Urban Visions (1): Cairo 2050

Cities throughout the Middle East are now engaged in a process of formulating what is known as urban visions. These visions direct, and are a basis of, what among city planners is known as a master plan. In general they envision a future and include a set of principles that direct a city’s growth towards a certain desirable direction – transforming it to be livable, sustainable and inclusive. It is similar to a Strategic Plan, which includes a set of economic principles guiding a nation’s growth. They are vital tools for policy makers and directly impact the lives of city inhabitants. Examples for these include Abu Dhabi 2030, Amman 2025, and Cairo 2050.

Since they are visions, they are invariably geared towards a distant future so that the plan can be implemented in stages. It is thus a long-term strategy. And because of this it may acquire a certain utopian quality. So people looking at this plan would somehow doubt that this may actually happen. This is particularly the case since there is an accompanying visualization in the form of drawings and renderings which are based on the existing city and how it is transformed.

To ensure that the plan follows a certain script, or an overarching principle, these urban visions are accompanied by a catchy slogan. For instance the Amman 2025 plan is based on the notion that “Amman is a city with a soul.” Or consider Abu Dhabi’s expressive vision based on the idea that it will be a “Contemporary Expression of an Arab City.” These are no doubt valuable and intriguing formulations but there is always the danger that it remains at the level of rhetoric and that there would be a potential disconnect between what is being said and what is actually being implemented.

This brings me to Cairo 2050 – which aside from its peculiarly far-off date aims at transforming Cairo to an extent that would make it almost unrecognizable. Cairo is of course a unique city in many respects – a large population that approximates 20 million people, a proliferation of informal settlements dominating the city, and a crumbling infrastructure. It has because of this become almost unmanageable.

The Egyptian Ministry of Housing announced this ambitious project in 2009. Intent on turning the city into a pleasant environment they have proposed excessive changes in urban planning.

This new strategic urban development plan for Greater Cairo 2050 has the following objectives; (1) to achieve sustainable social-economical development through well-balanced urban development; and (2) to revive the position of Cairo as the first capital within the Middle East by increasing its competitiveness in several economic and urban aspects and by implementing several mega development projects and linking those projects with an integrated public transportation system.

Moreover, the plan’s main focus is on how to improve the living condition of citizens especially those living in slums and informal settlements by providing decent housing alternatives, facilities and social services. At the same time consideration must be given, according to the ministry, for “the economic side and huge investment required for those upgrading schemes.”

Yet while all this sounds fine, and resembles the kind of rhetoric one encounters in numerous plans elsewhere – there is of course a downside, involving massive relocation efforts, sanitizing the city proper and so on. For example Amnesty International reports that twenty-six areas in Greater Cairo have been identified as “unsafe” by the government master plan. Justifications are provided by noting that as of 2010 for instance there are estimates that 17,600 families were living in imminent danger of death in Manshiyet Nasser alone.

Because of this, the plan envisions a massive destruction of informal settlements by planning broad avenues lined with high-rise glass towers that would run through them. In other instances they would be converted to parks.

These transformations are only one part of the story. At the other end of the spectrum is a planned and controversial urban renewal of downtown Cairo. Done under the supervision of a division within the ministry of housing, plans for the redevelopment of the entire downtown area has been allocated to a private consultancy.

The proposed plan aims at transforming the various squares and streets making up the center, which will include extensive landscaping, conversion of streets to pedestrian use, and a substantial upgrading of existing buildings. The first stages of the project are already underway such as the building of multi-storey garages to allow for dozens of pedestrian-only streets. According to the government planning director government ministry buildings located downtown, will be evacuated once the government moves to New Cairo and be converted into hotels, museums and art galleries. The infamous Tahrir building for example will be converted into a 5-star hotel.

The following quote by a soft drinks vendor near Bab el Louqsquare in Cairo’s downtown sums up a certain sentiment that is quite expressive: “If they renovate and give a facelift, what benefit of that will come to me if I'm making only 20 [Egyptian] pounds [$3.5] profit each day? … We're already fed up with how expensive things are ... The last thing we need is something like this.”

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