Architecture

Cigarette filters are one of the most littered objects in the world that damage the environment. Incorporation in construction bricks offers the prospect of limiting damage and solves the recyclability problem for a typical non-biodegradable waste. This paper aims to explore that prospect, by adding cigarette filters in the production of two samples of fired clay bricks with the cigarette filters comprising 5% and 10% of the volume. The mixing and molding processes were done manually which had an effect on the bricks when tested, The results of testing were corresponding with those of previous studies (outside Egypt), however, only one sample of 5% Cigarette butts volume bricks complied with the Egyptian standards for bricks used in non-load bearing uses. The industrial production of these bricks is highly recommended as it will surpass the required Egyptian standards, save a significant amount of natural resources and eliminate cigarette waste.

The coastline of Hurghada, Egypt has been a site of extensive tourism development since the 1980's. Construction and habitat alteration, including dredge and fill operations of shallow areas, excavation of artificial lagoons, construction of huge marine structures, and mining and quarrying. Experts consider Hurghada to be an example of what un-planned development could damage marine and aquatic life. Yet little research has been done on which -if any- physical design factors of tourist villages that promote or impair dredging. For example, is there a relationship between filling more coastal area and plot dimensions or area? Is there a difference between the behaviour of privately and publicly owned plots when it comes to altering the coast line? Are regulatory instruments of protecting the shoreline, limiting area and setting a set-back distance effective and reasonable? This paper analyses these issues using time-series data from 3 satellite images that monitor up coastal development in Hurghada from 1989-2005. It uses statistical analysis linked to a GIS database to examine the association between physical factors of tourist projects and the propensity to assault the coast. It concludes that several planning and legislative flaws are likely to have contributed to the encroachment on the coastal strip in Hurghada. It presents a list of future recommendations for the planning of plot subdivision and its regulations.

This paper takes the standpoint that a city’s defensibility is a function of its urban morphologic structure as much as any other military tactical or logistical factor. In spite of GPS/satellite precision-based, remotely controlled electronic wars, urban
warfare can only be decided on the ground. Once again the urban-scape layout of cities and towns became a key player on what older planners and architects called "Defensible Cities". Only this time the cities are up against a much vicious and
aggressive invader: superior fire-power. This paper attempts to re-examine the association between an urban-scape and the military events to control cities. Are planners able through design of cities to make them more defensible and safe for its
population? Can GIS be used in conjunction with Space syntax to formulate new measures and analysis tools of the defensibility of cities? This paper uses Depthmap (UCL) together with ArcGIS software to analyze the fall of Falluja on November 2004 in 8 days. The results are associated with the attacking forces choice of particular streets, avoidance of others, the ease of flow through particular neighborhoods and the resilience of others in order to understand if the city’s structure had anything to do with the speed with which it fell. Results reveal how certain syntactic morphological measures including connectivity, integration, and mean depth among others may be used to explain why cities are more-or-less defensible.

Real estate valuation is traditionally a commercial enterprise used by realtors and others. However, a growing concern is initiated for aggregate valuation (termed in the literature as “market area problem”) researched by planners to enable the coining of an entire residential area for urban development and tax purposes. This paper is an attempt to devise an aggregate indicator of property value by testing several moderator and mediator variables influencing property value; particularly noise, street width, integration and choice. The model is based on combining Collector for GIS as a local input device for field data and processing them through ArcGIS and SpaceSyntax. The model is applied to a case study in Fayoum, Egypt.