A New/Old Neighborhood in Cairo

A group of development agencies came together to undertake a historic-preservation and community-development effort in Cairo's Al-Darb al-Ahmar community. The project was such a success that they're still working, by invitation, restoring the area.

1 minute read

March 1, 2010, 10:00 AM PST

By Tim Halbur


Cathryn Drake writes, "Five years after opening, Cairo's Al-Azhar Park has surpassed all expectations. Built by the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) on top of an ancient dump, the miraculously lush 74-acre park is among the biggest in a city with 18 million people and one of the world's lowest ratios of green space per inhabitant. It is also the linchpin of an extensive historic-preservation and community-development effort in Al-Darb al-Ahmar, the vibrant, impoverished neighborhood just across the ramparts of the newly excavated medieval Ayyubid wall."

Monday, March 1, 2010 in Metropolis Magazine

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

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