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In recent decades, the integration of nature into cities has witnessed a wave of progressive advancement due to the environmental and anthropological disciplines. However, cities still face numerous challenges in terms of providing and maintaining green spaces. Thus, collaboration and partnerships between various stakeholders are being promoted as a possible solution to such a dilemma with a specific focus on community engagement and placemaking. This research examines the gaps triggering the scarce green open space challenge in Cairo, Egypt, as an example of a rapidly urbanising city in the Global South. In contrast to previous research on green spaces in Cairo, the current study investigates the cascade of the different scales and hierarchical levels of strategies as well as stakeholders concerned with green spaces. The results demonstrate the importance of understanding the dynamics and activating stronger networks between different stakeholders, especially on the community scale. The current research also highlights the importance of determining the actual value of green open spaces for various stakeholders as an essential entry point for placemaking. In addition, it is urging considering the multifunctionality of green spaces as a basis for formulating and negotiating an urban greening policy and strategy in Cairo.

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Placemaking is a philosophical ideology that focuses on common and shared values among the different stakeholders aiming at providing better environment for the people. It is a hands-on tool that increases place attachment and yields places that reflect the local identities of the people and so transforms them into active players and local guardians. Several typologies of placemaking emerged overtime, but they are all people driven. On the contrary to public projects ideologies which are not certainly to be people driven at all times. In this regard, the research aims at investigating the different set ups in the Arab region in relation to placemaking philosophy. The study is discussing the two cases of Abu Dhabi and Cairo as two diverse contexts in the Arab region with different inputs and challenges. Despite the potentials revealed for the progression of placemaking in the two studied cities, the research argues that achieving the core philosophy of placemaking is still early in the Arab region. As it requires core and in-depth consideration of public realm production ideologies and its subsequent administrative set ups that would encourage inclusive and democratic process.

Traditional cities emerged and grew according to the residents’ needs; thus they were a reflection of the community’s culture and traditions. But lately cities have witnessed numerous changes and challenges. Nasr City in Cairo was planned as a suburb in the late sixties to tackle the housing shortage in Cairo. Nasr city’s master plan aimed at accommodating modern planning concepts where it featured an abundance of open public spaces when compared to other districts of Cairo. However, these spaces are empty of people most of the time, which detracts from the character and the experiential qualities of the area. This paper aims to explore the way in which the residents of Nasr city envision ‘their’ public spaces, comprehending the reasons why their usage of such spaces is currently hindered and discovering their recommendations for enhancing public spaces in their neighbourhoods in a way that would encourage them to visit them regularly. In addition, this paper assesses Nasr city’s public spaces, in an attempt to bridge the gap between the offered built environment and people’s needs. This assessment shall be achieved through the use of questionnaires, observations of people’s reactions towards offered public spaces, urban surveys of the provided public spaces and interviews with officials. Based on these studies the paper proposes recommendations incorporating people’s needs for a vivid public realm, in order to help planners and officials to understand the malfunctions inherent in modern city planning and management models that have hindered planned public spaces from conveying and fulfilling their role as centres of social interaction.