This entry discusses the reasons behind the wide increase of four- to five- storey walk-up housing neighborhoods in North African cities and their impact on the quality of urban and domestic spaces. It discusses how major changes in the housing urban form have affected women's privacy and neighborly relationships and how the courtyard house form in medieval cities was successful in providing more responsive domestic and urban spaces.

Apartment buildings in the form of four- to five- storey walk-ups constitute today the most widespread form of housing in North A…