Re-visiting the Park: Reviving the “Cultural Park for Children” in Sayyeda Zeinab in the shadows of Social Sustainability

Abstract

This paper aims to question the level of success of one of Egypt's contemporary architectural milestones which is the Aga-Khan Award winning project of the Child Park in Sayyeda Zeinab-designed by the Egyptian architect Abdel-Halim Ibrahim; from a community participation perspective. Stemming from the fact that the level of successful community participation in architecture and urban design projects affects the sustainability of the added value, this paper tackles the current process of operation of the Park and the adjacent pedestrian street, as complimentary aspects of a community participatory process, and evaluates the social sustainability of the project as well. The study sheds light on the operation of the park after twenty eight years of the initiation of the project, it explores its functional and social role in the district of Sayyeda, located at the center of Cairo city. However, the project has to be revised and analysed from a critical perspective to evaluate the degree of its success in affecting the local community, and the level to which it contributes to the approach of local community participation. In order to achieve this end, the paper adopts a twofold methodology. The first is a literature review of the initial ceremonial participatory process of building the Park and the initial role intended by the architect whether related to the park itself or to the adjacent Abu-ElDahab Street. The second methodology is a qualitative analysis of the current state of the park and adjacent street, based on site investigations, behavioural mapping of the current status, analysis of the roles of the beneficiaries, interviews conducted with different stakeholders about the present challenges of the role of the park in the district. Based on those two main research approaches, the paper concludes with a framework and several guidelines to enhance the social sustenance of the place through rephrasing the park's role in relation to the changing needs of the community.

Investigating the Socio-Economic Sustainability within the Egyptian Museums over the Last Decade

“…Dizdaroglu, Z. Shafiq, and Vallance [21][22][23] advocated that social sustainability has multiple dimensions, including (a) social capital, justice, and equity; (b) changes in behavior to achieve bio-physical environmental goals; and (c) the conservation of socio-cultural characteristics, as well as how individuals actively embrace or oppose change. On the other hand, economic sustainability focuses on profitability and the appropriate accounting of ecosystem services, for optimizing the cost-benefit assessment, according to [20], while the authors in [24] argue that economic sustainability involves more than just GDP, exchange rates, and profit; it also includes the creation, distribution, and consumption of commodities and services.…”

“…This function states that the goal of museums is to make access to lifelong learning possible. This can be achieved via the special resources that museums have available for both formal and informal education through traditional activities, like providing tours or informational materials, utilizing historical artefacts in participatory and interactive programs, or planning workshops and implementing trans-disciplinary educational initiatives [21][22][23]. The regeneration of local economies and the leisure and entertainment function are two additional functions that may be added to the educational function.…”