Hermeneutic phenomenology for spatial analysis
ISSN: 2631-6862
Article publication date: 17 March 2022
Issue publication date: 6 June 2022
Abstract
Purpose
From scholars' view, there are various research approaches to investigate the city and its spaces. However, there is a need to examine the city and its spaces from the residents' perspective. Hermeneutic phenomenology might be applicable and valuable. Also, communication is a requirement for successful participatory planning and spatial analysis. Architects, urban designers and landscape architects must possess intersubjective competencies to communicate and engage with the public. Hermeneutic knowledge is the source for developing these intersubjective capabilities essential for communication. All design preparation and execution steps require distorted-free communication, starting with defining a problem and ending with implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper aims to test the applicability of hermeneutic phenomenology in urban studies. The author examines the right to the city and producing space in Cairo, Egypt. Besides web pages, documents and social networks, data sources vary, including proverbs and poems. Semiotics is the qualitative research technique used to interrogate the collected material using qualitative data analysis software.
Findings
Cairo's growth is the outcome of the division of labor, administration and power dynamics. Egyptians' right to take part in Cairo's planning and management is the issue. Hermeneutic phenomenology is an approach to perform spatial environmental investigations. It could inform decision-making, ensure the planning process's validity and guarantee people's ownership of planned projects.
Originality/value
Phenomenology allows for inside and outside the understanding of a spatial phenomenon. The current focus of architectural and planning schools' curricula is on technical actions. These schools consider increasing the dose of social sciences in their curricula. Educators could teach students how to use hermeneutic phenomenological research methodologies. Using hermeneutic knowledge in communication encourages public engagement in formulating and implementing projects, thus ensuring their long-term viability.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The paper is part of an ongoing research project that examines the Egyptian built environment using folklore and intangible culture. The author gratefully acknowledges the comments of Prof. Nezar AlSayyad for his expert opinion and suggestions on early versions of the paper, as well as Prof. Ashraf M. Salama and the three anonymous reviewers who commented on the submitted manuscript. Special thanks to the author’s colleagues Dr. Ghada Yassein and Arch. Mina Younan for their assistance. The research did not receive any financial support.
Citation
El-Kholei, A.O. (2022), "Hermeneutic phenomenology for spatial analysis", Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 307-321. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-08-2021-0223
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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