Heat Island Effects and Cities

I'll be talking about the heat island effect (HIE) and the impact it has and how this is related to climate change but also what we can do to address this. When I was on my way over here today, I saw something interesting. I saw a bird gliding, not fluttering its wings, but gliding for about two or three minutes as we moved along, and it was completely stationary while it was moving. And as someone who was going to talk about the HIE, I was aware of what was happening. This bird was moving ov..

Children's motility in an informal settlement in Cairo and parental influence: ‎implications for de-motorization

This paper investigates actual and potential mobility of children as enabled by themselves and their parents in a case study of one informal settlement in Cairo called Ezbet El-Haggana. Results aim to contribute to the discussion about possibilities for such settlements to avoid the typical trajectory of increased car-dependence observed in other parts of Cairo as with global trends. It is  based on five Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with children and four FGDs with mothers, together with field observations. A philosophical approach based onVincent Kaufmann’s notion of motility (potentiality of mobility) was employed to elucidate subjective factors influencing mobility. Based on results, the study argues that an informal settlement can contain not only physical prerequisites, but also behavioral and socio-cultural prerequisites that may facilitate a direct transition (leapfrogging) to a future of sustainable mobility and associated behavior and norms. An observed ingenuity, behavioral adaptation, and various means of compensation for resource scarcity enable both parents and children to exhibit travel behavior that is coincidentally sustainable and resilient, thereby positioning the inhabitants to better adapt to introduced sustainable transport interventions. Findings led to a conceptualization of a framework for analysis based on motility, which is expanded to account for the dynamics of  motility enhancement found in the case study, where aspects of one’s skills, access,  and appropriation are altered to mutually compensate for each other to maintain motility, or otherwise exhibit deficiencies that can be identified and  addressed

Middle Eastern Cities in a Time of Climate Crisis

The climate crisis is hitting around the world, including in the Middle East and its cities. Urban regions are exposed to increasingly frequent heat waves and floods that leave decision makers without immediate answers. In the context of this global crisis, this book addresses the need for a better understanding of the current model of urban expansion. Cities are major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but they are also celebrated for their contribution to economic growth. The current moment is one of a large paradigm shift as climate change is now recognized as a legitimate public problem. This is especially true for city dwellers, who are increasingly exposed to climate change, the loss of biodiversity and heavy pollution while natural breathing spaces continue to shrink around them. The sixteen chapters of this book do not offer any off-the-rack or technical solutions, but they analyze the urban conundrum and the contribution of cities to the climate crisis. Some chapters focus on individual car ownership, land privatization, waste management and land use changes under the guise of development. Others explore local and contextual answers to urban governance issues. With the support of CEDEJ and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, researchers, experts and civil society actors explore the ongoing transformations of Middle Eastern urban environments and mobilities and question them in relation to the climate crisis. The contributions are based on empirical knowledge gathered in the Nile Delta, the Greater Cairo Region, Riyadh and Beirut. Without concessions to mainstream thinking, this book contributes to a better understanding of urban challenges, climate threats and policy responses in contexts marked by growing environmental inequalities

Children's potential mobility and appropriation of ‎transport options in an ‎informal settlement

Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht die tatsächliche und potenzielle Mobilität von Kindern aus einer ‎informellen Siedlungsstruktur in einer Megacity des globalen Südens am Fall Ezbet El-Hagganas im ‎Großraum Kairos; die Entwicklung von Mobilitätsgewohnheiten in der Kindheitsphase ‎und bezieht sich dabei nicht nur auf Kinder als Nutzer, sondern berücksichtigt zudem deren ‎unmittelbares soziales Umfeld und den gesamtgesellschaftlichen Kontext. Der theoretische Rahmen für die ‎Untersuchung der Mobilität von Kindern basiert auf Icek Ajzens Theorie des geplanten Verhaltens ‎sowie auf Vincent Kaufmanns Konzeptualisierung des Motilitätsbegriffes. Primärdaten wurden in ‎einer Feldstudie und in Fokusgruppen erhoben. Die Ergebnisse deuteten auf eine hohe Prävalenz der ‎unabhängigen Mobilität von Kindern (child independent mobility, CIM) auf deren am häufigsten zu ‎bewältigenden Strecke (zur Schule) hin, zunächst durch nicht motorisierte Formen der ‎Verkehrsteilnahme, aber weitgehend auch mit Hilfe von verschiedenen formellen wie informellen ‎Nahverkehrsmitteln. Es wurden sozio-kulturelle und sozialpsychologische Einflussfaktoren seitens ‎sowohl Kindern als auch ihren Eltern identifiziert, die die Verkehrsteilnahme von Kindern hemmen ‎oder befördern können. Gleichermaßen wurden hemmende ‎Faktoren untersucht. Die Akzeptanz des Radfahrens von Kindern wurde als Fallbeispiel für ‎unerschlossenes Mobilitätspotenzial untersucht und deutet auf die Prävalenz sozialpsychologischer ‎Faktoren hin, die Entscheidungsfaktoren rationaler und praktischer Natur entgegenstehen und die die ‎Verkehrsmittelnutzung von Kindern mindern; hier benannt als Nutzungslücke (appropriation gap). Die ‎Ergebnisse wurden schließlich in Zusammenhang mit dem Konzept der Verkehrsteilnahme gestellt ‎und erlauben die Diskussion von Implikationen für die politische Ebene und für den Diskurs von ‎Mobilität in benachteiligten Gruppen der Gesellschaft.This study investigates the nature of children's actual and potential mobility in a case study of an ‎‎informal settlement in a megacity of a developing country; namely Ezbet El-Haggana in Greater Cairo ‎and explores the nature of the childhood ‎phase of developing mobility practices and habits, not only ‎as enabled by children themselves as ‎commuters, but also as enabled by parents and the surrounding ‎community and society. A theoretical framework was constructed through which ‎children's mobility is ‎investigated. It is based on Icek Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior and Vincent ‎Kaufmann's ‎conceptualization of Motility. The data was primarily collected through a field survey and ‎focus groups. ‎Results indicated high prevalence of child independent mobility (CIM) in the most ‎frequent trip (to ‎school), not only through active transport but also largely through different formal ‎and informal ‎transport services available. There are socio-cultural and socio-psychological factors ‎among both the ‎parents and the children that constitute the appropriation of mobility options that ‎cater to children, ‎either enabling or inhibiting their mobility. Through the experiences of children's ‎mobility, the acquired ‎skills and adaptive attitudes by both children and parents enhance children's ‎potential mobility ‎compared to children in wealthier communities that may be granted less mobility ‎rights or have less ‎competences among other factors. Inhibiting factors were also ‎investigated; the specific case of ‎acceptance of cycling for children. This exemplified prevalence of socio-psychological factors that ‎overshadow ‎practical and rational aspects of choice; it is articulated here as an appropriation gap. ‎Results were ‎finally associated with the conceptualization of appropriation to discuss implications for ‎policy and for ‎the discourses of mobility in disadvantaged communities.