New urbanism and its reflection on residential interior design in Egypt

Sustainable development has been increasingly embraced as a worldwide concept. Consequently, urban sustainability is gaining conscious attention in many cities. Along with urban sustainability, design principles in new urbanism were referred to by many architects and urban designers. But, little research was done which aligned with the interior spaces through the lens of new urbanism. This research aims to understand how developed countries established design criteria for neighbourhood settlements based on the new urbanism. Consequently, it provides insights for developing countries to adapt appropriate design criteria for new cities. Accordingly, the principles of new urbanism and how they were transformed into strategies were explored through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development rating system. Even though new urbanism has basic principles that can be applied all over the world, there will still be some principles that need to be adjusted according to different cultural, ecological, and economic circumstances. Egypt has a rapidly growing population and this has led to an expanding sprawl in some areas. A case study was conducted to identify which new urbanism principles are successfully applied and which need to be adopted within a new Egyptian settlement. This study explains how urban design, landscape architecture, architecture, and interior design share common features and elements that shape cities’ identities. Furthermore, it highlights areas where new urbanism principles and interior design are mutually influenced. Eventually, it is expected that this exploration of a developed nation’s design criteria will provide valuable insight for an interior designer’s contribution to the successful urban sustainability models and guide future research.