Parks’ sustainability as a method to revive historical parks in Egypt

Development of historical parks throughout the ages

Ancient Egypt's gardens started as simple fruit orchards and vegetable gardens. They appeared in Egypt just before the Middle Empire (2035–1668). As the nation became wealthier, they gradually became leisure gardens with flowers, ponds, and valleys of fruit and shade trees. Gardens were a common feature of temples, palaces, and private homes, and replicas of gardens were occasionally buried with their owners so they may enjoy them in the afterlife. The gardens' primary function is to adorn the temples; they have a regular geometric pattern and are centered on straight lines. On the axis is a fountain, and among them shrubs that are constantly sprayed consisting of jasmine and daffodils. Rows of sycamore and fig trees surround the fountain, followed by palm trees. A regular distribution of deity statues is made, and a wall surrounds the garden's exterior.^8,9 Ashourian and Babylonian Gardens were first created in the Fertile Crescent, where they were regarded as a paradise with the only purpose of enjoyment, rather than food production. As a result, the concept spread throughout the ancient Mediterranean, and by the Hellenistic era, people had cared for their private gardens inside their homes. Gardens were not just about flowers and plants; they also had architectural, sculptural, and aquatic aspects, and ancient landscape gardeners took the surrounding views into account. Therefore, Mesopotamia in the distant past and, especially the spectacular Hanging Gardens of Babylon, are responsible for creating these outdoor relaxing areas. Ashourian and Babylonian Gardens have a typical geometrical style whose primary purpose is to decorate the palaces of princes. The nature of the mountainous country influenced the formation of the gardens, and they were built on the level of the terraced terraces. The king's palace was occupied by the highest position, where he oversaw the entire garden. Below the terraces, streams flow from the water and are distributed around trees, such as walnut, pomegranate, and cedar trees.¹⁰

Persian gardens may have originated as early as 4,000 BC. Their airy and delicate characteristics highlighted their natural opposition to the adverse surroundings. In addition to walls and pavilions that are structurally conspicuous in hiding the sun, trees and trellises play a significant role in providing natural shade. Water is crucial to the design and upkeep of the garden because of the heat. Water from a nearby aquifer is transported via a tunnel known as a qanat to facilitate irrigation, which may be necessary. The qanat is then connected to well-like constructions, allowing for water drawing. The Persian architectural style frequently tries to unite the indoors and outdoors by linking an exterior garden with an inside courtyard. Architects frequently insert architectural features, like vaulted arches, to bridge the gap between the external and internal spaces. Persian Gardens have a regular geometric pattern; they created water parks, wall gardens, and sunken gardens. The area of the garden is square or rectangular, divided by two perpendicular roads into four parts. The pond is found at the junction of the roads, and highly decorated walls surround the garden. The trees are carved on the carpets in different shapes.^11–13 The Roman civilization has led to highly developed ornamental horticulture and gardens, which flourished between 150 BC and 350 AD. Roman Gardens have a regular geometric pattern. The gardens of the public parks began to appear after they had been limited to temples and palaces only. Monumental fountains and sculptured statues were found. Plants were cultivated in pottery vessels for ease of movement. The space around Roman houses was dedicated to the garden as well as painted walls with paint suited with the garden components.¹⁴ The Italian Renaissance Garden is a new type of garden that first appeared in the late 15th-century villas in Rome and Florence. It was designed with the garden views and the surrounding landscape in mind and for contemplating its sights, sounds, and scents. Its inspiration came from classical ideals of order and beauty. Italian Gardens became enormous and more symmetrical, with many statues and water elements. The spread of engineering works related to water, especially in highly steep areas, as well as rare bird cages, spread in the Gardens of the Kings.¹⁵

In the classic, 18th century, Early English Garden, a new landscape garden appeared in England and quickly spread over the continent. It was an ideological representation of nature in an English garden. It is believed that this primitive English garden included symmetrical gravel walkways, carefully-planted short hedges, a park-like open lawn space, and a small kitchen garden with herbs and vegetables. The gardens have a natural style. Lakes take their natural shape, and bridges are built on them with overlapping trees. This garden is considered a painted artboard.¹⁶ Japanese Gardens are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas. This is carried out by avoiding artificial ornamentation and highlighting the natural landscape. Japanese garden designers frequently employ plants and weathered, aged objects to evoke a natural scene and convey the frailty of life and the unrelenting march of time. Previous garden designers were inspired by ancient Japanese art. Many gardens require rocks and gravel as well as water. Although there are many beautiful Japanese flowering plants, herbaceous flowers typically play a much smaller role in Japanese gardens than they do in Western gardens. However, seasonally-flowering shrubs and trees-flowering shrubs and trees are crucial and contrast with the usual predominant green, which make these gardens all the more dramatic. In Japan, evergreen plants are known as “the bones of the garden”.^17,18

Laws and charters

The Venice charter, 1964 was the first document drafted internationally to clarify the principles of preserving historical sites. Its most important aspect is developing the concept of a ‘historical monument’ limited to a single architectural work to include all historical areas that reflect a specific historical event and the restoration definition. The document’s purpose is to avoid distracting historical works and complete the work of exploration, and make an accurate documentation of all the preservation steps.¹⁹ Florence Charter, the first charter published in 1982 by the International ICOMOS-IFLA, refers specifically to historic gardens and their preservation, and refers to them as “living monuments”. More specifically, according to the Florence Charter, a historic garden is a historically or artistically significant architectural and horticultural combination, and the word ‘historic garden’ applies to tiny gardens and large parks, whether formal or landscape.²⁰ The historical gardens' current use incorporates the materialized aesthetic, ecological, and social qualities of the past.²¹ Before conservation, studies must include plans and all kinds of different plants. All sculptures should not move from place to place, and priority should be given to restoration work after public use. Once saved, they should be followed up and maintained, and awareness of the importance of historic gardens should be made.^20,22 The Charter of New Zealand 1992 emphasizes the purpose of preservation; i.e., taking care of places of historical value and identifying conservation and maintenance methods.²³ Conference of Athens 1993 makes aesthetic changes to ancient gardens and advises preserving old buildings using modern methods without change.²⁴

Reasons for urban parks' deterioration in Egypt

There are five main reasons for the deterioration of parks in Egypt: planning, social, legal, environmental and economic reasons. Many parks have disappeared due to urban encroachment and population explosion, such as Ibrahim Pasha Park on Al-Rawdah Island. This park consisted of two independent sections, one planned in the English style of free layout and the other in the French style with geometric coordination. These reasons are a lack of full planning on all the city's territory and planning thought towards centralization in providing services and dealing with green areas as little spaces. Social reasons include the absence of a sense of beauty and the prevalence of illiteracy in the people's behavior in their dealings with the parks, the unawareness of the responsible authorities, and the lack of educational curricula on how to preserve plants. The legal reasons are concerned with the articles of the law which are limited to interest in archaeological elements and installations without reference to historical parks and their inclusion in protection and restoration works. Environmental reasons include a lack of interest in plants, which led to the disappearance of rare trees imported from their original countries. Finally, the economic reasons have to do with not allocating a reasonable budget for the maintenance of parks. In addition, their presence in the city center made people greedy to exploit them to make money.^25,26

Sustainable parks requirements

Parks offer a variety of environmental, social, and economic advantages, which significantly contribute to sustainable city plans and provide a more comfortable setting for the environment than the parks surroundings. Cooler ambient temperatures may aid in reducing pollutant emissions since ambient temperatures are typically linked to pollutant emissions. Parks that mimic forest conditions can potentially improve carbon storage over time as the net quantity of carbon can accumulate in the soil along with the carbon stored in trees. Also, parks help manage storm water, focusing on higher water runoff rates in green urban areas than in other urban land uses. Parks can significantly reduce environmental health concerns associated with urban life and noise levels.^27–30 Parks positively impact physical and mental health as social advantages. They promote and improve physical activity, lessen stress, anxiety and depression, and enhance self-respect, cognitive abilities and constructive social behaviors.^31–37 Parks are regarded as an essential component of community growth, rather than merely a place for leisure and relaxation. People from different social and racial backgrounds may be able to connect and interact in an urban park setting.^38,39

Additionally, parks are a teaching tool. Environmental education improves citizens' perceptions, knowledge and behavior to build resilient environments and communities. Urban parks are great places to get hands-on education. By fostering a child's connection to nature through nature-based techniques, future generations will be encouraged and inspired, having gained knowledge and skills through environmental conservation activities. Parks provide a city with economic advantages by enhancing its appeal and making it a popular tourist destination, which generates income and jobs. Urban parks also boost tax income and increase the value of nearby real estate developments.^40,41 One of the best methods for resolving environmental issues in metropolitan areas is the sustainable design of parks. Sustainable Park design is the long-term upkeep of diverse ecosystems to ensure that they continue to play various roles in the future. In practice, this should entail adapting to local conditions, utilizing natural processes, continuing park monitoring, and knowledge of recreation management.⁴²

Several strategies may be followed for planning a sustainable public park. Social sustainability is essential for community engagement and shared social activity. All people's basic requirements must be satisfied for a community to have a high quality of life and be sustainable. A socially-viable community must be able to construct and maintain park facilities that cater to locals of all ages, abilities and socio-economic backgrounds. Practices for social sustainability involve reaching out to the community's needs, including those of marginalized communities. All community members should be involved in sustainability, not only those who can afford to pay for their own needs.^43–46 When discussing economic sustainability in the parks and recreation sector, less emphasis should be placed on deficits, the national debt, and debt-to-gross domestic product (DPG) ratios. Instead, this pillar should be primarily about ensuring a government agency's ability to continue carrying out its public functions while maintaining public assets. Government expenditure and its effects as a whole, including that of the private sector and the local community, are essential factors in economic sustainability. Governmental organizations' public purposes include generating positive value, reducing some adverse effects, and avoiding all adverse effects that are wholly intolerable. Keeping parks and recreation organizations financially-viable prevents unacceptably bad outcomes and ensures the continuation of the agency's public purposes.^47,48 Environmental sustainability encourages the ethical and practical use of resources to benefit communities on the long run. It requires slowing down the extraction of renewable resources, pollution, and non-renewable resource depletion to a sustainable level over the long term. A sustainable park should work with the ecosystem and its processes rather than on its own. Communities that surround and depend on these ecosystems gain immediate advantages from healthy ecosystems. Examples include creating clean water, fresh air, groundwater recharge, food, and view sheds.^49–51

Sustainable system to measure sustainable parks according to OPRD

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) is a prominent proponent of environment-friendly parks. The main objectives of sustainable parks are to encourage environment-friendly behavior, extend the useful lives of park structures and infrastructure, and improve the surrounding environment. According to OPRD, Table 1 lists the sustainable (social, economic, and environmental) strategies employed in parks, recreation centers, and open spaces.⁵²

Analytical studies

Park examples are selected based on the following criteria to ensure fair comparison and accurate results for the proposal of strategic framework. 1) Geographical location of parks: all the parks are located in the city center and all of them should be located near the city center. 2) Cultural characteristics: the parks have to be categorized as historical parks. 3) Institutional approach: as all selected parks share the same strategy as they all rely on the public use.

Central Park – New York City, USA

For more than 150 years, Central Park has been the centerpiece of New York City. It is one of America's most important works of art, built between 1858 and 1873. The park is located in Manhattan, in the New York state. Its area is 341ha [843 acres], bounded by Fifth Avenue on the east, 59th Street on the south, and 110th Street on the north. There are 20 gates, and 18 have the same original design. In addition, there are 36 bridges and arches with rural characters. The most famous bridge is the Bow Bridge which crosses over the central park's lake and is linked between the Ramble and Cherry Hill. Cherry Hill is the third-highest area in the park. The Shakespeare Garden was named to recognize the memory of the prominent playwright passing, and includes all kinds of plants mentioned in his writings.^53,54

From 1858 to 1960, the park faced massive deterioration throughout the century. In 1934, Robert Moss was repairing bridges and collecting donations from people, but he resigned from his job as an official. After that, the park deteriorated again. In 1980, Central Park Conservatory was established to attract volunteers. The Conservatory have developed documents for restoring archaeological sites and replanting tree areas.^54,55

In Table 2, the Central Park Conservation Authority's most significant achievements are reviewed since the Authority has been established till present to preserve its original image on the one hand and improve and develop it on the other hand. The restoration and preservation plan were based on the main objective of the modern field lift for each of the park's topography while studying security aspects and users' needs. Those achievements can be divided into the three pillars of sustainability: social, economic, and environmental.^53,56

There were many sources of funding for the restoration and maintenance of the park. These sources were divided into Government funding by the New York City and Manhattan Park Office, and Individual funding by Alexander Papa Markus who donated half a million dollars to repair the water basin. Also, through the Uris Brothers Foundation, private companies donated $10 million to develop and renovate service centers and $2.5 million to restore the water reservoir's landscape. Mark Haas Foundation donated materially to replace the old irrigation system in the Sheep Meadow.^54,57

Handsworth Park – Birmingham, England

Handsworth Park was founded in June 1888 by the Handsworth Local Sanitary Board—a body instituted by the government. At that time, the park was less than half its current size. The site is crossed from north to south by the SoHo, Handsworth, and Perry Barr railways. Its area is 25 ha [63 acres]. The site is crossed from north to south by the So-Ho, Handsworth and Perry Barr railways. It lies 15 minutes by bus from the center of Birmingham.^58,59

In the 1940s, the park suffered from the war, as many gates and metal railings were removed. The number of visitors and employees decreased due to the decrease in financial support. In the late 1980s, the park became poor because of the spread of criminal acts and a lack of management. No security system was installed on the gates, so the park became derelict. From the 1980s until now, a group of volunteers called ‘Friends of Handsworth Park’ has improved Handsworth Park. The group’s main goals are preserving the park in favor of the community, raising continuous awareness of the park uses, and the restoration of its historic character.^58,60

The end of a protracted period of neglect of numerous parks was formally marked when Birmingham City Council released its Parks Strategy paper. The strategy guarantees that a network of high-quality parks and other green spaces are provided for Birmingham's residents and tourists. The paper states at the beginning of a lengthy list of objectives.⁶¹ The overall social, economic, and environmental quality of urban park regeneration and the allure of neighborhoods influenced by high-quality open space (see Table 3). The redevelopment of parks and open spaces, both new and renovated, has proven to be a particularly effective strategy for revitalizing inner cities. The City Council created park regeneration schemes and funding packages capable of achieving broader urban regeneration goals and objectives regarding environmental improvement, community safety, community use/involvement, and education. The City Council strives to ensure that parks are integral to social re-generation strategies.⁶² There have been many sources of funding for the restoration and maintenance of the park. These sources are divided into government funding through The Birmingham Park Office, individual funding through collecting donations from the local population, and private funding of about 9.5 million for park restoration led by Consultant Mike Sharpe.^62,63

Xochimilco Ecological Park – Mexico

Strong examples of the ambition and complexity of modern landscape design may be found in Mexico City's Xochimilco Ecological Park and the larger landscape it is a part of. The park has won multiple urban design and park planning accolades, including the 1994 ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) Merit Award, the Veronica Green Prize in Urban Design, and the Waterfront Center Design Award, among others. Proponents of ecological parks mention it as a tangible model from which to learn. That is not to assume that everyone agrees on the park's natural biological significance. Others, however, contend that the intended purpose is more important than the actual state of the natural environment. Xochimilco is nearly about 12,700 hectares [31,382 acres]; 7,900 hectares [19,521 acres] of them are dedicated to agriculture and forest land, 1200 hectares [2965 acres] are full of canals and lagoons, and 3,600 hectares [8,895 acres] are urbanized.⁶⁴

The Xochimilco Ecological Park contains the largest plant market in Latin America, totalling 13 hectares (32 acres). The park and market are located in the southern Mexico City neighborhood of Xochimilco, about 23 km south of the city's historic center. Mario Schjetnan created the park, debuting in 1993 on artificial lake islands known as ‘chinampas’ that were formerly listed as a part of a World Heritage Site.⁶⁵

The parkland had been owned privately until 1988. After that, however, the region suffered severe degradation, with lakes and canals drying up and the remaining water becoming salinized and polluted, making farming impossible. The Buenaventura River, which brought contaminated water from other rivers in the city's south, was the primary source of the contamination. As a result, these chinampa farmers could no longer cultivate any food plants on their farms by the 1980s.⁶⁵

The local and federal governments created the Xochimilco Park Rescue Plan with the park as its focal point to rescue Mexico City's last chinampas. The project's objective was to recreate the Chinampa ecosystem in the manner it existed under the Aztec Empire to conserve it. The area was refilled with purified water to revitalize and create most surface water today. Biologists and botanists brought in local greenery. Much of the sanitary waste from the earthquake in 1985 and soils excavated from the Metro's construction were brought in to replenish the soils.⁶⁵

In 1993, the park finally welcomed visitors after five years of construction. It already had 240,000 trees and 500,000 different types of plants over 210 hectares eight years after it had been founded. However, the proprietors of the chinampa battled the land's expropriation for many years after it had happened. Eight years after it first opened, in 2001, the park saw its worst period. Despite significant investments and attempts at restoration, there were still significant contamination issues, and the courts returned several ejido areas that had been taken over in the 1980s. Numerous neighborhood organizations criticized the project as a failure due to the setback, and demanded that former Mexico City Mayor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, launch an investigation. Table 4 shows the urban park regeneration's overall social, economic, and environmental quality.^64,65

Antoniadis Park – Alexandria, Egypt

Alexandria’s site on the Mediterranean Sea has made it the home of civilizations. It was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC and was planned by the architect Democrats. After Alexander's death, the city was divided into neighborhoods. Alexandria was known for its historical parks, such as Antoniadis Park, Al Shallalat Gardens, and Zoological Gardens, which suffer from extreme neglect.⁶⁶ There are three main parks in Alexandria (see Figure 1). The exported Figure from Google Earth Pro (OpenStreetMap is a free alternative) to draw Alexandria parks’ Map by editing with Adobe Photoshop (GIMP and Krita are free alternatives).

Figure 1. The parks' map of Alexandria.

This figure is from Google Earth Pro with the authors’ edits.

The specific choice of Antoniadis Park is made because it is one of the most important parks in Alexandria, founded in the Ptolemaic era of 300 BC. In the 19th century, it was known as the Pasteur Gardens and was owned by a wealthy individual. Then, Muhammad Ali Pasha owned it and built the palace. In 1860, he became King of Antoniadis and asked the French artist Paul Richard to set up a garden as a miniature model of the Versailles Gardens in Paris. In 1918, after his death, his son dedicated this garden to the city of Alexandria, carrying out his father's commandment. The park experienced important events. In 1936, when the Evacuation Agreement was signed, a tree was planted at the palace entrance to commemorate this anniversary. The palace witnessed the preparatory meeting to establish the League of Arab States in 1944. The park's palace hosted kings from various countries, including the King of Albania and his wife. It hosted the daughter of King Fouad I and her husband (Emperor Mohammad Reda) for months.^67,68 The park is located in the southern part of Alexandria, bordered by the south and east Shuhada Street, the north of Albert I Street, and the northwest of Mustafa Kamel Street. Its area is 45 acres and there are five gardens.⁶⁸ Figure 2 shows the relationship between Antoniadis and the surrounding areas. Figure 3 shows the site zoning of Antoniadis Park. Figure 4 shows the components of Antoniadis Park. The three exported Figures from Google Earth Pro to draw the Antoniadis Park Map by editing with Adobe Photoshop.

Figure 2. The map of the Nouzha complex.

This figure is from Google Earth Pro with the authors’ edits.

Figure 3. The site zoning of Antoniadis Park.

This figure is from Google Earth Pro with the authors’ edits.

Figure 4. The components of Antoniadis Park.

This figure is from Google Earth Pro with the authors’ edits.

Flowers Garden was founded by the French engineer Dayton, and supervised by Engineer Richard. It is located on 2 ha [5 acres], designed on the steps of four levels. Each level includes eight basins topped by four symmetrical triangles in shape and an area surrounded by wooden pergolas outside. The finest sunken gardens are finished at the lowest level with a fountain in the center and a statue. Royal Glass is located in the western part. It is built on the body of the occupied ironwork, consisting of several parts, two parts at the front and the others behind, with a square shape and several levels. All sides and roofs are made of glass. The French and English Garden is characterized by the straight lines in the streets, fences, and decorative vases. The trees are trimmed in geometric shapes (conical, pyramidal, square, rectangular and circular). Individual plants are distributed symmetrically, placing ponds of flowers, fountains, or statues as a central element. High walls are not found so as not to block parts of the garden from each other. The Andalusian Garden is characterized by architecture in the al-Arab style, characterized by saving. High walls surround the Andalusian Garden to block the interior view. It has waterfalls, artificial water, fountains, and mosaics beautifying the vases. Roman and Greek styles are characterized by architecture and sculpture in the art of coordinating plants and frequently using vases and fountains amid the green areas. There are seven fountains distributed throughout the garden. The natural style garden has curved lines in which straight lines are used, but without statues, as it simulates nature without decoration.

Trees and shrubs are planted in close or divergent forms without trimming to grow tall in their nature. Pergolas and seats are made of natural wood. The Italian Garden is dominated by architectural art, designed from several different levels, and uses plants with geometric forms, using statues to complement elements of geometric designs. It contains a collection of 17 marble statues representing the legends of the Greek goddess, such as the beauty of Venus and the god of Aratus. Figure 5 shows a collection of world-historical characters' statues. Antoniadis Palace entrance is decorated with two lions made of pure alabaster, and its south side overlooks the tea garden. The palace consists of two floors containing many rooms.⁶⁸

Figure 5. The collection of statues in Antoniadis Park.

This figure is the authors’ own work.

The lower floor was designated as a reception and dining hall during King Fouad's reign. The upstairs has been divided into two sleeping suites. The first suite includes the King's room and another one for the Queen. It also consists of four rooms for the princesses through which a statue of Venus can be seen, and four marble statues decorate the front elevation. Antoniadis Garden includes an extensive range of palm and semi-palm trees, such as Cycas, and a large group of trees, shrubs, climbers, and perennial plants, such as Bulgarian Fig trees, about 500 years old. Antoniadis Theatre is 6,000 m² [64,583 Square feet]. It has a green area, rich in plants and rare trees, of 15,000 m² [161,458 Sq. Ft] overlooked by the palace's terrace and various levels' gardens. The theater has a back of Roman columns, and it can accommodate more than 5,000 spectators.^67,69

The Antoniadis Garden represents an important heritage and recreational value, especially in light of the erosion of green spaces in Alexandria, as it represents an entertainment outlet in addition to the zoo adjacent to it, and that the planning of the garden represents a heritage and not only the statues only aesthetic, as the style of the garden in itself is a heritage that extends hundreds of years And inside Antoniadis, there are a variety of different gardens, such as the rose garden, the statue garden, and the palace garden.⁶⁷

The garden has been neglected and deteriorated greatly, as it lacks the most basic services and does not have toilets. The number of heritage statues in the garden was 17 statues belonging to the Greek god of love, which were reduced after the theft over the past years to only 14. The garden was robbed more than once, where an accident occurred and a statue of club marble was stolen, and a similar theft occurred in the nineties and a statue was cut up and smuggled inside the garbage car, and that the Antoniadis Park was a public park that extended to 130 acres, and finally 50 acres, guarded by 12 security personnel On 3 shifts, and that the garden had previously addressed the director of the Basateen Institute a lot to increase the number of security personnel to 60 and arm them, especially since the garden was without fences, and that was to no avail. Its application, in addition to the lack of sufficient lighting at night.⁶⁶ The garden contains 14 heritage statues, collected by Sir Antoniadis, the founder of the palace and garden, who loved collecting antiques and statues, and that the age of the statues is greater than the age of the garden, calling on the Ministry of Antiquities to consider reconsidering and including them among the antiquities. Addressing the deliberate neglect of the garden, of which the zoo was part and attached to the palace, due to the heritage importance of the garden. Random projects were set up inside the garden before the revolution, with the aim of improving the financial resource, but they contributed to the deterioration of the garden more and the garden is currently suffering from the deterioration of the state of green spaces and only trees remain, due to the exposure of the garden over the past years to administrative problems, weak financial resources and the lack of Sufficient labor to take care of the vast green areas of the garden.⁶⁹