Mediterranean Cities Between Urban Theories and Practices: the Cairo Case-Study,

Based on the research programme "Mediterranean cities: models, policies and practices" (2003-2005), funded by the Italian Ministry of the University and Research (MIUR). The paper explores the theoretical and methodological results and its case-study methodology, deepening the analytical interpretation of the Cairo and its urban phenomena as a case-study of a wider Mediterranean environment. The nature of the "Mediterranean city" concept is vague as well as its implications are vague. The concept has been used as a mental or ideological production without a correspondence with the reality. Risk of a perception based on supposition and preconceived and of unsuitable planning approaches. A cultural legitimisation of the Mediterranean region based on a unique sense of identity reduces local differences and emphasises knowledge and preservation of the local cultures as the only basement of the planning. In that way, Mediterranean cities are condemned to remain in a historical perspective and to exploit the tourism as economic resource.