City–Nature Relationship in a World-Renowned Nature Reserve: The Case of El Kala National Park in Eastern Algeria

Abstract

The relationship between the city and nature for the architect and urban planner is the relationship between the built and unbuilt space and the relationship between the users of urban space (public and private) and nature. In the particular context of the world-renowned El Kala nature reserve, this study analyses the place of nature in the city’s urban development. The aim is to answer the following question: What interpretation of the relationship between city and nature can be made through the urban and architectural composition and its use by the inhabitants? This study is based on the biophilic approach, whose main stages are: landscape analysis and another documentary one in which the instruments of urban planning, the plans of allotments, and masses are the tools to determine the uses of nature at the scale of the house. The results are summarized in a relationship between the city and nature, translated into multiple biophilic behaviors. These behaviors vary from one natural element to another for the professionals of the urban space and are generally positive for the inhabitants.