Abstract

As urban waterfronts around the world de-industrialise, cities are increasingly capitalising on these opportunities to provide open space and alternative commuting routes along riverbanks, bringing residents and visitors back to the waterfronts. In January 2011, graduate students from Cairo University, The American University in Cairo, and University of California, Berkeley surveyed hydrologic, environmental, socioeconomic, cultural, and land use characteristics of four distinct districts along the east bank of a 12-km stretch of the Nile River. Working together in interdisciplinary teams, they developed long-term plans and designs for the Nile waterfront in central Cairo. Our research demonstrates that Cairo has remarkable opportunities to reconnect its people with the river through increased access to the waterfront, environmental improvements, pedestrian pathways, and attractive public spaces. Reclaiming the banks of the Nile for the people of Cairo will provide much needed green space and make the river once again the heart of a dynamic and richly-textured city.