Initial Plans for My Thesis

By Mazen Aziz

The goal of my thesis is to fix a large-scale slum area. Research will be conducted by first researching the history of the City of Cairo and all it has to offer. This will be done by looking at the historic city plans and how did it changed by the years and comparing it to the plans of the modern days. Historic plans show that designs were made with the intention of providing space that caters to pedestrians more than to vehicles. Over the years and especially in Manshiet Nasser, it became the opposite since people who live there now work as trash collectors or garbage collector from all over the city, So residents uses big trash trucks. Another important aspect to look at is different places in which public transportation is located throughout the City of Cairo in order to see how the city has expanded and how public transit has evolved to accommodate it. When looking at transportation, this thesis will have to address the methods available to connect this site directly to the public transit system, as the residents are very poor and has a really low income and public transportation is the main option for them to go around. Along with the historical and transit research, a general study of the surrounding area and the resident’s income will be necessary. Finding out why this area became a large slum will help further its design. By doing these different types of research will help figuring out what materials can be used and what the residents can afford. Also the general traffic patterns through and around the site will help find out where to locate and design the commercial use areas and which areas will be better for residential use.