Analysis of the Architectural heritage of El-Mansoura city, Egypt: towards urban conservation approach

Mansoura city is one of the Egyptian intermediate cities in the Nile delta, The city center heritage are in mostly the European Mediterranean style because of the presence of the foreigners in the city spatially Greek and Italian communities during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As many other Egyptian intermediate cities, the city heritage suffers from lack of maintenance and the absence of organized conservation programs. El-Mansoura architectural heritage are divided into main five zones around the city center. The first is the “private palaces and villas zone” in the west of the city center, it was the residence of the aristocratic Egyptians. The second is the “Northern city center” on the Nile, it was the administration zone near the old port. The third is the “Commercial center” with high concentration of commercial activities. The fourth is “El-Mokhtalat neighborhood” in the east of the city center, it was the residence of the foreigners and elite Egyptians. The last one is “Torel neighborhood” it is a combination of private villas in a grid of perpendicular street. Their are some trials to preserve and restore some building of the city heritage but normally they are individual trails and some times without professional procedures and studies, Now there is some projects to make urban development of the city valuable zones in collaboration between “El-Dakahlia’ governorate and “Mansoura university, Department of architectural engineering” and that will lead to effective restoration and rehabilitation projects in the future.