Posted on

World Bank MNA Urban Action Plan – Policy and Strategy Papers: “The Evolving Regional Urban Agenda: Key Challenges and Opportunities” and “From Spring to Renaissance: Repositioning the Arab Cities,” 2013

Abstract

In 2013, I2UD researchers co-wrote material for the 2013 “World Bank MNA Urban Action Plan,” an urban development policy and strategy plan for the Middle East and North Africa (MNA/MENA) region.

I2UD gave a preliminary presentation in October 2012 at a special meeting of the urban sector team at the World Bank. Team members presented priority issues at the in-person session, and from the field via video conferencing. Inputs and comments were solicited from all MNA colleagues, to enrich urban challenge assessments, and proposals presented in the Urban Action Plan.

Documents include an Executive Summary by Mona Serageldin, a March 2013 presentation titled “The Evolving Regional Urban Agenda: Key Challenges and Opportunities,” and a January 2013 working paper, “From Spring to Renaissance: Repositioning the Arab Cities.” Supporting materials include a statistical annex, country spatial profiles, and a slideshow compendium. The draft paper and PowerPoint slides were forwarded to the whole MNA urban group, for review and commentary.


[Excerpt: October 1st, 2012 MNA Urban Action Plan, Executive Summary by Mona Serageldin.]

“This inception report expands on the four themes presented in the Key Pillars of the MNA urban strategy and identifies the development priorities that must be addressed to implement MNA’s Action Plan. The objective is to raise issues for discussion and solicit inputs and comments from MNA colleagues in order to expand on the assessment of key urban challenges and enrich the proposals to be presented in the action plan. The region is 62% urbanized and has one of the World’s most rapidly expanding populations. By 2030, the region will have experienced a 45% increase of its urban population with over 106 million additional urban inhabitants. Some countries will see their urban populations double between 2030 and 2050: Egypt, Djibouti, Kuwait, Iraq, OPT, Syria and Yemen.”

“A long history of settlement, along the great rivers, smaller watercourses and the main oases, has led to imbalances in the geographical distribution of urban development, income and wealth. These patterns have been reinforced by the focus of colonial governments on the export of commodities and port cities and, in the post-colonial period, by the migration of rural populations caused by the increasing severity of droughts. The development of oil, gas and petrochemical industries has favored the industrial dominance of coastal cities.”

“The region’s urban dynamics and relatively weak institutions, particularly at the local level, have resulted in unplanned and often chaotic urban growth. Few national spatial development strategies have been elaborated and most regional development plans suffer from a lack of coherence among sectoral investments. The sub-national plans that have been prepared are project-driven with a bias towards primary urban centers and locations where real estate development is lucrative. There is an urgent need for the elaboration of national urban development frameworks and the preparation of integrated regional development strategies to guide and structure growth along development corridors and nodes in order to open up opportunities in the hinterland. Coordinated investments in transport and water supply are critical to start alleviating regional disparities.”

See related I2UD projects below

Project Year:2013
Project Type:Policy Papers; Presentations; Urban Action Plan
Geographic Regions:Middle East / North Africa
Reports:
Supporting Materials:
Authors:Mona Serageldin; Sheelah Gobar; Warren Hagist; Carolina Morgan
Sponsors:World Bank
Categories:Reconciliation and Development
  
ID:2013_01_001

Related I2UD Projects

Galleries 6-7 – Egypt: Cairo and Helwan, 1986, 1990

Posted on

“Development Corridors and Urban Development Strategies” and “Slum Improvement Strategies and Social Inclusion,” Presentations by Mona Serageldin, 11th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, São Paulo, Brazil, 2004

Abstract

Mona Serageldin authored a presentation, “Development Corridors and Urban Development Strategies,” for the 11th UN Conference on Trade and Development held in São Paulo, Brazil in June 2004. Her speech addresses the challenges affecting urban management and development at national and local levels.

Additionally, Serageldin presented a slide presentation titled “Slum Improvement Strategies and Social Inclusion” for a panel on Metropolitan Policies, Urbanization and Regularization of Informal Settlements at the conference. This presentation details a case study from South Africa, reviewing slum upgrading efforts, national expenditures, and housing patterns. Photographs depict people and neighborhoods, economic enterprises, and housing in South Africa.

[Excerpt: “Development Corridors and Urban Development Strategies,” pages 1, 2, 4-5.]

1.0 Positioning Cities in the Increasingly Complex and Competitive Global Economy
“Europe took an early lead in exploring the urban configuration that would result from unification and economic restructuring. The French National Planning Agency produced, in the late eighties, a landmark study ranking cities according to indicators of strength in the high-tech and high-value added sectors. The resultant diagram delineated the major economic regions and growth nodes in Western Europe. The main transportation corridors linking the larger centers, act as the backbone of the system, structuring networks of interlinked cities and channeling development along their alignment.

1.1 Structuring Development Corridors
Throughout the decade of the 90’s, globalization reshaped patterns of production, leading to the emergence of interlinked clusters of entrepreneurial businesses working through strategic alliances. Looking at Montpellier, France and the region around the technopole as an example shows that each economic cluster has its own pattern of spatial interconnections and dispersion based on functional, physical and virtual links. Technological innovation and fierce international competition are constantly reshaping these patterns, adding and eliminating whole categories of businesses and redirecting the flows of private investment to new and more advantageous locations.”

….

2.0 Coping with unprecedented mobility and large migratory flows
“Attempting to slow the growth of the metropolitan areas in order to divert population and activities to lagging regions is ill advised. Such policies have met with little success at a very high cost to the nation. Their wisdom is to be questioned at a time when unprecedented mobility has multiplied the capacity of the larger centers to contribute to the development of by-passed regions and economically distressed areas. Commuting from surrounding villages and towns, migration from rural areas and small provincial towns, lifts people out of poverty and contributes to channeling large flows of remittances to these lagging regions.”

Project Year:2004
Project Type:Conference
Geographic Regions:São Paulo, Brazil (Conference Location)
Reports:
Authors:Mona Serageldin
Sponsors:United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Categories:Informal Settlements and Urban Upgrading
  
ID:2004_06_001

Related I2UD Projects

Posted on

“Reconnaissance Report: Local Economic Development,” Regional Planning Survey for Bucharest, Romania, 2000

Abstract

In 2000, John Driscoll and Liviu Ianasi produced a survey report on local planning processes in Bucharest, Romania titled “Local Economic Development: Reconnaissance Report.” The report proposed a technical assistance and capacity-building program for the Bucharest region. It includes an overview of the program objectives and a detailed implementation framework, highlighting tools to assist USAID and RTI International in planning, prioritizing, and selecting projects to foster local economic development in Romania.

Excerpt

Table of Contents:

  • Introduction (p. 2)
  • Country and Urban Context (p. 2)
  • Linkages Between Economic Development and Urban Planning and Land Management (p. 3)
  • Legal and Regulatory Framework for Planning and Land Management (p.p.3)
  • Existing Legislation relating to Urban Planning, Land and Economic Development (p. 6)
  • Institutional Context Related to Economic Development and Urban Planning (p. 7)
  • Municipal Finance and Links to Economic Development (p. 9)
  • Proposed Capacity Building Activities (p.10)
  • Key Areas of Focus (p. 11)
  • Capacity Building Approach (p. 14)
  • Next Steps (p. 15)
  • Framework for Capacity Building and Highlighting Changes for Legislative Action (p. 16)
  • Annex 1. Standard Outline for GUP and Regulations (p. 23)
  • Annex 2. Organizational Chart—Municipal Government (p. 27)
  • Annex 3. Meetings and contacts during the Mission (p. 28)
  • Annex 4 NARD Funding by Source (p. 30)
Project Year:2000
Project Type:Technical Assistance
Geographic Regions:Bucharest, Romania
Reports:Local Economic Development Reconnaissance Report: (March 2000)
Authors:John Driscoll; Liviu Ianasi
Sponsors:RTI International; USAID
Categories:Urban Planning
  
ID:2000_02_001
Posted on

Design Studio 1984: “The Revitalization of a Traditional Urban Quarter” for the Medieval Darb al Ahmar District, Cairo, Egypt, Seminar Curriculum

Abstract

The 1984 Design Studio, “The Revitalization of a Traditional Urban Quarter” for Darb al Ahmar, Cairo, addressed the unique dynamics of the historical district of Medieval Darb al Ahmar district in Cairo, Egypt. The Studio was held jointly by Unit for Housing and Urbanization at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and the MIT Laboratory of Architecture and Planning in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Documents include an overview, syllabus, and background paper by Francois Vigier, with Mona Sergeldin. This initial research on the significant urban environment in Cairo, Egypt continued to evolve throughout the Unit, CUDS, and I2UD’s ongoing study of historical urban spaces.


[Excerpt: 1984 Design Studio: Darb Al Ahmar District Medieval Cairo (Overview) 1.0 – Overview, page 80]

“The Darb al Ahmar district is located in the south-eastern portion of the medieval city, between al Azhar University (founded in 972) and Salah ed Din’s Citadel, the seat of government from the 12th century to 1865. It is bounded to the east by remnants of the medieval wall and to the west by Port Said Street, a wide avenue built over the antique canal connecting Cairo to the Red Sea. Its 4.8 km area is equal to roughly one quarter of the medieval city; its 1980 population was estimated at 148,000 or 23% of the medieval city’s population.

The district’s importance lies in its location; for nine hundred years it was the link between the institutions and commercial areas concentrated in the Fatimid City and the seat of government in the citadel. Since the 19th century, its western edge has been the dividing line between the modern, Europeanized city along the Nile and the indigenous urban pattern. Although the rapid expansion of Cairo after World War 1 led to its partial marginalization, this trend has been arrested and there is every indication that intensive development pressures are now at work, threatening the physical and social fabric of the area.”

“The diversity of Darb al Ahmar’s population reflects its long history. In the center, around what has been the main commercial artery since medieval times, a stable resident population working in trade and services is swelled daily by a growing number of students and rural migrants, particularly day laborers. Along the eastern edge, the historically less reputable quarters at the urban periphery are now outflanked by informal settlements spreading into the cemetaries and onto the top of the Makkatam hills. To the west, the boundary created by Port Said Street is no longer the sharp divider between foreign and indigenous population that it was in the colonial era. It is part of the transitional zone between the traditional and modern urban fabrics, leading to the key transport node of Ataba and the government district of Abdine. “
…

[Excerpt cont’ 1. 1 – Evolution of Darb al Ahmar, page 82]

“The northern half of the district, built as part of the Fatimid town, is bisected by the Qasabat, the main north-south street that runs from Bab al Fut’uh to Bab Zuweyla. Lined with shops serving the residential areas on either side of it, it is still today one of the major shopping streets in the medieval city. In the past, specialty shops were interspersed among the mosques, schools, baths, public fountains, and noble houses that lined the street. Bookstores and stationers were found near Al Azhar, inlaid copper articles were made and sold near the Ghuri mosque while, just off the main street, druggists were manufacturing herbal remedies. Just inside Bab Zuweyla, cooked-food vendors, a fruit market and sweetmeat sellers were to be found in the Suq es Sukkariya; musical instruments were also sold in a nearby market.”

The area outside Bah Zuweyla was first settled as a low density suburb, housing the spill-over population of the Fatimid city. It remained largely undeveloped until the beginning of the 12th century when a governmental edict mandated owners to develop their land or sell it to someone who would, under penalty of confiscation. The first public building built outside the wall, the al Saleh Tala’i mosque, opposite Bab Zuweyla, was completed in 1160. Development occurred along the wall, towards the Nile, and southward, along the two old roads to the old settlement of Fustat, which had continued to strive as a popular district after the official precinct had been moved north to al Qahira. By the end of the 12th century, development trends had been reinforced by the construction of a new fortified wall by Salah ed-Din, which increased the area of the city eight-fold, and by his moving the seat of government from the Fatimid city to a newly built citadel. Densities increased rapidly as commerces and craftsmen thrived along this strategic link between Cairo’s densest districts and the Citadel as two of Darb al Ahmar’s main streets the Tabbana and al Khyamiya provided the shortest route between Bab Zuweyla and Bab el Wazir, the city’s new southernmost gate at the foot of the Citadel. The areas behind these streets were progressively subdivided for residences, ranging in quality from palaces to tenements.”


Index: Darb al Ahmar District, Medieval Cairo, Egypt

1. Overview
– Table 5: Gross Residential Densities (c. 1976)
1.1 Evolution of Darb al Ahmar
1.2 Typology of Monuments
1.3 The Domestic Architecture

2. Transformations.
2.1 Evolution of the Physical Fabric
2.2 Social Change
– Household characteristics.
– Livelihood and income
– Housing conditions

3. Socio-Economic Indicators
3.1 Harah es Sokkariya


Cairo: Statistical Appendix.
Table of Contents:

1. Greater Cairo Housing Characteristics
2. Greater Cairo Employment Structures by Economic Activity
3. Medieval City – Demographic Characteristics
4. Medieval City – Education
5. Medieval City – Marital Status of the Adult Population
6. Medieval City – Household Size and Composition
7. Medieval City – Employment Status
8. Medieval City – Employment Structure by Economic Activity
9. Medieval City – Occupations
10. Medieval City – Commuting Patterns
11. Southern Sector Demographic Characteristics
12. Helwan District – Education
13. Helwan District – Marital Status
14. Helwan District – Household Size and Composition
15. Helwan District – Employment Status
16. Helwan District – Occupation
17. Helwan District – Characteristics of Housing Stock
18. Helwan District – Residential Densities
19. Helwan District – Commuting Patterns



[Excerpt: Darb al Ahmar, Overview: Bibliography, transcribed from hand-written text]

Nadim, Nawal (el Memiri). The Relationships between the sexes in a a Harah of Cairo, Indiana University, Doctoral Dissertation, 1975

Wikan, Unni, “Living conditions among Cairo’s poor – a View from Below, ” Middle East Journal, Vol. 39, No. 1, Winter, 1981(?), pp. 7-26.

Raymond, Andre, Artisans el Commercants au Caire au XVIIe siècle, Damascus; Institut Francais de Damascus, 1974. Tome I. Damas: Presses de l’Ifpo. doi:10.4000/books.ifpo.5950.

Revault, Jacques et Bernard Maury. Palais et maisons du Caire du XIVe au XVIIIe siècle, Le Caire : Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale du Caire, 1975-79.

Ibrahim, Laila ‘Ali, “Residential Architecture in Mamluk Cairo,” in Mukarnas, Vol. 2, 1984.

Williams, John Allen, “Urbanization and Monument Construction in Mamluk Cairo,” in Makarnas, Vol. 2, 1984


See related I2UD projects below

Project Year:1984
Project Type:Urban Design Studio
Geographic Regions:Darb Al Ahmar, Cairo, Egypt
Reports:
Authors:François Vigier; Mona Serageldin
Sponsors:Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
Categories:Design Studios; Education
  
ID:1984_01_001

Related I2UD Projects