Papers by Mohamed Salheen
IOP conference series, Aug 1, 2022
The trend of upgrading urban areas in Egypt is expanding across the region for better urban mobil... more The trend of upgrading urban areas in Egypt is expanding across the region for better urban mobility patterns. Meanwhile, the concerns towards climate change and creating resilient communities are evolving to avoid the dramatic consequences on urban environments. Street trees offer great benefit in climate moderation, particularly in hot arid regions as in Cairo. In this work, different spatial arrangements and locations for evergreen, deciduous trees and palms at NW street canyon are tested using ENVI-met numerical simulation tool. It is aimed to maximize the cooling effect of tree shade on street facades and attain better pedestrian thermal comfort in peak summer times. This ultimately gives better guidance for urban planners and policymakers towards an improved planting design pattern. Comparing simulation results, it is concluded that evergreen trees located at the building edge can provide up to 6°C cooler walls and up to 3.8°C when placed at the building centre. Whilst other tree species have lower cooling effects. Also, these trees have a great role in attaining better thermal comfort levels for pedestrians at the street level. It is recommended to wisely choose suitable tree species and arrangements to maximize the cooling benefits in the urban environment.
IOP conference series, Jun 23, 2014
Areas suffering from storm water drains are considered to be the places most at risk, water torre... more Areas suffering from storm water drains are considered to be the places most at risk, water torrents have an effect on urban areas and can cause a lot of damage to buildings and infrastructure. Moreover, there is dangerous situation whereby urban growth is occuring towards at-risk areas. The urban growth rate in risk areas rose up to 24.9% in 2001, and reached 48.8% in 2013. Urban growth in "Abouelreesh" village had been influenced by the construction of larger buildings, because most people were looking forward to live in bigger houses. We can discover the previous problem by observing the average size increase of the buildings' areas from 2001 until 2013, especially in risky areas where the average building's area had grown from 254 m2 in 2001 to 411 m2 in 2013. This Phenomenon is considered to be very important factor which attracts the urban growth towards the risky areas in spite of the danger surrounding them.
Frontiers in Environmental Science
The building sector is one of the most resource-intensive industries. In Egypt, buildings consume... more The building sector is one of the most resource-intensive industries. In Egypt, buildings consume 60% of electricity, produce 8% of CO2 emissions, and anthropize agricultural land, peri-urban and urban landscapes. To compensate for these consumption patterns, building envelopes can become productive in terms of greening and energy production. This encompasses the implementation of productive building systems that include (a) greening systems such as building-integrated vegetation and agriculture systems and (b) solar energy systems such as building-applied and integrated photovoltaics. For Egypt, the transformation toward more productive buildings still lacks a holistic understanding of their status and implementation requirements. This paper undergoes a comprehensive analysis of the two systems’ classifications, benefits, challenges, and implementation aspects based on a thorough assessment of 121 studies and 20 reports addressing them. This is coupled with a contextual analysis us...
Innovations and Interdisciplinary Solutions for Underserved Areas, 2019
Rural Communities living within Protected Areas (PAs) depend mainly on the natural environment fo... more Rural Communities living within Protected Areas (PAs) depend mainly on the natural environment for their livelihoods and tend to be among the poorest in the country; since the degradation of the environment jeopardizes their economic-resource base. Moreover, economic development pressures cause changes in PAs' contexts leading to negative and positive impacts on the environment and people, which then affect the long-term benefits of development. In this regard, an integration between the different themes of Poverty, Environment and Economic Development is crucialespecially when challenges and practices intertwine on ground. With notions of integration starting in the Egyptian context; the case study of Shakshouk village within Qaroun Protected Area in Fayoum is investigated-where the majority of the community is rural poor who live in degraded environments and face continuous development pressures. This paper explores the mutual positive and negative influence existing between Poverty-Environment-Economic Development in order to map the system's dynamics of Shakshouk; using on-site semi structured interviews, observation and building on previous secondary data. It ends by shedding light on a circular relationship existing between Poverty, Environment and Economic Development which has to be considered by decision makers in future sectoral interventions.
URBAN DESIGN International
In recent decades, the integration of nature into cities has witnessed a wave of progressive adva... more In recent decades, the integration of nature into cities has witnessed a wave of progressive advancement due to the environmental and anthropological disciplines. However, cities still face numerous challenges in terms of providing and maintaining green spaces. Thus, collaboration and partnerships between various stakeholders are being promoted as a possible solution to such a dilemma with a specific focus on community engagement and placemaking. This research examines the gaps triggering the scarce green open space challenge in Cairo, Egypt, as an example of a rapidly urbanising city in the Global South. In contrast to previous research on green spaces in Cairo, the current study investigates the cascade of the different scales and hierarchical levels of strategies as well as stakeholders concerned with green spaces. The results demonstrate the importance of understanding the dynamics and activating stronger networks between different stakeholders, especially on the community scale...
Contemporary cities are characterised by the concentration of economic activities and intense hum... more Contemporary cities are characterised by the concentration of economic activities and intense human interactions. They continuously develop and transform, while impacting the Earth and reflecting the cultural choices adopted by successive generations. The International Conference “Architecture & Urbanism… A Smart Outlook” is hosted by the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, engaging renowned international keynote speakers from the fields of architecture and urban planning. As a prime location for solar and wind resources, Egypt would become a hub for hosting and exchanging innovative initiatives. The conference aims at addressing the challenges of unstoppable urbanization that gravely affect the world’s ecosystems. To become efficiently sustainable and regenerative, buildings and cities need to adopt smart solutions, which are instrumented, interconnected and intelligent. The conference discusses innovations of the built environment while depicting how such practices could transform future buildings and urban areas into places of higher value and quality. This book of abstracts consists of six tracks, namely: Smart Solutions; Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency; Regenerative Design; Inception and Evolution; Education; and People and Environment.
Space Syntax is a spatial analysis technique that is mainly handled using the Axman software whic... more Space Syntax is a spatial analysis technique that is mainly handled using the Axman software which analyses the axial model of a given spatial system. The Conventional Axial Model (CAM) is constituted of the fewest and longest set of axial lines of visibility and accessibility, and which cover all convex spaces in a spatial system. Despite the huge number of variables that can be produced by the analysis from a single spatial model analysis, the CAM's basic spatial property input is the number of intersections between each line and each other line in the system. The concept of Universal Distance, defined as the average distance of each segment in a spatial system to every other segment, was first proposed by Hillier (1996) as a future development of the CAM of Space Syntax. A model to measure this Universal Distance has been developed by the Authors
The Journal of Public Space, 2021
In recent studies, public spaces are defined as living organisms that are subjected to continuous... more In recent studies, public spaces are defined as living organisms that are subjected to continuous change. These changes affect the different uses of the urban space, its composition and design aspects, in order to cope with the users' changing needs. Rather than that, users intervene in the space formation either formally, by including the community and stakeholders in the design process fully or partially; or informally, by small or big actions done by the space users in order for the space to satisfy their current needs. Several spaces in Cairo are dealt with as leftovers of the buildings design and construction process. These spaces have passed through several changes that affected and was affected by the Cairines (Cairo citizens) and their culture of dealing with public spaces to accommodate their changing needs. The deficiency in public spaces in Cairo urban spaces is reviewed. And the inability of the formal designed/planned spaces to respond to the spaces' users with their changing needs is investigated throughout the research. In order to focus on a public space in Nasr city district in Cairo, sequential mapping to the area over different ages is carried on, examining the changes-formally and informally-in the space to cope with area users. That is accompanied by surveys and questionnaires that aim to determine the needs of the users in the space and whether they are met or not. The questionnaire also aims to measure the level of intervention and satisfaction of the users in this space, to explain how its users intervene in adapting to the existing formal design, and to find out how these interventions shape and affect directly and indirectly the dynamism of the space as a formal planned public space. The paper aims to review and find out theories and practices that provide solutions for dealing with non-designed open spaces development in terms of users changing needs and contributions. The results from the study show some development considerations that need to be respected in Cairo public spaces with more concern for people's usage and interaction with the space.
The Journal of Public Space
In recent studies, public spaces are defined as living organisms that are subjected to continuous... more In recent studies, public spaces are defined as living organisms that are subjected to continuous change. These changes affect the different uses of the urban space, its composition and design aspects, in order to cope with the users’ changing needs. Rather than that, users intervene in the space formation either formally, by including the community and stakeholders in the design process fully or partially; or informally, by small or big actions done by the space users in order for the space to satisfy their current needs. Several spaces in Cairo are dealt with as leftovers of the buildings design and construction process. These spaces have passed through several changes that affected and was affected by the Cairines (Cairo citizens) and their culture of dealing with public spaces to accommodate their changing needs. The deficiency in public spaces in Cairo urban spaces is reviewed. And the inability of the formal designed/planned spaces to respond to the spaces’ users with their ch...
Transformation of the urban character of Arab Cities since the late last century - Proceedings of the International Conference held at German Jordanian University, Sep 1, 2015
Traditional cities emerged and grew according to the residents’ needs, thus they were a reflectio... more Traditional cities emerged and grew according to the residents’ needs, thus they were a reflection of the community’s culture and traditions; where the urban grid, open spaces network as well as the buildings imitated the unique identities of their cities; their climate, local materials, social system and traditions, in addition to the political regime. Hence, traditional cities accommodated their people’s needs and their human scale. However, cities have witnessed numerous changes and challenges that have jeopardized their survival. So the need for new cities has become undeniable. The Athens charter of 1933 was released as a guide for the planning of modern cities face the challenges of the modern era. Thus, cities around the world have attempted to accommodate these globally set guidelines, overlooking the human scale and neglecting the social and cultural distinctiveness of each city. Nasr city in Cairo was planned as a suburb in the late 1960s to tackle the housing shortage in ...
The Journal of Public Space, 2021
In recent studies, public spaces are defined as living organisms that are subjected to continuous... more In recent studies, public spaces are defined as living organisms that are subjected to continuous change. These changes affect the different uses of the urban space, its composition and design aspects, in order to cope with the users' changing needs. Rather than that, users intervene in the space formation either formally, by including the community and stakeholders in the design process fully or partially; or informally, by small or big actions done by the space users in order for the space to satisfy their current needs. Several spaces in Cairo are dealt with as leftovers of the buildings design and construction process. These spaces have passed through several changes that affected and was affected by the Cairines (Cairo citizens) and their culture of dealing with public spaces to accommodate their changing needs. The deficiency in public spaces in Cairo urban spaces is reviewed. And the inability of the formal designed/planned spaces to respond to the spaces' users with their changing needs is investigated throughout the research. In order to focus on a public space in Nasr city district in Cairo, sequential mapping to the area over different ages is carried on, examining the changes-formally and informally-in the space to cope with area users. That is accompanied by surveys and questionnaires that aim to determine the needs of the users in the space and whether they are met or not. The questionnaire also aims to measure the level of intervention and satisfaction of the users in this space, to explain how its users intervene in adapting to the existing formal design, and to find out how these interventions shape and affect directly and indirectly the dynamism of the space as a formal planned public space. The paper aims to review and find out theories and practices that provide solutions for dealing with non-designed open spaces development in terms of users changing needs and contributions. The results from the study show some development considerations that need to be respected in Cairo public spaces with more concern for people's usage and interaction with the space.
Space Syntax is a spatial analysis technique that is mainly handled using the Axman software whic... more Space Syntax is a spatial analysis technique that is mainly handled using the Axman software which analyses the axial model of a given spatial system. The Conventional Axial Model (CAM) is constituted of the fewest and longest set of axial lines of visibility and accessibility, and which cover all convex spaces in a spatial system. Despite the huge number of variables that can be produced by the analysis from a single spatial model analysis, the CAM’s basic spatial property input is the number of intersections between each line and each other line in the system. The concept of Universal Distance, defined as the average distance of each segment in a spatial system to every other segment, was first proposed by Hillier (1996) as a future development of the CAM of Space Syntax. A model to measure this Universal Distance has been developed by the Authors (Salheen and Forsyth, 2001). The model that accounts for this concept is constituted of equal segments replacing the axial lines and wh...
Cities, especially in the global south, have expanded exponentially over the recent time. However... more Cities, especially in the global south, have expanded exponentially over the recent time. However, the pace of the required public acceptance of environmental change and the progression (invasion) into new ecosystems is not yet fully taking place at the same speed of the socio-cultural and natural identity changes and environmental awareness. Accordingly, scholars nowadays are calling for the pressing necessity of dealing with cities as socio-ecological realms, where social and ecological issues should be tackled and solved in an integrated manner. Future extensions of Cairo are promoted by the Egyptian government and the private sector promises unrealistic images of landscape futures through unsustainable landscape practices influencing the sociocultural meanings and values of nature while disregarding the environmental context of the proposed new city extensions. Lush and vast open green spaces are being marketed on an everyday basis through billboards on main roads across the capital, TV advertisements, and newspapers. These aspirational landscape images are promoted in a desert climate, which manipulates the public expectations and masks the environmental change that is facing the new urban extensions. This paper argues that these acts affect the public attitudes and aspirations towards nature/landscapes of the future and hinder the required shift and awareness of environmental change as per the new ecosystem inputs. Environmentalism and pro-environmental behaviour require knowledge, awareness and most importantly frequent experiences of nature as advocated by scholars from different ecological and psychological disciplines. In this regard, the research paper shall investigate these propositions in the case of Cairo and its new administrative capital as an urban extension. The research deploys various methodological strands including visual data and sources to shed a light on the different daily images and messages of landscapes. The findings offer insights about the accompanying messages of landscape production dynamics as a main step towards understanding landscape futures and balancing between quality of life, environmentalism and economic prosperity in the new developments.
Rural Communities living within Protected Areas (PAs) depend mainly on the natural environment fo... more Rural Communities living within Protected Areas (PAs) depend mainly on the natural environment for their livelihoods and tend to be among the poorest in the country; since the degradation of the environment jeopardizes their economic-resource base. Moreover, economic development pressures cause changes in PAs’ contexts leading to negative and positive impacts on the environment and people, which then affect the long-term benefits of development. In this regard, an integration between the different themes of Poverty, Environment and Economic Development is crucial – especially when challenges and practices intertwine on ground. With notions of integration starting in the Egyptian context; the case study of Shakshouk village within Qaroun Protected Area in Fayoum is investigated- where the majority of the community is rural poor who live in degraded environments and face continuous development pressures. This paper explores the mutual positive and negative influence existing between P...
There is a growing interest in providing students with learning experiences, which link them to ‘... more There is a growing interest in providing students with learning experiences, which link them to ‘real life’ settings, with opportunities to improve the life of ‘real people’. In particular, experiential educational approaches such as ‘live projects’ and ‘service learning’ focus on the learning experiences acquired by students as well as services received by community 1,2 . However, this is not always an easy mission. In their account on service learning, Dewar and Isaac 3 pinpoint differences between learning through traditional university mode and learning through community service mode. Whereas professors determine the objectives of traditional modules and the whole teaching/learning process and outputs are controlled in classrooms; process and content of service learning projects are hardly controlled due to influences from external factors. Thus, it is quite difficult to clearly define the work at the beginning of the project and expect to stay stable until the end of the projec...
The Nile Deltathe last stretch of the world longest river and home of one of the oldest and most ... more The Nile Deltathe last stretch of the world longest river and home of one of the oldest and most fertile agriculture regions of the worldhas suffered in the past five decades great losses to its agricultural mass. This loss was induced by massive urban sprawl movement and land-use transformation. Though various legal and regulatory tools were used by the different Egyptian governments to combat this issue and preserve the existing priceless agricultural land, the sprawl has persisted through the decades at a varying pace. Currently the Nile Delta is suffering from massive fragmentation to its fabric by the extensive and condense urban network spreading over it along with an obvious soil deterioration and loss of agricultural productivity brought upon by the considerable influx of pollutants generated from this network. This paper presents a review of the status of the Nile Delta in all its natural & man-made aspects the amount of urban growth since 1984 till 2018: monitoring the rat...
Forest wayfinding systems include the sources of information, content and presentation, that pote... more Forest wayfinding systems include the sources of information, content and presentation, that potential visitors use to find forest sites and maximise their experience of forest recreation. This paper presents original research from an on-going user-led study of signage at forest recreational sites across the UK, and is part-funded by the Forestry Commission. Research methods used in the study included structured interviews with forest users, a signage audit, observation-based behavioural studies and exploratory work with space syntax. The starting point for the study was an apparent low rating of satisfaction with road signs by visitors to Forestry Commission sites in annual visitor surveys. Signs are “...the most visible manifestation of corporate face” and function to “...provide reliable and accessible information to encourage and welcome visitors” (Forest Enterprise Signs Manual, 1997). Good signs also form part of a positive perception of woodlands (Burgess, 1995) and may be co...
Due to the urgent need for neighborhoods and community to be rethought and reconfigured in order ... more Due to the urgent need for neighborhoods and community to be rethought and reconfigured in order to be sustained for the posterity, and through the common definition of sustainable development, the research tackles the subject matter of the relationships between the human body and the urban region and extends those comparisons to develop some mutual characteristics to promote health in both of them. Biologically; it's known that the health of the contents composing the cell depends on the degree of their self-sufficiency, self-correction, regeneration and their dynamic adaptation to the environments. The research adopts those characteristics from the human cell and examines their existence in the neighborhoods This research attempts to make one step forward in the sustainable neighborhoods issue through providing: 1- A better understanding of the sustainability issue in general and specially the sustainable urban neighborhoods. 2- Proposing a tentative approach to help achieve s...
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Papers by Mohamed Salheen
The project relies on empirical analysis of the early planning stages in upgrading projects when participatory structures and priorities are being discussed, decided upon and developed into concrete improvement measures, in addition to the current on-going practices. In a case study approach of two informal settlements: Manshiet Nasser and Istabl Antar, the practice of prioritization processes for urban upgrading projects are examined by grassroots and externally initiated interventions by the government and international development cooperation.