A Tale of a Sidewalk; the Conflict of Its Presence and Usage in the Streets of Cairo

Abstract

People walk along the streets every day, in densely urban and built environment, streets are the most obvious public space that serve not only as links for movement but also as public places. Sidewalk is the people's place in the street's space; the road bed is used only for vehicles, but people walk and socialize on the sidewalks. Recently it has become an important issue to diverse planning concerns towards sidewalks, it is an important element in the street's components, encourages walking, consequently improves public health, environment, stimulates economic development and recreation. The research focuses upon the significance of the presence of sidewalks and their design in order to function and to facilitate usage. It addresses the conflict of sidewalks in the city of Cairo, the problem of their absence and the difficulty of walking along them if existed, assuring the importance of the sidewalk as a main issue in planning by reviewing the case of Heliopolis neighborhood in Cairo. Finally, the research illustrates the challenges that face planning and design of a sidewalk, as a link and as a space, and recommends keys for the space usage as a solution for its related problems. Keywords: Sidewalk, street, pedestrians, Mobility