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This paper examines the position of planning practices operated under precise guidelines for displaying modernity. Cultivating the spatial qualities of Cairo since the 1970s has unveiled centralised ideologies and systems of governance and economic incentives. I present a discussion of the wounds that result from the inadequate upgrading ventures in Cairo, which I argue, created scars as enduring evidence of unattainable planning methods and processes that undermined its locales. In this process, the paper focuses on the consequences of eviction rather than the planning methods in one of the city’s traditional districts. Empirical work is based on interdisciplinary research, public media reports and archival maps that document actions and procedures put in place to alter the visual, urban, and demographic characteristics of Cairo’s older neighbourhoods against a backdrop of decay to shift towards a global spectacular. The paper builds a conversation about the power and fate these spaces were subject to during hostile transformations that ended with their being disused. Their existence became associated with sores on the souls of its ex-inhabitants, as outward signs of inward scars showcasing a lack of equality and social justice in a context where it was much needed.

This study explores how physical factors foster a supportive and welcoming atmosphere conducive to learning and personal development. The research highlights the relevance of “spatial belonging” as a novel concept associated with the materiality of buildings in higher education institutions, explaining how the physicality of architectural space directly impacts students’ success and learning experience.

The research methods included the use of cartographies created by undergraduate students, which provided a platform for them to articulate their perspectives on the educational spaces within their school.

The findings show a relationship between well-designed educational spaces and students’ heightened sense of belonging. Implications for educational policy and campus design are included as areas for future research, emphasizing the need for architects, educators and policymakers to collaborate in creating spaces that meet functional academic requirements.

Spatial belonging has been studied through the architectural student perspective, however, there should be a different approach toward materiality from students of different disciplines. The study could be replicated in different institutions and multiple career paths.

Spatial design for higher education has been a matter of importance especially after COVID-19, since the sudden change of educational learning migrating to online platforms, the meaning and value of space should be revisited. HEIs should be prepared for multiple events that our society and environment may experience in the foreseeable future. Guidelines of spatial design for belonging and well-being should be at hand of educators and stakeholders.

Spatial design is involved with psychological processes where emotions are being experienced in different places. A physical space should provide students with what they need in order to fulfill their needs as human beings who are experiencing multiple changes in their academic and personal life. Moreover, as seen in previous research, through the pandemic many students presented anxiety and depression which was related to isolation. Therefore, their life in campus is important not only for their academic development but for personal reasons.

The concept of sense of belonging has been studied through the perspective of psychology, geography, education and multiple disciplines. However, there is a lack of research that relates sense of belonging with materiality and architecture. The relationship physical spaces, has not been considered as essential for the development of basic tasks. Who designs the spaces we inhabit? Why are they designed in that particular way? Why are people not involved in the design of the spaces they work and live? Space is essential for social relationships to be developed, and at the same time social relations create different spaces, therefore, architecture supports the way we experience these spaces and promotes different relationships where there are no hierarchical levels but every aspect rather spatial or social have the same level of importance.

This paper interrogates the notion of “New Capital” in the context of the hegemony of neoliberal urbanism in the Arabcities in the Middle East from historical, socioeconomic, and spatial perspectives. It reviews the historical narratives of new centres and districts in Cairo, Beirut, and evolving capitalist urbanism and architecture in the Arabian Peninsula in search of the elitist dream of neoliberal urbanism. It offers a comprehensive analysis to the notions of neoliberal ideology and urban policies, neo-Capital city as catalyst for nation-building, and neo-Capitalist architecture as the reproduction of clone structures of western models. The paper focuses its critical analysis on the aspects of liveability in the contemporary Arab City and its socio-spatial structures and everyday urban reality. It reports on urban narratives based on archival records, urban projects, and investigations of governmental accounts to determine aspects of success and failure in projects of new capital cities and districts. It argues that cities are essentially social-spatial systems in which hierarchy is a fundamental element, the lack of which determines abject failure of their anticipated vision.

The nations of Africa, Central and Latin America, and most of Asia are collectively known as the Global South, which includes practically 157 of a total of 184 recognized states in the world according to United Nations reports. Metaphorically, it can be argued that most of the efforts in architectural production, city planning, place making, place management, and urban development are taking place in the Global South and will continue to be so over the next several decades.