The Urban Grid and its Consequences Assiut

urban grid; co-existent; obstacles One of the most potent concepts recently to have emerged within the repertoire of space syntax is that of generic function. While urban space clearly derives its intelligibility and functionality in part from characteristics that are local and specific, the key properties that shape the urban complex are primarily generic: patterns of occupation and occupancy are rooted in shared fields of possibility. In the present study axial mapping is used to examine the spatial structure of the city of Assiut on the west bank of the Nile south of Cairo (GOPP 2000). Assiut can be traced back to 4000 B.C., but the modern city dates largely from 1800 A.D. Consisting of 14 distinct districts, the extant city exhibits a range of morphological types: from the deformed grid commonly associated with uncontrolled 'organic ' growth to strictly orthogonal layouts. Many have been subject to growth and change over time. Assuit is seen to have widespread problems, most notably in the perpetuation of conflicting spatial patterns in various parts of the city. High levels of congestion remain seemingly unabated and in some cases by recent interventions, such as canals and railways. Axial analysis has been undertaken of the city as a whole at different phases