Unlocking the Potentials of Urban Architecture in Enhancing the Quality of Urban Life in Urban Poverty Areas through Community Projects

Ahmed Elewa (1)
(1) Associate Professor of Town planning and Architecture Design, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University, Egypt, Egypt
https://doi.org/10.21625/essd.v4i2.561

Article Sidebar

Issue
Vol. 4 Issue 2 (2019): Innovative Approaches Towards Preserving the Environment
Submitted
June 30, 2019
Published
June 30, 2019
Keywords:
    Urban architecture, Quality of urban life, Urban poverty areas, Community projects
PDF

Abstract

Currently more than half of world population are living in cities, while world is witnessing a rapid urbanization process particularly in cities of the developing and emerging countries, where urban poverty areas (UPA) with low quality of urban life (QUL) and lack of the usual urban spaces are the most significant urban phenomena that characterized those cities. In such an urban context there is a need for an efficient tool that contributes positively to the enhancement of the QUL, meanwhile to provide the best use of the rare vacant lands.This study argues that urban architecture as a design field offers a distinctive approach to a special type of buildings made for an urban setting, thus it can enhance the QUL in UPA through community projects.The study is based on an analytical study of selected cases of community projects in UPA that represents examples of how urban architecture through its potentials has a positive impact on its urban context, notably through community projects that strongly linked to real community needs. The results showed that urban architecture as a design approach for community projects have multiple roles that boost thedaily life, as well it supports various environmental issues towards better QUL.

Full text article

Generated from XML file

References

Archdaily, (2017). Tapis Rouge public space in an informal neighborhood in Haiti, Emergent Vernacular Architecture (EVA Studio). Retrieved July 25, 2018, from: https://www.archdaily.com/802993/tapis-rouge-emergent-vernacular-architecture

Attoe W, Donn L. (1989). American Urban Architecture: Catalysts in the Design of Cities. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Brillembourg A. & Klumpner H. (2011). Build simply: South of the border. Retrieved August 17, 2018, from: http://www.mascontext.com/issues/10-conflict-summer-11/build-simply-south-of-the-border/

Carmona, M., Heath, T., Oc, T., & Tiesdell, S. (2003). Urban Spaces-Public Places: The Dimensions of Urban Design. Oxford: Architectural Press.

Cowan, R. (2005). The Dictionary of Urbanism. Tisbury, Wiltshire: Streetwise Press, UK. p. 415.

Cracknell K. (2013). The only way is up; 2013. Health Club Management 2013 issue 10. Retrieved August 20, 2018, from:http://www.healthclubmanagement.co.uk/health-club-management-features/The-only-way-is-up/28464

Davis J. (2009). Urban catalysts in theory and practice. Architectural Research Quarterly.13, p. 295-306.

Doxiades KA. (1963). Architecture in Transition. London: Hutchinson.

Elewa A. (2018). Enhancing the quality of urban life in urban poverty areas through a strategy of integral multi approaches, public spaces as arena for change. Proceedings of Science and Technology. DOI:10.21625/resourceedings.v1i1.175.

Ernest, S. (2002). What makes buildings catalytic? How cultural facilities can be designed to spur surrounding development. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research.Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring, 2002), p. 30-43.

Ezeh A, Mberu B, & Haregu T. (2016). Slum health is not urban health: why we must distinguish between the two. Retrieved July 20, 2018, from https://theconversation.com/slum-health-is-not-urban-health-why-we-must-distinguish-between-the-two-69939

Francin, KI. (2015). Urban catalyst. School of Urban Planning. McGill University.

Hariss B. (2018). What is urban architecture? Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-urban-architecture.htm

Hurley AK. (2014). Next Progressives: Going Top Down. Retrieved August 20, 2018, from: https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/next-progressives-going-top-down_o

Komez, E. (2011). Urban Architecture: Urban Architectural Strategies in Three Exemplary. Saarbrücken, Lap Lambert Academic Publishing.

Lucas PK. (2013). Norms and Space. Understanding Public Space Regulation in the Tourist City. Lund University.

Satterthwaite D. (1995). Viewpoint - the underestimation of urban poverty and of its health consequences.Third World Planning Review, Vol. 17 No 4.

Schwartz A. (2012). A Prefab Vertical Gym For Urban Slums. Retrieved August 17, 2018, from: https://www.fastcompany.com/1680630/a-prefab-vertical-gym-for-urban-slums

The Harvard Architecture Review: Urban Architecture. (1981). Cambridge: MIT Press.

United Nations. (2014). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, Highlights, United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.

United Nations, (2016). The World’s Cities in 2016 – Data Booklet. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (ST/ESA/ SER.A/392).

UN-Habitat, (2016). Slum Almanac 2015 2016, Tracking Improvement in the Lives of Slum Dwellers.

UN-HABITAT. (2018). Best Practices Database: Award Winners. Three Public Spaces to enhance community resilience. Retrieved August 15, 2018, from: http://mirror.unhabitat.org/bp/bp.list.details.aspx?bp_id=5254

Wilkinson T. (2017). Tapis Rouge in Port-au-Prince, Haiti by Emergent Vernacular Architecture. Retrieved August 15, 2018, from:https://www.architectural-review.com/buildings/tapis-rouge-in-port-au-prince-haiti-by-emergent-vernacular-architecture/10017643.article

Authors

Ahmed Elewa
Associate Professor of Town planning and Architecture Design, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University, Egypt
ahmedfine[email protected] (Primary Contact)
Elewa, A. (2019). Unlocking the Potentials of Urban Architecture in Enhancing the Quality of Urban Life in Urban Poverty Areas through Community Projects. Environmental Science & Sustainable Development, 4(2), 121–135. https://doi.org/10.21625/essd.v4i2.561
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX

Copyright (c) 2019 International Journal of Environmental Science & Sustainable Development

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons License

  • The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
  • Attribution: other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;

With the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.

  • The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a pre-publication manuscript (but not the Publisher's final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access). Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
  • Upon Publisher's request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author's own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
  • The Author represents and warrants that:
  • The Work is the Author's original work;
  • The Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
  • The Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
  • The Work has not previously been published;
  • The Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
  • The Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
  • The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author's breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 7 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher's use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.


Article Details