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Dr. Amir Gohar
University of California at Berkeley

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0 Ecotourism
0 Landscape
0 Placemaking
0 Sustainability
0 Sustainable Tourism

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Journal article
Published: 04 December 2020 in Sustainability
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Eco-tourism is a growing part of the tourism industry. However, there are no agreed-upon criteria of what constitutes eco-tourism, so the industry is currently self-identified, with eco-lodges simply declaring themselves so. Here we present the first systematic comparison of eco-tourism versus conventional (or mass) tourism, using as our study area a set of 37 resorts along the southern Red Sea coast of Egypt, all constructed on similarly oriented parcels between the sea and the Red Sea Mountain Range. We compared resorts based on their water, energy, and waste management (all virtually equivalent), and based on mappable environmental parameters such as swimming pool surface area, distance from mangrove patches, conflict with flood plains, extent of lawn area, and means of access to deep water. We found that the self-identified eco-tourism establishments were not significantly different from the conventional tourism resorts in terms of their stress on environmental resources. We recommend that future eco-tourism operations be modified in two key ways. First, on the planning level, by modifying the regional master plan created by the central government tourism authorities. Second, on the site design level, by introducing significant improvements to the design approval processes for the developments to ensure compliance with environmental requirements.

ACS Style

Amir Gohar; G. Kondolf. How Eco is Eco-Tourism? A Systematic Assessment of Resorts on the Red Sea, Egypt. Sustainability 2020, 12, 10139 .

AMA Style

Amir Gohar, G. Kondolf. How Eco is Eco-Tourism? A Systematic Assessment of Resorts on the Red Sea, Egypt. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (23):10139.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Amir Gohar; G. Kondolf. 2020. "How Eco is Eco-Tourism? A Systematic Assessment of Resorts on the Red Sea, Egypt." Sustainability 12, no. 23: 10139.

Journal article
Published: 31 January 2020 in The Journal of Public Space
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Cairo is a congested city with high rate of urbanization and very limited public space. Cairo has one of the lowest rates of parkland per capita of any major city. Moreover, the banks of the Nile, formerly alive with activities such as washing, fishing, and felucca landings, were by the end of the twentieth century largely cutoff from free public access by a wall of busy roads, private clubs, luxury hotels, restaurants, nurseries, and police/military stations, roads. The need for open space for people from lower income who could not afford the expensive options along the Nile banks, has resulted in use of the sidewalks of the main bridges as public spaces. Families, couples, and friends tolerate the noise and fumes of traffic to enjoy the expansive views and breezes over the Nile. As a result of this extraordinary re-purposing of the bridges, new small businesses have formed to cater to the uses, and a new interaction with the river has emerged. We studied the patterns of use, characteristics of the user population, and stated preferences of users. We identify a set of characteristics contributing to the popularity of the bridges as public space, including affordability, accessibility, openness to the river and visual connection with the other bank. We propose that these characteristics be taken into account when developing future projects along the river water front to address the need for public space and access to the Nile.

ACS Style

Amir Gohar; G. Mathias Kondolf. Bridges Over the Nile. Transportation Corridors Transformed into Public Spaces. The Journal of Public Space 2020, 5, 5 -20.

AMA Style

Amir Gohar, G. Mathias Kondolf. Bridges Over the Nile. Transportation Corridors Transformed into Public Spaces. The Journal of Public Space. 2020; 5 (1):5-20.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Amir Gohar; G. Mathias Kondolf. 2020. "Bridges Over the Nile. Transportation Corridors Transformed into Public Spaces." The Journal of Public Space 5, no. 1: 5-20.

Journal article
Published: 30 April 2018 in The Journal of Public Space
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The Nile, in general, and particularly in Cairo, is an ecological, cultural and social corridor that is not yet fully utilized. The 2011 Cairo workshop “Connecting Cairo to the Nile” identified the potential to increase accessibility to the river, suggested longitude trail system, proposed connecting the waterfront with adjacent neighborhoods and proposed expanding the ferry system. I studied a 2-km reach of the east bank in Maadi, a wealthy suburb about 10 km upstream of the city center, with relatively greener banks, availability of resources at the district level, higher awareness of local residents, physical setting allow for banks re-use, existence of community organizations (i.e. Tree Lovers and Midan). Findings of fieldwork and interviews show that: (i) species of native vegetation found are Phoenix Dactylifera, Jacaranda, Cortedarea and Papyrus alba; these are concentrated along 115 meter in southern part of the study area. (ii) Public access was categorized into: public space (accessible), private or semi-public space (accessible with conditions), and prohibited (inaccessible). Along this representative stretch of the Nile, the public access was limited to 16%, the private or semi-public makes 29% and the prohibited zones are 55%. (iii) Boating operations found to be in three categories, floating hotels (Nile cruises), motor boats (including ferries) and sailing boats, all are scattered along the banks without an overall plan or organization, which affects water flow and block public access to the banks. To better develop the banks, I recommend (i) maintaining existing riparian vegetation and expand it to other areas with healthy banks or planted nurseries, (ii) connecting open public spaces to create a pleasant walking trail along the banks in addition to improving public access by relocating government buildings (such as the police or military facilities) and facilitate access to the river for general public, (iii) reducing the anchoring points to two locations and redistribute boating operations to group all motor boats to use the ferry anchoring points and all the sailing boats to use Al-Yacht club marina.

ACS Style

Amir Gohar. Greening and opening the public space of the Nile banks. A demonstration case study in Maadi, Cairo. The Journal of Public Space 2018, 3, 31 -48.

AMA Style

Amir Gohar. Greening and opening the public space of the Nile banks. A demonstration case study in Maadi, Cairo. The Journal of Public Space. 2018; 3 (1):31-48.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Amir Gohar. 2018. "Greening and opening the public space of the Nile banks. A demonstration case study in Maadi, Cairo." The Journal of Public Space 3, no. 1: 31-48.

Research article
Published: 20 December 2016 in Environment and Urbanization
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Desert environments are subject to flash floods in wadi floors, which may occur only once every decade or two in a given wadi (dry channels or valleys, except during rains). In areas of rapid growth, flood-prone areas can become urbanized in the time between floods. Being flat and constituted of sandy sediments, unlike the surrounding terrain, wadi floors are often used for construction, exposing the new settlements to flood risks. We present a case study of the town of El-Sheikh El-Shazli, in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, which has undergone increasingly rapid development over the past two decades. The town is named for an important 13th-century Sufi leader whose shrine receives thousands of visitors annually. We document the extent and effects of the last flash flood (1996) from interviews, field measurement of flood debris, and patterns in satellite imagery; these show the extent of new development in flood-prone wadi floors and the potential risks to residents and visitors in the absence of proper planning. We then recommend measures to reduce the future loss of life and damage from flooding.

ACS Style

Amir Gohar; G Mathias Kondolf. Flash flooding as a threat to settlements even in remote areas. Environment and Urbanization 2016, 29, 503 -514.

AMA Style

Amir Gohar, G Mathias Kondolf. Flash flooding as a threat to settlements even in remote areas. Environment and Urbanization. 2016; 29 (2):503-514.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Amir Gohar; G Mathias Kondolf. 2016. "Flash flooding as a threat to settlements even in remote areas." Environment and Urbanization 29, no. 2: 503-514.