Compactness,connectivity, and walking accessibility on the neighborhood level according to sustainability certifications: improvement or downgrade? A case study of Cairo,Egypt

Urban sustainability certifications (USCs) urge developers to exceed the local norms and regulatory requirements to attain sustainability. USCs are gaining international recognition as planning and policy support tools. This study aims to assess the relevance of four USCs (LEED for Neighborhood Development, BREAAM communities, CASBEE for Urban Development, and Pearl Community Rating System) in contexts outside their country of origin using Cairo Governorate as a case study. The study focuses on compactness, street connectivity, and walking accessibility as prominent components for sustainable mobility and urban form at the neighborhood level. The study examines 202 neighborhoods in Cairo in terms of compactness and then focuses on eight urban areas in different locations and with different characteristics to assess their connectivity and walking accessibility. Different analyses were performed with ArcGIS software using data about neighborhoods’ population, residential units, street networks, established buildings, buildings’ outlines and heights, and detailed uses. Results show that USCs’ indicators and thresholds are generally lenient and insensitive to the context of formal areas in Cairo Governorate, which are significantly more compact, mixed (horizontally and vertically), and connected. This study adds to the currently limited empirical evidence refuting the use of some USCs as global tools and questioning their utilization in different contexts either as they are or even through an adaptation process.     

Holocene landscape reconstruction in the surroundings of the Temple of Pepi I at ancient Bubastis,southeastern Nile Delta (Egypt)

In ancient Egypt, lakes, canals, and other water bodies were an essential part of the sacred landscape in which temples were embedded. In recent years, geoarchaeological research at the site of the Temple of Bastet at Bubastis in the southeastern Nile Delta has proven the existence of two water canals surrounding the temple. It has now been investigated whether these canals were connected to the Temple of Pepi I (2300–2250 B.C.E.), located approximately 100 m to the west of the Temple of Bastet. To explore the Holocene landscape genesis of the Temple of Pepi I, 15 drillings and six geoelectrical profile lines were performed in the surroundings of the temple in spring 2022. The results show loamy to clayey sediments in deeper sections of all drillings with a maximum thickness of 1.70 m, indicating a marshy or swampy depositional environment. Based on the recovered sediment sequences and archaeological remains in the vicinity of the Temple of Pepi I, the marshy or swampy area existed before the Fourth Dynasty. During the Old Kingdom (ca. 2850–2180 B.C.E.), the former marshland either dried up through natural processes or was intentionally drained and filled with sediments for subsequent use for occupation. Regarding the original research question, there is as yet no evidence for a direct connection to the canals of the Temple of Bastet.