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“The Unplanned Areas Upgrading and Employment Enhancing Programme in Egypt,” Needs Assessment and Activity Design Study for Informal Settlements in the Cairo and Giza Governorates, Egypt, 2011-2016

Abstract

Between 2011 and 2016, I2UD worked with the Egyptian Government, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and Social Fund for Development (SFD) to create a risk assessment study for four informal settlement areas in Egypt: ‘Izbit Khayrallah and Al Zawya al-Hamra in the Cairo Governorate and Mīt ‘Uqba and Ard el-Lewa in the Giza Governorate.

In October 2012, I2UD submitted an Expression of Interest for consultancy on a project in Egypt, titled “Redevelopment and Upgrading of Selected Unsafe and Unplanned Areas in Cairo and Giza Governorates.” I2UD posited that Egyptian authorities could evaluate current informal settlements as key components in the Greater Cairo Plan to forestall future development of unregulated settlements.

From 2015-2016, I2UD partnered with the Tarek Waly Center (TWC) and Environmental Quality International (EQI) on the “Needs Assessment and Activity Design Study.” The study reviewed policies and institutions that impact the delivery of services in four informal settlements. I2UD and TWC identified the types of micro-finance services, emphasized community participation via assessment, and conducted outreach training for community members.

Documents include a 2012 Expression of Interest, I2UD’s Deliverables No. 1 through No. 4 in multiple volumes, and a January 2016 presentation for the Cairo Governor, titled “Investment Programme for Izbit Khayrallah and Al Zawya Al-Hamraa, Cairo: The Unplanned Areas Upgrading and Employment Generation Programme in Egypt.”

Project Year:2012-2016
Project Type:Risk Assessment and Local Development Strategy
Geographic Regions:Cairo, Egypt / Giza, Egypt
Reports:

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Full Document List:
Deliverable 1:
Deliverable 2:
Deliverable 3, Volumes 1-5:
Deliverable 4:
Authors:Tareq Abdalla; Wafik Arif; Mohamad Ashraf Al-Sayed Afifi; Abd el-Aziz el-Sayed Abd el-Aziz Mosa; Emad El-Din Nabil Al Bayoumi; John Driscoll; Emad Farid; Tarek Hamed; Maren Larsen; Enas El Mudaris; Mounir Neamatalla; Bruce Purdy; Shimaa Shaheen; Elda Solloso; Barbara Summers; Tarek Waly; Tariq Zulficar
Sponsors:French Development Agency (AFD); Social Fund for Development (SFD); European Union
Categories:Urban Finance
  
ID:2012_10_004

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I2UD Digital Library Study Guide: Understanding Informal Settlements and Slum Upgrading, October 2024

I2UD Digital Library Study Guide: The Role of Urban Planning and Management in Post-Crisis Reconciliation and Recovery, October 2025

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

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Design Studio 1989: “Rabat’s Urban Fringe,” Urbanization Analysis of Rabat, Morocco – Seminar Curriculum

Abstract

The Design Studio from 1989, “Rabat’s Urban Fringe,” presented the urban evolution of Rabat, Morocco from 1987 through the early 1990s. Hosted by the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the seminar covered Rabat’s urban development experience as a case study for Seminar attendees. Professors Francois Vigier and Mona Serageldin led the sessions, research, and discussions.

Seminar materials focused on analyzing methods to accelerate the release of land for urban development in Rabat, and to discourage imbalanced city growth patterns. The studio covered the application of standards that balance climate requirements, socio-cultural needs, and affordability, the creation of cost-efficient designs to support the economic life of projects, and the use of politically-feasible mechanisms to improve cost recovery and affordability. This topic was repeated in Urban Design Studio curricula from 1989 to 1993.

Documents include a seminar syllabus and overview report; a full report, “Rabat’s Urban Fringe,” with text by Mona Serageldin, supported by the Seminar’s research team; and a final student report on urban planning in Rabat.



[Excerpt: Syllabus, Overview, Spring 1989, Mr. Vigier, Ms. Serageldin, pp. 1-2.]

“Urban Housing in Rabat, Morocco,” An Overview:

“Urban areas of Third World countries are growing rapidly as a result of a high rate of natural increase of the population and of migration from rural areas. In older areas, usually highly accessible to a broad range of job opportunities, continued population pressures is causing a densification of the housing stock which is deteriorating rapidly from lack of maintenance and subdivision into smaller units. Their infrastructure systems are utilized well beyond their design capacity, creating an increasingly unsanitary environment and threatening the structural soundness of buildings. More recently, governments have had to cope with a dynamic private sector whose activities have proved difficult to control.”

“At present [ca. 1989], the urban fringe is developing rapidly as squatter and informal settlements, ranging in quality from little more than shacks to sound housing for moderate income households striving to improve their standard of living, are built illegally. Currently accounting for sixty to eighty percent of housing starts, these fringe developments present an unprecedented challenge to planners and public officials concerned with preventing urban sprawl and maintaining control over the dynamics of growth in order to provide efficiently the necessary infrastructure and services.”

“Planning and Design Issues. High rates of urban growth necessitate forceful public interventions to direct the development of the urban fringe and improve the functional efficiency of older districts. Located in both older areas and on the urban fringe, large-scale projects are being undertaken to upgrade the infrastructure, extend the capacity of transportation systems, provide public amenities, and build mixed-use developments.”

“Yet, the prevalence of poverty has overtaxed the ability of governments to provide adequate public services or enforce even minimum sanitary standards of housing for the majority of urban households. Government housing policies have sought to reconcile three potentially conflicting objectives:

— “A commitment to improve the standard of life of a population largely unable to afford safe and sanitary housing on the open market.”

— “The desire to utilize planning and design standards reflecting international norms as the means to provide an acceptable level of amenities in both older areas and the developing urban fringe.”

— “The necessity to keep public subsidies at a manageable level in the face of the rising demand generated by the rapid growth of the urban population.”

Al Quds City Model House, for Casablanca, showing Front and Side Elevation, Sections, Ground, First and Second Floor, and Foundation building layouts. Original Source: Ministry of Housing and Land Development
Graphic Map showing the Distribution of Urban Settlements, Morocco, showing data for large settlements in Casablanca, Rabat, Fez, Marrakech, Meknes, Sale, Tangier, and Tetouan.

See related I2UD projects below

Project Year:1989
Project Type:Urban Design Studio
Geographic Regions:Rabat, Morocco
Reports:
Authors:Mona Serageldin; Samir Abdulac; Fathahah Debbi; Agnes Deboulet; Isabelle Ouetta; Jennifer Wayne; Hung-Song Oh; Randa Tukan
Sponsors:Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
Categories:Design Studios; Education
  
ID:1989_01_001

Related I2UD Projects

Gallery 10: Morocco: Fes, Casablanca, and Rabat (1983-1993)