Cairo is an example in the growing trend of megacities that have rapid growth and environmental inequality. This dual reality, which includes informal areas with high pollution and congestion levels, and exclusive high-end desert cities with ample space and private access to the natural world, is reflected in the trend towards megacities. This trend is made possible by state deregulation, privatization, and the commodification urban space.
Rapid urbanization is taking place in the Global South. Megacities, which are large and imposing, are one urban trend in this process.Environmental inequalities are growing.
Greater Cairo, Egypt is an example of this phenomenon. This city, which is home over 15 million people and is considered one Africa’s epicenters, is where you can see it. Cairo is home to a diverse urban fabric that includes both formal development and informal. This dual urban phenomenon continues shaping the urban housing landscape as Cairo’s geographical boundaries expand into the desert.
The report reflects environmental inequalities.Uneven exposure to environmental burdens, such as overcrowding, air pollution, poor sanitation, and in access to environmental amenities, such as green spaces and low-density air, can lead to uneven exposure.. These two forms of environmental inequality are not to be considered in isolation in Cairo. They must be understood in relation Cairo’s urban development process.
This essay analyzes the power relations, and other drivers of environmental inequalities currently occurring in Cairo’s urban housing stock. I use a political ecology approach based on David Harveys idea of accumulation through dispossession.
Dual Reality in the Built Environment
Informal areas
The United Nations Habitat 2020ReportThe claim that 60% of Egypt’s housing units are in informal areas is supported by data from the last 30 years. Informal areas are unplanned, self-built housing, which is largely unregulated by government. These informal areas have a number of significant burdens. These include poorer air quality, a lack of guaranteed services (i.e. toilets), minimal green space, and a high population density. Despite this fact, Cairo offers minimal guarantees for informal housing, as compared to other informal housing in the Global South. It also provides basic services such as electricity, water, and basic structural integrity.
Informal area of Manshet Nasser. Source:Flickr, Kris Fricke.
High population density in informal regions such as Dar al-Salam, Bolaq El-Dakror and Bolaq Al-Dakror. The population density is greater than 70,000 people/km.2It is correlatedHigh concentrations of air pollutantsSuch as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). David Sims refers to informal areas as “The Secret Garden of the Earth”. micro-environmental problemsThese include a lack of sunlight and air ventilation, narrow streets and minimal infrastructure such as paved roads or green spaces. In informal areas, there are fewer amenities for livability like recreational, environmental amenities, and public spaces. The proliferation of formal private housing developments in Cairo’s informal areas is a mixed blessing. These developments provide affordable housing for those with capital in the so-called new desert cities.
New Desert Cities
The original idea of new desert cities was to reduce the dense urban sprawl of Cairo. The original idea dates back in 1956-1970 to the Nassers government, who wanted new cities for affordable housing. Since the launch of the second generation, this idea has been given a capitalist facelift.New cities were created in the 1990s as large areas of state-owned land were primarily sold off to private developers or to the Egyptian army.. These new cities were primarily targeted at urban elites, remittances flows, and foreign investment.
Second-generation new cities often have housing developments that offer serenity, green aesthetics and escape from the chaos of chaotic Cairo. These new cities have a main feature: low-density populations likeNew Cairo and 6ThOctoberHolding less than 200 people/km2. A lower density of people is accompanied with a higher socio-spatial greenery distribution. Landscape design features look strikingly different from informal areas. These include areas with open space, clean air, or stretches of greenery. These include residential compounds likeHyde ParkThe private compound is located in New Cairo and offers 600,000.00 sq/m to its residents.2You can get greenery and walking paths starting at $750/sq/m2. A planned three-mile green river will run through the New Administrative Capital. These new urban housing developments are a stark contrast to informal settlements. The next section will examine some of the causes of these environmental inequalities.
De-regulation & privatization
1974 President Anwar SadatsInfitahEconomic liberalization, also known as economic freedom, was accompanied by a package that included deregulation and privatization. These two economic reforms created ripple effects in Cairo’s urban housing market, which also increased environmental inequalities.
Housing deregulation was created to make it easier for investors to get into the market. The deregulation of government land tenure resulted in for-profit housing development and practices speculative housing. This is when people or companies buy housing with the intention to sell it rather than live in it, increasing housing prices. Egypt’s deregulated housing market was caused by capitalists seeking new markets to acquire capital and remittances from Egyptians who are working abroad.It is a safe investment.
David Harvey’s argument that urbanization under neoliberal capitalism is driven by capital needing to find new markets in order to avoid the crisis of over-accumulation leads to speculation housing in Cairo. The process of such accumulation leads to the dispossessed urban poor who are forced from their homes because they cannot afford the rising living costs. Harvey’s famous phrase of accumulation through dispossession is thus realized. It is now well-known that Cairo holds anOverproduction of speculative and affordable housing. The supply of affordable housing for Egyptians with lower incomes was directly affected by rising housing prices, due in part to speculation and deregulation.
This is compounded because the income level has not increased in line with inflation.Price increases. Researchers Salma Shukrallah & Yahia Shawkat discovered that the median housing price for 2016 wasBeyond the reach of 49.2% Egyptians. In some cases, evenSubsidized social housingEgyptians with lower incomes are unable to afford this luxury. The deregulation of Egypt’s economy is one contributor to the capital accumulation in housing while Egyptians are left without adequate purchasing power and affordability.Housing options. They are forced to live in informal housing, which has an uneven distribution of environmental hazards such as overcrowding, a lack of open-green space, and inadequate infrastructure provision.
Apart from residential areas, most of the open green spaces in Cairo are behind gated clubs that require membership fees. The remaining parks that have low-cost entrance fees can be a barrier to entry.29% Egyptians live below poverty line$1.81 per Day The Nile river is one of the few public reprieves. However, the Nile is not always accessible to informal communities located in the city’s old urban core and at its periphery. Cairo is home to a mix of private developers and informal urban planning. This leaves little green space for the public.
The welfare state has become a market competitor
The logic of International Monetary Funds structural adjustment programs (IMF) explains the trend of the Egyptian government to become a competitor in free market, instead of being a welfare provider. These programs were adopted in Egypt for the first time in 1990, and again in 2016 as a condition of a $12 million IMF loan. As the government invests in these projects, the new prioritization for capital accumulation by the state in urban development leads to environmental inequalities. The current Egyptian government has a24% equity shareThe $45Billion New Administrative Capital was one of the largest investments in new desert cities. Another government body is the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), which sells state-owned land in new desert cities for private developers or investors. It has an approximateAnnual revenue of $40 billion.
Source: Green River in New Administrative CapitalFlickr, Ziad Rashad.
You could argue that the money will be reinvested in public spending. However, public investments are concentrated in a few, exclusive landscapes. 201750% of the public budget is allocated to the built environmentA new city was designated for 2% of the Egyptian population. The government also announced that from 2016 to 2020, it would designate new cities hosting a mere 2% of the Egyptian population.Only $1.7 Billion was spent on the provision of services and regeneration to informal areas in all of Egypt.Comparable to the $45 billion spent by the NAC in the same time period. Researcher Deena KhilIt is argued that upgrading informal areas is a good ideaDespite their desperate need, the government has neglected them, unless there is a structural threat to the residents. This has led to environmental inequalities that are worsened for the remaining urban landscape, as well as informal areas.
Conclusion
Inequalities in urban housing have been a result of uneven government investment over the past 30 years, as well as the solidified neoliberal markets shifts. Visibly, environmental inequality in Cairo’s urban housing system is a direct result of existing social inequalities. This paper examined how economic reforms in the 1970s have led to parallel urban development between informal and formal neighborhoods, with striking environmental inequalities. However, power relations that have prioritized capital accumulation are the root cause of uneven urban development. The reverse relationship is maintained between environmental burdens being shared by lower income Egyptians, while environmental amenities are reserved for and owned by the elites. Cairo’s success has been defined by its urban sprawl. Who has paid the price?
Cover photoCairo, Egypt: City skyline Source:Unsplash,Tienko Dima
