Sustainability of Tourism Development in the city of Ain-Sukhna, Egypt

Tourism is a major economic source for Egypt, due to its significant natural and cultural attractions. Yet, rapid development and construction of touristic facilities have a negative impact on the fragile natural and cultural heritage. This paper studies the recent touristic developments of the coastal stretch of Ain-Sukhna on the Red Sea coastal region of Galala Mountain, and their impact on the surrounding natural and cultural attractions. Coral reefs and rich marine life have made this stretch among the prime fishing and scuba diving destinations in the world. The area is also famous for its year-round sunny beaches and the spectacular coastal scenic drive where Galala Mountain reaches the Red Sea. Recently, development has started on the mountains following the construction of Galala Mountain Road. Galala City started with Galala University and several residential, touristic, and commercial facilities. This paper studies the pattern of development in the area during the past 40 years and assesses its impact on natural and cultural resources

Sustainability of Gated Communities in Developing Countries

Gated communities, a recognizable form of housing developments in the Gulf region, have dramatic impact on neighborhoods and cities as well as on the quality of urban life of people. This paper attempts to understand the impact of this rapidly emerging housing typology on urban sustainability. It investigates the sustainability of gated communities and explores their perception by the society. Primary data was obtained through standardized questionnaire and personal interviews. Secondary data was obtained from publications, journals, and textbooks. The results indicated that the trend of living in gated communities is very low priority among Qataris. They do not consider gated communities suitable for their lifestyle, needs and wants. They prefer living in independent residential units which have no shared entries or staircases with others. The paper concludes that new legislation and guidelines are needed to make gated communities more socially and economically sustainable and attractive to residents and citizens. Keywords: Gated communities, Sustainability, Housing, Qatar, Doha

Tall Buildings Legislations in Doha, Qatar

AbstractGulf Cooperation Council countries are racing in competition to construct tall buildings as sources of national pride and cultural identity facilitated by economic prosperity. This paper discusses rapid construction of tall buildings in Doha, Qatar due to the rapid urbanization since the middle of the 20th century. The paper addresses the importance of developing urban planning legislations for designing eco-tall buildings. The paper concludes with recommendations of how to develop eco-skyscrapers and the reasons of not having green tall buildings in Qatar and what legislations and recommendations should be specified by the government to achieve efficient building design

Preserving And Improving Traditional Built Environments In Doha: The Case Of Old-mushaireb Area

Due to rapid urbanization during the past few decades, Doha has witnessed the disappearance of significant areas of its traditional built environment that were replaced by modern mega real-estate developments, public buildings and projects. More traditional built environments are threatened to be demolished and disappear to pave the way for new projects and developments. Due to their increased land value and strategic locations, the most threatened areas are the ones located in the old city center. There is a need to preserve these environments because they represent an important stage in the development of the country and the history of its people. This paper presents strategies and proposals to preserve and improve one of Doha's unique traditional built environments. A group of graduate students from the Master of Urban Planning and Design program at Qatar University carried out an in-depth study of one of the threatened traditional built environments in Doha as part of Urban Planning Legislation course requirements. The area, known as Old-Mushaireb, located near the under construction Msheireb Downtown Doha and the renovated touristic attraction Souq Waqif, was the residence of many old Qatari families. It has a strategic location in the heart of Doha surrounded by main roads, namely; the A-Ring Road, Wadi Musheireb Street and Abdul Aziz Bin Ahmed Street. It contains large number of traditional houses, historical and modern buildings. The perimeter of the area is occupied by mixed-use buildings constructed after the discovery of oil. The heart of the area contains large number of traditional houses occupied by low income migrant workers. Each house is occupied by a large number of individuals with no adequate hygienic nor living conditions. The narrow streets and old fareejs are in a deteriorated condition lacking proper pavement and sewerage system. Many buildings are either abandoned, deteriorated or neglected with no proper maintenance. The condition is not acceptable neither for the poor workers nor for the unique traditional built environment and houses that are deteriorating rapidly and are on the verge of collapse. The aim of this project was to study the area and introduce legislation to preserve and enhance the quality of the built environment that would consequently enhance the human experience and use of space. The goal was to make the area a national and tourist attraction representing a stage in the physical evolution of the built environment in Doha. Another objective was to ensure a quality experience in an attractive heritage place that would respect all age groups using a sustainable approach. The area was surveyed and documented applying urban planning and design methods and practices. The team members analyzed the area and a proposed a preservation and improvement strategy that addresses the following components: 1) historical preservation, 2) safety and security, 3) children, 4) territoriality, 5) senior citizens, 6) walkability and 7) streets and parking. The study provides a model for a comprehensive strategy to improve and preserve traditional built environments that represent important stages of Doha's urban development.qscienc

Defining criteria for disease activity states in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis based on the systemic Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score

Objective To develop and validate cutoff values in the systemic Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score 10 (sJADAS10) that distinguish the states of inactive disease (ID), minimal disease activity (MiDA), moderate disease activity (MoDA), and high disease activity (HDA) in children with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA), based on subjective disease state assessment by the treating pediatric rheumatologist. Methods The cutoffs definition cohort was composed of 400 patients enrolled at 30 pediatric rheumatology centers in 11 countries. Using the subjective physician rating as an external criterion, 6 methods were applied to identify the cutoffs: mapping, calculation of percentiles of cumulative score distribution, Youden index, 90% specificity, maximum agreement, and ROC curve analysis. Sixty percent of the patients were assigned to the definition cohort and 40% to the validation cohort. Cutoff validation was conducted by assessing discriminative ability. Results The sJADAS10 cutoffs that separated ID from MiDA, MiDA from MoDA, and MoDA from HDA were ≤ 2.9, ≤ 10, and > 20.6. The cutoffs discriminated strongly among different levels of pain, between patients with or without morning stiffness, and between patients whose parents judged their disease status as remission or persistent activity/flare or were satisfied or not satisfied with current illness outcome. Conclusion The sJADAS cutoffs revealed good metrologic properties in both definition and validation cohorts, and are therefore suitable for use in clinical trials and routine practice

PANC Study (Pancreatitis: A National Cohort Study): national cohort study examining the first 30 days from presentation of acute pancreatitis in the UK

Abstract Background Acute pancreatitis is a common, yet complex, emergency surgical presentation. Multiple guidelines exist and management can vary significantly. The aim of this first UK, multicentre, prospective cohort study was to assess the variation in management of acute pancreatitis to guide resource planning and optimize treatment. Methods All patients aged greater than or equal to 18 years presenting with acute pancreatitis, as per the Atlanta criteria, from March to April 2021 were eligible for inclusion and followed up for 30 days. Anonymized data were uploaded to a secure electronic database in line with local governance approvals. Results A total of 113 hospitals contributed data on 2580 patients, with an equal sex distribution and a mean age of 57 years. The aetiology was gallstones in 50.6 per cent, with idiopathic the next most common (22.4 per cent). In addition to the 7.6 per cent with a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis, 20.1 per cent of patients had a previous episode of acute pancreatitis. One in 20 patients were classed as having severe pancreatitis, as per the Atlanta criteria. The overall mortality rate was 2.3 per cent at 30 days, but rose to one in three in the severe group. Predictors of death included male sex, increased age, and frailty; previous acute pancreatitis and gallstones as aetiologies were protective. Smoking status and body mass index did not affect death. Conclusion Most patients presenting with acute pancreatitis have a mild, self-limiting disease. Rates of patients with idiopathic pancreatitis are high. Recurrent attacks of pancreatitis are common, but are likely to have reduced risk of death on subsequent admissions. </jats:sec

Retrofitting traditional neighborhoods in Doha

Rapid urbanization in Doha during the past few decades has resulted in the disappearance of traditional neighborhoods that were replaced by modern mega real-estate developments, public buildings and projects. More traditional neighborhoods are threatened to be demolished to allow the construction of new real estate projects due to their land value and strategic locations. The most threatened areas are the ones located in the old city center adjacent to historical sites. There is a need to preserve these environments as they represent stages of Doha’s urban development and history. This paper presents strategies and proposals to preserve and improve one of Doha’s unique traditionally built environments. A group of graduate students from the Masters of Urban Planning and Design program at Qatar University carried out an in-depth study of one of the threatened traditionally built environments in Doha as part of Urban Planning Legislation course requirements. The area, known as Old-Mushaireb, located near the under-construction Msheireb, Downtown Doha and the renovated touristic attraction Souq Waqif, was the residence of many old Qatari families. It has a strategic location in the heart of Doha surrounded by main roads, namely; the A-Ring Road, Wadi Musheireb Street and Abdul Aziz Bin Ahmed Street. It contains large number of traditional houses, and historical and modern buildings. The perimeter of the area is occupied by mixed-use buildings constructed after the discovery of oil. The heart of the area contains a large number of traditional houses occupied by low income migrant workers. Each house is occupied by a large number of individuals with no adequate hygienic nor living conditions. The narrow streets and old fareejs are in a deteriorated condition lacking proper pavement and sewage system. Many buildings are either abandoned, deteriorated or neglected with no proper maintenance. The condition is not acceptable neither for the poor workers nor for the unique traditionally built environment and houses that are deteriorating rapidly and are on the verge of collapsing. The aim of this project was to study the area and introduce legislation to preserve and enhance the quality of the built environment that would consequently enhance the human experience and use of space. The goal was to make the area a national and tourist attraction representing a stage in the physical evolution of the built environment in Doha. Another objective was to ensure a quality experience in an attractive heritage place that would respect all age groups using a sustainable approach. The area was surveyed and documented applying urban planning and design methods and practices. The team members analyzed the area and proposed a preservation and improvement strategy that addresses the following components: 1) historical preservation, 2) safety and security, 3) children, 4) territoriality, 5) senior citizens, 6) walkability and 7) streets and parking. The study provides a model for a comprehensive strategy to retrofit, improve and preserve traditionally built environments that represent important stages of Doha’s urban development.qscienc

The Nubian experience: A study of the social and cultural meanings of architecture.

The goal of this study is understanding the social and cultural meanings of architecture in a real life context and from the point of view of the people who experience it. Architecture is not only objects made by professional architects; it comprises all buildings and dwellings built by human beings. It encompasses the surrounding environment where everyday life experience takes place. The case of the Egyptian Nubians was studied. Due to the construction of the High Dam, the Nubians were displaced in 1964 and were relocated in planned communities designed by professional architects and planners. In 1979, several Nubians had returned to the sites of their old villages and settled there. The Nubian experience was characterized by its intensity which magnified the implications of planned change imposed upon people. The Human Science approach was used in an attempt to understand the experience of the Nubians 25 years after the displacement. The field work took place in Egypt during the period of time between September 1987 and April 1988. Participant-observation methods were used to collect ethnographic data of the Nubians' experience in both the displacement and the returnees' communities. The data was then analyzed and several themes of the Nubians' experience of displacement were identified. The sudden change of the environment had a major impact on the Nubians' way of life. They lost the feeling of security and peacefulness which was an important aspect of their life before the displacement. The Nubian language was also affected by the introduction of new Arabic words. Many of the traditional Nubian ceremonies during birth, death, marriage, etc, were altered. There was a gap between members of the old generation who experienced life in old Nubia and members of the new generation who were born and raised in the new communities. Through the media and direct contact with other ways of living in other urban areas of Egypt, the Nubians became subject to the influence of technology and modernization. The displacement experience of the Nubians reveals many exempleric themes common to our everyday life experience. We need to understand architecture from the people's point of view, as lived and experienced by them. Architecture has social and cultural meanings important for our meaningful participation.Arch.Dr.ArchitectureCommunication and the ArtsCultural anthropologySocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/128460/2/9023494.pd