Janne Amedi Heinz Nagler Christoph Wessling

Essay

The importance of urban renewal in the historic district for the development of Greater Impressum

Essay The importance of urban renewal in the historic district for the development of by Janne Amedi, Heinz Nagler, Christoph Wessling

Editor: Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Heinz Nagler Department of Urban Development and Design Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus Konrad-Wachsmann-Allee 4 03046 Cottbus

Layout: Christoph Wessling Stefanie Wladika

First publication in: Altrock, Uwe et.al., Jahrbuch Stadterneuerung 2009, Schwerpunkt „Megacities und Stadterneuerung“, Berlin 2009

Cottbus, 2010

2 Index

Introduction 5

The historic district as a focal point 6

The historic district of Cairo: Forgotten along the way to becoming a megacity 9

The historic district today 13

Al-Azhar Park and the restorations to Darb al-Ahmar 16

Urban renewal: a community task 19

Literature 22

3 4 ”We are losing our identity and history. nic and urban structures that came Leaving Cairo in this current situation about in the historic district as a re- is no less tragic than the theft of lraqi sult, the sum of it all is a unique, in- heritage during the American attack in valuable cultural treasure that proves 2003” (Serageldin, 2007). The dramatic all the more fascinating the longer it nature of this comparison underscores is explored. Mohamed Scharabi states the assertion underlying this thesis: of it, “Cairo’s multifaceted, multiform that the historic district is rapidly lo- appearance today is the result of an sing the vitally important role it has tra- extraordinary collision between the ditionally played within the context of Orient and the Occident [...] how is it Greater Cairo. plausible that the place we call Cai- ro, the unchanging city of al-Qahira The origins of the old Islamic quarter (“the victorious”), was able, despite all in the city of Cairo stretch back to the changes, to emerge from this collisi- Umayyad dynasty in the 8th century on?” (Scharabi, 1989:11) Today, despi- A.D. The city was consolidated into Al te initial successes in terms of urban Qahira (“Cairo”) after the conquest of renewal, this historic district is greatly the Fatimids in the 10th century (969- endangered, both in terms of its phy- 1171). Today, the historic city center is sical structures and its significance as in drastically poor condition. Except for the vital core of Greater Cairo. the restoration of the most significant monuments, such as the al-Azhar and The goal of this paper is to clarify al-Hussein mosques, and the measures the dramatic threat of endangerment successfully carried out by the Aga facing the historic district of Cairo Khan Trust for Culture to restore and within the context of the city as a renew the Darb al-Ahmar quarter, vast whole and to highlight approaches portions of the old Islamic quarter are to renewing the historic district that plagued by the decay of building fabric, build upon the specific local require- partially unpaved public spaces, very high population and occupancy densi- ty, a largely predominant lower class and informal commercial structures. As a result of its socioeconomic segrega- tion, extremely dense traffic and poor real estate policies, even the historic quarter that dates back to the 19th century, commonly known as Khedivial Cairo (“Royal Cairo”), is in an extreme state of neglect today.

The historic district of Cairo, defined in this paper as encompassing the old Islamic city bounded by the Fatimid and Ayyubid city walls as well as 19th- century Cairo, is not one single ho- mogenous entity. Urban development throughout its various epochs led to overlaps, transformations, breakages and interweaving in its urban structure. In 19th-century Cairo, construction and development was adjacent to and in- terwoven with the old Islamic city. Nu- merous passageways broke through, piercing the urban landscape and, lined with newly constructed buildings, were established as streets throughout the historic quarter (Scharabi, 1989:54ff). Fig. 1 Basic layout of the old Arabic Islamic Despite the interwoven nature and quarter and the 19th-century historic transformations of various architecto- quarter (Scharabi, 1989: 137)

Introduction 5 ments to be met and that draw upon lo- in connection with Cairo’s growth into cally based experience gleaned within a megacity. The urban structure of Cai- the framework of ongoing urban re- ro as a whole can be subdivided into newal projects. The questions that ap- the following three areas: pear most central and which guide the - First, the historic quarter east discussion in this paper are as follows: of the Nile; forming the core of the What role can and should urban deve- city today, it expanded concentrically lopment within the historic district take between the mid-19th and mid-20th in connection with the development of centuries to encompass the islands in Greater Cairo? What strategies can be the Nile and the districts within the city used in pursuing the urban renewal of center that lie west of the Nile. Cairo’s historic district to accommo- - Second, the highly dense, in- date both its significance as a historic formal settlements arranged in a ring center of culture and its daily use as an around the city center; to a great ex- urban space by modern inhabitants of tent, these were built atop the fertile Cairo? In addressing these questions, farmland of the Nile Valley and Nile what is most important in terms of pos- Delta after the 1960s. sible action to take and areas in which - Third, the suburbs, large set- that action might be taken? tlements, satellite cities and new towns formally planned and built after the be- ginning of the 20th century; these are primarily located in the non-fertile de- sert areas to the east and west of the The historic district as a focal city center. point With its clearly drawn distinctions bet- ween public and private areas and its Cairo contains various core historic strongly defined functional divisions, sites, sites where the city saw its begin- the structure of the Islamic old city con- nings, as well as new towns and small forms to the hierarchical pattern typical satellite cities branching off from Gre- of old Arabic Islamic cities. The most ater Cairo; substantial development to important public locations and spaces the city’s informal settlements has also are the city gates, the central mosque take place since the 1950s. Because of area and the streets connecting them this history, Cairo features a polycen- with the bazaars. Between these axes tric urban structure comprising various are the individual city quarters, which, city quarters and settlements that, over in turn, have their own centers with time, have developed their own vividly mosques and bazaars. The individu- unique characteristics. The thrust of al residential quarters and neighbor- Cairo’s identity today is provided not hoods, some of which still today ex- only by the historic district but also hibit a private, protected atmosphere, by the city’s unique positioning along are connected to them via alleyways. the Nile and the Pyramids of Giza. This The historic quarter of Cairo, however, identity is also supplemented to some was not developed according to any extent by the district centers at the pre-designed urban planning. The old core of some of Cairo’s 20th-century Islamic city was fleshed out around the city quarters, such as the heart of the basic core formed by older settlements Heliopolis suburb marking the location constructed under the Fatimids (969- where the suburb was founded and 1171). Comprehensive expansions to the new “Star Center” at the heart of the historic quarter followed under the the largest mall in , also settled Ayyubid dynasty (1171-1250). While within the Heliopolis suburb. the fundamental underlying structure was retained throughout every stage In order to come to a better understan- of the historic district’s halting course ding of the situation facing the historic of development, as of the beginning of district, we will first examine Cairo’s the 19th century under Muhammed Ali various development phases and phy- Pasha, the process of urban renewal sical structures and then summarize and expansion led to partial alterations some of the most important statistics as streets were established during the

6 The historic district as a focal point process of constructing new buildings which, due to the lack of apartments in and expanding existing ones. In the the 1960s, rapidly increased in number same way, numerous additional sto- and size and led to the large-scale mo- ries constructed atop buildings as well vement of refugees from the Sinai and as measures taken in the last decade Suez following the Six-Day War. A mas- to repair and replace portions of buil- sive increase in density in the remai- dings have also led to a considerable ning quarters at the heart of the city degree of alteration. The 19th-century began in the 1970s (Kenawy, 2005:11). urban development described above Former villa suburbs gave way to high- took place to the west of the old Isla- ly compact city quarters. The continual mic city and conformed to the primarily dearth of apartments and ongoing ru- orthogonal, methodically planned Euro- ral flight led to a further increase in and pean urban structures common to the compression of informal settlements. 19th century. Typically, the buildings Of the living units constructed between constructed at that time were highly 1970 and 1990, 80 % are found in in- dense townhouses, largely closed and formal settlements. A strategy of de- 25 to 30 meters high. centralization was adopted at the time as well in order to counteract the incre- During the reign of Isma’il Pasha (1863- asing densification and expansion of 1879), European architects planned and Cairo, and attempts were made to cre- laid out large portions of what is today ate satellite cities in a 35-90 km radius the city center and also laid out the pri- around Cairo’s city center. Until today, marily open structures of , at however, Cairo’s inhabitants have ex- the time a villa district, on the northern hibited a preference only for the new islands in the Nile River as well as the towns that have some kind of connec- Mohandessin district to the west of the tion to the city center and are a part of Nile. Following that, at the beginning of the settlement areas ensconced within the 20th century, the Garden City villa Greater Cairo, such as the “6th of Octo- quarter was erected on the eastern bank ber” in the west and the “” of the Nile. The suburbs farther from in the south. A second phase of city ex- the city center, such as Heliopolis and pansion began in the mid-1990s with /, were also founded duri- the planning of City in the ng this same time. Following the con- temporary developments in European urban planning, these new settlements were cultivated as areas for the wealthy and middle class (Ifa, 2006:36).

It was during the 1950s and at the 1952 founding of the Republic of Egypt that Cairo’s massive population growth began. Set off by natural population growth as well as massive rural-to-ur- ban migration, this population swell in Cairo continues still to this day. Under the reign of President Nasser (1954- 1970), the comprehensive socialist pro- grams started for the purpose of buil- ding homes focused predominantly on areas east of the city center and led to the construction of multiple-story apart- ment buildings. This phase of urban development, which lasted from 1952 until the Six-Day War with Israel, was the first phase of city expansion after independence. Forced industrialization and an increasing drift from rural areas Fig. 2 Expansions to Cairo’s urban land- to urban centers was accompanied by scape, 1800-1947 (mapped out by the the emergence of informal settlements, authors)

The historic district as a focal point 7 eastern portion of the city and the ex- is needed in order to gain a more de- tensive expansions to the “6th of Octo- tailed overview of the challenges in- ber” district. The construction projects volved in the urban renewal of Cairo’s that were part of these expansions, historic district. The exact population which were carried out on the basis of of Greater Cairo remains unknown; es- market demand, comprised gated com- timates vary between about 15 million munities for the wealthier segments of and more than 20 million inhabitants, the population and middle-class apart- with approximately eight million living ment buildings as well as larger office at the core of the city and another eight spaces, shopping areas and the like. million in the further agglomerations. There was nothing developed between At some 16 million inhabitants, Cairo these different areas to provide a sense encompasses approximately a quar- of transition or spatial connectedness. ter of the entire population in Egypt, which numbers about 80 million. Based A glance at the most relevant data re- on calculations that the city center en- garding socioeconomic development compasses 210 square kilometers and contains eight million inhabitants, its approximately 35,000 inhabitants per square kilometer make the population density of Cairo among the highest in the world. Cairo’s annual population growth of about 4 % is considerably lower than its demographic growth of 2.6 %, attributable to continuing rural flight into the cities. The Ministry of Planning predicts a further population growth of 35 million inhabitants by 2025 for the entire Nile Delta region (Ministry of Planning et al, 2004:4). With its average per capita income of 1,300 USD per year (CIA, 2007), Egypt is classified as a developing country. A look at the division of the total national income according to the various seg- ments of the population reveals that Egyptian society is a two-tier society, with 86 % of the population poor and a mere 14 % of the population having access to more than 75 % of the nati- onal income (Habashi, 1996:14). This income gap is also demonstrated in the stark duality of the class division within the society of Cairo; around 30 % of the city’s inhabitants live comfortably whi- le 70 % are situated within the poorer class. Among the latter group, a further 30 % live from a good 50 Euros per year (as of 2006). This group clearly falls be- low the poverty line of 80 cents per day as introduced by the World Bank.

In addition to its political tensions, po- pulation growth, overpopulation of fer- tile areas and related use of natural re- sources, the greatest problems facing Egypt are its economic weakness and lack of education. Additional problems Fig. 3 Expansions to the informal settlements, 1952-2000 (mapped out by the confronting Cairo include heavy air pol- authors) lution, daily gridlock within the city and

8 The historic district as a focal point the dilapidated sewage system and ri- tate investments currently rest outside sing groundwater level in the historic the historic city district. New hotels district. When this is seen in light of are placed in the suburbs, as they are the extreme growth of Cairo since the easier to access; for example, the new 1950s, the challenges facing the city JW Marriot Hotel Cairo was just built in become clear. Whereas 630,000 inha- Heliopolis. bitants lived in Cairo at the end of the 19th century, that number had already One of the causes behind this develop- increased by 1945 to 1.9 million in a ment tendency is social segregation. space measuring 80 square kilometers. While the flight of the wealthy and influ- Today, approximately 16 million inha- ential segment of the population from bitants live in Greater Cairo in a space the Islamic historic city can be traced that encompasses 500 square kilome- all the way back to the 19th century, ters. the construction of the first suburbs at the beginning of the 20th century introduced social segregation into the 19th-century quarter during the large- The historic district of Cairo: scale suburbanization of upper-class Cairo society as the wealthy moved out Forgotten along the way to of the city center and into the newly built suburbs of Maadi, Garden City, becoming a megacity Zamalek and Heliopolis. Rural-to-urban migration was also taking place at the The primary causes and needs that have same time, and the population moving led to the desperate situation of the into the city from rural areas settled historic city are societal segregation, down within the medieval city. The re- rental price policies and the neglect to sult was social segregation, making the preserve and restore buildings due to old Islamic city the place of residence cost, erection of informal settlements, for lower-income segments of the po- traffic developments and a general loss pulation (Mayer, 2001:1001). The poor of political power in terms of urban living conditions and run-down condi- development policy. In addition to the tion of the buildings were hallmarks of dilapidated condition of the architec- this part of the city already at that time, tonic structures in further areas of the and the gap between the lower-class historic district, the loss of significance poor and the privileged upper class has increasingly affecting the historic city only continued to increase. is alarming in terms of urban develop- ment. This tendency can also be seen With the founding of the Republic of in the 19th-century historic quarter; Egypt and the socialist policies of Pre- one way in which this can be seen is the sident Nasser, urban development po- increasing tendency for established in- licies underwent fundamental change stitutions to move away from the 19th- due to forced industrialization, agrari- century historic quarter. an and land reforms and the intensive construction of subsidized housing as For example, Building well as the introduction of restrictive on , the Egyptian Muse- fixed rental prices. The rental costs for um, the German Embassy and the Ame- historic buildings were frozen at 1950s rican University of Cairo are all slated prices due to the rental price fixing po- for a move to New Cairo City, where the licies. A restrictive upper limit for the German University of Cairo has already rental costs of newly built apartments settled. While the decision to place the was also put in place, and rental costs Egyptian Museum near the Pyramids were kept so low by the state that it was of Giza, carried out in the 1980s, was no longer possible for owners to earn made for logistical reasons and out of a living; this, in turn, led to the swift a need for space, not because of the deterioration of numerous buildings deterioration of the historic city, it has (Meyer, 1996:97). The same fixed-price nevertheless helped to accelerate that laws for rental costs are still in place same process of deterioration. Further- today and lead to paradoxical compli- more, all the most important real es- cations on the apartment market. In

The historic district of Cairo: Forgotten along the way to becoming a megacity 9 some cases, the rental costs set by the mal real estate market. As of the end of market laws for one apartment are 50 the 1990s, approximately 1.8 million to 150 times higher than the rental co- apartments in Greater Cairo stood em- sts for another, comparable apartment pty, accompanied at the same time by (as of 1998). In addition to rental costs, a dire need for apartments existed and landlords today demand what is known a large number of poor families living as “key money,” or the apartment is in destitute, restrictive conditions (Ha- immediately put up for sale. Simultane- bashi, 1996:14). “City without apart- ous to the enactment of the price fixing ments, apartments without residents” laws for rental costs, a law governing (Meyer, 1996:97): this statement points the cancellation of rental contracts was out two of the fundamental problems put into place, making it impossible for with the urban development policy of owners to use their property later for Cairo – first, the deterioration of histo- their own purposes. On the one hand, ric buildings due to the neglect to take the result of this real estate policy is any measures toward their preservati- a large number of apartments stan- on, repair and restoration; and second, ding empty for years, as many wealthy the intensive development of informal people build them for later use or for settlements on farmland. speculation (Meyer, 1996:102); on the other hand, it means that people in the In most cases, the informal settlement lower-class segment of society are un- areas present the only possible accom- able to afford an apartment on the for- modations for incoming rural immi-

Fig.4 Expansions to the total area of Cairo, 1800-2000 (mapped out by the authors)

10 The historic district of Cairo: Forgotten along the way to becoming a megacity grants. In terms of their construction, transportation despite the construction the informal settlements have become of two subway lines – though the bus highly dense. The prototypical building and tram systems were crudely neg- rests atop a plot comprising 60 to 140 lected). In spite of the expansions made square meters; it is five or even, in ex- to the primary routes of transportation treme cases, ten to fifteen stories high via the construction of new streets and and is constructed using the simplest 45 overpasses, the traffic situation did of means, its precast concrete skele- not improve; instead, life along the tal frame filled in with raw brick, the streets and open spaces under these building covering the entirety of the newly built overpasses quickly became property and allowing only two to four unbearable due to the extent of the meters’ width for the connecting al- damage and destruction they inflicted leyways. Today, informal settlements on the quality of the urban space. This make up a large portion of the area extremely difficult traffic situation is settled in the first belt of outward city one of the primary reasons for the exit expansion, with approximately half of important cultural institutions from the population of Greater Cairo calling the historic city today; it is no longer them home. The informal settlements in Cairo have an extremely high popu- lation density; in most cases, this ratio exceeds 50,000 residents per square kilometer. In some parts, the number of residents per kilometer is more than 100,000, and in some extreme cases, it can be as high as 220,000 residents per kilometer (Sims, 2003:21). Until the 1980s, the informal settlements were ignored within official urban develop- ment politics. In 1993, fears of political radicalization in the informal settle- ments led to the beginnings of upward revaluation strategies. These, however, concentrated largely on the technologi- cal infrastructure, and to this day, the living conditions within the informal settlements remain miserable and pre- carious, with a lack of organizations dedicated to dealing with medicinal, societal and educational needs (Mini- stry of Planning, et al, 2004:11ff).

Perpetual traffic congestion and thick smog are the order of the day in most places at the heart of Cairo and are a further cause behind the historic district’s drop in significance. In addi- tion to the increase in population, the number of automobiles per household, the number of trips per resident and the stretches of road to be covered as well as the driving times needed all in- creased considerably throughout the 1970s and 1980s (World Bank, 2005:5). During the same period of time, the modal split in Cairo’s traffic exhibited a heavy usage of private automobiles, taxies and microbuses (with an average increase from 22 % to 61 % and a corre- Fig.5 Typologies of informal settlements (by sponding decrease in the use of public the authors)

The historic district of Cairo: Forgotten along the way to becoming a megacity 11 Fig. 6 Extent of the formal city expansions (by the authors)

Fig. 7 Settlement structure of Greater Cairo (by the authors)

12 The historic district of Cairo: Forgotten along the way to becoming a megacity possible to guarantee a reliable means commodate a total of 2.5 million inha- of transportation in reaching these in- bitants. At this point, no public trans- stitutions. portation system is in the planning.

Urban development policy since the An escalation in polarization can be 1980s has been limited to attempts to seen in the overall development pro- halt the informal development of set- cess of Cairo. The historic district is tlements on farmland, to tax the new increasingly losing its most significant towns for urban renewal in desert are- institutions, and the continual neglect as, and to bring about an improvement of its buildings is simply serving to in the living conditions in poor and un- reinforce its decades-old societal se- derdeveloped parts of the city (Ministry gregation. At the same time, the ex- of Planning, et al, 2004:4). The fact tensive informal settlements are being that the urban renewal of the historic developed as close as possible to the district and urban development of the city center, right alongside the existing city center is not even on the list of pri- city structure and infrastructure, while orities in creating urban development the official city expansion underway is policies has had its effect; an overall located far from the city center, in the loss of political power in terms of urban desert areas to the west and east of the development policy development, ho- city center. The fact that the informal wever, has played a significant role as settlement areas are populated by the well. During the second phase of urban lower class while the official settlement expansion, which began in the 1990s, areas are populated primarily by the the large areas slotted for city expan- middle and upper classes only serves sions, including City in to propel the tendency toward social the western part of the city and the far- and economic regression in the histo- reaching areas built in New Cairo City in ric city and in the city center, which are the eastern part of the city, were to be losing their significance as core areas developed. To this day, however, only integrating the entire city into a cohe- the first planned portion of this deve- rent whole. lopment has been realized. The main focus of the official urban planning for New Cairo City is limited to plotting out a grid for the primary network of The historic district today streets while keeping a distance of one to two kilometers between each street and regulating the general zones for The overall situation of Cairo’s historic respective land use. For the most part, district today in terms of urban planning the development plots within this main can accurately be described as terrible; network of streets in New Cairo City are however, this dire state of affairs is to be apportioned to private real estate made apparent in different ways within developers, who then realize plans for each respective area, varying according middle- and upper-class living spaces. to how individual settlements are struc- Despite the considerable size of the tured and integrated into neighboring district, larger commercial spaces and urban spaces. The historic district can industrial settlements are not envisi- roughly be divided into the medieval oned. The fact that the police academy portion of the district, marked by its and the German University in Cairo as Arabic Islamic influences, and the 19th- well as numerous other private schools century quarter, built according to the and facilities for higher education have European standards of the time. been built in New Cairo City seems to indicate that it is the preferred location For the past decade, the Arabic Islamic for educational institutions. New Cairo portion of the historic district has been City – which is 350 meters above sea threatened by various structural pro- level, is situated in the desert and has blems related to its construction, inclu- a moderate climate in comparison to ding the rising groundwater level, the the center of the city situated in the infiltration of pollutants into the funda- Nile Valley – is slotted to be developed ments from a largely rotted-out sewage by 2050 in such a way that it can ac- system, and the high level of air pollu-

The historic district today 13 tion, which particularly corrodes stones corresponding to the original urban and brickwork when accompanied structure of the old city. These main by high humidity and temperatures. streets in the historic district are in re- For the most part, the historic monu- asonable condition. While the central ments, the city gates, the most impor- public spaces along these main roads tant mosques and madrassas as well as have largely been preserved, e.g., the the citadel areas and other important Midan al-Hussein, located between the architectural constructions on the sou- al-Hussein and al-Azhar mosques, the theastern rim of the old medieval quar- continuations of these historically im- ter have been preserved and restored. portant axes have merely been paved The main streets within the Arabic Is- over with asphalt in some places, while lamic historic quarter, which host the in other places, nothing has been done bazaars, rest between these historic at all. Nearly all the visitors to the old buildings and architectural structures, medieval quarter traverse only the cen- tral areas of the historic district and the main axes. The bazaar areas and merchants found there offer a simple fare of standard day-to-day goods in addition to products of interest to tou- rists. The buildings along these axes are also in fair condition, as are those along the main north-south axis of the historic district, traversing the Sharia El-Muizz Li-Din Allah between the gates of Bab al-Futuh in the north and Bab Zu- weila in the south. However, the situa- tion has become especially precarious for residential quarters located off the main axes, where the historic district is marked by partially unpaved alley- ways; deserted, empty and decaying buildings; and a considerable amount of remodeling and reconstruction, lea- ding to the replacement of invaluable, historically significant constructions with rudely built new ones and the frequent, abrupt breakup of time-old structures with the addition of five or even more stories. The district’s po- pulation is very poor. David Sims, in his paper in the UN Habitat Report on Human Settlements, partially defines these areas as unofficial settlements of the type “Deteriorated Historic Core” (Sims, 2003:6). Due to the narrow al- leyways, the impenetrable nature of the traditional alleyway system and the po- verty of the population, only very little motorized traffic is found within this area of the historic district. In contrast, the streets that have broken their way through the old medieval quarter are overcrowded with motorized traffic. The situation has become extreme on the Sharia al-Azhal, which bisects the area between the al-Hussein and al-Az- har mosques and within the entire old Fig.8 Old Arabic Islamic quarter (WARNER, medieval quarter in an east-westerly di- 2005), yellow: Quarters Darb al-Ahmar rection and offers very few possibilities

14 The historic district today for pedestrians and others on the road cally important groupings of buildings to cross. Conversly, this breakthrough within the old medieval Arabic Islamic of the Sharia al-Azhar as a street provi- quarter as well as the downtown cha- ded one of the few and most important racter and feel of the old 19th-century east-west thoroughfares in this area of quarter, with its collection of famous the city center. institutions as well as the few remai- ning distinctive culinary and commer- While the neglect of the old Arabic Is- cial institutions; also, the area around lamic quarter can be traced all the way the main train station gives the historic back to the urban expansion of the 19th district some definition as an important century, the decline of the old 19th- traffic junction. The al-Azhar Park, too, century quarter that can be seen today which rests east of the old Arabic Isla- first began in the 1950s with Egypt’s mic quarter, has played an important independence. A large portion of the role within the larger context of the magnificent residential and commercial city as a whole since it was finished in buildings dating back to the 19th cen- 2004. Some distinguished institutions tury are in such poor condition today still remain established within the old because the necessary measures were 19th-century quarter as well, such as not taken to preserve and restore them. the (today the official Empty residences are rife, sprinkled li- residence for the president of the re- berally through the blocs of buildings, public); the Museum of Islamic Art at which are also marked by the considera- Ahmad Maher Square, representing ble renovations that have obliterated the most significant art collection of and covered over their original historic its kind; and the Ezbekiya Gardens at façade and created new buildings stret- Opera Square. Also remaining in the ching up fifteen stories or more. Gene- downtown area of the historic district rally speaking, very little value is placed are unique culinary institutions such on historically significant groupings of as Café Riche and the old Groppi cof- buildings within the old 19th-century feehouse formerly frequented by Nagib quarter. While various individual buil- Machfus. However, the number of good dings and groupings of buildings have cafes, bars and restaurants in the histo- been restored, such as the Omar Effen- ric district is very limited when the size di department store on Sharia Rushdi of the city is taken into account and the Pasa, these present the exception. The historic district is compared to other overload of traffic has caused a particu- districts within Cairo. And, while the larly large amount of damage to public old 19th-century quarter is an impor- spaces. Strong conflicts emerge in con- tant center of commerce to this day, its nection with this, and the struggle for business standard is largely restricted public spaces reveals itself not only in to cheap goods and production. Nu- the continuous, daily traffic jams and merous hotels can still be found down- the extreme amounts of smog but also town today as well; but again, a good in the way pedestrian walkways are number of these hotels reflect a very fenced off from automobile thorough- low to average standard, and the ex- fares. Pedestrian crossings, such as the pensive hotels are found outside of one in front of the main train station the historic district, such as those on at Ramses Square, are blocked off with the banks of the Nile; and today’s first- chains that are opened by police only class hotels are being built outside the once the pedestrian stoplight has tur- core of the city. Though the intersec- ned green. Particularly hard-hit are the tion at Cairo’s main train station, the public plazas, which have lost nearly all Ramses Railway Station, continues to of their original decorative and residen- prove vital in terms of transportation, tial character through the construction the area’s overuse and lack of preser- of main traffic thoroughfares and the vation has led to a disintegration of the overpasses and pedestrian bridges that characteristics that formerly told of its have been built atop them. urban planning. With the development of the al-Azhar Park through the Aga The role that the historic district of Cai- Khan Trust for Culture, however, the ro plays today for the entire megacity is historic district of Cairo has acquired a defined primarily by the unique, histori- new hotspot, one which is significant

The historic district today 15 for the city as a whole and which pre- quarter. The Historic Cities Programme sents a remarkable exception within was initiated to provide support for the the course of development that has restoration and renewal of historically taken place in the historic district in important architectural constructions the past few decades. Related develop- and public spaces while preserving ments, encompassing restoration of their historic character as a cultural le- the Ayyubid city walls and as well as gacy through projects involving social, an intensive process of renewal for the economic and cultural development. neighboring Darb al-Ahmar quarter, will certainly prove valuable in terms of The projects of the AKTC in the historic the experience garnered, which will be district of Cairo include the construc- useful as a reference point for further tion of the al-Azhar Park, the restora- urban renewal projects. tion of 1.5 kilometers of the Ayyubid city wall located in the same area, and the renewal of the bordering historic quarter of Darb al-Ahmar. These three interconnected projects began in the Al-Azhar Park and the resto- mid-1990s with the construction of the 30-hectare park atop a trash dump east rations to Darb al-Ahmar of the old Arabic Islamic quarter that had lain fallow for decades. After the Because of the shortage of free space digging process unearthed a portion of in Cairo, the Aga Khan promised a par- the former Ayyubid city wall, its repair king place to the citizens of the city of and restoration was included in the pro- Cairo in November 1984 at a confe- ject. Discussions about and plans for rence entitled “The Expanding Metro- the restoration of the city wall led to the polis: Coping with the Urban Growth decision to incorporate the neighboring of Cairo.” Already since 1967, the Aga Darb al-Ahmar quarter in the project as Khan Development Network (AKDN) well. In addition to these fundamen- has dedicated itself to providing de- tal building blocks of the project, the velopment aid at the local level and construction of an “Urban Plaza” north serves as the umbrella organization of of the park is also planned for 2014. the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), These heavily commercial projects are sponsor of the Darb al-Ahmar develop- meant to provide long-term support for ment project. The three overarching the park and to safeguard the borde- ideas and foundational principles for ring space for the public (El-Mikawi, et the projects of the AKDN are aiming for al, 2007). The renewal projects under- long-term economic development, pro- taken by the AKTC draw heavily upon tecting and supporting social equality, the aforementioned individual projects and bringing about a general improve- in order to restore and renew various ment in living conditions, regardless of significant monuments and discrete in- the background or religion of the peo- frastructures within the historic district ple affected and/or involved. All pro- of Cairo, something particularly appli- jects are bound up with local groups, cable in the case of the Darb al-Ahmar and efforts are continually made to renewal project; this can be traced back involve further organizations in pro- to the organization’s complex and inte- jects in order to form a critical mass grative development approach. of actors that can guarantee long-term involvement within the project. Within The park is especially important be- the AKDN, the AKTC’s main focus is the cause of the extreme dearth of public physical, social, cultural and economic space in Cairo. Al-Azhar Park is situa- revitalization of villages and city quar- ted west of the old Fatimid district and ters within the Islamic world (AKDN, the residential area of Darb al-Ahmar. 2008). In particular, the programs of In this particular location, the Ayyu- the AKTC encompass the more than bid city wall rests atop the site of the 25-year-old Aga Khan Award for Archi- former Fatimid city wall. Bordering on tecture and the Aga Khan Historic Ci- the south of the new park is the Sultan ties Programme, which is also suppor- Hassan mosque and the Citadel. East ting the renewal of the Darb al-Ahmar of the park is the , a

16 Al-Azhar Park and the restorations to Darb al-Ahmar cemetery also heavily populated with 65 historic buildings and more than residents. Planning was begun in 1997 a hundred architectonically signifi- after the removal of the trash heap, and cant residences are registered in the the public park was officially opened Darb al-Ahmar quarter alone (Sivaro, on March 25, 2005 (Ifa, 2006:65). The 2001:40). Also important to the project unearthed Ayyubid city walls on the is the fact that 39 % of the househol- eastern side of the park form the physi- ds in the quarter have lived in their re- cal boundary between the al-Azhar Park sidences for 10 years or longer; 31 % and the Darb al-Ahmar quarter. Becau- have lived in their residences for 21 to se the wall, which was erected under 40 years, and just 15 % have lived in Salah al-Din in 1176 and the years to their residences for less than 10 years. follow, is inextricably connected with This strong sense of connection to the the neighboring Darb al-Ahmar quar- quarter is also revealed by the fact that ter, the medieval structure of which 84 % of the residents of Darb al-Ahmar remains preserved, a suitable approach indicate they would like to continue li- had to be found and taken in respect ving in the quarter (AKCS-E, 2003). to this structure during the restora- tion of the wall. Egyptian regulations The urban renewal project for Darb al- regarding the approach to be taken Ahmar was begun in cooperation with to archaeological structures, however, the Egyptian Swiss Fund for Develop- state that historic monuments must be ment, the Ford Foundation, the Kre- kept freestanding, with a 30-meter gap ditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (German between them and any other construc- federal development bank) and the tions. This, however, contradicted the World Monument Watch. The attempt approach of the Aga Khan Trust to was made to reach out and include preserve its historic legacy, since the the maximum possible number of the wall had always been connected with governmental Egyptian administrative the bordering construction, which also agencies responsible (Cairo Governo- included historically significant grou- rate, Supreme Council of Antiquities, pings of buildings such as the Khayer the Awqaf Department) while at the Bek Complex, later restored and today same time cooperating with local non- accommodating the “Mother and Child governmental organizations and the Health Center” and other organizations. residents themselves. Although coope- So the project was initiated under the ration with the Egyptian administration category of renewals to the Darb al-Ah- has proven difficult and has been limi- mar quarter. During the concept design ted to procurement of the necessary phase of this historical district renewal project approvals, and the long-term project, Cairo archaeologists and pre- goal of handing over responsibility for servationists were also persuaded that the project to the local Egyptian admi- a physical isolation of the Ayyubid city nistration has proven unrealistic at the wall would not be appropriate in this present time, the cooperation underta- location (Bianca, 2003). ken with various local groups and re- sidents forms an important foundation With approximately 90,000 residents, in carrying out the work of the project the Darb al-Ahmar quarter is among (El-Mikawi, et al, 2007). Cairo’s most populous residential areas. Most of the residents are poor. In 2003, The Darb al-Ahmar project encom- the average monthly household income passes the restoration of historically im- for a family of five hovered around 500 portant buildings, the preservation and Egyptian Lira (LE), at the time equal to restoration of residences, renovations 81 US Dollars. The average monthly to and further development of the tech- expenditures for a living space totaled nical infrastructure, the establishment just 3 % of the household income and of medicinal and social services, gran- averaged about 16.20 LE or 2.60 USD ting of microcredits for self-help pro- for a family of five (AKCS-E,2003). The jects and for preserving and restoring economic market infrastructure of the buildings belonging to the applicants, quarter is largely informal, exhibiting the organization of trash removal and various rudimentary trade and repair the establishment of institutions for businesses and the like (Ifa, 2006:65). the education and furthering education

Al-Azhar Park and the restorations to Darb al-Ahmar 17 of residents in the quarter. The forma- (Ifa, 2006:65). By 2005, 19 houses for tion of self-help programs fitting to the approximately 70 residents were able needs of the residents in the quarter is to be restored within the framework of one of the most essential aspects of the the microcredit program. The restora- project in order to ensure their continu- tion of 200 houses is to be finished by ing involvement. These programs inclu- 2008. The work of restoring the quar- de projects and other measures dedica- ter has also successfully integrated ted to strengthening the social benefits small, local family businesses (such as available to the community, from child- cabinetmakers, tile makers, carpenters care and cultural programs, educatio- and leather producers). In total, inve- nal programs and programs for lear- stors will have invested more than 3.3 ning how to read to the construction of million US Dollars by the end of 2004 a community center. toward the development of the quar- ter (Ifa, 2006:66). The current goal of Already as of 2004, the construction the Aga Khan Trust is to reach a “cri- of a health center was finished, an old tical mass of 25 % of the architectonic school building restored, and two mina- structures” in its restoration work; the rets reconstructed (AKTC, 2005:32ff). accompanying expectation is that a This brought about improvements in self-perpetuating process of renewal the technical and transportation infra- will emerge alongside this (El-Mikawi, structures of the historic district even et al, 2007). without delving any deeper into its so- cial and physical structures. With the The substantial successes of the abo- assistance of residents, small neigh- ve-presented projects carried out by borhood plazas were redone, not least the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in Cairo of all in order to support and reinforce were started by tying together the va- the social life of the quarter (Schlösser, rious projects. The construction of the 2006:34). The needs of the residents al-Azhar Park has given the area signi- were integrated into the planning pro- ficance in the context of the city as a cess by means of an ongoing democra- whole once again and provided it with tic voting process. During the process an attractive hotspot. Along with this of restoring the residences, too, the increase in the attraction of the district, respective situation of residents pro- a feeling of renewal, progress and po- vided an important jumping-off point sitive development was able to be for the work done by the organization brought out in the neighboring quarter

Fig. 9 Downtown Cairo, Sharia al-Azhar (Photograph by the authors)

18 Al-Azhar Park and the restorations to Darb al-Ahmar of Darb al-Ahmar – a feeling also fur- local businesses are already evident in thered by the fact that the work of buil- the quarter today (Schlösser, 2006:36). ding the park included approximately Even if these renewal projects in Cairo 400 workers that came primarily from encompass just a tiny part of the old Darb al-Ahmar as well as the fact that Islamic quarter and do not touch upon 35 % of the approximately 250 people the larger historic district of Khedivial employed in the two large restaurants Cairo, they still provide much-needed in the park come from the neighboring impetus for the renewal of the historic quarters. In the same way, the resto- district as a whole. The projects serve ration of the Ayyubid city wall and of as demonstrations of the kinds of phy- further important monuments, such as sical and socioeconomic qualities able the Umm al-Sultan Sha’aban Mosque to unfold when renewal measures are and the Khayer Bek Complex, provided undertaken and the way in which exi- an impetus in catalyzing the interest of sting social and economic structures the population in education and work. can to be used and developed in or- About 200 people from the quarter der to bring about integrated develop- were employed in the restoration of the ment. Ayyubid city walls. But it is not only the- se large-scale model showcase projects and stimulus projects that speak of the success of the steps taken toward ur- ban renewal. The smaller-scale urban Urban renewal: renewal projects for private residences and neighborhood plazas nestled deep a community task within the urban setting are just as vi- tally important; they illustrate that the Despite its loss in significance and its measures taken toward infrastructural decrepit state, the historic district is the improvements and toward fostering a only area in Greater Cairo that bridges stronger social fabric within the com- the socioeconomic classes of the enti- munity and the serious participation re population as a whole to serve as a of the residents has led to an increase pivotal location for all, both in terms of in development possibilities through day-to-day life and special events. Ho- these local players. Improvements to wever, this special role is appreciably the living conditions of the residents threatened by the increasing polariza- and an increase in the productivity of tion of urban development, whereby

Fig. 10 Al-Azhar Park, Ayyubid city wall and Darb aI-Ahmar quarter (Photograph by the authors)

Urban renewal: a community task 19 the lower class poor are concentrated throughout the larger urban context, within the city center, and by the en- making its way into more day-to-day croaching development of the informal quarters and building sites. In other settlements. words, urban renewal can be put into practice first in and between locations Various initiatives and projects under- that are of historical importance; pro- taken within the past decades reveal a grams can be started for neighboring sense of awareness in modern Egypt of areas at the same time so they, too, are the dangers that the old Arabic Islamic able to be a part of the initial phase of quarter and 19th-century Khedivial Cai- development and can use and tweak it ro may lose their World Cultural Heri- for their own neighborhood develop- tage status. At this point it would be ap- ment. Such a strategy is only able to propriate to take a quick glance at the work, however, given a great deal of concept of restoring the entire historic solid support in bearing forward the district as it appears within the 1997 weight of the project. Such backing is „United Nations Development Program,” all the more needed since the city ad- which provides the foundation for a ministration of Cairo is not yet in the program that has been pursued by the position to carry out an integrated and Egyptian Cultural Ministry since 2000. complex process of urban renewal, a Within the framework of this program, process integrating national and in- more than 80 individual structures are ternational institutions as well as local to be restored and made accessible to initiatives, interest groups and groups visitors (Mayer, 2001:1001). Numerous of residents. For this reason, the core national and international institutions aims of urban development should not are also advocating for the preserva- comprise just a blind focus on the sim- tion and restoration of the historically ple physical elements, such as the ac- significant buildings in Cairo. “[...] save tual construction work to be done, but Cairo‘s magnificent buildings and its should also involve the working deve- downtown architectural glory from fur- lopment of cultural, social and econo- ther decay” was one of the key calls to mic components. action heard at the meeting put on by the British Council on May 23, 2007, The Cairo city administration is assu- which focused on the development of ming an ever greater role in the urban downtown Cairo (Serageldin, 2007). development of this Egyptian city. The However, a broad-sweeping concept population, however, has been condi- for the renewal of the entire historic tioned to take fate into its own hands. district – which would not only prove This inherent potential for organization valuable in preserving architectural hi- at the grassroots level can also be chan- story but would also serve to foster a neled for the benefit of urban renewal. lively urban space for Cairo’s residents To this same end, lessons can be glea- and visitors – has not yet been seen. ned from the upward revaluation pro- cess of Cairo’s informal settlements, However, the example set by the Aga where local residents and business Khan Trust for Culture in terms of de- owners are being included and motiva- velopment and renewal projects serves ted to action in this upward revaluation as a guidepost, showing how a renew- of the miserable living conditions the- al strategy for the historic district can re. This mentality of self-organization take shape. It is possible to cull a deve- forms the basis for every development lopment approach from the processes in the informal settlements. Using and at work in integrating the project net- catalyzing existing social and econo- work for the facilities of al-Azhar Park, mic networks for the purpose of deve- the restoration of the Ayyubid city loping the historic district is one of the walls and the renewal of the Darb al- biggest challenges involved in urban Ahmar quarter – an approach coupling renewal. However, having said all this, selective, property-based investment the state is not thereby freed of its re- projects and stimulus projects toge- sponsibility to renew the infrastructure ther with the renewal of public spaces. and the public spaces and to reign in Drawing from these sorts of “concen- the traffic problems. A bottom-up de- trated axes,” urban renewal can spread velopment approach practiced to a li-

20 Urban renewal: a community task mited extent in Darb al-Ahmar will not volved in renewing the historic district suffice to bring about the urban renew- of Cairo surpass the resources available al of the historic district’s array of stun- at the local and national levels. Here, ning, historically significant buildings too, the international community must or the revitalization of the historic take more responsibility than it has un- district’s role as the most important pi- til this point, first, by recognizing its vot point for all socioeconomic groups singular historical value; second, by within the megacity of Greater Cairo. recognizing that its socioeconomic and Within politics, both at the national and physical structures are representative Cairo level, it is vitally important that of a juncture between Orient and Occi- the renewal of the historic district be dent; and third, by recognizing that the recognized as a priority under the um- increased social and cultural polariza- brella of urban development and that tion of the various population groups a fitting political framework be forged within Cairo represents a further dan- for its renewal to take place. The over- ger to the social peace in Cairo and whelming dimensions of the tasks in- Egypt as a whole.

Urban renewal: a community task 21 Literature

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22 Literature 23 BTU Cottbus, Department of Urban Development and Design, Prof. Heinz Nagler 2010