How technology and urban design influenced each other during the Arab Spring in three Middle Eastern cities: Cairo, Tunis and Manama.

1. ARAB SPRING
The role of Public Spaces and Digital Spaces in the Arab Spring 2011

2. THE ARAB SPRING
The democratic uprisings that arose independently and spread
across the Arab world in 2011.
Originated in Tunisia in December 2010 and quickly took hold in
Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.

3. PUBLIC SPACES
Bourguiba Avenue
Tunis, Tunisia
Tahrir Square
Cairo, Egypt
Pearl Roundabout
Manama, Bahrain

4. DIGITAL SPACES

5. TUNISIAN REVOLUTION

6. TUNISIA
Public Space
POPULATION (2012)
Digital Space
INTERNET USERS (JUNE 2012)
10,732,900
4,196,564
LAND AREA
FACEBOOK USERS (DEC 2012)
163,610 km²
3,328,300
Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

8. TUNISIAN REVOLUTION
December 18, 2010 - January 14, 2011
Sparked by the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a
26-year old Tunisian street vendor, on December 17, 2010.
Led to the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali 28 days
later on 14 January 2011, when he officially resigned after
fleeing to Saudi Arabia, ending 23 years in power.
CAUSES
RESULTS
CASUALTIES
Government corruption
Inflation
Unemployment
Political repression
Overthrow of Ben Ali government
Resignation of PM Ghannouchi
Dissolution of the political police
Dissolution of the RCD
Release of political prisoners
Elections to a Constituent Assembly
Deaths 338
Injuries 2,147
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisian_revolution

10. TUNISIAN REVOLUTION
Avenue Habib Bourguiba

12. TUNISIAN REVOLUTION
Avenue Habib Bourguiba
WIDTH
EAST END
WEST END
60 m
Lake Tunis
Place de l’Indépendance (and Avenue de France)
Central thoroughfare of Tunis.
Aligned in an east-west direction, lined with trees and facades
of shops, and fronted with street cafes on both sides.
Important monuments: Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul,
French Embassy in Tunisia and Théâtre municipal de Tunis.
Its proximity to the Interior Ministry made it an important public space for the protesters during the big demonstration on
January 14, 2011.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avenue_Habib_Bourguiba

14. TUNISIAN REVOLUTION
Twitter
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/16/tunisia-2/

15. TUNISIAN REVOLUTION
Twitter
Number of tweets mentioning Tunisia
329,000,000
Number of tweets mentioning #sidibouzid
103,000+
Number of people mentioning Tunisia in tweets
50,000+
Reach in terms of Twitter users
26,000,000
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/16/tunisia-2/

16. TUNISIAN REVOLUTION
Facebook
Virtual-reality scientist Samir Garbaya looked at Facebook
posts during the revolution, and measured how much time it
took for posts to result in responses like comments.
November
December 17
4 days 8 hrs
January 1
January 14
2 hrs
3 mins
Streetbook
The transfer of the interaction from social networks to manifestation in the real world, on the street.
Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/425137/streetbook/

17. EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION

18. EGYPT
Public Space
POPULATION (2012)
Digital Space
INTERNET USERS (JUNE 2012)
83,688,164
29,809,724
LAND AREA
FACEBOOK USERS (DEC 2012)
1,001,450 km²
12,173,540
Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

20. EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION
January 25, 2011 – February 11, 2011
The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 took place following a
popular uprising that began on January 25, 2011.
Millions of protesters from a variety of socio-economic and
religious backgrounds demanded the overthrow of the regime
of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
CAUSES
RESULTS
CASUALTIES
Police brutality
Political censorship
Widespread corruption
High unemployment
Food price inflation
Low minimum wages
Overthrow of Mubarak government
Assumption of power by Armed Forces
Democratic election held
Writing of a new constitution
Deaths 846
Injuries 6,467
Arrested 12,000
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Egyptian_revolution

22. EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION
Tahrir Square

25. EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION
Tahrir Square
Major public town square in Downtown Cairo, Egypt, also
known as “Martyr Square”.
Centre of Tahrir Square: large and busy traffic circle.
Important monuments: Egyptian Museum, NDP headquarters
building, Mogamma government building, Headquarters of the
Arab League building, Nile Hotel, Kasr El Dobara Evangelical
Church, original downtown campus of the American University
in Cairo.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahrir_Square

26. EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION
Tahrir Square
January 25
= 25,000
protesters
January 28
January 31
February 1
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahrir_Square

28. EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION
Facebook
“Kullena Khaled Said” — “We Are All Khaled Said.”
Facebook page created by Wael Ghonim, a 29-year-old Google
marketing executive, in June 8, 2010.
Two minutes after he started his Facebook page, 300 people
had joined it.
Three months later, that number had grown to more than
250,000.
He changed the name of the page’s biggest scheduled rally
from “Celebrating Egyptian Police Day — January 25” to “January 25: Revolution Against Torture, Poverty, Corruption and Unemployment.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/books/review/how-an-egyptian-revolution-began-on-facebook.html

30. EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION
Twitter
Trending Hashtag Volume
Worldwide
Source: http://blog.hootsuite.com/egypt-infographic/

31. EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION
Internet Blackout

32. EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION
Internet Blackout
Source: http://blog.hootsuite.com/egypt-infographic/

33. BAHRAIN REVOLUTION

34. BAHRAIN
Public Space
POPULATION (2012)
Digital Space
INTERNET USERS (JUNE 2012)
1,248,348
961,228
LAND AREA
FACEBOOK USERS (DEC 2012)
694 km²
413,200
Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/middle.htm

36. BAHRAIN REVOLUTION
February 14, 2011 – ongoing
Protests were initially aimed at achieving greater political
freedom and equality for the majority Shia population.
Expanded to a call to end the monarchy of King Hamad
following a deadly night raid on 17 February 2011 against
protesters at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama.
CAUSES
GOALS
CASUALTIES
Corruption
Discrimination against Shias
Unemployment
Slow pace of democratisation
Abdication of King Hamad
Constitutional monarchy
Rewrite the Constitution
Ending human rights violations
Equality for Shias
Fair elections and freedom
Deaths 93
Injuries 2,900+
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahraini_uprising_(2011%E2%80%93present)

38. BAHRAIN REVOLUTION
Pearl Roundabout

39. BAHRAIN REVOLUTION
Pearl Roundabout
Served originally as a major traffic intersection for routes into
the capital city.
Was located in the heart of the capital Manama and was
surrounded by the Bahrain Central Market, Marina, Pearl and
City Center Roundabout, Abraj Al Lulu apartment complex.
150,000 – 300,000 protesters.
Destroyed on March 18, 2011, by government forces as part of
a crackdown on protesters during the Bahraini uprising.

45. ARAB SPRING
Role of Social Media
Grassroots mobilization
Organize the rise of civil society and active
citizenship
Counter rumor or propaganda tool
Helped people analyze government statements
Source: http://gov20.govfresh.com/a-tunisian-on-the-role-of-social-media-in-the-revolution-in-tunisia/

46. ARAB SPRING
The role of Public Spaces and Digital Spaces in the Arab Spring 2011