Abstract:
This communication is the result of the program “Imhotep”, a collaboration between the Housing and Building Research Center and the LAVUE / University Paris 8 laboratory supported by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs – Institut français d’Egypte (France) and the academy of science and technology (Egypt). This collaboration aimed to exchange knowledge and perspective between young architects, sociologists and anthropologist. Under this collaboration, the French and Egyptian team was engaged in an exploratory study that focused on popular markets in the neighborhood of Al-Matareya in Egypt additionally several popular markets in Ile de France with different diversity in scale, supply, customers that is rarely tackled in research. The urban integration and strategies of traders and users in those markets are deployed at those different levels, figured our need to take into account the economic potential of these commercial hubs and the necessity to change the gaze toward these markets which leads to rethink the formal / informal relationship. This will help to truly comprehend all the social resources and urban skills deployed in these major popular spaces.
Bibliography:
Agnès Deboulet is professor of sociology at University Paris 8 and researcher at the LAVUE (Cnrs 7218). She is co-directing the Imhotep programme with Dina Shehayeb. Her last book Rethinking precarious neighborhoods”, Etudes de l’AFD, 2016 (version française : Repenser les quartiers précaires).
Dina K. Shehayeb, is a professor at the Housing and Building National Research Center (HBRC) in Cairo, Egypt, co-directing Imhotep programme as well as the principle of her private consultancy firm Shehayeb CONSULT. Specialized in transdisciplinary research, she works on bridging the gap between the physical built environment and its socio-psychological and cultural dimensions. She applies this knowledge through research and practice on affordable/appropriate housing, community-based planning, historic area conservation, and design guidelines.
Sarah El-Defrawi is a research assistant in urban studies at the Housing and Building National Research Center (HBRC) in Cairo, Egypt. She received her master degree from DIA-Bauhaus in 2008. Now she is a candidate at LAVUE and preparing her PhD at university of Paris 8 in urban sociology, concerned with the question of informality in contemporary city.
Romain Leclercq is a PhD student in sociology at University Paris 8 and at the LAVUE (CNRS 7218). He is currently working on the urban risks issues in the precarious neighborhoods of Dakar (Senegal) and Accra (Ghana). His last article : “The politics of risks policies in Dakar”, International Journal of Risk Disaster Reduction, 26, p.93-100. DOI :10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.09.031
Alya Sabry is an architect who practices research-based urban design with preferences in environmental behavior and socio-cultural studies. She is experienced in participatory urban upgrading in the contexts of informal settlements and historic conservation. She is also interested in oral history and design education to children. She is currently doing her master thesis in the Arab Academy of Maritime, Science and Technology.
Sara khalifa is a research assistant in urban studies at Housing and Building National Research Center in Cairo, Egypt. M. Sc. in Architecture “urban spaces for adolescents: spaces and services surrounding secondary schools” – Urban development and community design dept. Faculty of Engineering – Cairo University, 2011. Now she is a PhD candidate at Cairo University in Urban development and community design, specialized in environment and behavior studies .
