New strategy of upgrading slum areas in developing countries using vernacular trends to achieve a sustainable housing development

AbstractVernacular architecture is surely a contradiction in terms. The vernacular is the unconscious work of craftsmen based on knowledge accumulated over generations the very opposite of architecture, which involves a premeditated design process with a conscious appeal to the intellect. Yet, the term is convenient shorthand to describe an approach that adopts the spirit of the vernacular; if not its actual forms it is not intended to indicate a new style. In fact, many of the architects featured here reject the concept of style. Instead, describe their intention to reflect by analogous inspiration the characteristics of local buildings, their scale in particular, whether they have chosen to concentrate on the use of materials, the landscape, the local culture or even no more than the idea of continuity with the past. According to what is seen nowadays in Egypt from increasing in the random self-built areas (slums areas), which is one of the main issues facing the development in developing countries, studies are trying to find out a way to help instead of depending on our governments all the time. And this paper will try to investigate the minimum parameters that are required to create vernacular urban spaces through proposing a new strategy for the slums upgrading projects by finding the similarities between vernacular urbanism and slums. By this way we could help the governments (especially in the third world countries) to find out a way to solve their housing problems through the rapid increase in population growth, without facing the troubles of the informal areas and slums phenomena and to achieve sustainable housing development depending on the concept of self-built enviormen