COVID-19 Bringing Cairenes Back to their Streets

Abstract

In a city of high vehicular traffic like Cairo, in some neighborhoods simple social activities were usually practiced in enclosed places. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has somehow turned the corner in the street life of Cairo as the livability of the urban public spaces enhanced. Residents of Cairo were widely seen using every well-maintained public space they could find. This paper aims to explore the emerging questions concerning Covid-19 and its effect on the city. How did Covid-19 help in bringing residents of Cairo back to the streets? What kind of street activities were introduced during the pandemic and what are the reasons behind them? What are the effects of these novel activities on both the people and the city? Basing on relevant international literature, this research will provide a comparative analysis between urban public life in the streets of Cairo before and during the pandemic. The research adopts a case study qualitative approach for a selected neighborhood in Cairo. It relies on observations, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with residents from the district. Findings indicate that enclosed commercial and recreational facilities, and vehicular domination in the streets have taken life away from the city before the lockdown period. During the pandemic people have acquired new habits which gave life back to the streets. The flow of the main social stream has a very important role in shaping the street life. As a result of these new circumstances the physical and psychological health of the residents were maintained, new social ties were created and their sense of belonging has been enhanced.

Lessons from COVID-19 outbreaks for spaces between buildings using tactical urbanism

“…Nearby, the other responses suffer from safety, classified as fear of darkness, sexual harassment, and the spread of stray dogs everywhere, which is compatible with the incidents discussed [ 39 ]. Losing the sense of place and feeling unsafe and anxious clearly impact residents if the spaces between buildings in the neighbourhood remain dead [ 70 ].…”

Reconceptualizing Proximity Measurement Approaches through the Urban Discourse on the X-Minute City

“…Caselli et al [35] assessed accessibility in the case study of the Cittadella district by determining the catchment areas of selected facilities, identifying kindergartens and neighborhood cores as prominent locations in the neighborhood through service area analysis by using the ArcGIS Network Analyst tool to compute the "cost" value per each link in the pedestrian network. Abdelfattah, Deponte, and Fossa [10] employed a purely isometric approach, considering three walking buffers: 300 m, 600 m, and 900 m, representing walking times of 5, 10, and 15 min, respectively.…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the difficulties that cities may encounter in terms of the overcrowding of public transport and the need for reduced carbon emissions, similar to the case during lockdowns [7][8][9]. These challenges underscore the importance of walkable cities and services within walking distance [10][11][12].…”

Landscaping with Fruits: Citizens’ Perceptions toward Urban Horticulture and Design of Urban Gardens

“…Almost 80% of respondents who lived in the city agreed that 'Gardening has a positive effect on a child's development', about 10% more compared to rural residents. This could indicate the accentuated need of urban residents to provide safe and healthy spaces for their children, being aware of the negative consequences of growing up without a yard or a garden and a devastating lack of green spaces in the immediate vicinity of their homes, but also of the importance of open spaces during the restricted usage of indoor spaces [54][55][56]. According to Miller [52], children who participate in gardening activities communicate their knowledge of the world to others and convey and learn how to manage their emotions while developing valuable skills-self-confidence, initiative, science skills, etc.…”