The Egyptian government is undertaking a broad plan to reimagine Cairo. The plan would redistribute the city's people and shuffle its industries to the outskirts of town. Some there see the plan as too much of a change.
The city is the main population center of the country, and its greater area accounts for 43% of the nation's urban population. But some worry the new plan goes too far.
"Cairo 2050, spearheaded by the ministry of housing, intends to redistribute the city's population, create 50,000 feddans of green area, move industry outside city limits and add 15 metro lines and two new railway stations in order to improve the quality of life and allow the capital to enter the global cityscape of the world's best.
According to the ministry, each Cairo resident has only 30 square centimeters of green space, far below the international standard minimum of 12 meters square. Needless to say, the city wealthiest residents are looking at the project with optimism.
"If we leave the situation as it is, in the year 2022 we will probably be living in a city of 28 million people. We have to do something, this is not a choice, this is not something we can wait on. We must move now," Housing Minister Ahmed el-Maghraby told a conference at the American Chamber of Commerce in 2007, even before the project was fully initiated."
FULL STORY: Egypt tries to go greener and cleaner
Egypt's New Capital City Development Gets Chinese Backing
Plans for the development of a new, unnamed capital city just east of Cairo has received the financial backing of Chinese investors.
Open Spaces Are Contested Spaces in the Middle East
Parks and other public open spaces continue to be squeezed out by private development and attempts to limit political dissent throughout cities in Arab countries.
Should Egypt Build a New Capital to Replace Cairo?
Reviewing the plausibility of replacing the thousand-year-old capital of Cairo with a new, master planner, $45 billion capital city.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
