Cairo 2050 Plan Makes Big Shifts in City

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.

1 minute read

December 23, 2010, 7:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


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."

Thursday, December 16, 2010 in Bikya Masr

Young Professional

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 and Environmental Planner

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 and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

September 16, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

Passengers board an Amtrak train under a cloudy sky.

Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement

The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.

September 18, 2026 - Mass Transit

A coal power plant in Iowa billows smoke into the air.

Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand

For the first time in decades, Iowa has increased its generation of coal power.

September 17, 2026 - Inside Climate News

A rendering of the planned bridge over a large river. The bridge has two main support beams that form diamond shaped arches over the bridge.

Alabama scores up to $2.5 billion federal loan for largest infrastructure project in state’s history

The Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project aims to ease congestion at Alabama’s worst bottleneck.

45 minutes ago - NBC 15

Public land in Idaho. Most of the photo is a green field, with mountains and a forest in the distance.

Trump is considering data centers on 6 states' public land — some state officials say they had no idea

If the administration approves the proposed projects, data center and data center-related developments will cover 17,600 acres of public land.

1 hour ago - The Washington Sun

Two construction workers on a wind turbine, with two more in the background against a pink sky.

Despite court ruling, Trump is keeping nearly all wind projects in the US on hold

At least 110 wind energy projects have not heard from the government since a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration's freeze on wind turbine clearances was likely illegal.

2 hours ago - Heatmap