Spatial accessibility and commercial land use patterns planned versus unplanned areas in Cairo

This paper shows the research results from a research project investigating the relationship between spatial configuration and the distribution of commercial activities in throughout planned and informal urban environments. The research methodology uses space syntax analysis as well as statistical calculations. The spatial accessibility model is combined with commercial activity data from three different types of settlements in Cairo: The throughout planned Al-Sharekat, and the informal areas Ezbet Al-Nasr and Abu Qatada. As a contrast to Cairo's informal areas, the throughout planned Al-Sharekat area is a typical example of modern urban areas with a planned modern urban shopping centre. The results demonstrate that micro scale businesses, run and owned by low income people, are sensitive to having high degree of spatial accessibility to potential customers. This spatial feature is missing in the throughout planned Al-Sharekat. Accordingly, unplanned areas are not chaotic in terms of commercial activity patterns. Finally, superficial insights that distribute activities on the principle of abstract geometric distance, such as putting the service centre of the neighbourhood in its geographical centre should be revisited.