Free Essay

Housing for Poor People in Cairo, Egypt

In:

Submitted By chenoyceil
Words 695
Pages 3
The condition of housing for people in Cairo, Egypt is in dire straits. Three of the world’s 30 largest slums are found in Cairo and 45 percent of Egypt’s population is living in slum conditions. It has been stated that there are about 8 million slum dwellers in Greater Cairo and almost 70 percent of the city’s residents live in informal areas or settlements that are called ashwa’iyyat (Kipper, 2009).
Informal housing areas in Cairo are inhabited by heterogeneous group of people and these areas spread throughout Greater Cairo and there is lack of support from the government to tackle the spread of such slums (Bayat and Dennis, 2000). In 2005, Egypt’s UN Human Development Report (EHDR) reported the precarious situation of housing for poor people in Cairo.
Following the report of 2005, the government announced a series of planned projects to tackle the housing problem in Cairo along with the cooperation of UNDP. Further, international aid organizations such as the USAID and GTZ also came forward to help in several housing projects. However, in spite of such measures there is need for further development to control the continued encroachment on agricultural lands and lack of proper housing for the poor.
There is a view expressed by several scholars that informal housing is actually a solution to provide housing to the poor people in Cairo (O’Donnell, 2013). While the government of Cairo fears that slums harm the modernisation of Cairo but at the same time, informal housing is a blessing in disguise for the poor in Cairo. Some organizations such as the Ashoka and Ashoka Arab World have come up with Housing For All (HFA) imitative that aims at improving the purchasing power of the poor so that they can afford safer, cleaner and better homes. Another NGO organization, Habitat for Humanity Egypt, and the organization Cities Alliance aims at creating affordable housing for the poor.
The problem of human population also needs to be tackled to reach any desired result. It has also been recommended by some that Cairo looks at building a new city that would share some part of its growing population. The government in Cairo should also look at ways to regularise slums by offering land rights and upgrade conditions of poor people by providing them basic infrastructure and housing (O’Donnell, 2013). There is also need for creation of modern planned desert settlements. Another solution to the given problem would be legislation of laws that allow land titling and housing rights for the poor along with access to services like water systems and security (O’Donnell, 2013). The government has already started on investing in youth housing programs that aim at creating one million housing units for low income citizens in Cairo. The legislation Rent Law No. 4 of 1996 also aims at exempting certain constructions from rent laws and there is proposal for legislating “occupants union bill” and housing co-operatives law that would provide housing to the poor in Cairo (O’Donnell, 2013).

References
Kipper, R 2009, Cairo: A Broader View, in Regina Kipper and Marton Fischer, eds., Cairo’s Informal Areas: Between Urban Challenges and Hidden Potentials, Portugal: Nonprint SA, 15.

Bayat, A and Denis, B 2000, Who is afraid of ashwaiyyat? Urban change and politics in Egypt, Environment and Urbanization 12, pp. 185.

O’Donnell, S., 2013. Informal housing in Cairo: Are Ashwa’iyyat Really the Problem? [online] Available at: http://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/92714/1/Informal%20Housing%20in%20Cairo.pdf Emails:

Ashoka
87 Abdel Aziz Al Seoud St.، Al Manial, Cairo Governorate, Egypt
Phone:+20 2 25328586 tchoi@ashoka.org Ashoka Arab World
93 Abdel Aziz Al Saud, 7th Floor, Apt # 1 , Cairo, Egypt media@ashoka-arab.org Habitat for Humanity Egypt
99 Omar Ibn El-Khattab St., Almazah
Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt, 11341
Email
no@habitategypt.org
Phone
+202 2419 5161/2
Fax
+202 2419 5163

Cities Alliance
Rond Point Schuman 6/5
1040 Brussels, Belgium
Telephone: +32 2 234 6370 Email: info@citiesalliance.org

United Nations Development Programme
UNDP
Egypt Country Office
CEDARE Building, 2 El Hegaz Street
Roxy, Heliopolis
Cairo, Egypt
Office:
(202) 2256 1796 /56 /13 /02
Fax:
(202) 2256 1647
E-mail:
registry.eg@undp.org

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Cairo Report

...INTRODUCTION The world is becoming more and more urban. In the 1800’s, only 3 % of the world population lived in the cities. In the 1950’s, the percentage reached around 30 %. At the present time, it is more than 50 % of the population and the prediction indicates that probably two third of the world’s population will live in cities by the year 2030. Globally, the Cities represent 2 % of earth’s surface, but use 75 % of its resources. In consequence, mega cities are concerned by the 3 following main dimensions : · the social dimension (cultural diversity and variety, education, art, living conditions, transport, security, health care, innovation, …) · the economical dimension (work & mass unemployment, improvement of infrastructure, new technologies, decentralisation, repartition of wealth, capital equipments, …) · the ecological dimension (energy sources, sustainable development, air and water pollution, noise pollution, traffic jam, water supply, urban sprawl, urban environment protection, public transportation, waste management, …) DEFINITION OF MEGA CITIES There are numerous large and wide cities all around the world. At the present time the urban population is estimated to around 3.5 billion of inhabitants and will probably be more than 5 billion by 2030. The term “mega-cities” was defined for metropolitan agglomerations which concentrate more than 10 millions of inhabitants.In 2011, above 25 cities reached the level of more than 10 million of inhabitants...

Words: 13648 - Pages: 55

Premium Essay

Asfdasfc

...The air pollution in Cairo is a matter of serious concern. The air quality in downtown Cairo is more than 10 to 100 folds of acceptable world standards. Air pollutants that are very high are particulate, hydrocarbons and lead. All are cancer causing agents. What is the cost of air pollution In Cairo? The World Health Organization reports that the Air Pollution in Downtown Cairo is 10-100 times what is considered a safe limit. Cairo is in the company of other Cities like Mexico City, Bangkok, San Paulo, Delhi, Tokyo which are among the worst Cities in the World in terms of air pollution. The US environmental Protection Agency has published Risk data which states that above the safe limit, the risk of developing serious respiratory disease and cancer from inhaling particulate in air (dust & soot and hydrocarbons, heavy metal compounds) is: 2 persons for every 1000. In addition to that, the dispersion factor (how fast the pollutants in the air are dispersed because of the weather conditions like the wind, rain ,air, temperature) makes a difference in the severity of exposure to air pollution. Cairo has a very poor dispersion factor because of lack of rain and its layout of tall buildings and narrow streets, which create a bowl effect. I don't claim to have accurate data on Cairo air Pollution. There isn't any. I can make a reasonable assumption, that Cairo air pollution is similar to the low range of Mexico City & San Paulo, which we have good data for. I...

Words: 978 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

A Literature Review on Migration

...Volume of Remittances 9. Impact of remittances on poverty alleviation 10. Brain Drain/Gain (causes, effects and solutions) 11. Egyptian Migration To Arab Countries Part III Legal and Illegal Migration 1. Definition 2. Dimensions 3. Causes 4. Dangers 5. Methods 6. Legal and political status 7. Migration Stages 8. The gangs of illegal migration contrive new behaviors….. 9. Egypt youth migration ……….. Ideal cases Objective The whole theme of this paper is to vivid the magnitude of migration, to profile the workers who migrate, to identify the types of migration and to determine the extent to which migration affects the rate of poverty and unemployment in Egypt. Not only that but also exploring the impact of the internal and external migration on the development of the country at the micro level. Reasons for this paper As Migration whether permanent or temporary, internal or international, legal or illegal has always been a possible coping strategy for people facing environmental changes. Pre-history and history...

Words: 13903 - Pages: 56

Free Essay

Mystery of Capital Summary

... Wealth gap: There is a great difference between the West and the rest of the world in regards to distribution of wealth. ii. Inability to produce capital: a. Resources exist, but are in defective forms a. Ownership of houses are not clearly identified b. Unincorporated business with undefined liability b. Assets are considered dead capital since there is not representation II. Five Mysteries of Capital a. The Mystery of the Missing Information - There is no formal documentation of the world’s poor capacity to accumulate assets. They have the ability to save a lot; most of it is dead capital, which are assets that are not used to their fullest. b. The Mystery of Capital - Central to this book is the exploration of what is capital, how is it produced, and how is it related to money? c. The Mystery of Political Awareness - Within the past forty years, globalization brought governments to the realization of the untapped wealth of dead capital held by so many poor people. d. The Missing Lesson of U.S. History - The lesson of the past can be found in the history books and applied with what is going on in the Third World and former communist countries today. e. The Mystery of Legal Failure - Why Property Law Does Not Work Outside the West - As stated in the book, since the 19th century, nations have unsuccessfully tried to implement the laws of the West to give their citizens the institutional framework to produce wealth. An example of this mystery is the difficulty most...

Words: 1219 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Arab Spring

...Benkaddour is a Moroccan sociologist, he started his career in Morocco after obtaining his baccalaureate in 1984. Since then he has been a teacher in Morocco, afterwards he went to the Netherlands to teach Dutch people about Moroccan culture. He currently works for Arabika, a company that specializes in legal assistance, translations, language trainings and intercultural communications. The desk research revealed the opinions of the Arab spring’s countries inhabitants. Inflation, unemployment and poor housing conditions prevailed as a direct consequence of insufficient dictatorial regimes. Freshly graduated youth was left jobless with no sign of improvement in the near future. People became more and more aware of the lack of political influence they had and started idealizing the western political democratic models. The interview and case studies showed there have been negative thoughts about the dictatorial regimes ever since their instalment. Protests have been seen throughout the history of the Arab world. The difference, however, between those protests and the Arab Spring is the modern age. Where earlier protests failed due to lack of support, the modern age tools such as (social-)media carried the Arab spring’s unfolding events throughout the world, reaching a lot of people and consequently fuelling protests. The future perspective for the countries who have overthrown their government might not be that bright. So far the protesters have succeeded in breaking down the dictatorial...

Words: 4787 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

Sudanese Refugees Research Paper

...economically, socially and psychologically. Due to persecution and genocide that the Sudanese people encounteEDr in the second civil war, they seek asylum in Egypt. I want to write about this topic for many reasons. First of all, I want to describe the tough life that the Sudanese people live. They are forced to leave their homeland and immigrate to any country seeking peace. Second, children are the most likely to suffer from stress disorder. These children...

Words: 1533 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

The Moyne Commission's Effect on the Caribbean

...Introduction Conditions in the Caribbean territories controlled by the British Colony in the 1930’s were not of public health standard especially after the labour unrest. To understand the public health crisis that existed at that time it is important to have an idea of what public health means. Public health as defined by Winslow (1920) “is the science and art of preventing, prolonging life and organized community efforts for sanitation of the environment, control of communicable infections, education of the individual in personal hygiene, organization of medical and nursing services for the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease, and the development of social machinery to ensure everyone a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health, so organizing these benefits as to enable every citizen to realize his birth right of health and longevity”(p.5). Considering this definition and the conditions of the British Caribbean territories one could conclude that there were very little to no public health existence in the time of the 1930’s. Consequently, the British Government appointed the Moyne Commission on August 3rd 1938 to investigate and make recommendations on the social and economic conditions of its territories and to file a report. The Moyne Report ended on February 20th 1939 and published fully in 1945 (Green, 2014). This project, therefore, will give a brief biography of Lord Moyne, discuss the factors that led to the establishment of the Commission...

Words: 2872 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Accountant

...The Index The Index | 1 | The Introduction | 2 | Financial Subprime Mortgage Crisis Causes | 3 | Introduction & Background to the Situation of the Egyptian Economy prior to the Global Financial crisis | 10 | Financial Subprime Mortgage Crisis Impacts on Egypt | 13 | The Egyptian Economy & the crisis | 21 | The Conclusion & Solutions | 23 | The References | 27 | The Introduction In the second half of 2008, the world economy went through a serious financial upheaval that sparked off in the United States and spread to Europe and the rest of the world. The negative consequences of this financial crisis had bitten the Egyptian economy in many fields. Egypt’s growth rate witnessed setbacks and may have posted its slowest annual growth in half a decade in 2008–2009 as the global crisis hit revenue from tourism, migrant labor remittances, the Suez Canal, export revenues, and investment. The severity of the crisis and its uncertainties demonstrated the need for urgent action to restore financial stability, lead the economic recovery and secure a sustainable future for the country. This paper therefore critically discusses the current global financial crisis and its impact on Egypt. It presents an overview of the Egyptian economy prior to the crisis, followed by an assessment of the depth and impact of the crisis on sectors of the Egyptian economy. Additionally, the paper highlights the actions taken by the Egyptian government to weather the effects...

Words: 10329 - Pages: 42

Premium Essay

Arab-Israeli Conflict

...Arab-Israeli Conflict The Arab League * October 1945 Britain helped form the Arab League * The first members were Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia * Its purpose was to prevent Soviet progress in the region * Others joined as they became independent * By 1983 new members included Sudan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Oman, South Yemen, Kuwait and Bahrain * The 36 million Arabs had a common language and culture * Most were Muslims and hated colonial rule * They had similar economic problems * Even oil rich states had unequal distribution of wealth among rich and poor * But above all else they hated Israel Palestine 1923-47 * British Mandate from 1923 * Promises made during World War I led to Arab expectations * Also led to Jewish hopes for a homeland * Theodore Herzl (Viennese Jew) started the Zionist Movement * 1896 First Zionist Congress – he proposed a national home for the world’s Jews * The Balfour Declaration seemed to be a British commitment to this * 1920s 10,000 Jews a year settled in Palestine * Arabs alarmed – saw this as more Western imperialism * 1922 Churchill said it was a promise of a national Jewish home not a state * 1929 Arab riots against the 100,000 Jewish settlers * Jews protected themselves with the Haganah (their own security force) 1930s * 1933 Britain restricted Jewish immigration to Palestine to appease the Arabs * Led to Jewish riots *...

Words: 3228 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Housing Business

...Apartment • Apartment: a relatively self-contained housing unit in a building which is often rented out to one person or a family, or two or more people sharing a lease in a partnership, for their exclusive use. Sometimes called a flat or digs (slang). Some locales have legal definitions of what constitutes an apartment. In some locations, "apartment" denotes a building that was built specifically for such units, whereas "flat" denotes a unit in a building that had been originally built as a single-family house, but later on subdivided into some multi-unit house type.[5] • Apartment building, Block of flats: a multi-unit dwelling made up of several (generally four or more) apartments. Contrast this with the two-family house and the three-family dwelling. An apartment (in US English) or flat (in British English and often associated with or miscontrued as social housing) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies only part of a building. Such a building may be called an apartment building, especially if it consists of many apartments for rent. Apartments may be owned by an owner/occupier or rented by tenants (two types of housing tenure). The term apartment is favored in North America, whereas the term flat is commonly, but not exclusively, used in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and most Commonwealth countries. In Malaysian English, flat often denotes a housing block of lesser quality meant for lower-income groups, while apartment...

Words: 12388 - Pages: 50

Free Essay

Good

...ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS Mgmt 605-M02 Mondays 6:00-8:10 p.m. DESCRIPTION This course links the classical management process to the analysis of human behavior. How do people think, analyze a situation, and how they behave. The practicing manager should gain theoretical knowledge on which to base experience and/or intuition when making decisions or solving problems involving the human dimension in the organization. In this course you are going to learn a series of models: 1) The individual—to help you understand, predict, and modify an individual’s behavior. 2) Perception of people—how such perception differs from other perceptions aspects and its importance 3) Functions of the managerial brain—how it works, makes decisions, solves problems, creates ideas 3) Dimensions of communications—to enable you to understand the basics of transmittal of knowledge 2) Two person interactions—so that you can understand conflict, leadership behavior, negotiations. 3) Small group functions,--so that you can understand when and why they are strong and get results and when they are weak and become failures 4) The large organization—so that you can utilize their strengths in marshalling human resources to get the work out and how they can adapt to changing times. If you have any problems with this course, doing the work or meeting standards, speak to your instructor before you receive failing grades or other unpleasant consequences. When you discuss...

Words: 22795 - Pages: 92

Free Essay

Ten Steps to a Me Steps

...A Handbook for Development Practitioners Ten Steps to a 29672 ResultsBased Monitoring and Evaluation System Jody Zall Kusek Ray C. Rist THE WORLD BANK A Handbook for Development Practitioners Ten Steps to a Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation System A Handbook for Development Practitioners Ten Steps to a Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation System Jody Zall Kusek Ray C. Rist THE WORLD BANK Washington, D.C. © 2004 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 Telephone 202-473-1000 Internet www.worldbank.org E-mail feedback@worldbank.org All rights reserved. 1 2 3 4 07 06 05 04 The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of the World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this work without permission may be a violation of applicable law. The World Bank encourages dissemination...

Words: 91537 - Pages: 367

Premium Essay

Africa Market

...Sector Report Fast-Moving Consumer Goods in Africa kpmg.com/africa The series has the following reports: • Oil and Gas in Africa • Private Equity in Africa • Manufacturing in Africa • Luxury Goods in Africa • The African Consumer and Retail • White Goods in Africa • Insurance in Africa • Agriculture in Africa • Power in Africa • Construction in Africa • Banking in Africa • Healthcare in Africa Contents Introduction and Overview 1 Key Drivers 2 Market Size 2 Market Concentration 2 Related Industries 4 Spending Power 4 Buying Habits 5 FMCG in Africa 6 Food 6 Beverages 6 Personal Care Products 8 Home Care Products 8 FMCG Growth Spots in Africa 6 Ghana 9 Kenya 10 Nigeria 14 Sources of Information 16 Contact Details back page 1 | Fast-Moving Consumer Goods in Africa Introduction & Overview The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, also called the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector, is one of the largest industries worldwide. FMCGs are generally cheap products that have a short shelf life, and are purchased by consumers on a regular basis. Profit margins on these products are usually low for retailers, who try to offset this by selling large volumes. Some of the most well-known FMCG companies in the world include Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, and Johnson & Johnson. The FMCG sector comprises a large variety of products, with...

Words: 8634 - Pages: 35

Free Essay

None

...ASIA CONTINENT, ASIA FACTS Of all the seven continents, the continent of Asia is the largest with respect to both area and population while Australia being the smallest in both regards. The total area of Asia is calculated to be 43,810,582 kilometers square, covering 30% of the total earth's land and 8.66% of the total earth's surface. This continent shares its border with Ural Mountains to the East, the Arctic Ocean to the North, the Pacific Ocean to the West and the Indian Ocean to the South. The highest point in the World is Mount Everest with a height of 8,848 meters. This mountain is situated in the Tibetan region of the Himalayas that is situated in this gigantic continent. Other Asia facts includes the facts about Asian rivers. As, the rivers are considered to be the most needed natural phenomenon on earth and are immensely important geographically, biologically, historically and culturally. So, the 3rd longest river in the world; river Yangtze (6,211 km) is in Asia and flows through China. Desert is an area or landscape which gets least precipitation thus providing unfavorable conditions for the growth of plants and the survival of life. The largest desert in Asia is the Gobi desert measuring 281,800 km square. Climate and weather are important factors in tourist's decision making and influence the successful operation of tourism. Climate of Asia largely depends on its location and physical geography. This continent comprises of 53 countries including Russia and...

Words: 9432 - Pages: 38

Premium Essay

History of Saudi Arabia

...7th century, Muhammad united the various tribes of the peninsula and created a single Islamic religious polity. Following his death in 632, his followers rapidly expanded the territory under Muslim rule beyond Arabia, conquering huge swathes of territory (from the Iberian Peninsula in west to modern day Pakistan in east) in a matter of decades. In so doing, Arabia soon became a politically peripheral region of the Muslim world as the focus shifted to the more developed conquered lands.[39] From the 10th century to the early 20th century Mecca and Medina were under the control of a local Arab ruler known as the Sharif of Mecca, but at most times the Sharif owed allegiance to the ruler of one of the major Islamic empires based in Baghdad, Cairo or Istanbul. Most of the remainder of what became Saudi Arabia reverted to traditional tribal rule.[40][41] In the 16th century, the Ottomans added the Red Sea and Persian Gulf coast (the Hejaz, Asir and Al-Ahsa) to the Empire and claimed suzerainty over the interior. One reason was to thwart Portuguese attempts to attack the Red Sea (hence the Hejaz) and the Indian Ocean.[42] Ottoman degree of control over these lands varied over the next four centuries with the fluctuating strength or weakness of the Empire's central authority.[43][44] The emergence of what was to become the Saudi royal family, known as the Al Saud, began in Nejd in central Arabia in 1744, when Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the dynasty, joined forces with the religious...

Words: 7082 - Pages: 29