Management in the context of the Cairo 2050 plan

Howaida Kamel, Cairo Community Manager

On June 22, I spoke with Dr. Sahar Attia, the new Chair of the Department of Architecture at the Faculty of Engineering at Cairo University. Dr. Sahar provided insight into issues of urban planning in Greater Cairo Region (GCR) and the methods used to provide services to Cairenes.

When discussing the GCR, it is often easier to focus on certain geographic locations that are also characterized by income levels and access to services. I asked Dr. Sahar about her view on the issue of social inclusion on an urban planning level, and how she would characterize Cairo's inclusiveness.

I see that the city now belongs more to the poor, or rather more to the informal, because the informal areas aren't all poor, they are unplanned. The low-income groups live in the heart of Cairo. Inclusion now refers to the upper classes or even the upper-middle classes, which have tried to escape the city, and have moved to the gated communities in 6th October, Katameyya, and Shurouk. All of the new settlements within Cairo were designed to house the new populations rather than the growth of the informal areas in the inner city. But the reverse happened: the informal communities now live in the inner city, while the planned groups live on the periphery. And now we need to find a way to incorporate everyone.

Dr. Sahar indicated that the best way to create an environment that is equally accessible for all would be through the provision of mixed-use facilities in the middle of the city, especially downtown.

Lower-income residents refuse to go the new cities because of issues of transportation: they earn their living here, their jobs and their families are in the city. So the first thing that the city has tried to address is the issue of transportation. They are trying to do so with the building of the new metro line between Imamba and the airport.

We need to manage the city in terms of the services offered and designating land-use. The management of land use is what will affect the quality of life and transportation. We don't have an approved land use plan that allows city planners to control urban sprawl.

We also discussed the planning mechanisms used by the government in the Cairo 2050 vision. Interestingly, it was only after the January 25th revolution that the vision was translated to Arabic and linked to the Egyptian national vision for 2052. It seems logical to assume that there would be overlap between the two plans' vision for Cairo. Beyond being the capital, the GCR is the most populous region in Egypt, and even linguistically, Egyptians interchange the term Al Qahera (Cairo) with Masr (Egypt).

They are two different plans created by two separate bodies that were never linked.

The national vision does not have a specific plan for Cairo. It states that in all cities, including Cairo, there are informal areas that must be addressed. However, it creates these linkages by addressing larger economic and social sectors, not specific cities. The two plans aren't connected by geographic location or place, but by the overall themes that connect the issues to the locations.

The fact that these two plans were never originally coordinated also indicates a management issue in the administrative and planning bodies.

We don't understand how important management is. We often refer to countries as developing vs. developed, but I like to refer to them as non-managed countries and managed countries. Because these countries have the resources they need to be "developed," except for the necessary management and guidance that will bring them to that level.