Egypt’s New Cities: Neither Just nor Eicient
Company: Takween Integrated Community Development
Project: Tadamun - The Cairo Urban Solidarity Initiative / Planning [in] Justice
Project: Tadamun - The Cairo Urban Solidarity Initiative / Planning [in] Justice
http://www.tadamun.co
Introduction:
Egypt’s New Urban Communities (NUCs) have been hailed by the Egyptian government as the solution to all that ails urban Egypt. Since the 1970s, when they were first planned as a means to disperse the growing urban population more evenly across Egypt’s vacant desert lands, state-planned NUCs have been popping up all over the country. This research is a part of Planning [in] Justice Project.
Introduction:
Egypt’s New Urban Communities (NUCs) have been hailed by the Egyptian government as the solution to all that ails urban Egypt. Since the 1970s, when they were first planned as a means to disperse the growing urban population more evenly across Egypt’s vacant desert lands, state-planned NUCs have been popping up all over the country. This research is a part of Planning [in] Justice Project.
Growth of Egyptian Cities
Egypt’s population has been historically concentrated along the Nile Valley. Over the past few decades, the population density has increased significantly to accommodate the growing population.
Egypt’s population has been historically concentrated along the Nile Valley. Over the past few decades, the population density has increased significantly to accommodate the growing population.
Story & Concept of New Cities
The policy of setting up new cities and urban communities in the desert was developed as a way of controlling future urbanization and growth, and directing them towards new urban communities on the peripheries of existing cities and outside of the Nile Valley. Recently, New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) has been playing a leading role in executing land and housing policies that focus on revenue generation.
Goals of New Cities
Originally, new cities and urban communities were established to fulfill a social and economic role. Fulfilling these roles successfully required attracting people away from existing cities to limit ongoing urban expansion on agricultural land and to provide affordable housing to lower- and mid-income groups. However, NUCA has consistently deviated from this social role and acted as a real estate developer instead.
New Cities & Urban Communities Map
Since 1979, Egypt built 28 new cities and urban communities over three generations with more under construction.
Since 1979, Egypt built 28 new cities and urban communities over three generations with more under construction.
Did New Cities Achieve their Goals?
Population of New Cities
Not a single new city has reached its target population and the vast majority haven’t even achieved 50% of their target, even among the first ones established during the 1970s.
Not a single new city has reached its target population and the vast majority haven’t even achieved 50% of their target, even among the first ones established during the 1970s.
New Cities are Costing Too Much & Generating Too Little Revenue
The government adopted a philosophy of capitalizing on Egypt’s land resources as a means to boost public revenues. However, despite new cities utilizing a budget of EGP 64 billion in 2015/2016, NUCA only gave back EGP 8 billion to the public treasury, which is only 1% of public expenditure.
The government adopted a philosophy of capitalizing on Egypt’s land resources as a means to boost public revenues. However, despite new cities utilizing a budget of EGP 64 billion in 2015/2016, NUCA only gave back EGP 8 billion to the public treasury, which is only 1% of public expenditure.
New Cities are Neither Just nor Efficient
Relying on NUCA to provide affordable housing and to generate adequate revenues through executing the current housing and land management policies does not seem to be effective. Yet, the government continues on the same track.
Relying on NUCA to provide affordable housing and to generate adequate revenues through executing the current housing and land management policies does not seem to be effective. Yet, the government continues on the same track.
Left to right (People did not move - NUCA did not generate revenues - Unaffordable houses)
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Planning [in] Justice
The project aims to collect and analyze data and increase public awareness regarding the absence of spatial justice in the distribution of public resources between different urban areas. This is in addition to examining the institutional causes that enable this situation in Egypt, with a special focus on the Greater Cairo Region (GCR). In pursuing this aim, the project works on developing tools to identify, measure and address these inequalities and making these tools available to other active groups in Egypt. Planning [in] Justice is a project of TADAMUN: The Cairo Urban Solidarity Initiative.
