Environmental design and the local community: A theoretical framework tested through two case studies in Cairo, Egypt

This dissertation presents a much needed theoretical framework for the study of the potential impact of environmental design on the residentially based local community. Through an assessment of the current state of the literature, the major problems impeding the progress of this area of research are first identified. The proposed framework is then specifically formulated to address these problems.; Thus, in an attempt to remedy the current fragmentation of the literature and resolve conceptual disagreements, the framework is intended to be integrative of the major theoretical and disciplinary approaches to the study of the local community. It is also intended to be cross-culturally valid. It relies on an explicit conceptualization of local community that proposes to integrate the different models of local community which dominate the ongoing debate about its nature as a socio-spatial entity. This conceptualization is not based on a normative, idealized notion of local community. Rather, it acknowledges that the specific nature of a local community is a product of its socio-cultural context. To unify the sociological and psychological approaches to the study of the local community, the framework also proposes explicit conceptual linkages between the construct of psychological sense of community, as defined in the community psychology literature, and the specific characteristics of the referent local community with which it is associated. In addition, the framework identifies and clarifies two mechanisms through which characteristics of the built environment may affect the local community and the sense of community of its members: the instrumental and symbolic roles of the built environment.; An analysis of existing theoretical perspectives and previous research studies was conducted to test the framework, refine it, and identify its limitations. This analysis provided support for the conceptual validity, cross-cultural validity, and integrative power of the framework. The conceptual and cross-cultural validity of the framework as well as its usefulness for the study of the potential impact of environmental design on the local community were also tested through two empirical case studies conducted in Cairo, Egypt, in two distinct socio-cultural contexts and relying on behavioral observations and formal and informal interviews with residents. Because the analysis of previous research relied on studies dealing predominantly with the North American context, the choice of Cairo, Egypt as a location for the case studies permitted to provide more convincing support for the cross-cultural validity of the framework.; In its conclusion, the dissertation reviews the strengths and limitations of the proposed framework and discusses its implications for future theoretical developments, research, and design applications.