International Journal of Development and Sustainability

ISSN: 2186-8662 – www.isdsnet.com/ijds

Volume 4 Number 7 (2015): Pages 805-824
ISDS Article ID: IJDS15112401

Potentials of creating pocket parks in

high density residential neighborhoods:
The case of Rod El Farag, Cairo city
Noha Ahmed Abd El Aziz *
Faculty of Urban and Regional Planning, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract
Providing quality parks and recreational spaces for inner city residents especially in Metropolitan cities is considered
a huge predicament. Cities are challenged to overcome escalated densities and limited amount of available land,
through new opportunities and potential solutions in providing green spaces. Pocket parks arise as a solution to
provide public spaces in such crowded environments. This paper reports the results of an empirical study performed
in a residential informal neighborhood in Cairo city, the primary purpose is to evaluate the possibility of creating
pocket parks with the community participation. Questioners and observations are conducted, the results indicate that
transforming low traffic streets, and vacant land into pocket parks is possible and it is highly supported by the
residents in the area. Despite the fact that the locals are willing to participate in enhancing their environment, still the
major obstacles are transforming privately owned parcels and supplying sustainable fund.

Keywords: Pocket park , Cairo city, Quality of life , Open green spaces, High density seletments

Published by ISDS LLC, Japan | Copyright © 2015 by the Author(s) | This is an open access article distributed under the Creative
Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original work is properly cited.

* Corresponding author. E-mail address: noos2000@yahoo.com

International Journal of Development and Sustainability Vol.4 No.7 (2015): 805-824

1. Introduction

Parks have long been recognized as major contributors to the physical and aesthetic quality of urban
neighborhoods, they provide social, economic and environmental benefits to the community (Walker, 2004).
However, providing quality parks and recreation space for inner city residents is increasingly challenged by
the limited amount of available space. At present the global population has risen, cities are expanding and land
value is rising. Expansion of residential and commercial uses in cities has resulted in the loss of green areas
and created pressure against providing new open green spaces in the city.
In response to the preceding, a new type of open green space has been developed in high density areas of
the city, where standard neighborhood park cannot readily be provided. This type suggests converting unused
areas and abandoned spaces into what are being called pocket parks. Pocket parks, also known as mini park
or vest-pocket parks, are urban open spaces at the very small scale. Usually only a few house lots in size or
smaller (Ming, 2014). Cooper Marcus further defines a pocket park as one that serves up to a four block radius,
with most of the users coming from within a one-two block radius (Smith, 2005).
The foundation of modern pocket parks has many historical roots. The major push towards pocket parks
began in the 1960s in North America. A program developed in Philadelphia attempted to work with low income
citizens in attempts to reclaim vacant and derelict lots for the purpose of leisure and recreation space. This
initiative became a precursor to Philadelphia’s investment in building pocket parks or mini-parks in
neighborhoods throughout the city. Urban centers throughout North America began imitating these early
examples of pocket parks (Smith, 2005; LeFlore, 2012). Since then pocket parks helped in developing a healthy
urban environment and strengthening social fabrics; shaping community identity and enhancing their
attractiveness to residents (Rabare and Onyango, 2009). Nowadays, different institutions and policy makers
strive to increase the green area provision in cities through pocket parks. One promising attempt was London's
major pursuit to create 100 ‘pocket parks’ launched in 2009 (Greater London Authority, 2015), also the efforts
of "The Park Association of New York City" which fosters creating pocket parks in New York City. Additionally,
the city of Copenhagen in Denmark, planned to implement 14 additional pocket parks by 2015, as part of a
larger vision to become the greenest capital city in the world (Triman, 2012). Therefore, a potential arises to
implement such an approach in high density areas as Cairo city.

2. Informal high density residential areas in Cairo city

As known, most of the Egyptian cities, especially the cities in Great Cairo region, experience increasing signs of
environmental, social, and economic stress. Phenomena related to the process of densification of the urban
structure in the compact city. Population in Cairo is increasing vastly, as the city acts as a pole magnet attracting
internal immigration seeking services and job opportunities. In 2014 the estimated population was 9.2 million
people (State Information Service, 2014). Such demographic explosion generated problems such as traffic jams,
pollution, noise, and crowdedness. The failure of the Egyptian housing policy to provide affordable, viable
housing for a significant number of Cairenes, has led many to build homes, either semi-legally or illegally on
privately-owned or public land (GTZ, 2009). Unfortunately, 70% of the Greater Cairo population live in so-

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called informal areas (GTZ, 2009). Such settlements suffer from poor housing conditions; insufficient
infrastructure and services (heaps of garbage, dried up planting, broken sidewalks); problems of accessibility,
Lighting and ventilation problems; narrow streets; pollution; high densities; as well as shortage in recreational
open green spaces (GTZ, 2009).
Despite of numerous attempts exerted by upgrading schemes in order to tackle the informal settlements
challenges, it is constantly noticed that the act of creating and enhancing open green spaces is seldom included
the development plans. The struggle over land vacancy and funding cripple the opportunity of providing parks
or open spaces that need later on maintenance. Additionally, the absence of strategic green network plans for
Cairo city deprive it from providing different topologies of well-connected green spaces to enhance
accessibility and coherences. Summarizing the foregoing, it can be concluded that the role of green spaces in
improving the living conditions in informal areas, raising the quality of life in poor and deteriorated districts
is totally ignored. From this standpoint, the importance of recurring urban parks arises to remedy and mitigate
the deteriorated quality of life in the city.

2.1. Provision of open spaces in Cairo city

Unfortunately, public parks in Cairo city suffer not only from scarcity, but also from poor quality and distorted
distribution. For instance, the person quota from green spaces in the city doesn't exceed 1.2 m² / person. This
average is considered very low, and it is expected to decrease even more due to scarcity in vacant land (Abd El
Sallam, 2009). Moreover, green spaces are not well distributed, which creates accessibility hurdles and more
challenges to connect the scattered green areas in a network. Other problems are poor designs, which are
incompatible with users' needs; and incompetent management plans that fail to maintain parks to acceptable
standards. From the former it can be seen that the provision of open spaces in Cairo city is far from meeting
the minimum standards. Consequently, there is an urging need to increase the city provision of parks, in order
to provide recreational opportunities and environmental benefits (reducing pollution and enhancing air
temperature ect.).

3. Pocket parks as a refuge from the city bustle

The benefits of pocket parks go far beyond their communities, as they positively impact the well-being of the
city and the region in which they are located. The fact that the park size is no more than ¼ of an acre doesn't
impede it to offer a place for people to gather, relax, or to enjoy the outdoors (National Recreation and Park
Association, 2012).
A research team from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine has found that
distressed neighborhoods where vacant lots have been converted into small parks and community green
spaces are associated with reduced crime, more exercise, improved perceived safety, lower rates of health
complaints and better mental health when compared to neighborhoods with unimproved vacant lots. Other
multiple benefits of pocket parks are (National Recreation and Park Association, 2012):

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 Support the overall ecology of the surrounding environment

 Help protect and conserve local wildlife, landscape, and heritage
 Reduce pollution, traffic, and consumption of resources, such as oil
 Empower local residents to make decisions that affect their community
 Make communities safer and more sociable
 Regenerate run-down areas
 Reinforce relationships between local authorities and communities

4. Creating pocket parks

The ability of pocket parks to be placed throughout the urban fabric where they serve the immediate local
population is their greatest advantage. However, their success requires careful planning, creative designs, and
significant local support.

4.1. Planning pocket park in the city

The current park traditional topology consists of “neighborhood parks”, “community parks”, “city parks” and
“nature preserves and linkages” (Abd El Sallam, 2009). Several researchers interested in studying the green
spaces in the city suggest adding a new park system planning that would allow for mini-parks and plazas to be
combined, especially in urban areas where there are no accessible local parks within a 400m radius, or 10-
minute walking distance. Pocket parks would differ from the neighborhood park classification principally
through their scale, as neighborhood parks customarily offer diverse recreational opportunities and have the
infrastructure necessary to cater to a population whom will probably be arriving in cars. Oppositely, pocket
parks would attract near users, arriving walking or biking (LeFlore, 2012).
Selecting the location and the distribution of pocket parks in the city is crucial to assure fulfilling social
equality and targeting districts suffering the most from insufficient provision of green spaces. Predominately,
the priority is to higher density residential areas with high numbers of families with children or the potential
for such a demographic mix. Another criterion is the availability of potential parcels to be converted into pocket
parks. Imagination has to be used in order to locate spaces for pocket parks as these may be found in
nontraditional locations such as rooftops, building facades or foyers and vacant sites. The parks should serve
a resident population of approximately 500-1000 persons within a 400m walking distance of all residences in
their service area (10 minutes walking). Moreover, is should be accessible by both foot and bike, should not
require the use of a car and open to the street on 2 to 4 sides (National Recreation and Park Association, 2012).
The current settings of a parcel regarding its actual use, shape and ownership can encourage or deter the
decision of nominating it to host a park.
Preferably, pocket parks should be located adjacent to greenways to ensure a good flow of park users. The
parks preferably should be linked to other recreational, cultural and community facilities, and furthermore to
the city pedestrian network (Transit Village Area Plan, 2007). A network of open spaces with a high degree of

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connectivity will offer short traveling distances between parks, which will encourage residents to travel to and
interact with each other. Eventually, this will promote social cohesion within the local community. Likewise,
developing a network of urban open spaces will increase the ecological value of the city (Ming, 2014). For
example, in the city of Copenhagen, the establishment of pocket parks went in hand with the creation of green
streets and connections within the city strategy 2008. The vision strived to create a green livable city with
quality and variety (Danish Architecture Centre, 2015).

4.2. Designing pocket parks

Does size matter? A main question arises when dealing with green spaces, skeptics argue that the pocket park
small area from 0.7 acres to 3 acres (Council Policy, 1990) is not sufficient to play a role in enhancing the quality
of life in urban areas. Contrarily, a conclusion has been drawn based on comparisons and other prior
researches that the size of a park is not the major concern of park users, but rather its facilities and design
(Ming, 2014). Another question arises, are all pocket park similar, or they are designed to fulfill different
functions? Even though the existing literature treats pocket parks as a single type of park, they should be
categorized into three different types: Active, Passive and Bonus (LeFlore, 2012). Active parks offer users the
opportunity to participate in a particular activity. They may comprise a playground, small basketball court or
other target activity that attracts interested people. Passive parks are not designed for a specific use, as they
are a place for people to come and sit. They do not include playgrounds or exercise equipment, but may have
a fountain or other focal point. Bonus parks occur at intersections or within a development of other uses, and
were not initially planned as a park. A few benches or a ledge attracted people to sit somewhere, and over time,
the space became a park. These spaces tend to be very small in size, sometimes less than a tenth of an acre, but
often attract people who need a place to sit. Moreover, they may occur as a byproduct of private development,
to fulfill legislative open space provision or to earn a special permit or even as a voluntary public contribution.
This second type of bonus parks result in a public space on private property (LeFlore, 2012). Determining the
park type is based on the area availability, surrounding recreational facilities and the community desires.
In order any of the preceding three types of pocket parks to achieve success, they should fulfill certain
qualities. Parks should be accessible and visible; allow people to engage in activities without creating
unpleasant interferes; are comfortable spaces (climatic) and have a good image; and finally, are sociable places
where people meet each other (ONESTL, 2015; Project for Public Spaces, 2009; Shirley, 2013; Smith, 2005).
Research indicates that it is imperative to engage the local community in the design process, both for designs
and implementation stages (Lamontagne and Cavan, 2008; National Recreation and Park Association, 2012).

4.3. Implementing of pocket park designs

Mostly, over populated cities like Cairo city don't possess enough resources dedicated to establishing new
parks. The first challenge occurs is acquiring the land needed to develop the parks. Leftover spaces and other
urban eyesores owned by the city present opportunities for conversion to pocket parks. These are often
purchased and owned by cities, with the agreement that they will be run and maintained by a foundation or
other organization if the city is unable to maintain the park itself (National Recreation and Park Association,

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2012). Another alternative for developing additional pocket parks could be privately-owned public spaces,
spaces left over or created by public improvements or private development. Privately-owned public spaces are
developed as part of larger development projects. Some buildings and uses require special licenses. These
licenses can entail the developer to provide something in return for the exception from the local zoning code.
These exceptions can be in the form of providing a pocket park within the development projects (LeFlore,
2012). Another encounter facing municipalities is providing sufficient funding for the park. Despite of the fact
that funding pocket parks is a hurdle facing local governments, there are a variety of possible funding sources
such as (Harnik, 2008):
 Public-private ventures
 Individual contributions (private fund/philanthropic support)
 Grants
 Money from businesses
 Corporate sponsorships
 Impose dedicated taxes
It's vital to plan for, start-up, equipment costs, and also long-term funding concerning maintenance and
repairs in the future (LeFlore, 2012). Determining who is responsible for developing the pocket park and
maintaining it is vital. Either the municipality takes full responsibility, or a community group/private
landowner take over, by creating a committee with divided responsibilities in terms of planning for and
working on the project (Jarzen, 2014). The different maintenance plans can be discussed and negotiated by the
municipalities and interested parties. Depending totally on local municipalities in establishing and operating
pocket parks is not the ultimate choice. Community groups can play a profound role, either by cooperating
with local governments or taking full responsibility in creating and operating the park. In all cases, it is
essential to encompass: the community interest and needs; support and commitment; and certainly their
participation in the design and the maintenance process. The active investment facilitated by community
groups fosters a sense of ownership, which, in turn, creates a strong incentive for them to protect and preserve
their park. After securing the fund and the maintenance plan, work days should be scheduled, either multiple
work days, where people who cannot make one day can volunteer on another or one big day, where excitement
for both volunteer recruiting and for fundraising are concentrated. The last action is organizing an opening
celebration event, to possibly garner some outside (media) attention, as well as to involve as many people as
possible (Jarzen, 2014).

5. Case study: Rod El Farag district in Cairo city

5.1. Aim of the study

The study aims at examining the possibility of implementing the pocket park concept in the Egyptian context,
as it is not included in the open green spaces typology in Egypt.

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Table 1. Examples of creating pocket parks in the city (Sustainable Communities Resource Center, 2012; Town of
Erie, 2010; Greater London Authority, 2015)
Los Angeles Case Study Colorado case study London case study
Picture

8 parks in South Los Angeles and 1 The Town of Erie, Colorado 100 parks in 26 London boroughs.
in the San Fernando Valley
Location

4,000 to 8,000-square feet each, for a - -

total of 1.2 acres of green space.
Area

- A public meeting was held, 9 - Pocket Park Design Standards 40 community groups participated
locations were picked from 20 and the needs of the development
proposed sites (based on demographics of the
community

- Input on desired park amenities new residents and community

Local

(such as exercise equipment, needs and interests).

playgrounds, and benches), - Locals would manage park
programming and use
Foreclosed properties Under used/ forgotten areas/
Streets/
Selection

Developments enhancement
Site

Sitting areas, lawn areas, picnic Sitting areas, greenery Basketball

shelters and tables, play equipment, pitch, play equipment, table tennis,
Design

artwork, or other amenities picnic tables and performance

Park

platforms, and a dog run.

- Neighborhood Stabilization Developers of a subdivision will be Outer London Fund/ Regeneration
Program bought the land responsible for the design and Fund/ Transport for London’s
Funding and Implementation

- Construction work by the construction public realm improvement

Department of Recreation programs. Greater London
- Fund from Los Angeles Housing Authority
implimintation

Department and the city’s

Department of Recreation

Inexpensive to maintain. Use solar HOA or Metro District Engaging locals to physically
lighting and drought-tolerant participate in the creation and
Maintenance

landscaping. maintenance of pocket parks

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Area Selection on the High Populated Areas, Deprived from Green Areas
City Level
Availability of Spaces to be Converted

Location and Service Rang

Area and Shape

Planning Process

Selecting Parcels

Current Use

Land Ownership

Linking with Green Streets

Network and City
Pedestrian Paths
Facilities
Greenways

Determining the Space Availability

Park Type (Passive /
Local Community Needs and Surrounding Facilities
Design Process

Active)

Identifying Design Local Community Needs

Elements
Design Criteria and Standards

Short Term (Construction and Land Acquisition)

Funds
Long Term (Maintenance and Repairs)
Implementation Process

Time and task scheduling

Construction
Volunteers and other participating parties

Local committee from the residents

Maintenance and
Management Non- Governmental Organization participation

Local Authority supervision

Figure 1. Creating pocket parks process

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In order to achieve the study goal, the following parameters are investigated:
 The local community support for the idea
 Suitable locations for the pocket parks and their connection to the existing green network
 Proposed activities and facilities
 Funding/maintenance mechanisms and parties participating

5.2. Methodology

The study implemented different tools to gather data about the site, three tools are used, field survey,
observation and a questionnaire. The field survey is conducted by the researcher in February 2015, to record
the following data:
1- The physical environment of the spaces
2- Uses, amenities and facilitates.
3- Level of maintenance.
Observation is used to record activities within the spaces, including such things as playing, socializing or
loitering. The activities, location, and its duration were recorded in February 2015. Several observational
periods of 20-minute intervals occurred at various times throughout the day and night for 10 days. A closed
ended questionnaire was conducted to residents in the study area. They were also subjected to a face-to-face
semi interview, in order to apprehend their image about the current urban spaces, the value of pocket parks,
suggestions to enhance the spaces and finally their willingness to participate in creating the parks. Gender and
age are considered when choosing the interviewees to guarantee capturing all needs, a total of 25 residents
were interviewed.
Table 2. The demographic characteristics of Rod El Farag dwellers
(Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, 2006)

Demographics %
Gender Male 49.5
Female 50.5
Age Group Less Than10 Years 12. 1
From 10-15 7.5
From 16-45 43.4
From 45-60 21.4
More Than 60 15.6
Education Illiterate 19.9
Read and Write 29.7
Intermediate 26.3
High School 5.4
College Graduate Or Higher 18.7
Employment Unemployment rate 11.3
Occupation situation Permanent job 76.5
Occasional 12.9
Day by day 10.6

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5.3. Description of Rod El Farag district

Rod El Farag District, is one of the most populated and poor districts in Cairo city. Density reaches 74,000
inhabitants per square kilometer, the population number estimated in 2014 was 167,653 people; the total area
is 2.264 km² (Cairo Governorate, 2015). The district used to be agricultural lands, by time buildings expanded,
then it developed into an informal residential area. The district is supplied with main infrastructure
(electricity/ water supply/ sewage system) but it is deprived of other services and facilities especially open
green spaces. As for the resident demographics, it is found that, most families are extended (5-7 person/
family), some are single families (4 person/ family). Most of the residents are young, from 15-45 years old; the
area suffers from a low education level and a high unemployment rate. Residents are low income citizens,
mainly working as labor in factories, workshops, construction sites, drivers, and commercial activities, few
work as government employees. Regarding women in the area, they mostly work in cleaning houses or are
staying home mothers. Detailed characteristics are shown in Table 2.

6. The study area

The case study area is about 290,000 m2, it is the heart of the district, it hosts 21,400 inhabitants (with density
74,000/km2). The area stretches from Abo El Farag Street, which is to the east of the site. To the West is Abid
Street, a government residential area (Masaken Naser) and a water treatment station. The main avenue is to
the south called Gzeret Badran (Figure 3). The streets in the area are very narrow, straight, and extremely long.
The pattern of the district follows the old pattern of the water canals of the former agricultural land. There are
nearly no open spaces in the area; and ventilation and light are an issue. Most of the buildings are mixed use
(ground floors used for daily services as mini markets, cafes, or workshops). The majority of the building
conditions are poor, they are from 2-4 stories, except for new buildings which reach to 7 floors. Some services
are found such as mosques, schools, nurseries, a police station, and a local health care center. The nearest open
green spaces are Rod El Farag park and Rodet El Nile park adjacent to the Nile river.

Figure 2. Rod El Farag (left) and the case study location (right) in Cairo

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6.1. Spaces typology

There are several types of places which can be identified as potential spaces to be converted into pocket parks
in the area, as the following:

 Vehicular streets (4-5 m wide)

 Closed end streets (3 m wide)
 Fenced vacant private land
 Walkways
 Vacant small parcels

6.2. Activities and vehicular traffic

Most of the activities observed are not organized in any fashion with the exception of football tournaments.
The main streets and some inner spaces, mostly host the social interaction and stimulate local activities, while
the rest of the inner spaces are passive and no activities occur in them (Figure 3). Inner street activities include:

 Meet and socialize

 Football matches
 Play Billiard
 Car, cart parking
 Storage area
 Workshop extension
 Domestic chores extension
 Raising pets
 Informal play (with marbles, hopscotch)
Main street activities include:

 Coffee shops
 Food vendors
 Wedding celebrations
 Funeral Memorials
 Riding bicycles
 Loitering
 Grocer shop extension
 Fruit and vegetable vendors (on carts)
It is noted that main street activities are more public and commercial, benefiting from exposure, access and
spacious area.

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Figure 3. Activities in main streets and inner spaces

The vehicular traffic penetrates the area, interfering with pedestrian paths, which creates traffic safety
concerns, especially that children seems to be oblivious that a vehicle is approaching, as they do not respond
to car warnings. Another great hazard is the trucks coming to the wheat mills company in the area. Those
trucks obstruct the vehicular traffic totally and represent a threat to child safety.

6.3. Space characteristics

The hardscape materials are asphalt or interlocking pavers, no furniture as seats, shades, fountains, are found.
The spaces lack planting in all its forms (trees, lawn ground covers, etc.), some spaces are lighted either by pole
lights or by handing lights provided by the residents, but most of the spaces are totally dark in the evenings.
Some other privately owned furniture is recorded as, billiard tables, kids play equipment (ferris wheel) which
are rented to children on the site. Wreckage and debris items (private ownership) are stored next to the
owner's building. Moreover, narrow spaces are used to park cars, carriages and carts, but this was recorded in
few spaces, as most of the residents do not own private cars (Figure 4).

6.4. Users characteristics

The most engaged demographic in outdoor recreation and leisure activities on the site, are those in the under
12 years old age category, followed by teens and then adults. Teens and adults are present primarily during
the evening, sitting in traditional coffee shops watching football matches and playing Backgammon.
Another notable observation is seen in the gender distribution, that there are more boy users than girls.
Teenage girls usually stroll in the area, on the other hand, the male users generally play longer, more often and
in larger groups than their female counterparts. Women socialize in 2-3 person group in the inner spaces,
mostly while performing domestic duties. Most of the groups are typically formed within a similar age group,
however, several times groups of young teens were observed playing with or alongside much younger children,
especially after school time.

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Figure 4. Open spaces and vacant land in the case study

7. Results

7.1. Local support for pocket parks

To investigate the dwellers' perception towards their environment, their desire to add pocket parks, and their
willingness to participate in the improving process, a questionnaire and an interview were conducted. The
results are:
1- Residents expressed their dissatisfaction regarding the current condition of the spaces in the area, as
88% believe that these spaces could be developed to serve efficiently the local community.
2- Residents (especially women with small children) argued that they would actually enjoy pocket parks
slightly more than large urban parks due to accessibility, free entrance and freedom originated by less
management. They admitted that developing current spaces would be very valuable since they could
provide recreational and social refuge for the neighborhood. When asked about transforming streets
to parks, the only concern was expressed by car owners, those how demanded having their cars parked
near their homes to keep an eye on it, to prevent theft or vandalism.

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3- Concerning the problems in the current spaces, interviewee stated that securing little children is the
first priory, they explained safety hazards in the neighborhood, for example; traffic intersecting with
pedestrian movement and construction remains piled in the main streets. Moreover, they stated that
there are no facilities in these urban spaces (especially kid's playground). The small area, minimum
sunlight, no planting and poor lighting were also mentioned.
4- Separating vehicular traffic from pedestrian areas, providing seats, playing area for kids, area to store
and raise pets, trees, lights at night are the common recommendations (Figure 5).

Figure 5. local residents' evaluations of the current spaces and their recommendations

7.2. Site selection

In high populated districts as Rod El Farag, it is hard to implement international standards regarding the
number of residents served by a park. Therefore, a park in the area would serve 2000-2500 person. Based on
the population size 21,400 person, 8-10 parks are needed to serve the case study area. Vacant plots are
evaluated to select suitable spaces to be transformed into pocket parks. The priority was for parcels that: are
easy to access, large in area, already host activity, public ownership and finally offer reasonable walking
distances (Figure 6).

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Figure 6. Analysis of the spaces in case study

7.3. Linking the proposed pocket parks

The case study suffers from an ambiguous circulation system; where pedestrian movement mingles with
vehicle traffic, therefore a new circulation system is recommended. The proposed circulation strives to
enhance transportation and safety, firstly through identifying vehicular streets. Traffic flow and street width
are used to select the streets that would serve vehicles (less than 6 m right of way is considered inadequate).
Consequently, some of the narrow streets were transformed to pedestrian paths and some served as parking
lots. The pedestrian paths were designed to accommodate a lane for bikers and allow ambulance and police
cars to serve the area in case of emergencies.
The proposed sites for the new pocket parks were linked to the surrounding residential area with paths
and/or streets to emphasis accessibility. Walking distance ranged from 150 to200 m. Additionally, the park
sites were connected with adjacent recreational and cultural activities such as Rod El Farag Park, youth center,
and the Nile waterfront in order to achieve a coherent open green space network.

7.4. Pocket park types and activities

Three types of pocket parks were proposed: active parks, passive parks, and bonus parks as shown in Figure
7 and Table 3.

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 One active parks hosting kid's area, planting, seating area and informal playing zone, vendors,
renting billiard tables.
 Four passive parks, including, seating area and multi-function spaces to be used in celebrations.
 Three bonus parks to serve users in/outside the area, the parks are located near the main streets
and host coffee shops, vendors, retailers.
 Pedestrian paths to be used for walking and biking.
Other additional recommendations
 Relocating the North Cairo Flour Mills Company and reusing the land to provide services and open
green spaces needed in the neighborhood.
Private owned land (car repair shops/ vacant) to be used to provide serves needed in the neighborhood
and open green spaces, after resolving acquisition problems.

Figure 7. Proposed pocket parks’ locations

7.5. Pocket park implementation

There are two types of land tenure in the area, the first are privately owned parcels. Theses parcels include
streets and vacant lands. Transforming the streets to pedestrian paths and pocket parks would not be a
problem, as it is approved by the owners due to the enhancement of the inner spaces in the neighborhood. On
the other hand, reusing fenced vacant lands preserved for investment and not utilized is challenging. To utilize

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such parcels, an agreement must be held between the local government and the owners, for instance,
expropriating the land for the public benefit while offering suitable compensation. The second land tenure is
parcels owned by the government, which can be reused to fulfill the need of green spaces and other services.
Therefore, the study recommends transforming the deserted small leftovers, closed ended streets and public
owned parcels as a first priority. As for the local participation, 54% of the interviewee believe that the
government should be responsible for creating pocket parks in the neighborhood. Low income residents stated
that they are not willing to pay. Nevertheless, 23% pointed out that they are willing to participate in the
maintenance process and 17% pointed out that they and other residents would be interested in locating their
activities (vendors/renting play equipment) in the parks to benefit from locals gathering.
As a result, the funding needed for the construction phase would be the responsibility of the local
government, with exploring the possibility of NOGs participation. The local community can participate in the
maintenance process under the supervision of local authorities; one way is collecting fees from local
businesses featuring their services in the pocket parks (vendors, children's play equipment).

Table 3. Proposed pocket park characteristics

Accessibility Recommended
Area m2

Exposur
No. map

Current

/activit

Design elements
Pock
park
type

use

 Sitting area
y

Passive 1 298 Pedestrian Street/ young

2 186 paths people Loitering  Multi play area
Medium

3 223 Domestic chores  Planning bed

4 401  Lighting/trash bins
Active 5 2600 Secondary Streets/  Playgrounds with
streets and Kids playing playing equipment
pedestrian football  Sitting area
paths Billiard tables  Shrubs, Trees
 Raised planters
 Kiosks
Good

 Football court
 Ceremony space
 Recreational zone
(billiard, ping pong)
 Lighting/trash bins
Bonus 6 540 Main streets Vendors, shop  Sitting area
7 347 extension  Vendor's kiosk
8 394 Or fenced land  Shade trees
High

 Lighting/trash bins

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Figure 8. Residents' willingness to participate in creating and maintaining pocket parks

8. Discussion

This paper reports the results of an empirical study conducted in an informal, highly dense neighborhood in
Cairo city. The aim of the study is to test the possibility of creating pocket parks with limited space and
resources in the neighborhood. The study suggested converting selected streets and neglected spaces to pocket
parks by redesigning those spaces and connecting them with pedestrian paths and vehicular traffic network.
The research concluded that there is a need for a smaller park system in high density areas that
accommodates accessible and well-connected parks not only to each other, but also to a broader green network.
Such small parks are to meet the recreational and the social needs of the local urban residents, especially the
seniors' needs and the needs associated with early childhood development.
Further, the observation and questionnaire carried on in the study indicated that providing safe, flexible
designs; places to socialize; natural surveillance for kids and cars; and accommodating different dynamic
activities, especially celebrations and kids playing areas are the main design criteria for pocket parks in the
Egyptian context. Moreover, it is found that land acquisition and providing sufficient fund are the main hurdles
facing the expansion of pocket park in Cairo city; both problems could be conquered through the cooperation
between the local government, non-governmental organizations and local citizens.
At the end, pocket parks have great potentials that not yet fully optimized by local governments. It is hopeful
that more attention is drawn towards embracing them in improving the city open space holdings, and thus
increasing the opportunity of a better quality of life for its dwellers.

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