IN-PERSON Lisbon Livable Cities. Section B

Abstract

In town planning literature, pedestrian behaviour and in particular walkability is a desirable trait in emerging cities pursing more sustainable mobility and healthier communities. The urban morphology of some compact cities and towns, does not lend itself to locals to physically interact with the city. This is an outcome of several reasons, among which are the social barriers, cultural taboos, safety, social security, urban fabric, street network, and spatial configurations. Pedestrian power is kept to a minimum as roads are superseded by automotive traffic, the built environment, or the bridges over congested areas. Despite that, trends observed show that urban running has been steadily increasing over the past few years gaining more popularity worldwide. This research interrogates the relation between the spatial configurations and societal act of running in the city. It investigates the urban issues related to running environments of compact cities taking the largest metropolitan city in Egypt, Greater Cairo, the 6th largest metropolitan city in the world. With a multi-method approach, this paper sheds light on the most often experienced running routes of Greater Cairo. Runnability has been quantified by certain measures and qualities. Data was retrieved from over 1200 novice runners and a survey was conducted. In depth spatiotemporal analyses are drawn to provide insights on “runnability”. The outcome of this research should benefit urban planners designing future cities. It offers potential for communities to better understand their urban context as well as offering greater insights for sport tourism in compact cites hosting running events.