Iain Sinclair, in his Lights Out for the Territory （1997） declared that ＂walking is the best way to explore and exploit the city＂. But what exactly is that we are looking for in our contemporary cities？ And how c...Iain Sinclair, in his Lights Out for the Territory （1997） declared that ＂walking is the best way to explore and exploit the city＂. But what exactly is that we are looking for in our contemporary cities？ And how can walking contribute in tracing （explore） and therefore mapping （exploit） all those elements or situations that we seek for？ Urban space is constantly mutating. Our experience of space as a practiced place changes gradually as the ＂sterile＂ private spaces and misleading billboards, the neo-urban surrounding urban environment evolves around us. Amidst walker drifts through the city in search for the peculiar, the original, the intriguing, and the fringe. An urban journey/drifting starts and ends without any predefined plan in mind, while remaining alert and receptive to all incentives given by the practiced urban locus （audio, visual, olfactory, and psychological incentives）. Originating from the post-Romantic English writers and the mid-nineteenth century Parisian flaneur, urban drifting has been practiced in multiple ways with different outcomes, but yet highly contributory in the depiction and specific mapping of our urban environment. This paper attempts to investigate the roots of urban drifting, its evolution, and its potential utility as a spatial practice in visual arts, architecture, and mapping.展开更多
This paper aims at investigating architectural and urban heritage from the sociocultural point of view, which stands on the human asset of traditional sites such as the hawari of old Cairo. It analyzes the social prac...This paper aims at investigating architectural and urban heritage from the sociocultural point of view, which stands on the human asset of traditional sites such as the hawari of old Cairo. It analyzes the social practice of everyday life in one of the oldest Cairene hawari, Haret al Darb al Asfar. The focus is on architectural and spatial organization of outdoor and indoor spaces that coordinate the spatial practices of local community. A daily monitoring of people＇s activities and interviews was conducted in an investigation of how local people perceive their built environment between the house＇s interior and the outdoor shared space. It emerges that people construct their own field of private spheres according to complex patterns of daily activities that are not in line with the classical segregation between private and public in Islamic cities. This paper reports that the harah is basically a construct of social spheres that are organized spatially by the flexible development of individual buildings over time and in response to changes in individuals＇ needs and capabilities. In order to achieve sustainability in old urban quarters, the paper concludes, the focus should be directed towards the local organization of activities and a comprehensive upgrading of deteriorating buildings to match the changing needs of current population.展开更多
文摘Iain Sinclair, in his Lights Out for the Territory （1997） declared that ＂walking is the best way to explore and exploit the city＂. But what exactly is that we are looking for in our contemporary cities？ And how can walking contribute in tracing （explore） and therefore mapping （exploit） all those elements or situations that we seek for？ Urban space is constantly mutating. Our experience of space as a practiced place changes gradually as the ＂sterile＂ private spaces and misleading billboards, the neo-urban surrounding urban environment evolves around us. Amidst walker drifts through the city in search for the peculiar, the original, the intriguing, and the fringe. An urban journey/drifting starts and ends without any predefined plan in mind, while remaining alert and receptive to all incentives given by the practiced urban locus （audio, visual, olfactory, and psychological incentives）. Originating from the post-Romantic English writers and the mid-nineteenth century Parisian flaneur, urban drifting has been practiced in multiple ways with different outcomes, but yet highly contributory in the depiction and specific mapping of our urban environment. This paper attempts to investigate the roots of urban drifting, its evolution, and its potential utility as a spatial practice in visual arts, architecture, and mapping.
文摘This paper aims at investigating architectural and urban heritage from the sociocultural point of view, which stands on the human asset of traditional sites such as the hawari of old Cairo. It analyzes the social practice of everyday life in one of the oldest Cairene hawari, Haret al Darb al Asfar. The focus is on architectural and spatial organization of outdoor and indoor spaces that coordinate the spatial practices of local community. A daily monitoring of people＇s activities and interviews was conducted in an investigation of how local people perceive their built environment between the house＇s interior and the outdoor shared space. It emerges that people construct their own field of private spheres according to complex patterns of daily activities that are not in line with the classical segregation between private and public in Islamic cities. This paper reports that the harah is basically a construct of social spheres that are organized spatially by the flexible development of individual buildings over time and in response to changes in individuals＇ needs and capabilities. In order to achieve sustainability in old urban quarters, the paper concludes, the focus should be directed towards the local organization of activities and a comprehensive upgrading of deteriorating buildings to match the changing needs of current population.
