Introduction

1In the al-Khalifa area of Historic Cairo, narrow streets create unique ways of producing street spaces. Space is contested between different groups which pass through or stay within it. The lived space (activities, rules and pedestrian and vehicular movement) is affected by, and affects in turn, the conceived space (street design, permeability and traffic calming).

2The case of al-Khalifa shows how recent changes to vehicular traffic interact with traffic calming and permeability control, adding and developing elements that were not traditionally widespread. These recent changes affect public space production through governance norms that exist outside of state control and within independent local community power structures, and occasionally in resistance to state control and its intervention. In other instances, these governance norms are indirectly implemented by state power, given local actors’ relations with the police, parliament and local authorities.

3We reached our conclusions by analyzing open space justice in relation to changes in traffic, permeability and traffic calming. There are five aspects of open space justice (Low and Iveson 2016): distribution of benefits and harms, recognition, interaction between actors, care and repair of the space and its users, and procedural justice and participation. Additionally, this case study builds on a framework of activities and modalities that was developed as part of UNESCO’s Urban Regeneration Project for Historic Cairo (Shehayeb 2011).

4Our research methods include interviewing local residents, observing different street segments, counting moving pedestrians and vehicles and running a preliminary space syntax analysis on the effects of past street changes on the permeability of the street network. A number of case studies were chosen and cover street sections of varying widths and various types of street design and permeability changes.

5The research explores ways of producing public space in Historic Cairo and various informal areas. By contrast, state-led redevelopment of impoverished and informal areas often stigmatizes these areas as dens of crime and drugs. The research shows how different groups are affected by the production of space through contestation between street activities and traffic and redefine the street as a perceived and lived space.

Theoretical framework

6The research investigates relations foreseen by the researchers as per the following illustration (Figure 1). The production of open space is a two-way relationship between perceiving and conceiving and is mediated by living in the open space, an experience that is controlled by the changing aspects of open space justice, rules and activities. Perceiving and conceiving are manifested in many physical aspects of the open space.

The Production of space

7Our research examines the politics of space based on Henry Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space, with its distinction between perceived, conceived and lived space. We looked at how space is conceived by examining how it physically serves accessibility and activities. In the case of accessibility, the layout manifests in the form of permeability/traffic calming. In the case of activities, however, it manifests in the form of activity qualifiers. We also looked at how space is lived in terms of activities, who engages in them and the rules relating to them (Elden 2007). Finally, we studied the struggle for street spaces between different classes, groups of users and the state. We examined who produces these spaces and how this production enforces certain relations between users (Elden 2007).

8In Historic Cairo, the street network, and therefore space in general, is hierarchized. Nezar AlSayyad (1987) classifies public spaces in Historic Cairo into two types: open public space (maydan), and circulation space (darb and hara). The former is usually located in front of monumental buildings like mosques and madrasas, while the latter, as he states, is a “narrow labyrinth pattern” found within the city's inner streets.

9The space this research concerns itself with is the alley, the narrower street category of Historic Cairo. The official hierarchy of street names in Historic Cairo, in terms of size and centrality in the network, is, from higher to lower: Qasaba, shari‘, darb, hara, zuqaq, and ‘atfa. The shari‘ and darb are usually the streets with the most public land uses (Sheyaheb 2011). Based on our interviews most shari‘ and darb streets are described as a shari‘ (street), whereas the streets of the hara, 'atfa and zuqaq are described as a hara (alley).

10The hara can be defined as an “organization of interconnected spaces that responds to local social patterns and everyday activities” (Abdelmonem 2011). Hawari (plural of hara) are currently dominated by low income populations and have become congested with commercial traffic and tall apartment buildings. Alleys are used as an extension of homes and accommodate all human activities and everyday situations.

11The production of space in Cairo changed drastically with the decline of the historic medieval city, and after the development of the European designed districts under Khedive Ismail, outside the city’s old walls (Abdelmonem 2016). During this phase, large houses were divided into smaller plots due to several factors, including inheritances. Extended families dwelling in the same building left, and houses were divided into independent apartments, which affected in turn the socio-sphere of the alley setting. A dramatic manifestation of this change was the 1992 earthquake, during which many buildings were damaged and sometimes collapsed, noticeably decreasing residential density (El Husseiny 2012).

12Change of socio-spatial practices and demographic and cultural changes were the main forces affecting the public space in Historic Cairo; after the 2011 revolution, political forces changed the setting and mechanisms of public space in Egypt in general, and in Cairo more specifically. After a short-lived collective experience in Tahrir square, the main public space in the city of Cairo, collective actions in public spaces declined sharply and were reduced to the type of non-political, social activities that were needed to sustain livelihoods (Abaza, 2017).

Changes in accessibility and permeability

13Space syntax researchers have studied the effects of physical interventions on human movement and economic activity. They posit both human movement and economic activity as rational decisions that are based on time-efficiency and therefore lead to a certain degree of generalisation. Although space syntax based on city forms cannot explain the various social interpretations leading to different street forms from one culture to the other, it assumes that economic activity is a common denominator between cultures. Space syntax research assumes that high street integration, i.e. the easiness of reaching certain streets, means more human movement, economic activity and building density, and higher multi-functionality (Van Nes 2017).

14Space syntax tends to presuppose a free, flexible and rational market allocation of economic activity, and street forms that are usually independent of street width. When it comes to social rationality and space, space syntax researchers are not able to generalize theories related to street integration. Economics and street form are necessary, not sufficient factors to understand street integration; social factors also play a role. No generalised theory links, for instance, street integration and crime or anti-social behaviour. However, some researchers looked at relationships of social rationality and connected changes in society, technology and the economy to the history of street forms, and in turn street forms to behaviour, ethnicity, gender and segregation (Van Nes 2017). Space syntax research aims at generalizing measurable urban phenomena without overlooking immeasurable aspects. An example is the effect of resistance and attraction on walkability and human movement, usually encompassed in the notions of permeability and catchment (Marjic and Pafka 2019).

15The definition of permeability varies depending on scale, as neighbourhoods, streets and street segments can all be described as permeable (Johnson and Bowers 2010). A street can be described as permeable in comparison with its neighbourhood and according to different types of measures and grouped under street network-based measures and morphology-based measures (Marjic and Pafka 2019).

16A street can be described as topologically deep or shallow depending on the ease to reach other streets from it. This ease is measured by the number of turns needed to reach other streets (Laurence and Newsome 2011). Another measure of centrality (or closeness), developed by Bavelas (1950), is the sum of the shortest distance between the street and all other points in the network. A measure of betweenness was later developed by Freeman (1977) to include the number of times a point serves as a bridge between two other points. Centrality is more fitting to describe to-movement, and how much a point acts as a destination in a network (Hillier 2005).

17Betweenness usually indicates a network’s through-movement, but for the purpose of this research, we will use it to describe permeability. We want to understand permeability changes in small alleys, changes that we assume the local community has a say in. Although larger streets are mostly stable, and smaller streets (alleys) are less likely to serve as go-to destinations, permeability changes affect through-movement almost instantly. In addition to highlighting street network factors, the topological and angular layers of permeability can point out to certain psychological factors as well. The definition of distance (defined in terms of least distance, least turns, and least angular turns) can be altered to create a definition that is specific to metric and cognitive choices (Hillier 2005). As for morphology-based permeability measures, these have usually been dependent on visual comparison of plot form, including block area, block diagonal or intersection density. Although morphological measures account for street width, these visual measures are more subjective (Pafka 2019).

18Based on street network analysis, much research has connected commercial activity with topological shallowless, i.e., permeability (Van Ness 2017). However, whilst these measures depend on contemporary and modernist planning, the morphological method can explain the low permeability and high catchment of labyrinthine neighbourhoods (Marjic and Pafka 2019).

19The ways in which permeability relates to crime are debatable. Jane Jacobs’s ‘eye on the street’ theory assumes that more street users are associated with high permeability and mixed land use; in her view, users naturally perform basic policing duties, decreasing in turn burglary risk. In contrast to this, however, Newman’s ‘defensible space’ theory suggests that high permeability and street use by strangers leads to decreased territoriality and thus decreased protection. Both theories focus on the guardians’ role. Alternatively, the ‘crime pattern theory’ focuses on the offender’s awareness of space during routine activities resulting from high permeability. A space syntax analysis in the U.K. and Australia found a negative correlation between permeability and crime: as permeability increases, burglary rates decrease (Johnson and Bowers 2010). It is important to note, however, that the social and spatial makeup of the U.K. and Australia are different from Egypt, specifically in al-Khalifa .

20Traffic calming is similar to permeability in terms of controlling accessibility and movement in the streets. There are several definitions of traffic calming; some narrow it to achieving calm street conditions, while others expand it to include all measures that lower of speed. The latter definition fits a comprehensive transportation policy that includes tolls, taxation and reduction of car trips.

21Since our research looks at the scale of changes made by communities and governments in open spaces, we will not use the broader definition of traffic calming, adhering instead to the definition coined by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), which states:

“Traffic calming is the combination of mainly physical measures that reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behaviour and improve conditions for non-motorized street users” (Lockwood 1997).

22Physical measures can be accompanied by other soft policy or legislative measures. Speed is not the only negative effect attributed to cars, which are also characterized by intrusion, energy consumption, sprawl and pollution (Lockwood 1997). The targeted, unwanted behaviour of motorists varies between unwanted speed, aggressiveness and density increase.

23The ITE classifies traffic calming measures as follows: 1) “vertical changes in the street (e.g.: speed humps, speed tables, and raised intersections); 2) lateral changes in the street (e.g.: chicanes, offset intersections and lateral shifts); 3) constrictions (e.g.: narrowing and pinch points islands); 4) narrow pavement widths (e.g.: medians and edge treatments); 5) entrance features 6) traffic circles; 7) corner radii; 8) streetscaping (e.g.: surface textures and colours, landscaping, street trees, and furniture)” (Lockwood 1997).

24To this list the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) adds such traffic-based measures as two-way lanes and on-street parking (Sadik-Khan 2012).

25The ITE differentiates between traffic calming and route modification (which is a similar concept to permeability). Whereas route modification aims to alter traffic flow or network, traffic calming aims to change driver behaviour. The ITE also differentiates traffic calming from streetscaping. The latter can help the former, but is not necessarily a part of it (Lockwood 1997).

26According to Jacquineau Azetsop (2010) and Timothy Evans et al. (2001), one should not ignore the socio-economic factors that make certain people more susceptible and affected by road injuries and deaths (RID) caused by traffic-related issues, including aggressiveness, speed and poorly paved roads. It was found that RID occur more frequently in areas of lower socio-economic conditions. The reasons for this increase in risk is a combination of there being riskier transportation modes and fewer traffic rules to begin with. This places people from lower socio-economic backgrounds at higher risks of injury. RID also financially impacts people of lower socio-economic backgrounds the hardest, given the costs of health services and reparation of property.

27A study comparing children’s perspectives on traffic calming in France found that generally speaking, traffic speed is what mostly concerns children during their daily route to school (Torres et al. 2019). Traffic volume was another concern child pedestrians had on their route. The study found that children prefer hard traffic calming measures over soft ones given their increased effectiveness along with their “self-enforcing” nature. Indeed, hard measures will slow down the speed and volume of traffic without the need for someone to govern or police the area.

28According to David Crouse (2004), various social implications arise from traffic calming, including the concepts of freedom and liberty (or lack thereof), interaction and exchange, severance and segregation, and rights and priority. A lack of freedom and liberty means that pedestrians lack a sense of street ownership and perceive the street as dangerous. Exchange and interaction measure different forms and standards of ‘liveability’. Crouse adds that traffic and traffic calming measures affect what different groups living in the same area see as aims, problems and daily matters. Severance is the segregation between different modes of transportation on one side, and pedestrians on the other. As for rights and priority are linked to the acknowledgement that everyone on the road has a right to mobility, and that vehicles do not get priority over pedestrians.

29Our research examines the influence of vehicular and pedestrian traffic on open spaces as other street uses get affected. Although traffic changes may or may not have positive effects on the accessibility of motorists, the research tries to study their relation to other effects on street users. Factors including vehicle type, speed and origin are assessed to check the effect of traffic within other open space activities (Litman 2003).

30Prior investigations were carried out to understand how public activities are affected by several factors in Historic Cairo, including traffic in the form of the street’s Right of Way (RoW) (Shehayeb 2011). The RoW’s physical manifestation is represented in the unobstructed space allocated in the street for passing pedestrian or vehicular traffic. The RoW takes into consideration the number of passersby, their diversity of origins and destinations (whether they are going to a certain point within the area or acting as through-movement). For the purpose of this study, speed is also included as one of the characteristics of the RoW. The characteristics of the RoW represent the publicness of space and are closely related to certain activities.

Open space justice

31Jan Gehl classifies public spaces activities into 3 categories: 1) necessary/functional, 2) optional/recreational and 3) social (2011). Necessary activities take place despite the quality of the public space; optional activities only take place in public spaces of good quality; social activities depend on the presence of other people (Gehl 2011).

32Community-based activities in Historic Cairo were studied by Dina K. Shehayeb (2011) and the Aga Khan Project in charge of the rehabilitation of al-Darb al-Ahmar. Shehayeb’s study does not confine itself to public space, as community-based activities can also occur within buildings or semi-private spaces. It is, however, the communal aspect of these activities that makes a large number of them take place in public spaces. Shehayeb’s listing of activity patterns does not only include activities with a large number of users, but also those with a small number of users and a less public nature. The list of activities in Historic Cairo can be divided into socio-cultural activities and socio-economic activities:

• Socio-cultural activities include dwelling spill-out, commercial street, sidewalk cafe (qahwa), sabil (drinking fountain), dwelling workshop proximity, hammam (public bathhouse), community mosque, and mawalid (festival celebrations). The case study suggests that more details should be added to the dwelling activity spill-out, including the types of users (children and families) and type of use. Other socio-cultural activities that should also be considered include religious activities, cultural tourism and drug use.
• Socio-economic activities include various market types (wholesale materials or packaged food, fresh food, retail, and weekly markets), and handicraft production with its different forms of relational values and publicness (self-contained, complementary, clustered horizontally, clustered vertically, small factory, and branching).

33Shehayeb describes the physical and non-physical conditions that are required for a given community activity to take place, including history, settings, the activity’s relation to its surroundings, and how public space is appropriated:

• History determines what changed throughout time with regards to the activity and the related supporting environment.
• Activity settings are environment units that contribute to the activity’s performance while maintaining a connection between the activity and the surrounding physical environment. These units can be fixed, semi-fixed or non-fixed. Fixed units (street patterns and plot subdivisions) change slowly over time. Semi-fixed units (landscape and street furniture) change moderately over time. Non-fixed elements constantly change with time, and include 1) molecular activities, 2) actors performing the activity, and whose role and geographic range are relevant, 3) the rules governing the activity’s performance whether formally (through traffic), or informally (through behavioural norms and territorial claims).
• The activity’s relation to its surroundings is manifested in three ways: its physical and spatial connectivity to other elements in the urban fabric (amount of people participating in the activity, the range of their geographical location, and their diversity determining the publicness of space), the needs and characteristics of the surrounding population, and the activity’s relation to historic value components.

34A chapter in Shehayeb’s report describes the modalities of public space appropriation through case studies in Historic Cairo. These modalities are created according to five aspects: RoW, space, affordances/anchors, needs and rules.

35These activities and the relationship between the groups that create them are examined through the lens of justice. Four decades have passed since the publication of the early works relating social justice to urban studies (Fincher and Iveson 2012). Early works looked into the distribution of goods and harms among individuals or groups. However, this distributive justice lense assumes an overarching agreement on ideals, as well as the capability to benefit from distributed elements (Schlosberg 2009).

36Other works highlight recognition among community groups as an aspect of justice in the city (Honneth 2004, Young 1999 and 2001, Fincher and Iveson 2008). The goals for more just cities are summarized by Ruth Fincher and Kurt Iveson and include redistribution to tackle wealth inequality, the recognition of diverse identities, and the provision of opportunities through encounters with diverse people and practices (2008).

37Challenges to equality during collaborative planning stem from inherent power inequalities, the misrepresentation of marginalized groups and discrediting types of knowledge (Brand and Gaffikin 2007). If power dynamics are taken into account, participation is seen less as a formal model and more as a process of bargaining during situations of cooperative conflict (Agarwal 2001). If misrecognition is understood as stigmatizing the ways certain groups act in public (Low and Iveson 2016), it can also be linked to the idea of the ‘right to the city’ and to the question of which groups are able to shape the city that in turn shapes their lifestyle and interactions (Harvey 2008).

38Exclusion and inclusion also indicate what constitutes a just space. However, not all inclusions are just, and all exclusions are unjust. It is rather context, social formulation and decision making that determine a just — or unjust — outcome.

39Public spaces can lead to the creation of a more just city (Low, Taplin and Scheld 2005, Fainstein 2000). According to Matej Niksic and Ceren Sezer, public space addresses urban inequality as a “potential facilitator of urban justice [that] can help develop better urban policies and design interventions” (2017). As Ruth Fincher and Kurt Iveson state, rather than focusing on documenting injustice, this narrative seeks evidence that the “hope residing in cities will be compiled to sit usefully alongside the many examples of despair.” (2012).

40Low and Iveson (2016) identified five propositions to evaluate open space justice:

• Distributive: Who has physical access to a public space or network of spaces (by walking, bike, transit, and private vehicle)?
• Procedural: How do people feel about their influence over the design, operations and programming of a public space?
• Interactional: What makes people feel welcome or unwanted in a public space?
• Representational: Do people feel that their experiences and history are represented in a space?
• Care: How do people demonstrate their care for the space and each other?

41Each proposition leads to questions about public space production, how resources are used or allocated and how rules of usage and norms of interaction are established.

42As discussed in the early literature on the distribution of public services within the city and this distribution’s relation to social justice, distributive justice is the most basic expression of spatial justice. Discussions on distributive justice revolve around wealth in relation to public space accessibility (Low and Iveson 2016). For this type of justice, the case study speculates whether people are experiencing location disadvantage or advantage while accessing public space based on where they live. The case study also seeks to examine whether access to open space is compromised due to affordability of activities, users’ income and their ability to pay. Since distributive justice is linked to systematic processes of favouring the wealthy, any examination of distributive justice must study the process that generates inequality to explain injustice in public space.

43According to Setha Low and Kurt Iveson, recognition justice seeks to address the “systematic devaluing and stigmatization” of certain groups or collective identities (2016). The formation and expression of collective identities is directly related to accessing public spaces in which members of any group can interact. Compromising public space access because a certain group is considered ‘out of place’ could lead to injustice. This happens when a group imposes its norms and claims the status of ‘host’. It is also important to note that limitless recognition is not always possible as the activities of one group may be incompatible with the activities of other groups. There are both tangible and intangible elements that alert a neighbourhood’s residents of behaviour that is foreign and/or socially unacceptable. It is therefore important to take a step back and examine the process defining why certain behaviours are considered foreign, and why they might be perceived as a threat, and then examine whether and how their exclusion might be considered a form of injustice.

44While recognition justice can translate into the set of rules and norms of behaviour within public space, interactional justice deals with the actions that occur when a certain group occupies public space. Verbal or physical abuse are examples of such actions. Interactional justice focuses on encounters that take place in public space and can be encouraged by the “right rules, the right props, and the right places and spaces” (Peattie 1998). Positive interactions are believed to significantly increase cooperation and lead to collective actions.

45Care and repair justice concerns itself with caring for others and participating in repairing the environment, also increasing cooperation in public spaces. Caregiving in public spaces impacts their accessibility. For example, children and the elderly are often helped by other groups (such as family members and youth) when accessing public space. Caring in public differs from other forms of justice: it is not a passive action but a pro-social and life-enhancing action.

46Care for social justice in the public space also involves caring for places and public space maintenance. Small-scale acts of kindness and repair activities bring about a sense of well-being and enable other forms of justice and recognition to take place. Very often, such acts only get noticed when they stop happening. Although the assumption of autonomy is a common tradition in Western economic spheres, it does not fit the idea of ‘care and repair’ in public spaces. Care and repair justice is an important aspect of what constitutes social justice in public spaces, and takes into consideration those who require care such as children and the elderly. However, it also breaks the economic tradition that defines people by their ‘usefulness’ in the labour force, defining them instead through such intangible elements as kindness. In addition to caring for people, there is also caring for places, a concept which, as Low and Iveson mention, has not been expanded on by the existing literature (2016). Caring for places delves into the ‘repair’ portion of ‘care and repair’ where preservation and upkeeping are accounted for.

47Procedural justice involves studying how decisions concerning public spaces are made, and examining the extent that public spaces are a product of democratic and inclusive public debates. The negotiations and decision-making processes that go into shaping a public space reflect how just public this space is. People are satisfied and feel that there is social justice when the process of allocation is perceived as being fair. People can be excluded from decision-making processes on matters affecting public space and urban outcomes either explicitly or implicitly. In either case, when people believe that the decision-making process is conducted fairly, they perceive the outcome to be just as fair.

Methodology

48This case study investigates the production of space through changes in traffic, permeability and street calming measures, as well as through the manifestation of public space justice. The dynamic nature of Historic Cairo’s urban fabric is unique, and previous studies in similar contexts have been rare; exploratory research was needed. This pilot study was conducted in 3 phases:

• Desk research to identify the geographical scope of the study and to select locations within the al-Khalifa neighbourhood and identify suitable qualitative and quantitative measures for each location. We developed an observation form and a semi-structured interview guide.
• Data collection and analysis. Traffic and permeability data was analyzed quantitatively and correlations were investigated. Interview data was analyzed qualitatively through the atlas.it software to code interviews, identify repeated themes and better understand the demographics we interviewed.
• Results. We first shared our preliminary results through a public virtual presentation, followed by a closed discussion with a group of invited experts familiar with the neighbourhood and the field of research. We present our final results in the following section.

Sampling

49The researchers have been engaged in projects in al-Khalifa for more than five years. Al-Khalifa lies in the southern part of Historic Cairo and consists of an area of 70-80 acres. All previously close-ended streets within the area, which were eventually altered or widened, will be studied. These streets will be identified by comparing 1930s cadastral maps with a current building survey.

50The following figure shows the already altered street sections, marked in red (13 locations), and those planned for altering, marked in green (6 locations). Out of these 19 locations, six were selected for intensive investigation on the basis that when combined they would form two case studies covering all types of changes in al-Khalifa’s open spaces. The impact of changes that happened a long time ago in other locations was could not be properly traced. We also dismissed places where the local community was not willing to share its thoughts for safety reasons.

Data collection

51The desk research method was used to identify locations in al-Khalifa that had experienced changes to their open spaces in the past. To do so, a 1:500 scale cadastral map of Cairo dating back to the 1930s was used to identify changes in the urban fabric and open spaces.

52We conducted semi-structured interviews to collect data related mainly to open space justice, open space activities and changes in permeability. Informal interviews were conducted in the six selected locations between December 2020 and February 2021. In total, 31 interviews were conducted, 23 with men and 8 with women. Fewer women were interviewed as the interviews were conducted in open spaces, often dominated by men (see the interview guide in Annex).

53Researchers collected observations during multiple visits to the selected locations at different times of the day and different days of the week. We examined how the open space is used and which activities take place in it. Quantitative data was also collected, such as traffic speed, frequency of passing traffic modes and pedestrian movement.

Results

54The research showed a web of patterns based on interactions between the variables that were used. Since the paper focuses on traffic calming and permeability changes as a research gap in Historic Cairo, the results will be described and analyzed using traffic calming and permeability elements as a starting point. On the one hand, the paper will focus on connections between traffic calming and permeability elements and, on the other hand, it will focus on traffic mediated by activities and open space justice (without necessary focusing on activities per se but on connections related to justice).

Traffic calming

55The most common type of traffic calming element used in the selected locations is the speed bump, which is mostly built by residents with paving tiles, concrete or wood. Speed bumps were mostly mentioned in the interviews as being able to decrease traffic speed. However, some forms of bumps have little impact on the speed of such smaller vehicles as motorcycles. Many street bumps have a narrow crack in the middle or on the side to allow the flow of surface water. Such cracks sometimes also occur through the deterioration in the bump’s structure. In one case, a bump was perceived as being created for a purpose other than controlling traffic speed: built near a family-run tuktuk (rickshaw) business, it was considered an act of aggression against it.

56Other common traffic calming elements are bollards, or obstructions, placed near the side of streets to decrease street width, forcing in turn vehicles to decrease their speed or discouraging their passing. Traffic calming elements are placed at the entrance of, and distributed within, many alleys. They are also situated in front of places where children are likely to gather, such as schools, playgrounds and certain shops.

57In addition to having traffic calming measures, street bends and surface quality also impact vehicular speed, and can in fact act as traffic calming elements, decreasing the need to add other elements.

58According to the residents, the reason why traffic speed is undesired is mainly because of the likelihood of those whose vulnerability increases with speed to get injured (mostly children involved in domestic extension activities taking place). In Haret al-Sammakiyyin, street bumps are concentrated in the section of the street where the activity of women and children is concentrated. The absence of this factor was clear in the case of Ibn Tulun Street and Haret Mansur, where domestic activities on the street and speed bumps are rare. Domestic activities on the street depend on several factors: 1) differentiated recognition of activity status between users, since the same street activity can be looked down upon, or accepted, depending on the user; 2) the liveliness provided by active ground floors, which are significantly less in new buildings with new renting schemes; 3) the privacy factor, which is closely related to the traffic’s RoW.

59The presence or absence of undesired traffic speed depends on several factors. Changes in the type of vehicle impacts traffic speed, especially in narrow streets. Additionally, the increase of motorcycles and tuktuks is associated with higher traffic speed in narrow streets. Such streets belong to the category of the ‘hara’ (including haras, ‘atafat and azqa (plurals of ‘atfa and zuqaq)), and occasionally include darbs as in the case of Darb al-Husr. In these narrow streets, cars have historically struggled to speed, and therefore the issue of increased speed is a relatively new phenomenon that has emerged during the last 10-15 years.

60Traffic speed is also related to the RoW. During some interviews, residents connected speeding with non-local users since this type of behaviour was seen as not being part of the local rules of space usage. This observation was made in Darb Sabih Street, a dead-end street for vehicles, which shows the importance of controlling traffic speed even in streets with low permeability .

61The process of building street bumps depends on the community’s care and repair and on its participation dynamics. The bumps are mostly built by residents, independently of local authority, following the initiative of one or several residents. Initiators usually collect funds from some residents and depend on the silent consent of others. Other negotiations take place after speed bump construction and deal with objections from car owners (as these constructions often harm their vehicles) and older pedestrians who have a harder time walking around the bumps. Negotiations often result in compromises over the number of bumps that are built.

62Unlike permeability changes, traffic calming measures do not usually require large amounts of funds and do not depend on favours from parliament representatives. However, the interference of local authorities has a large impact on space when they remove speed bumps while repaving street, causing in turn traffic speed to rise. This happens more frequently in relatively larger streets such as Darb al-Husr.

Permeability

63Space syntax theory differentiates betweenness (related to through-movement) from closeness (related to streets being destinations). While the effects of street hierarchy (related to depth) and typology on the RoW of through-movement and commercial activities (related to streets as destinations) has been studied in previous literature on Historic Cairo, this paper focuses on bottom-up changes with regards to permeability.

64Within the street fabric of Historic Cairo, many plots face two streets. Historically speaking, several of these plots were passages into private house corridors or yards, based on the approval of their owners. Over time, two other processes allowed for houses to become passing points and caused a change in permeability in the area. The first process was the decaying of houses that had turned into dumps, and the second was subdivision into smaller plots separated by new streets. These new open spaces could then be completely blocked, partially blocked (with steps or obstructions) or left completely open, with the addition of traffic calming measures. Plot ownership plays an important role here, as the new passages were sometimes fenced by their owners. However, in cases of unclear ownership, or in cases where pressure is exerted on landowners from residents, other factors need to be considered.

65Some residents favour keeping passageways open to either pedestrian or vehicular use, given that they improve accessibility to other places and reduce travel time. In such commercial streets as Ibn Tulun Street, residents favour passageways that improve clients accessibility. But other residents are opposed to open passages that favour familiarity between street users, allowing for RoW control and the extension of domestic activities onto the street. Familiarity is present when residents know each other, recognize strangers, and when on-street greetings and chats are commonly observed. Familiarity shows in the comfort of using the public space for domestic activities .

66Security is another reason why residents may oppose new passages. The view here is that these passages could provide an escape route to unwanted groups, especially since many of them, located in previously dead-ended alleys, have low visibility. In one case, local police demanded the closing of a passageway. Another reason is to avoid any forms of trouble from users coming from another street, including drug use and harassment. Although alley residents recognize that problems may also arise from well-known neighbours, they say that they are harder to deal with when they involve strangers.

67Although permeability changes require more costs than traffic calming measures, they have a stronger impact on space and thus require more discussions and stages of approval during their implementation. In some cases, residents who want these changes approach those residents who are considered as “respectable”, since their approval is important in the implementation process. In one case, approval and financial support was gained from a locally elected representative. While most, if not all, negotiations take place outside the formal structure of local governance, top-down governmental changes in permeability are more common in bigger streets. Ibn Tulun Street, with its important tourist attractions (including the Ibn Tulun Mosque and the Bayt al-Kritliya) was blocked off from vehicles by police forces to secure the area: it was unblocked by residents when police control of the street faded during the 2011 Revolution.

68Another factor affecting changes in permeability and street calming measures is wealth and real estate investment, which in several cases helped limiting undesired traffic effects and improving accessibility around a new development. Sometimes developers take action themselves by building stairways or paving streets, for example.

Conclusion

69Recent traffic changes in Historic Cairo have led to new patterns of space production; these new patterns stem from and affect in turn established activities and open space justice and governance. Changes in the density and speed of vehicular traffic has affected and been affected by permeability changes and the creation of traffic calming elements.

70Residents add such traffic calming measures as speed bumps and obstructions to avoid accidents involving space users. These additions are a compromise for residents who want easier vehicular movement. Similarly, permeability is changed when all or some traffic is blocked or allowed through the use of walls, stairs and the appropriation of ruined land plots. Permeability changes are usually a compromise between the need to control the RoW and traffic density and speed on the one hand, and the need for accessibility and decreased travel time on the other. As discussed in the last section of this paper, the production of both traffic calming and permeability elements is closely related to the types of activities conducted in public spaces, to the recognition, initiative and power of different groups and to formal and informal governance.

Annex: lexicon and interview guide

Lexicon of how key terminologies were explained in the interviews

English	Modern Standard Arabic	Local arabic as used in interviews
permeability	نفاذية	فتحة / ممر / اختصار / تعدية / الناس تعدي أسرع أو أسهل
traffic calming	تهدئة السرعة	حاجات بتهدي سرعة العربيات زي المطبات والحواجز
traffic speed	سرعة المرور	العربيات بتجري
public space justice	عدالة الفراغات العامة	- not used in interviews, but operationalised into aspects of open space justice below
participation	المشاركة	مين بيتقابل، مين بيقرر، مين بيتعزم، لك يد في القرار
recognition	التمييز	تصرف بيحصل في الشارع بيضايقك ، من مين / تصرف بيضايق الناس التانية، من مين / مين بيعمل النشاطات وازاي
care and repair	العناية	الناس بتاخد بالها / بتساعد بعض
distribution	التوزيع	تختار انهي مكان تسكن فيه / مين عايز التغير في الشارع
interaction	التفاعل	تعامل من حد كويس أو مش حابه

Interview guide in local Arabic dialect

Introductory questions	بقالك كام سنة ساكن هنا؟ ايه اكتر تغير في الشارع أثر فيك او على اللي تعرفهم؟
Grand tour question	- ازاي/امتى اتعمل التغيير دة في الشارع؟ (مع الإشارة لعنصر تهدئة السرعة / التغيير في النفاذية)
Traffic Calming / permeability	-قبل كدة كان شكل الشارع عامل ازاي؟ ايه اللي اتغير؟ أمثلة: مطب - حاجز - سلم - حيط أمثلة: فتحة - زبالة - ايه سبب التغيير دة؟ أمثلة لتهدئة السرعة: سرعة/العربيات بتجري - خطر/ بتخبط العيال - زحمة - دوشة - قاعدين مرتاحين / على راحتنا أمثلة للنفاذية: الدنيا أمان - قاعدين على راحتكم - محلات شغالة - الحركة سهلة - اسعار الشقق تعلى -انت بترمي الزبالة فين؟ بتمشي ازاي، العربية بتيجي فين، طب لو عربية الزبالة تعرف تعدي؟ -هل الفتحة عملت رجل اكتر ومحلات اكتر
Traffic	- ازاي دة اثر عالحركة في الشارع؟ - بقى في حركة أكتر ولا اقل ولا زي ما هي؟ اكتر بكتير ولا حاجة بسيطة؟ في العربيات ولا الموتوسيكلات ولا التكاتك ولا النقل؟ -بقت الحركة أسرع ولا أبطأ؟ -طب ومبن بيعدي هنا، الناس اللي معدية من اهل الحارة ولا في من حتت تانية في المنطقة، ولا مناطق تانية في القاهرة ولا مدن تانية؟ دة اتغبر؟ -طب والناس بتبقى غالبا جاية عشان الحارة هنا ولا معديين لمكان تاني؟ دة اتغير؟ -اكتر ستات ولا رجالة؟ -اكتر كبار في السن ولا أطفال، ولا شباب ولا متوسط
Public space and procedural justice	لما بتيجوا تقرروا انكم هتبنوا مطبات بتتفقوا ازاي (بتتقابلوا فين مع مين وامتى و مين بيتعزم و مين بيختار كل الحاجات دي) لما بتتقابلوا لو بتتكلموا مين بيتكلم اكتر؟ قبل ميحصل تغير في الشارع بتكونوا عارفين ايه عنه؟ مين اول ناس بيوصلها خبر ان هيحصل تغير في الشارع؟ بتحسي ان القرار النهائي بيمثلك؟ يتحسي ان كان ليكي يد في الاتفاق والمناقشة؟
Activity Typology	خلال يوم كامل في الشارع، ايه اللي بيحصل؟ أمثلة: مين بيعدي، مين بيقعد، وبيعملوا ايه؟ -مين بيستخدم الشارع؟ بيعملوا ايه؟ أسئلة عن كل نشاط يذكر أو يتم ملاحظته: هل دة اتغير مع التغير في الشارع؟ لو اه ليه لما انت بتستخدم الشارع ممكن تعمل ايه؟ هل دة اتغير مع التغير في الشارع؟ لو اه ليه اشمعنى النشاط (الحاجة) دي بتتعمل في الحتة دي؟ أمثلة: حاجة بيسند عليها - تقعد عليها - في حركة - مفيش حركة - انهي نوع من الحركة زمان كان بيتعمل ازاي، زمان من اد ايه؟ اللي بيعمله / بيستخدمه منين؟ أمثلة: من الحارة،المنطقة، المدينة، مصر، اجانب مرتبط بنشاط تاني؟ أمثلة: لو حرفة، ممكن تاخد المواد الخام من حتة تانية بتحسي ان المكان اللي انتي في فيه نوع من ااخطورة؟ لو اه، بتحسي ان الخطورة دي زادت ولا قلت من ساعة م عملو التغير ده؟ أمثلة: السرقة - التثبيت هل في حد مثلاً بيقول هنا يتعمل ايه وهنا ايه؟ الناس هنا بتخاف من حد معين؟ ليه؟ الناس هنا بتحب او بتحترم مين؟ ليه؟ العيال بتعرف تلعب في الشارع هنا براحتهم؟ ايه الحاجات اللي منعاهم من انهم يلعبوا في الشارع؟
Care and Repair	ايه المواقف اللي بتحس فيها ان الناس هنا بتاخد بالها من بعض؟ امتى بتحس العكس؟ أمثلة: حد بيساعدك تشيلي اكياس مثلا و انتي راجعة من السوق؟ الناس هنا بتساعد الناس اللي معهاش اكل او حق أدوية؟ مين بيساعد؟ الناس بتسيب بعض يتخانقوا في الشارع ولا بيحاولوا يساعدوا و يفرقوهم؟ بتحسي ان الناس في منطقتك بيخافوا عليكي؟ حد بيساعدك تعدي الشارع؟ بنشوف كراسي كتير و حاجات من دي في الشارع. حد بياخد باله من الحاجات دي؟ مين؟ حد بيحاول يشيل الزبالة اللي في الشارع؟ حد بيأكل القطط و الكلاب؟ الناس بتكون طيبة/لطيفة مع ناس معينة؟ في خناقات كتيرة بتحصل؟ بتحسي ان عل عموم الناس طيبة اكتر ولا لأ؟ ولا حسب المنطقة؟ الناس بتكون رخمة مع ناس معينة ولا كله زي بعضه؟
Distributive justice	لو كان قدامك تختاري تسكني ف اي مكان داخل الخليفة كنتي هتسكني فين؟ بتستخدمي انهي مواصلات؟ بتحسي انها مناسبة ليكي؟ بتشتري حاجات من المحلات هنا؟ بتقعد / تستخدم المكان هنا ولا لا، وليه؟
Recognition justice	في طريقة كلام او لبس او قعدة بتضايق الناس هنا؟ او بتضايقك؟ أو تصرف؟ في اي حاجة مبتعرفيش تعمليها في الشارع؟ بتستفز مين و ليه المكان هنا بيشبهك \ بيعجبك؟ الناس هنا بتشبهكم؟ أمثلة: الرسومات اللي عالحيطة
Interactional Justice	في حاجات بتحسسك انك مش عايزة تكوني بتتمشي في الشارع ده؟ أمثلة: نظرات، تحرش، كلام من الناس، خناقات، شتايم في حاجة بتحمسك انك تنزلي الشارع؟ العيال بتعرف تتمشى من البيت للمدرسة بسهولة ولا في حاجات بتضايقهم؟ زي تكاتك سريعة

Acknowledgements
This study was conducted with the support of the Arab Council for Social Sciences (ACSS), the third edition (2019) of the Small Grants Program, funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). The opinions expressed in this paper belong to its authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of ACSS.
The authors acknowledge the support of Megawra-Built Environment Collective, who shared their connections with the locale community and provided a workspace. They also acknowledge the contribution of Zeina Ghannam, who assisted with data collection and analysis.