Omar Nagati/ CLUSTER: A Coup or a New Revolution? Competing narratives inscribed on Cairo’s urban landscape

Thursday, 12 December 2013, Panel I: Claims and Agency, 10.30-12.45 @ Warehouse

Since January 2011, Cairo’s streets and squares have been the site of emerging initiatives and new modes of urban practices. Empowered citizens took advantage of the fluid political condition and a relative absence of enforcement agencies, challenging an already vulnerable state and increasing their claims to the city and public space.With the ousting of the elected president last summer and the gradual return of state institutions, Cairo has been witnessing a spiral of violence and counter violence, often followed by a period of relative calm and damage reparation. Streets are repaved, traffic signs fixed, burnt buildings reconstructed, graffiti painted over, and ‘beautification projects’ implemented.  Such restoration often primes the canvas for yet another cycle of violence and vandalism, within a broader context of competing narratives over the city and the public space.This paper presents examples of the above claims as inscribed on the rapidly shifting urban landscape of Cairo. It reflects on the attempts by both narratives to reconstitute the meaning of the city and public space during the current pivotal moment.

 

Omar Nagati is co-founder of CLUSTER, a platform for urban research and design initiatives in Cairo. He adopts an interdisciplinary approach to questions of urban history and design, and engages in a comparative analysis of urbanisation processes in developing countries.

Das könnte dich auch interessieren …

Suche in OpenEdition Search

Sie werden weitergeleitet zur OpenEdition Search