This paper investigates the relationship between inhabitants’ happiness and the right to the city in the status quo of Egyptian neighborhoods. Although services are easily accessible, by ten-minute walks in a suitable ambience, happiness is not achieved. The research aims to, first, review the literature that provides a guideline for ten-minute neighborhoods. Second, this study conducts a comparative content analysis of recent online articles on the right to the city. Third, the study tests findings from Egyptian neighborhood settings. The idea of a ten-minute neighborhood is manageable. The hypothesis concerns a compliant design. It is a logical assumption that people who live within ten minutes walking distance of essential facilities in their area can minimize several problems and maximize a healthy lifestyle. The supposed issue causes the right to the city to affect the relationship between ten-minute neighborhoods and citizens’ happiness. This assumption can be established through site observation and oriented questionnaires. This paper contributes by presenting new planning units that suit the current context of the old cities in the Middle East and North Africa region, based on walking distances of ten minutes or less with reference to the right to the city. This planning unit can result in citizens’ happiness.


Keywords:
Happiness; Ten-minute Neighborhood; Urban Design; Well-being

Elshater, Abeer. "The Ten-Minute Neighbourhood Is [not] a Basic Planning Unit for Happiness in Egypt," in International Journal of Architectural Research: ArchNet-IJAR [Online], Volume 10 Number 1.

Abeen Mohamed Elshater