Rethinking Cairo’s Elevated Urban Highways: Scoping Impacts and Potentials A Thesis Submitted to The Center for Sustainable Development In Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Sustainable Development By Nermin Dessouky Under the Supervision of Dr. Khaled Abdelhalim Assistant Professor of Urban Policy Public Policy and Administration Department Fall 2016 Acknowledgment First I would like to express my gratitude to my Advisor Dr. Khaled Abdelhalim for his continuous support, patience and insightful inputs which allowed me to work on a topic that was of great interest to me. I would like to also thank my thesis committee Dr. Basil Kamel and Dr. Heba Safey Eldin, your valuable comments really helped in refining my work and enriching my thesis. Second I would like to thank all the interviewees who agreed to give me their time and insights. I thank them for inviting me into their homes and shops, and for trusting me and enriching my research with their valuable opinions. Without them, this research wouldn’t have been possible. I thank my most amazing friends Ihsaan, Rania, Aya and Renad for always listening to my academic drama and being there for me every single step of the way. A special gratitude goes to Ruaa, Noha and Sheri for pushing me through the final end of the writing process and brainstorming with me through all phases of the research. Last but not least I would like to thank my family for their support, and for being so patient and understanding with my hectic schedule. Most importantly I thank my mother Nisreen Istanbouly for being my ultimate support system and always reminding me that I am capable of achieving anything that I set my mind to. Thank you mama, I couldn’t have asked for a better mother. ii Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 9 1.1. Problem statement ......................................................................................................................... 9 .1.2 Research Context ........................................................................................................................ 10 1.3. Objectives of Research................................................................................................................ 12 1.4. Conceptual framework ................................................................................................................ 12 1.5. Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 15 1.5.1. Data collection .................................................................................................................... 15 1.5.2. Case study selection ............................................................................................................ 16 1.5.3. Interviewee selection and sample........................................................................................ 16 1.6. Limitations .................................................................................................................................. 17 2. Chapter 2: Literature review ........................................................................................................... 18 2.1. History of international experience with elevated urban highways ............................................ 18 2.2. Criticism of elevated urban highways policies ........................................................................... 21 2.3. Overview of different urban solutions (Removing – Reconfiguring- Rehabilitating) ................ 29 2.4. Urban Theories ............................................................................................................................ 34 2.4.1. The Practice of Everyday Life: Michel de Certeau 1988 .................................................... 34 2.4.2. A theory of good city form: Kevin Lynch 1981 ................................................................. 35 2.4.3. Finding lost space: Roger Trancik 1986 ............................................................................. 35 2.4.4. Spaces and Typology of toleration ...................................................................................... 36 2.5. Elevated urban highways in Greater Cairo and related policies ................................................. 38 3. Empirical Field work methodology, analysis and flow .................................................................. 45 4. Chapter 3: El Azhar Bridge ............................................................................................................. 47 4.1. Background ................................................................................................................................. 47 4.2. Selection rationale ....................................................................................................................... 50 4.3. Scoping Impacts .......................................................................................................................... 51 4.4. Spatial analysis (Location, Space, Structure, land and the Sense of Ownership) ....................... 57 4.5. Potential uses and Future projections .......................................................................................... 62 5. Chapter 4: 15th of May Bridge ......................................................................................................... 64 5.1. Background ................................................................................................................................. 64 5.2. Selection rationale ....................................................................................................................... 66 iii 5.3. Scoping Impacts .......................................................................................................................... 66 .5.4 Spatial analysis (Location, Space, Structure, land and the Sense of Ownership) ....................... 72 5.5. Potential uses and Future projections .......................................................................................... 79 6. Chapter 5: Saft El Laban Corridor ................................................................................................. 81 6.1. Background ................................................................................................................................. 81 6.2. Selection rationale ....................................................................................................................... 82 6.3. Scoping Impacts .......................................................................................................................... 82 .6.4 Spatial analysis (Location, Space, Structure, land and the Sense of Ownership) ....................... 92 6.5. Potential uses and Future projections .......................................................................................... 98 7. Chapter 6: Research Findings and Recommendations ................................................................ 101 7.1. Research findings ...................................................................................................................... 101 7.2. Discussion of the findings ......................................................................................................... 104 7.3. Potential laws and regulations implications .............................................................................. 106 7.4. Potential policy implications ..................................................................................................... 109 7.5. Recommendations ..................................................................................................................... 111 8. Bibliography .................................................................................................................................... 115 9. Appendix A : Interviewee’s profile ................................................................................................ 119 10. Appendix B: interview Question Bundle....................................................................................... 121 11. Appendix C: Interviewee Consent Form ...................................................................................... 123 iv List of Figures Figure 1 Cheonggyecheon highway in Korea before removal (ITDP & EMBARQ, 2012) ............................ 30 Figure 2 The regenerated area after the removal of the highway (ITDP & EMBARQ, 2012) .................... 30 Figure 3 proposed and existing ring roads of Greater Cairo (GOPP, 2009) ................................................ 41 Figure 4 Proposed and existing highways of Greater Cairo (GOPP, 2009) ................................................. 41 Figure 5 high traffic rates over Cairo's elevated highways (GOPP, 2012)................................................... 42 Figure 6 existing proposed road networks (GOPP,2012) ............................................................................ 42 Figure 7 El Azhar bridge shaded in Orange cutting through the dense fabric (Map retrieved from Google Earth,2016) ................................................................................................................................................