In Pursuit of Meaning in Urban Space

This research investigates the concept of meanings associated with urban spaces in central historic districts, with special reference to Khedivial Cairo. It investigates the said notion in theory and elaborates a set of urban meaning categorizations that describes the possible channels through which spaces could be associated with meanings. In extrapolating urban meanings associated with the area of study the research first investigates meanings as described in place-based reference writings related to the context understudy, then, it conducts semi-structured interviews with real actors who are in direct contact with the investigated area and spaces. Urban meaning association is found to be the result of a complex process that should be put in consideration before and through every spatial intervention.

Autorentext

Aliaa AlSadaty, architect, researcher and Lecturer at the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering - Cairo University, Egypt since 2004. (PhD in Architecture and Urban Design awarded by Cairo University in 2014 and MSc awarded by Catania University, Catania, Italy in 2007).