The Impact of the Cairo Streets Development Project on the Independent Mobility of Children: A Field Study on the Streets of Heliopolis, Egypt

Abstract

Due to significant changes in Cairo’s streets today, young children may face difficulties finding opportunities to be safe and active. They can encounter low independent mobility, limiting their access to places in their neighborhoods, and can have poor access to their schools. This study aims to examine governmental primary school children’s access to schools in their neighborhoods after street modifications in Heliopolis, Cairo, seeking to evaluate the potential risks to child pedestrians. This will subsequently aid in developing a methodology for consistently and fairly evaluating hazards along the route to schools. A survey of six governmental primary schools in Heliopolis, Cairo, was conducted through interviews with children and their parents. Furthermore, a behavioral map of the local neighborhood was completed by children (7–12 years old) of six primary schools from the areas surrounding their schools in which the modifications took place. The results indicate that the most common ways of travelling to school, according to the questionnaire, are either by public transportation (30%) or by a small van/private bus (42%). More than half of the children expressed their wish to walk or cycle to school. The result also found that 69% of the children expressed anxiety about crossing streets. In conclusion, for some children, opportunities to be active in the local neighborhood may be limited due to the new modifications to the streets, resulting in limited independent mobility. To promote a sense of neighborhood safety and increase access to neighborhood public spaces, it is important to work with urban planners and local governments.

Walkability Infrastructures and Urban Rebalancing: The Case Study of L’Aquila City under Post-Earthquake Reconstruction

“…The first approach focuses on walkability analysis carried out based on directly or indirectly observable factors and components, also taken from Google Maps [17], and essentially covering dimensional and morphological characteristics of streets, intersections [18] and sidewalks [19], pedestrian safety, maintenance status, and accessibility to services and facilities [3,6,[20][21][22]. An example is the capability-wise walkability score (CWS) developed by Blečić et al [4] based on three macro-environments of observation, the current condition of urban design (density, integration, etc.…”

Harnessing Social Media for Climate Action in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Egypt

“…However, challenges persist. Recent large-scale demolitions of green spaces for road expansion highlight a potential disconnect between government actions and public concerns [55,56]. Citizen activism opposing these projects further emphasizes the growing public interest in environmental protection [57].…”

Cairenes’ Storytelling: Pedestrian Scenarios as a Normative Factor When Enforcing Street Changes in Residential Areas

“…Since 1947, improvement processes have transformed Ard el Golf from a golf course into a residential area. In 1999, Ard el Golf became an administrative part of the West Nasr City district (Elshater et al 2022b;Shafik et al 2021). It is still a residential area, similar to Heliopolis in terms of its urban character.…”

“…Sci. 2023, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 5 of 22 In 1999, Ard el Golf became an administrative part of the West Nasr City district (Elshater et al 2022b;Shafik et al 2021). It is still a residential area, similar to Heliopolis in terms of its urban character.…”

“…In addition, other studies have indicated that this improvement often leads to changes in pedestrian scenarios for residents, workers, and visitors, related to their daily activities (Erturan and Spek 2022). According to Shafik et al (2021), and Moosa (2022), among the most important of these changes that have been seen in Heliopolis are: (1) the conserving of heritage tramways; (2) the building of a city subway;…”