Downtown Pedestrian mall as a Strategy to Enhance the Egyptian Street Life

Abstract

The persistent deterioration of the street life in Egypt became an evident in overcrowded cities such as Cairo. This is well identified in mixed use/commercial streets in general, and in downtown’s ones in particular. In fact, these streets are functioning as corridors for vehicular movement, rather than places for people's activities, that resulted in a street life deterioration; physically, in terms of traffic conflict due to the urban growth that led to vehicle invasion, and socially in terms of people’s use limitation to streets due to social mobility and public realm privatization that led to indoor shopping mall invasion that has contributed to emptying out the commercial activities from downtown’s streets. The paper suggests the applicability of pedestrian malls in city centers as a strategy to enhance the quality of the street life. Hence, this research investigates the pedestrian malls as an application of commercial street design that balances the dual functions of the street as a movement corridor as well as a place for activities. Firstly, it attempts to explain and categorize the street life deterioration in Egypt. Secondly, to identify the benefits of the pedestrian mall as a solution. Finally, to analyze and evaluate the level of success of one of the newly implemented pedestrian malls in Cairo’s downtown and to compare it with an international case study street. The findings of the research set some principles for selecting streets that have potential to be converted into successful pedestrian malls that could contribute to enhancing the Egyptian street life.