Space use in a spontaneously developed urban settlement

This research studies the people's socio-cultural needs in a low income informal settlement in Egypt and its relation to land subdivision and layout design. The underlying hypothesis of the research is that the architecture of the urban environment affects man and can, in certain circumstances, affect his behavior. Therefore, to be able to help the people live in adequate environments, the architect should understand this interaction between the architecture of the urban environment and the people he is designing for.

The basic method used in the field study of this research is the case study approach (30 interviews with inhabitants, in six cul-de-sacs), supported by a number of physical surveys and a morphological study. The research was conducted in the spontaneously developed urban settlement of Hai El Salam (El Hekr) in Ismailia, Egypt. The research was limited to the study of social relations and privacy needs in a particular urban form; the cul-de-sac. The study assessed the inhabitant's general attitude towards this urban form and the general factors that affected it.

The results of the study suggest that the urban form of the cul-de-sac which was usually imposed on the inhabitants (of El Hekr), can if certain criteria are satisfied - promote good social relations. The cul-de-sac however was not developed to satisfy the inhabitant's privacy needs, these inhabitants (in El Hekr) believed that this urban form tended to isolate them from the rest of the community. The cul-de-sac has been found to provide a number of perceived disadvantages as well as some advantages for its inhabitants. In general, the study results suggest that this urban form is not very appreciated by the inhabitants of El Hekr who prefer the more extrovert and stimulating locality of the open street. These findings should be taken into considerations in site and services, and other low income housing projects in Egypt.