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. The current research also highlights the importance of determining the actual value of green open spaces for various stakeholders as an essential entry point for placemaking. In addition, it is urging considering the multifunctionality of green spaces as a basis for formulating and negotiating an urban greening policy and strategy in Cairo.

The practice of play, encompassing physical activity and social connectedness, exerts a positive effect on communities’ health and overall urban quality of life. Depending on design and social dynamics, public spaces in cities can be more or less welcoming for young women. Public spaces in Cairo, Egypt, lack playful elements that attract young women to partake in physical activities. This study seeks to identify and assess the current situation of physical activity and play in Cairo for young women. This shall be achieved through exploring their experiences with means of appropriation of public spaces and empowerment, according to the cultural norms, safety concerns and physical design elements. To do so, the study used digital ethnography to gain an understanding of the types of activities young women engage in public spaces and their modes of collective organisation. Observations across the city have then been conducted, and the three neighbourhoods of Al Rehab, Madinati and Zamalek have been selected to pursue more in-depth field observations and interviews. Doing so highlighted the challenges and the opportunities these young women face, shedding light on ways to strengthen their use of play-based urban forms and sports infrastructures in public spaces. The study finds that to pursue physical activity, young women tend to privilege certain safer urban spaces, such as Gated Communities and temporalities allowing for less risks of street harassment. Social media platforms have been understood as instruments for collective organisation, catalysing and multiplying female physical activity in Cairo’s public spaces. The study suggests that the use of social media platforms can be instrumentalised for young women’s empowerment in shaping diverse public spaces and placemaking processes. In the end, the research sheds light on the pathways forward to enhance young women’s engagement in the design and use of playful and active public spaces in culturally sensitive contexts.

Placemaking is a philosophical ideology that focuses on common and shared values among the different stakeholders aiming at providing better environment for the people. It is a hands-on tool that increases place attachment and yields places that reflect the local identities of the people and so transforms them into active players and local guardians. Several typologies of placemaking emerged overtime, but they are all people driven. On the contrary to public projects ideologies which are not certainly to be people driven at all times. In this regard, the research aims at investigating the different set ups in the Arab region in relation to placemaking philosophy. The study is discussing the two cases of Abu Dhabi and Cairo as two diverse contexts in the Arab region with different inputs and challenges. Despite the potentials revealed for the progression of placemaking in the two studied cities, the research argues that achieving the core philosophy of placemaking is still early in the Arab region. As it requires core and in-depth consideration of public realm production ideologies and its subsequent administrative set ups that would encourage inclusive and democratic process.