Presentation at the AI/ASI ‘Academia and Social Justice’ Conference in Beirut, Lebanon, March 2016

1. DOES ACADEMIA REINFORCE
SOCIO-SPATIALLY JUST DESIGNS?
Mennatuallah hendawy
Department of Urban Design and Planning
Faculty of Engineering
Ain Shams University
mennatuallah.hendawy@eng.asu.edu.eg
STUDY OF HIGHER URBAN DESIGN AND PLANNING EDUCATION IN EGYPT

2. http://english.ahram.org.eg/Media/News/2013/1/24/2013-634946321453938405-393.

3. AGENDA
TRIGGER
WHAT IS A SOCIO-SPATIAL DESIGN?
METHDOLOGY
FINDINGS
CONCLUSION
http://english.ahram.org.eg/Media/News/2013/1/24/2013-634946321453938405-393.

4. WHAT AM I SPEAKING ABOUT?
ACADEMIA

5. WHAT AM I SPEAKING ABOUT?
SOCIETY
ACADEMIA

6. WHAT AM I SPEAKING ABOUT?
POLITICS
SOCIETY
ACADEMIA

7. WHAT AM I SPEAKING ABOUT?
POLITICS
SOCIETY
ACADEMIA
URBAN
PLANING,
AND
DESIGN

8. WHAT I AM SPEAKING ABOUT?

9. WHAT IS ACADEMIC FOR ME?
ِ‫ء‬‫ا‬َ‫ي‬ِ‫ب‬ْ‫ن‬َ ْ‫ال‬ ُ‫ة‬َ‫ث‬َ‫ر‬َ‫و‬ َ‫ء‬ َ‫م‬َ‫ل‬ُ‫ع‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ َّ‫ن‬ِ‫إ‬َ‫و‬...
– ‫وسلم‬ ‫وآله‬ ‫عليه‬ ‫الله‬ ‫صىل‬ – ‫النبي‬ ‫عن‬
‫قال‬ ‫أنه‬ ‫صحيح‬ ‫بسند‬ ‫والرتمذي‬ ‫ماجه‬ ‫وابن‬ ‫داود‬ ‫أيب‬ ‫عند‬ ‫كام‬
...The learned are the heirs of the Prophets

10. WHAT IS ACADEMIC FOR ME?
ACADEMIA IS MEANINGFUL

11. ACADEMIA IS RESPONSIBLE

12. ACADEMIA IS NOT NEUTRAL

13. ACADEMIA IS INCLUSIVE

14. WE DON›T HAVE
TIME TO ASK THE
COMMUNITY
TRIGGER

15. AND WHERE IS THE
PROBLEM IN RELLOCATING
THE INHABITANTS?
WE DON›T HAVE
TIME TO ASK THE
COMMUNITY
TRIGGER

16. AND WHERE IS THE
PROBLEM IN RELLOCATING
THE INHABITANTS?
WE DON›T HAVE
TIME TO ASK THE
COMMUNITY
WE KNOW BETTER
TRIGGER

17. TRIGGER

18. DOES ACADEMIA REINFORCE
SOCIO-SPATIALLY JUST DESIGNS?

19. WHAT IS A SOCIO-SPATIAL DESIGN?

21. METHODOLOGY
+ +[ ]+

22. DESIGNING FOR WHO?
DESIGNING ACCORDING TO WHO?
DO PROJECTS IN ACADEMIA REFLECT REALITY?
METHODOLOGY

23. DESIGN PROCESS
PROGRAM SITE ANALYSIS PROJECT
DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCT

24. DESIGN PROCESS
PROGRAM SITE ANALYSIS PROJECT
DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCT ?
PHYSICAL
STUDENT
CENTRED
PROFESSOR
CENTRED

25. DESIGING FOR WHO? AND ACCORDING TO WHO?
Professors
Vision
Students/Experts
Vision
Comunity
Vision
ABSCENT

26. DESIGING FOR WHO? AND ACCORDING TO WHO?
https://www.facebook.com/5plusUDC/photos/a.383199378508487.1073741828.383141638514261/535968603231563/?type=3&theater

27. DESIGING FOR WHO? AND ACCORDING TO WHO?
High class
gated communities
Upper middle and middle
class areas
Low middle class
districts
Deteriorated areas Informal areas
High class
gated communities

28. DESIGING FOR WHO? AND ACCORDING TO WHO?
High class
gated communities
Upper middle and middle
class areas
Low middle class
districts
Deteriorated areas Informal areas
High class
gated communities
«My first thoughts are that all my
professors see themselves as the end user,
especially those who see themselves as
middle class, therefore their planning
revolves around them and their interests.
So Middle class neighbourhoods accessible
by cars, homes for families of four, and of
course Cairo is the center of the universe.»

29. DESIGING FOR WHO? AND ACCORDING TO WHO?
High class
gated communities
Upper middle and middle
class areas
Low middle class
districts
Deteriorated areas Informal areas
High class
gated communities
«My first thoughts are that all my
professors see themselves as the end user,
especially those who see themselves as
middle class, therefore their planning
revolves around them and their interests.
So Middle class neighbourhoods accessible
by cars, homes for families of four, and of
course Cairo is the center of the universe.»
You will probably notice that
through the generations; the ones
who dreamed of and designed
Mohendessin, lived there, the ones
that designed New Cities lived
there, and the ones that designed
compounds lived there.
Yahia shawkat
urban researcher/activist

30. http://egyptianstreets.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/shaimaa.jpg
DO PROJECTS IN ACADEMIA REFLECT REALITY?
in 2007, 63.6 percent
of Cairo’s population
(approximately 11
million inhabitants)
of 17.3 million egyp-
tian citizens live in
informal areas

31. DO PROJECTS IN ACADEMIA REFLECT REALITY?
http://english.ahram.org.eg/Media/News/2011/6/15/2011-634437490474277167-427.gif

32. Manshiyet Nasser
(Informal Area)
400-500000
Uptown Cairo
(formal Area
(gated community))
20-25000
DO PROJECTS IN ACADEMIA REFLECT REALITY?
Maarouf 2013

33. DO PROJECTS IN ACADEMIA REFLECT REALITY?

34. FINDINGS & CONCLUSION

35. THANK YOU HOW CAN ACADEMIA
REINFORCE
SOCIO-SPATIALLY JUST
DESIGNS? community driven projects
include social studies
FINDINGS & CONCLUSION

36. THANK YOU HOW CAN ACADEMIA
REINFORCE
SOCIO-SPATIALLY JUST
DESIGNS? Promote critical thinking
FINDINGS & CONCLUSION

37. THANK YOU HOW CAN ACADEMIA
REINFORCE
SOCIO-SPATIALLY JUST
DESIGNS?
PROGRAM SITE ANALYSIS
PROJECT
DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCT
FINDINGS & CONCLUSION

38. THANK YOU HOW CAN ACADEMIA
REINFORCE
SOCIO-SPATIALLY JUST
DESIGNS?
FINDINGS & CONCLUSION
Expose students to different contexts

39. THANK YOU HOW CAN ACADEMIA
REINFORCE
SOCIO-SPATIALLY JUST
DESIGNS?
“I guess by making the design process more
pragmatic and democratic. ie participatory, but
for real.
I will never be a 50 year old widow with four
children and living in a room. But I can always
ask her”
Yahia Shawkat
FINDINGS & CONCLUSION

40. THANK YOU
THANK YOU
HOW CAN ACADEMIA
REINFORCE
SOCIO-SPATIALLY JUST
DESIGNS?
DISCUSSION