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Title A Parametric Urban Design Approach to Urban Development in Cairo:The Case of the El-Marg El-Gedida area
Full text http://vbn.aau.dk/da/publications/a-parametric-urban-design-approach-to-urban-development-in-cairo(4b630b15-fe38-4185-8f17-7aa7ec47db70).html
Date 2015
Author(s) Steinø, Nicolai
Abstract Participatory urban design has a long tradition in Anglo-Saxon urban design and planning. Yet when it comes to scenario building, participatory processes has traditionally relied on premeditated design scenarios, prepared by architects and planners. Such design scenarios can be difficult to modify in the course of participatory processes, as the consequences of changing different parameters cannot easily be evaluated by means of traditional design tools.<br/>In recent years, new parametric design tools have opened up new possibilities for dynamic scenario building in urban design. By way of a parametric design approach, different urban design parameters can be modified and new urban space scenarios can be rendered three-dimensionally in almost real time. In short, this is parametric urban design. It opens up completely new possibilities for participatory design, as both lay stakeholders and non-designer professionals can provide input and evaluate the spatial effects instantly in the context of participatory design processes.<br/>Cairo, Egypt, currently experiences rapid urban growth, while formal urban planning is absent in large parts, resulting in large-scale informal and unplanned development. A parametric urban design approach in combination with a more bottom-up planning approach may be the best response to this condition. The El-Marg El-Gedida area is located at the northern edge of the Cairo metropolitan area and comprises one of the largest areas of informal settlements in the city. In recent years, development in this area has accelerated due to the construction of line one of the metro, and the area's connection to the northern part of the Cairo ring road.<br/>Using the El-Marg El-Gedida area as a demonstration case, this paper aims to investigate the potential for the application of a parametric urban design approach to urban space design in Cairo as a lever for bottom-up planning. While the paper will discuss what parameters are feasible to include in this particular urban setting, it also discusses the potentials of a parametric urban design approach for analysing some current problems and exploring the implications of different scenarios as a basis for more concrete discussions and involvement of involved stakeholders in the context of informal urban development in Cairo.<br/>
Subject(s) parametric design; urban design; Cairo; Informal settlements
Language eng
Publisher Nordisk Foerening foer Arkitekturforskning
Type of publication conferenceObject
Source Steinø, N 2015, ' A Parametric Urban Design Approach to Urban Development in Cairo: The Case of the El-Marg El-Gedida area ' Nordic Journal of Architectural Research .
Repository Aalborg - Aalborg University
Added to C-A: 2015-09-22;08:43:27