Originally published June 8, 2011 — restored with updated historical context.
iRevolution highlighted a Tufts GIS Poster Expo-winning project titled Identifying Strategic Protest Routes for Civil Resistance. The project examined the geography behind how Egyptian protesters could move through Cairo and converge on Tahrir Square during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.
The poster was based on efforts by Egyptian protest organizers to think spatially about how numerous individual and mobile street protests could come together and travel toward Tahrir Square without being stopped by police.
The geographer behind the project, Jessica, considered several important geographic factors, including the locations of police stations, mosques used as rallying points, street traffic density, and the surrounding road network.
What made the project particularly interesting was that reaching Tahrir Square wasn’t simply a matter of finding the shortest route. The geography of Cairo, security presence, potential gathering locations, traffic conditions, and street layout could all influence how separate groups moved through the city and eventually converged on the square.
The original project is worth viewing for the complete analysis:
Identifying Strategic Protest Routes for Civil Resistance — Tufts GIS Poster
The project was also discussed by iRevolution in its analysis of approaches to reaching Tahrir Square.
Looking Back at the Analysis
More than fifteen years later, the project remains an interesting historical example of how GIS and spatial analysis can help researchers understand the relationship between people, movement, infrastructure, and urban space.
Geospatial technology has advanced considerably since 2011, but the underlying geographic idea remains relevant. Combining information about roads, gathering points, infrastructure, population movement, and other spatial variables can reveal patterns that may not be apparent from a conventional map.
For those interested in political geography, urban geography, or GIS, the analysis of movement toward Tahrir Square remains a noteworthy case study from the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.
Historical note: This Geographic Travels article was originally published in June 2011. It has been restored from the archived version while preserving its original subject, references, and key observations, with additional historical context added for today’s readers.
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