Can Spaces Be Neutral? A Territorial Approach for Studying the Neutralisation of Space in Housing Projects
Reem Cherif
Reem Cherif is an architect, urban researcher, and currently a PhD candidate at Trinity College Dublin. She was awarded the 2023 Arab Council for Social Sciences’ writing fellowship and has contributed to both academic and non-academic publications, as well as presented at international conferences. Her research focuses on urban mobility and public spaces in inclusive cities, employing visual ethnography and participatory methods.
The 15-minute city envisions localized spatial organization for post-carbon societies, promoting access to essential daily needs within a 15-minute range using primarily active travel, supported by powered transport and public transportation. It aims to promote liveable, sustainable, and inclusive cities. However, there is limited understanding of how these ideals translate into social and economic sustainability within the built environment, and to what extent they succeed in creating equitable and inclusive mobility experiences. This is particularly relevant in Cairo, Egypt, where the 15-minute city concept manifests in diverse ways. Drawing on theories of planetary and postcolonial urbanism, this talk takes a comparative case study approach to provide insights into the planning, design, and actual usage of these neighborhoods as different models of Cairo’s 15-minute cities.
