التلوث البصري في قري الساحل الشمالي

Architecture is the mirror of civilization. It reflects its image in a true and an unadulterated way. It is the
global image of the society encompassing the components that reflect its economical, cultural and
ideological foundations.
In the Egyptian society, there has been a growing wave of accusations and criticisms directed to both
fields af architecture and building, and in particular to the architecture and building sectors where visual
pollution has prevailed. This state of affairs led to an unbalanced scenery that was lacking harmony
with the surroundings. For these reasons, it became a must for the architects to find a suitable role for
themselves in this context to serve their society through promoting the architectural standards, finding
out ways to assess the current situation and pin-point its advantages and shortcomings, as well as
suggesting how to remedy such problems.
As a result of the economical advances and prosperity of a certain class of the Egyptian society in the
second half of the 20' century, the tourist villages and sea resorts have spread all-over the Egyptian
coasts, especially on the northern coast. Those villages were, in the beginning, enjoying a characteristic
visual harmony in each one of them. Nevertheless, some of these villages started suffering from visual
pollution due to new additions by the occupants that were not compatible with the architectural
surroundings. These additions had to be non-compatible due to the differences between the occupmts'
cultural, psychological, sociological and occupational backgrounds and needs.
This paper aims at defining the dimensions of this visual pollution in the villages of rhe northern coast,
through studying the following elements: first: aesthetic concepts and appreciation in architecture,
second: the aesthetical system and standards in architecture which affect what a viewer sees and
comprehends of the built areas in the northem coast, third: classification of the visual pollution in the
villages ofthe northern coast