A digitized excerpt from the archive of Dr. Mona Serageldin, founding member of I2UD and Vice President from 2005-2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The MSDA Document Collection<\/strong> complements the research materials in the I2UD Digital Library, acknowledging the rich, cooperative, work history linking I2UD and Mona Serageldin’s collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Serageldin’s research has been internationally recognized for her contributions to urban studies.<\/strong> In 2018, Mona was posthumously awarded an UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour<\/strong> for promoting practical research-based approaches to address a broad spectrum of development challenges in a wide range of settings. View UN-Habitat\u2019s press bulletin from September 28, 2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2023 For an overview<\/strong> of Mona Serageldin’s career, see the Founders page<\/a> of the main I2UD website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n The MSDA Document Collection contains:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2023 Select<\/strong> document titles or thumbnails to view PDFs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2023 Cross-referenced<\/strong> materials can be found in the I2UD Digital Library<\/a> and the MSDA Photograph Collection<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n Document Index<\/p> Jump to…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Copyright and Use Information<\/p> Copyright and Use Information<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Document citations:<\/strong> Author(s). \u201cDocument Title.\u201d Document Date. Mona Serageldin Digital Archive, Institute for International Urban Development<\/em>. Date Accessed. Document URL.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n Mona Serageldin, 1984<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 1984 site survey of the Ghoneim informal settlement<\/strong> region and community experience, as researched and compiled by Serageldin. The document details population characteristics for Ghoneim, covering urban growth and structure, space use and circulation, economic activity, public utilities, community facilities, and crucial housing needs and for the Ghoneim Informal settlement<\/strong> located in the Helwan<\/strong> municipal region outside Cairo, Egypt<\/strong>. Citation:<\/strong> Serageldin, Mona. “Part IV. Ghoneim: An Informal Settlement in the Helwan Area,”<\/a> 1984. HU-GSD Urban Design Seminar materials. Francois Vigier, August 1985<\/p>\n\n\n\n An overview of urban development in Tunis, Tunisia, authored by Francois Vigier in August 1985, describing the Greater Tunis region of Tunisia, then the dominant urban center of the country. The document is divided into four sections: Historical Overview<\/strong>; Recent Developments<\/strong>; Current Conditions in the Medina<\/strong>; and Development of the Urban Fringe<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Historical Overview<\/strong>, describing the regional history from the pre-Turkish period into the 1980s, describing the city as a European trading crossroads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.1 Urban Morphology of the Traditional City<\/strong>, detailing the “dense coherent urban architecture, punctured by the repetitive pattern of courtyards,” comprised of warehouses, street hierarchies, primary circulation systems, residential quarters, social order and privacy, and residential neighborhood clusters. 2. Recent Development Trends <\/strong>(Economic Aspects, Population and Income) detailing the stratification of contemporary urban society based on economic, cultural and divisions. Details the Tunis Urban Development Plan (1976-7), and accounts municipal hierarchy responsible for planning for the provision of public services, like water, sewage, electrical power, cooking fuel (butane), and waste disposal services.) Citation:<\/strong> Vigier Francois, “The Greater Tunis Region,”<\/a> August 22, 1985. HU-GSD Urban Design Seminar materials. Drs. Francois Vigier and Mona Serageldin, Spring 1985<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Urban Housing in a Moderate Income Country: The Hafsia and Ettadhamen Quarters of Tunis”<\/strong> was the Spring 1985 GSD Studio seminar, hosted jointly by the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and instructed by Fran\u00e7ois Vigier and Mona Serageldin, with guest lecturers. The seminar introduced two traditional housing quarters in Tunisia: Hafsia<\/strong>, a low-income quarter in medieval Islamic Medina of Tunis, and Ettadhamen<\/strong>, an informal settlement on the urban fringe 7.5km from the city center. “The experience of the past thirty years has shown that the construction of western style public housing projects had had a number of deleterious consequences. They have proved to be expensive to build and maintain, slow to the develop, aesthetically disturbing, and their design is generally deemed to be culturally unsuitable for the poor. Their high cost was not affordable to the limited income households for which they were intended without a level of subsidation that created an unacceptable drain on the national budget. Middle-income groups were the main beneficiaries of public housing while the majority of the poor could not be reached. Slums and informal settlements continued to proliferate”<\/em> (p. 2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the Hafsia medieval quarter<\/strong>, the seminar presented a model formulating a “comprehensive housing approach” for government programs to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “a) Arrest the accelerating deterioration of the older urban core. For the Ettadhamen informal settlement<\/strong>, the objectives were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “a) To improve the urban environment in order to prevent the area from deteriorating into a slum as it densifies. The document includes class topics and guest lecturer lists. Lecturers contributed “cultural, social and technical” contexts for Tunisia. This included coverage of “The dynamics of informal settlements and the control of development” by Mona Serageldin, as a “Visiting Critic” (p. 7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Citation:<\/strong> Serageldin, Mona, and Francois Vigier. Urban Design and Planning Studio, Spring 1985. “Urban Housing in a Moderate Income Country the Hafsia and Ettadhamen Quarters of Tunis.”<\/a> Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at HU, MIT. Drs. Francois Vigier and Mona Serageldin, Spring 1986<\/p>\n\n\n\n A course overview for the Spring 1986 GSD Design Studio<\/strong>, hosted jointly by the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and instructed by Fran\u00e7ois Vigier and Mona Serageldin, with guest lecturers. The seminar followed the dual case study model of previous GSD Studios, this time comparing the traditional quarter of Darb el Ahmar in medieval Cairo<\/strong>, and the Ghoneim informal settlement<\/strong>, located in the industrial urban fringe outside Cairo, Egypt<\/strong>. Citation:<\/strong> Serageldin, Mona, and Francois Vigier. Urban Design and Planning Studio, Spring 1986. “Upgrading and Revitalization in Cairo: Darb el Ahmar, a traditional quarter; Ghoneim, an informal fringe settlement.”<\/a> Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at HU, MIT. Mona Serageldin, 1986<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part I: National and Regional Agencies<\/strong>, overview; Synopsis of eight main government agencies concerned with the urban sector; Recent decentralization policies, local laws and presidential decrees from the 1980s; Regional public sector management Citation:<\/strong> Serageldin, Mona. “Greater Cairo Urban Profile, Institutional Framework: National and Regional Agencies Concerned with the Urban Sector,”<\/a> 1986.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n1984<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“Ghoneim: An Informal Settlement in the Helwan Area”<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Figures and maps depict Helwan area, with “existing development” from 1984 and earlier. Includes views of the Ghoneim study area, immediate vicinity, urban structures, existing land use from 1980 and 1984, and typical housing units.
Tables 1 to 42 illustrate results from a social survey given to Ghoneim’s residents, detailing income and expenditure patterns; household characteristics; housing characteristics; and use of interior space.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Related:<\/strong> Urban Design and Planning Studio, Spring 1986: “Upgrading and Revitalization in Cairo: Darb el Ahmar, a traditional quarter; Ghoneim, an informal fringe settlement.”<\/a>
See also:<\/strong> Photography of Ghoneim’s inhabitants: Ghoneim Informal Settlements<\/a> – I2UD Photograph Collection<\/strong>;
\u201cCairo – Urban Fringe and Informal Housing Settlements, Helwan Governorate, Egypt,\u201d 1970-1985<\/a> – MSDA M01 Galleries 1-10.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Ghoneim:](\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-19-at-11.54.12-AM.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n1985<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“The Greater Tunis Region”<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1.2 The Western City (La Ville Neuve)<\/strong>, a reconfiguration of Tunis’s port to accommodate European ship passage, development of Tunis from 1900 onward, destruction of old city by the French, 20th century dynamics between modern and traditional sectors, and development of “gourbivilles” squatter settlements.
1.3 The Post-Independence Period<\/strong>, Discusses changes to Ville Neuve post 1956, and the building of a “modern central business district” in Tunis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Current Conditions in the Medina<\/strong>, detailing Physical Characteristics and architecture of “housing stock” and historic buildings suffering neglect and deterioration.
4. Development of the Urban Fringe<\/strong>, tracking “spontaneous development” of urban and urban fringe regions in the modern era. Rise of gourbivilles, construction details, costs and trends between 1970s and 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Related:<\/strong> UN-Habitat State of Arab Cities 2012 Report<\/a>, including collaboration by the Institute – I2UD Digital Library<\/strong>
See also:<\/strong> Tunis, Tunisia, 1978-1990<\/a> – I2UD Photograph Collection<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-19-at-12.07.39-PM-846x1024.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n1985<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“Urban Housing in a Moderate Income Country: The Hafsia and Ettadhamen Quarters of Tunis,” Urban Design and Planning Studio<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In 1985, both communities were undergoing rapid urbanization and maintained populations of low-income households. Referring to the Tunisia housing development experience between 1950 to 1980, the report evaluated a number of “deleterious consequences” wrought by the failures of western-style public housing projects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
b) Revitalize and integrate traditional quarters into modern urban fabric.
c) Recognize and conserve the distinctive character of the Medina and preserve its historical and cultural legacy” (p. 3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
b) To provide needed community facilities.
c) To test alternative housing arrangements — shells, expandable cores, multi-family structures — to demonstrate the technical and functional feasibility of culturally sensitive design.
d) To develop a program which capitalizes on potential resources of the local community” (p. 5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
See also:<\/strong> Spring 1990 Design Studio<\/a> – I2UD Digital Library<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-19-at-12.10.12-PM.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n1986<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“Upgrading and Revitalization in Cairo: Darb el Ahmar and Ghoneim,” Urban Design and Planning Studio<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In 1986, Drs. Francois Vigier and Mona Serageldin presented their review of the “spatial dynamics of growth” in these two urban environments, addressing critical infrastructure challenges and community needs. The instructors outlined design issues faced by populations in historic and fringe areas, where the “concentration of low income households has overtaxed the ability of governments to provide an acceptable level of public services” or uphold commitments to reach the “lower 20% of the population” (p. 2-3).
Site 1, Darb el Ahmar:<\/strong> A medieval district in Cairo’s central urban area, occupying “one fifth of the area of medieval Cairo,” which has provided a “physical link to the seat of government for 1,000 years.” Design solutions aimed toward solving severe “overcrowding, overload utilities systems, encroachments on buildings of historical and cultural significance, and haphazard spot redevelopment that is threatening the traditional fabric of the district”<\/em> (p.5-6).
Site 2, Ghoneim:<\/strong> An informal housing settlement in the southern sector of Greater Cairo, developed during the 1960s. The settlement’s location corresponded to a “heavy industrial zone” to the south, where “rural migrants seeking manual jobs in construction and manufacturing swelled the number of settlers” from factory and public housing projects in Cairo. The seminar sought to survey housing typologies in Ghoneim, ranging from settler shacks to 5-floor projects, for a population of 30,000 in 1985.
This document specifically addresses the issues for informal settlements in Cairo and Helwan, by reframing critical faults in the urban infrastructure as problems for planners and designers to solve. The authors note how “it has become clear that the free market, if left entirely to its own devices, cannot cope adequately with the physical consequences of the densification that accompanies the maturation of informal settlements usually resulting in their eventual transformation into new slums”<\/em> (p.4).
Seminar participants each chose a specific site to develop a “revitalization strategy” addressing physical or institutional issues in either Darb el Ahmar or the Ghoneim settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Related:<\/strong> 1984 Urban Design and Planning Studio: Darb el Ahmar<\/a> and “Part IV. Ghoneim: An Informal Settlement in the Helwan Area,” 1984<\/a> – MSDA Document Collection<\/strong>
See also:<\/strong>
Egypt: Cairo and Helwan, 1986, 1990<\/a> – I2UD Photograph Collection<\/strong>;
“Cairo \u2013 Urban Fringe and Informal Housing Settlements, Helwan Governorate, Egypt, 1970-1985”<\/a> – MSDA M01 Galleries 3, 7, 8<\/strong>;
“Darb El Ahmar, The Medieval City”<\/a> – MSDA M02 Gallery 16<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-19-at-12.20.52-PM-807x1024.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n1986<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“Greater Cairo Urban Profile: Institutional Framework”<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Part II: Overview of Cairo Governorate<\/strong> and Two-tier System, including a recent (1949-1986) history of Cairo’s administrative makeup into seven districts: East Cairo, Heliopolis, Helwan, Central Cairo, North Cairo, West Cairo, and South Cairo; Redistribution of planning infrastructure by Law 52 (1975); Followed by a detailed survey of the city of Cairo, the Giza and Kalyubia Governorates; Departments providing social services, the legislative Cairo City Council, District Councils, and Executive Committee. Covers “Allocation of social functions between Cairo governors ate and its districts,” (Table A1.1).
Part III: Financial Aspects<\/strong>, addresses for Cairo Governorate, including analysis of expenditures for 1977-1980. Includes a “Consolidated Statement of Receipts and Expenditures” from 1979 for the Governorate of Cairo (Table A1.2).
Conclusion:<\/strong> “The overall conclusion from this survey of the national and regional institutional framework is therefore of a major challenge with respect to policymaking, administration, and budgetary allocations because of excessive fragmentation. That fragmentation is expressed by the lack of coordination between local and national authorities; between local agencies, especially between governorates; and within local agencies. The control of most funds at the central government level is a major source of asymmetry, as is the fragmented and uncoordinated nature of investment patterns. In any event, the budgets as a whole have been devoted overwhelmingly to current operational expenses, which little left over for investment or for preventative maintenance”<\/em> (p. 10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"\/](\"http:\/\/library.i2ud.org\/library\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-19-at-12.34.52-PM-797x1024.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n