanization and fast growth of cities. Unplanned urbanization causes the formulation of marginalized urban communities. According to a Un-Habitat report (2014), those groups are most vulnerable and most likely to suffer from disasters. The vulnerability of such population is an alarming problem with major social, environmental, and economic consequences. This issue has received significant consideration in climate change and disaster management research. The social vulnerability of communities is attributable to multiple indicators such as high levels of poverty, inequality, and problems relating to unemployment, housing, and access to basic civic amenities like safe drinking water and sanitation. This research aims at analysing the social vulnerability of Alexandria city. It reviews and implements several methods for selecting and aggregating vulnerability indicators. This aggregation process that captures multiple aspects of socio-spatial vulnerability in a single index or a small number of variables can produce thematic maps that act as powerful visual tools to identify those areas most susceptible to suffer from environmental changes. This study follows a structured framework to firstly describe the process of developing a social vulnerability index (SoVI), from 14 variables using two different methods. Secondly, it analyses the spatial patterns of the developed composite SoVI at the neighbourhood “Shyakha” level using ArcMap geographic information systems (GIS). The results demonstrate that the distribution of social vulnerability is not equal along Alexandria city. Most of the city is categorized to have relatively medium vulnerability level, while few areas are regarded as highly vulnerable “hot spots” and other areas are regarded as low vulnerable “cold spots”. Finally, based on the interpretation of the developed index and the deep examination of the characteristics of those vulnerable areas, the study offers guidelines to promote resilient development of most vulnerable areas.
Abstract. Strategic planning always requests supporting tools to defeat lack of data problems, wh... more Abstract. Strategic planning always requests supporting tools to defeat lack of data problems, which is a common drawback in our planning system as a result of several reasons. This paper is an extensive overview of the recent application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the domain of water contamination in lakes. The authors try to establish a GIS mapping technique, which is customized for Lake of Maryout in Alexandria city, Egypt demonstrating various GIS analysis techniques/approaches applied to a diversity of real-life engineering endeavors in the water contamination control management sector in a lack of data system. First, the reader is concisely acquainted with the major steps of utilized mapping technique and how they are conducted. Second, the technique would be applied to define degree of water pollution distribution in Lake of Maryout. Finally, the output maps would be analyzed to delineate a quick and long term strategy of solution. 1.
Quality of life (QoL) in cities and towns is of increasing concern to the public; this term nowad... more Quality of life (QoL) in cities and towns is of increasing concern to the public; this term nowadays is linked to the rapid urbanization process in cities. A major threat to quality of life is the high volume of vehicle traffic which is associated with different physical, health, social and environmental consequences. This paper studies the impact and relationship between traffic volume of vehicles and livability in the residential areas in terms of traffic hazard, social interaction, sense of privacy and responsibility. It assesses the validity of Appleyard’s "Livable streets" hypotheses in an Arab developing country. To conduct this study, three residential streets in Alexandria, Egypt that are identical in appearance (in terms of street width, sidewalks, land use diversity and residential densities), yet different in their volumes of traffic were selected. In order to measure livability and people’s perception towards their streets several methods were adopted including questionnaires, door-to-door interviews, and simple sketches for residents in the three streets, finally statistical analyses are then carried out. The results of the study confirmed the inverse correlation between traffic volume and livability, they also illustrate the deterioration in the distinct features and social cohesion of the Egyptian community.
Cities are a complex, adaptive, and self-organizing systems, that are faced with several challeng... more Cities are a complex, adaptive, and self-organizing systems, that are faced with several challenges due to rapid urbanization such as socio-demographic problems, air pollution, threat of climate change, and urban heat island effect (Kim and Han, 2012). Urbanization, is one of the greatest challenges of this century, that is strongly affecting the atmosphere and urban context of cities. In the light of these challenges there is a crucial need to study the effect of urban heat island phenomenon, which is characterized by an increased air temperature, from the periphery to the center of the cities, which it is partly caused by the urban geometry and alter the energy balance of these cities. Urban heat island is generally considered a problem because it induces many undesirable effects, such as discomfort in people life, health problems, the need for more energy consumption and more pollution. Therefore, investigating the relation between urban Geometry and Urban heat island is essentia...
Sense of community is a concept in community and social psychology and has been investigated in s... more Sense of community is a concept in community and social psychology and has been investigated in several researches. The sense of community level changes towards many independent variables and it is related to the quality of the built form. This research aims at investigating the relationship between the sense of community and some determinants such as; the physical environment, the historical background and the socio economic conditions in selected neighborhoods. Furthermore, this research examines the social interaction as it has an important role in measuring the sense of community. To achieve that, the authors propose a methodology composed mainly of two major tools; the first, a survey formed of sense of community indices, as well as other social and psychological factors according to Kim and Kaplan theory. The second tool is based on the observation of physical attributes of the neighborhood. The adopted methodology is applied on two neighborhoods in Alexandria city, Egypt. By ...
Outdoor lighting is used to illuminate roadways, parking lots, yards, sidewalks, public meeting a... more Outdoor lighting is used to illuminate roadways, parking lots, yards, sidewalks, public meeting areas, signs, work sites, and buildings. It provides us with better visibility and a sense of security. When well designed and properly installed, outdoor lighting can be and is very useful in improving visibility and safety and a sense of security, while at the same time minimizing energy use and operating costs. But, because nobody thought at this, most street lights shine light not only on the nearby ground, where is needed, but also miles away and skywards. Thus a large fraction of the light is lost, at consumer expense and without his/her consent. In the other hand, shortage in street light may cause more crimes as well as accidents. Most of the wasted or short light comes from the poorly designed street lights. Billboards, decorative lights, poorly shielded security lights are part of the problem too, but the main culprit for the waste and ugly glow one sees above one's head at ...
Planning models and simulations support tools are considered to be an awareness-raising process i... more Planning models and simulations support tools are considered to be an awareness-raising process in the strategic planning and design, as the aid of spatial models that integrate urban form with Soci-economic data, can open up a bright spectrum of opportunities and insights that were not evident before. Emphasizing on the relationship between space and the spatial structure that are considered to be the fundamental concept of urbanism. This paper is concerned by discussing, and evaluating the design proposal of Airport Lake (El Matter lake) in Alexandria, Egypt, with the aid of an evidence based model. This adopted methodology integrates Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Space Syntax into a single model. The model is based on analysing current land use densities, distribution, socio economic variables and network spatial configuration analysis of city, in order to predict the likely outcomes of the proposal on Alexandria’s urban life. The model is tested on Airport lake area, ...
Ensuring the city resiliency, inclusiveness, sustainability, and enhancing the quality of urban l... more Ensuring the city resiliency, inclusiveness, sustainability, and enhancing the quality of urban living, can be promoted through engaging communities and encouraging civic-led initiatives. As cities need to foster environments that encourage collective community voices in order to be adaptable and resilient, as a result of rapid Urbanization process, the growing communities suffers from a declining sense of community. This Research is concerned with studying the effect of par-ticipatory mapping and empowerment role of citizenship in enhancing the planning process. Therefore , it is an attempt to assess the social and spatial experiences of local community, aiming at investigating the relationship between local community activities, their perception of built environment and their sense of community, through using Participatory GIS. As it is an effective tool that provides spatial complexity, spatial context, interactivity and interconnection in the articulation of context and capable of deepening our understanding of quantitative measures. To achieve that, a methodology is adopted employing participatory mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to examine the activities of locals in the neighbourhood with lowest score of sense of community index resulting from a quantitative survey formed of sense of community index (SCI), applied on two neighbourhoods in Alexandria city, Egypt. Ó 2019 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Worldwide, many cities have embraced the concept of transit-oriented development (TOD), as it is ... more Worldwide, many cities have embraced the concept of transit-oriented development (TOD), as it is one of the most prominent approaches to land use and public transport integration. It is believed that measuring the existing TOD levels-'TOD-ness'-of an area quantitatively is critical for TOD planning. However, a literature review reveals that spatial studies and quantitative methods that measure TOD-ness comprehensively are still limited and fragmented. Furthermore, recent research has opened the door to further investigation of methods and model development, which could bridge the gap between planning decisions and practical application. Due to the multidimensional aspects of the transport decision process and the involvement of many stakeholders, often with different points of view, the process has become more complex. Unfortunately, most of the spatial studies reviewed did not express the outcomes in terms of the impact on users, which can often prevent the realization of T...
Parametric design tools are digital tools used by the architect, for the purpose of creativity. B... more Parametric design tools are digital tools used by the architect, for the purpose of creativity. BIM platforms tend to simplify the work of designers and engineers, if their products are within standards. Within the digital construction field, creativity and information modelling are frequently in contrast. An interaction between parametric design and BIM platforms is necessary to avoid the influence of predefined parametric elements on the design concept. Parallel origami is suggested as a generative tool to produce complex shapes. This research proposes a new tool for Revit architecture software (BIM tool), based on the BIM-Parametric-Origami (BimPO) integration framework. This tool directly generates optimized alternatives of complex or non-conventional solar devices, for specific target performances of building envelopes. The BimPO script provides more possibilities for an increasing number of form generation. Results will prove BimPO’s ability to efficiently achieve numerous Ori...
opportunities in their daily lives. Arguably, recreation and socio-economic status have always ha... more opportunities in their daily lives. Arguably, recreation and socio-economic status have always had a longstanding relationship. However, spatial perception is seen as the criteria which decides whether architecture succeeded at delivering a certain message, or satisfied a certain role within a specific context. In fact, perception is a highly creative process; although people relate to the same reality, they will perceive it in a different way according to what the environment means to each of them. Different environments will have different perceptual influences. These differences are derived from various personal backgrounds (knowledge, experience, culture, and physical). Furthermore, some studies suggest that low level of physical and recreational activities is more prevalent among lower income, less educated, and unemployed populations compared to higher income individuals. In turn, this could cause dissatisfaction with the living condition in the low-income neighborhoods and ma...
Planning of cities during this decade is oriented to car use, and therefore physical environment ... more Planning of cities during this decade is oriented to car use, and therefore physical environment that encourages physical activity in the streets is neglected and drastically affected. Studies showed that features that have the strongest effect on residents differ from a community to another depending on culture, social norms and others. This paper identifies the built environment factors that have the most significant influence on engaging residents to physical activity in Alexandria City, Egypt. It also investigates the barriers and facilitators that the residents face while commuting the city. In this study two surveys were conducted, the first (survey I) assessed the value and frequency of participation of residents to physical activity in Alexandria city and identified the specific facilitators and barriers that affects their participation in any kind of physical activity. The second survey (survey II), followed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Long Form (IPA...
In the past half-century, researchers started paying attention to enhancing the performance of ur... more In the past half-century, researchers started paying attention to enhancing the performance of urban spaces. Their perception of performance comprised urban climate changes, space synthesis, economic performance, and enhancing the quality of life in spaces. However, it has been agreed that Good Governance(GG) is the key to achieving any of the previously mentioned enhancement projects. Good Governance(GG) pillars ensures the participation of the public. Public participation is a cornerstone in any planning process. Nevertheless, the way in which the participation practices are accomplished guarantees its effectiveness as a planning tool. In these regards, Good Governance (GG) stands as a keyword. Having good governance allows citizens to participate freely in development projects, ensuring the deep fulfillment of users' needs, and the efficient use of city resources and assets. This paper proposes a framework for effective public participation based on Good Governance (GG) under...
Social interaction is an essential component of the collegiate experience. Studies presume that t... more Social interaction is an essential component of the collegiate experience. Studies presume that the provision of appropriate space for interaction enhances its possibility. This study aims to reveal the effect of physical urban design elements on the quantity of social interaction between students on their university campuses. It takes place on the Faculty of Engineering campus in Alexandria University. Student questionnaires investigate students' sense of ownership, their satisfaction with their current campus and the features that would make them spend more time on campus. Furthermore, they reveal common movement patterns around campus throughout a standard day, and highlight the common gathering spaces. The on-site observation investigates the urban design components of these spaces. Based on the space syntax theory, which proposes that movement can be a good predictor for social encounters, the results are compared with integration and choice analyses maps along with the phy...
Cities are continually changing in an adaptation process to overcome a diverse range of natural a... more Cities are continually changing in an adaptation process to overcome a diverse range of natural and man-made pressures. Natural disaster, political upheavals or economic crisis are examples of stresses that cities face and try to overcome in different ways by developing mechanisms for handling continues changes. Most of these stresses and pressures are interrelated, complicated and hard to predict in the future time. As a result of the wide range of shocks and stresses, cities may decay or collapse, affecting the lives of millions of people living within the urban areas. Therefore, to a certain extent, urban resilience is considered as one of the most essential topics within the discourses of the sustainable development as it tackles issues as risk reduction and disaster prevention. Accordingly, it was essential to develop and plan cities in ways that allow them to foster resilience to the uncertainty of the environmental, socio-economic and political changes overtime. Subsequently,...
Outdoor human comfort is a key parameter in the evaluation of city's liveability. In addition... more Outdoor human comfort is a key parameter in the evaluation of city's liveability. In addition, it helps in promoting people's health and well-being, leading to the improvement of quality of life. Egyptian cities are impacted by urban heat island due to the dense urban fabric causing an obvious deterioration in the quality of their public spaces. Open public spaces provide various benefits to citizens; as they may intensify the economic, social and environmental aspects of the urban environment. Unfortunately, some cities' open public spaces are unattractive to human activity due to the challenges they face. The enhancement of microclimatic conditions in urban spaces can enable people to spend more time outdoors, with the potential to influence the social cohesion of a space and increase in the economic activity. Therefore, the wider aim of this research is to develop a better understanding of the complex relationship between the microclimate and human behaviour. The stud...
With the rapid spread of urbanization, cities started to witness challenges related to its street... more With the rapid spread of urbanization, cities started to witness challenges related to its streets. It is becoming imperative that the mobility should be managed appropriately to minimize its negative impacts on urban areas. Unfortunately, city leaders in many developing countries like Egypt are following the same Car-Oriented development patterns made by cities in developed countries. Ironically, the developed countries are trying to recover from a car dominated development era by re-allocating road space for public and non-motorized transport. In this respect, this research aims at exploring the key aspects and factors that affect individuals' mobility choices in Egypt. It focuses on the socio-demographic, attitudinal and physical factors that are associated with commuters' mobility behaviour and their choice of mode for daily trips. Two neighborhoods in Alexandria are selected for comparative and analytical analyses . First, a survey is carried out in the two selected areas. Second, Pearson’s Chi-square χ2 test is performed to explore the significant differences of commuter's attitudinal, personal and built environment factors between the two areas. Finally, crosstabulation distribution of categorical variables are presented in terms of absolute frequencies, p-values from Pearson’s Chisquare χ2 test and t-test so as to look for the association of the urban form and non-urban form factors to mobility choices.
Abstract In today's world, most cities face physical threats posed by climate change. These t... more Abstract In today's world, most cities face physical threats posed by climate change. These threats create environmental hazards, along with urban problems resulting from rapid urbanization and fast growth of cities. Unplanned urbanization causes the formulation of marginalized urban communities. According to a Un-Habitat report (2014), those groups are most vulnerable and most likely to suffer from disasters. The vulnerability of such population is an alarming problem with major social, environmental, and economic consequences. This issue has received significant consideration in climate change and disaster management research. The social vulnerability of communities is attributable to multiple indicators such as high levels of poverty, inequality, and problems relating to unemployment, housing, and access to basic civic amenities like safe drinking water and sanitation. This research aims at analysing the social vulnerability of Alexandria city. It reviews and implements several methods for selecting and aggregating vulnerability indicators. This aggregation process that captures multiple aspects of socio-spatial vulnerability in a single index or a small number of variables can produce thematic maps that act as powerful visual tools to identify those areas most susceptible to suffer from environmental changes. This study follows a structured framework to firstly describe the process of developing a social vulnerability index (SoVI), from 14 variables using two different methods. Secondly, it analyses the spatial patterns of the developed composite SoVI at the neighbourhood “Shyakha” level using ArcMap geographic information systems (GIS). The results demonstrate that the distribution of social vulnerability is not equal along Alexandria city. Most of the city is categorized to have relatively medium vulnerability level, while few areas are regarded as highly vulnerable “hot spots” and other areas are regarded as low vulnerable “cold spots”. Finally, based on the interpretation of the developed index and the deep examination of the characteristics of those vulnerable areas, the study offers guidelines to promote resilient development of most vulnerable areas.
Abstract. Strategic planning always requests supporting tools to defeat lack of data problems, wh... more Abstract. Strategic planning always requests supporting tools to defeat lack of data problems, which is a common drawback in our planning system as a result of several reasons. This paper is an extensive overview of the recent application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the domain of water contamination in lakes. The authors try to establish a GIS mapping technique, which is customized for Lake of Maryout in Alexandria city, Egypt demonstrating various GIS analysis techniques/approaches applied to a diversity of real-life engineering endeavors in the water contamination control management sector in a lack of data system. First, the reader is concisely acquainted with the major steps of utilized mapping technique and how they are conducted. Second, the technique would be applied to define degree of water pollution distribution in Lake of Maryout. Finally, the output maps would be analyzed to delineate a quick and long term strategy of solution. 1.
Quality of life (QoL) in cities and towns is of increasing concern to the public; this term nowad... more Quality of life (QoL) in cities and towns is of increasing concern to the public; this term nowadays is linked to the rapid urbanization process in cities. A major threat to quality of life is the high volume of vehicle traffic which is associated with different physical, health, social and environmental consequences. This paper studies the impact and relationship between traffic volume of vehicles and livability in the residential areas in terms of traffic hazard, social interaction, sense of privacy and responsibility. It assesses the validity of Appleyard’s "Livable streets" hypotheses in an Arab developing country. To conduct this study, three residential streets in Alexandria, Egypt that are identical in appearance (in terms of street width, sidewalks, land use diversity and residential densities), yet different in their volumes of traffic were selected. In order to measure livability and people’s perception towards their streets several methods were adopted including questionnaires, door-to-door interviews, and simple sketches for residents in the three streets, finally statistical analyses are then carried out. The results of the study confirmed the inverse correlation between traffic volume and livability, they also illustrate the deterioration in the distinct features and social cohesion of the Egyptian community.
Cities are a complex, adaptive, and self-organizing systems, that are faced with several challeng... more Cities are a complex, adaptive, and self-organizing systems, that are faced with several challenges due to rapid urbanization such as socio-demographic problems, air pollution, threat of climate change, and urban heat island effect (Kim and Han, 2012). Urbanization, is one of the greatest challenges of this century, that is strongly affecting the atmosphere and urban context of cities. In the light of these challenges there is a crucial need to study the effect of urban heat island phenomenon, which is characterized by an increased air temperature, from the periphery to the center of the cities, which it is partly caused by the urban geometry and alter the energy balance of these cities. Urban heat island is generally considered a problem because it induces many undesirable effects, such as discomfort in people life, health problems, the need for more energy consumption and more pollution. Therefore, investigating the relation between urban Geometry and Urban heat island is essentia...
Sense of community is a concept in community and social psychology and has been investigated in s... more Sense of community is a concept in community and social psychology and has been investigated in several researches. The sense of community level changes towards many independent variables and it is related to the quality of the built form. This research aims at investigating the relationship between the sense of community and some determinants such as; the physical environment, the historical background and the socio economic conditions in selected neighborhoods. Furthermore, this research examines the social interaction as it has an important role in measuring the sense of community. To achieve that, the authors propose a methodology composed mainly of two major tools; the first, a survey formed of sense of community indices, as well as other social and psychological factors according to Kim and Kaplan theory. The second tool is based on the observation of physical attributes of the neighborhood. The adopted methodology is applied on two neighborhoods in Alexandria city, Egypt. By ...
Outdoor lighting is used to illuminate roadways, parking lots, yards, sidewalks, public meeting a... more Outdoor lighting is used to illuminate roadways, parking lots, yards, sidewalks, public meeting areas, signs, work sites, and buildings. It provides us with better visibility and a sense of security. When well designed and properly installed, outdoor lighting can be and is very useful in improving visibility and safety and a sense of security, while at the same time minimizing energy use and operating costs. But, because nobody thought at this, most street lights shine light not only on the nearby ground, where is needed, but also miles away and skywards. Thus a large fraction of the light is lost, at consumer expense and without his/her consent. In the other hand, shortage in street light may cause more crimes as well as accidents. Most of the wasted or short light comes from the poorly designed street lights. Billboards, decorative lights, poorly shielded security lights are part of the problem too, but the main culprit for the waste and ugly glow one sees above one's head at ...
Planning models and simulations support tools are considered to be an awareness-raising process i... more Planning models and simulations support tools are considered to be an awareness-raising process in the strategic planning and design, as the aid of spatial models that integrate urban form with Soci-economic data, can open up a bright spectrum of opportunities and insights that were not evident before. Emphasizing on the relationship between space and the spatial structure that are considered to be the fundamental concept of urbanism. This paper is concerned by discussing, and evaluating the design proposal of Airport Lake (El Matter lake) in Alexandria, Egypt, with the aid of an evidence based model. This adopted methodology integrates Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Space Syntax into a single model. The model is based on analysing current land use densities, distribution, socio economic variables and network spatial configuration analysis of city, in order to predict the likely outcomes of the proposal on Alexandria’s urban life. The model is tested on Airport lake area, ...
Ensuring the city resiliency, inclusiveness, sustainability, and enhancing the quality of urban l... more Ensuring the city resiliency, inclusiveness, sustainability, and enhancing the quality of urban living, can be promoted through engaging communities and encouraging civic-led initiatives. As cities need to foster environments that encourage collective community voices in order to be adaptable and resilient, as a result of rapid Urbanization process, the growing communities suffers from a declining sense of community. This Research is concerned with studying the effect of par-ticipatory mapping and empowerment role of citizenship in enhancing the planning process. Therefore , it is an attempt to assess the social and spatial experiences of local community, aiming at investigating the relationship between local community activities, their perception of built environment and their sense of community, through using Participatory GIS. As it is an effective tool that provides spatial complexity, spatial context, interactivity and interconnection in the articulation of context and capable of deepening our understanding of quantitative measures. To achieve that, a methodology is adopted employing participatory mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to examine the activities of locals in the neighbourhood with lowest score of sense of community index resulting from a quantitative survey formed of sense of community index (SCI), applied on two neighbourhoods in Alexandria city, Egypt. Ó 2019 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Worldwide, many cities have embraced the concept of transit-oriented development (TOD), as it is ... more Worldwide, many cities have embraced the concept of transit-oriented development (TOD), as it is one of the most prominent approaches to land use and public transport integration. It is believed that measuring the existing TOD levels-'TOD-ness'-of an area quantitatively is critical for TOD planning. However, a literature review reveals that spatial studies and quantitative methods that measure TOD-ness comprehensively are still limited and fragmented. Furthermore, recent research has opened the door to further investigation of methods and model development, which could bridge the gap between planning decisions and practical application. Due to the multidimensional aspects of the transport decision process and the involvement of many stakeholders, often with different points of view, the process has become more complex. Unfortunately, most of the spatial studies reviewed did not express the outcomes in terms of the impact on users, which can often prevent the realization of T...
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