The Role of Human Needs in Urban Renewal and Development of Urban Spaces for City Centers

Abstract

Urban space is a complex and multifunctional mechanism that people move like cogwheels. When the movement slows, mechanism stops and places become abandoned and dead. Public space is the vital part in this mechanism, including everything that surrounds us: paths that we pass everyday on the way to work or school, parks that we use for leisure and interaction with nature, squares and other meeting points where we gather to socialize, as well as quiet places to seclude from the rush. All of these elements are very important in daily urban life. I believe the quality of urban life is very closely connected to the presence and quality of public space, where people feel the bond with the city and its people. In other words, it is like an ancient Greek Agora. Human needs are regarded as one of the most important factors that governs the designing of urban spaces, especially in city centers, in order to fulfill the immediate needs of the inhabitants of such spaces, such as security and safety, visual comfort, thermal comfort, etc. However, the attention dedicated to human needs in the designing of urban spaces is quite limited in relation to the other design aspects, despite their great importance in creating a successful urban space. In this regard, this paper conducts a study of city centers and the stages of their historical development over the ages, indicating the causes that led to these developments. Subsequently, the paper conductus a thorough investigation of urban spaces in terms of their definition, importance, classification, components, and characteristics, in order to deduce the conditions governing the success of these spaces. Afterwards, the paper investigates the behavior and needs of individuals and inhabitants within such urban spaces. Finally, the paper concludes the mutual relationship between the components of the urban space and the fulfillment of the needs of the inhabitants of such urban spaces in city centers. The paper also determines the extent to which urban spaces impact on the behavior of individuals and inhabitants. And then applying that study to the center of Abu Dhabi city, as it is one of the best Arab cities that cares about the human needs of users and applying it to Egyptian cities in future research.

Keywords

• city centers
• urban spaces
• human behavior
• human needs