Res publica and Public Space: Spatializing the Uprisings in Cairo

Journal title STORIA URBANA
Author/s Elena Piffero
Publishing Year 2013 Issue 2013/139 Language Italian
Pages 31 P. 15-45 File size 2185 KB
DOI 10.3280/SU2013-139002
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Midan Tahrir (meaning "Liberation Square" in Arabic) has been traditionally the favourite stage for political demonstrations; during the "Egyptian Spring" it became the symbol of the liberation struggle against the thirty year-long regime of Hosni Mubarak. The demonstrations of 2011 were referred to as the Digital Revolution, but they also represented a very spatialized protest. Not only the demonstrators were able to benefit from the scenographic potential offered by Midan Tahrir but, through the occupation of the square, they showed their will to regain a political protagonism through the re-appropriation of public space. Occupying a central space in order to claim a central political role and a real urban citizenship against policies that for decades have denied to the majority of Cairenes their "right to the city".

Keywords: Egypt Informal Settlements Housing Policy Spatialization

Elena Piffero, Res Publica e spazio pubblico: spazializzare la rivolta al Cairo in "STORIA URBANA " 139/2013, pp 15-45, DOI: 10.3280/SU2013-139002