From footprint to blueprint
In the early 1980s, Cairo was experiencing the developmental crunch of growing population and limited civic resources. A 1984 study found the green space per capita in Cairo to be roughly equivalent to a human footprint. In the mid ’90s, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture began construction on Al-Azhar Park on the derelict Darassa site, a 500-year-old, 74-acre mound of rubble located in the heart of the city. Bordering historic areas like the 12th Century Ayyubid city and the 15th Century Mamluk (City of the Dead) as well as the artistic center of Darb al-Ahmar, the park was built as a model for environmental restoration and cultural reconnection.
The PBS series E2 has devoted an entire episode to the project. A podcast and trailer can be found on their website. Lots of other interesting short segments about green architecture and planning initiatives in that podcast series.
(via City Parks Blog)
