Egyptian Coastal Regions Development Through Economic Diversity for Its Coastal Cities

HBRC Journal (2012) 8, 252–262 Housing and Building National Research Center HBRC Journal http://ees.elsevier.com/hbrcj Egyptian coastal regions development through economic diversity for its coastal cities Tarek AbdeL-Latif a, Salwa T. Ramadan b, Abeer M. Galal b,* a Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Egypt b Housing & Building National Research Center, Egypt Received 11 March 2012; accepted 15 May 2012 KEYWORDS Abstract The Egyptian coastal cities have several different natural potentials which could make Coastal cities; them promising economic cities and attract many investors as well as tourists. In recent years, there Regional development; has been a growing awareness of existing and potential coastal problems in Egypt. This awareness Analytical process SPSS; has become manifest in development policies for Egyptian coasts which focused only on the devel- Economic diversity opment of beaches by building private tourist villages. These developments negatively affected the regional development and the environment. This study examines the structure of the coastal cities industry, the main types, the impacts (economic, environmental, and social) of coastal cities, and the local trends in development in the Egyptian coastal cities and its regions. It will also analyze coastal and marine tourism in several key regions identified because of the diversity of life they support, and the potential destruction they could face. This paper confirms that economic diversification in coastal cities is more effective than developments in only one economic sector, even if this sector is prominent and important. ª 2012 Housing and Building National Research Center. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Introduction manufacturing, and of course, trade routes and ports. These cities would have the potential to increase the population in Egyptian coastal cities are characterized by several resources the desert-back of these cities. Keep in mind 72% [1] of the that can create the attention of investors to make several eco- coastal cities are able to expand into desert, which helps the nomic activities. Mild climate would increase tourist attrac- urban growth to get out of the narrow strip of the Wady tion, mining resources which industries would use in and Delta. The interest of the Egyptian coasts started recently after a * Corresponding author. long standing interest in developing Wady and Delta. This E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S.T. Ramadan), led to an interest in coastal tourism development. Private sec- [email protected] (A.M. Galal). tor exploits this policy to build private coastal tourist villages Peer review under responsibility of Housing and Building National for profit only without regards to their impact on local and re- Research Center. gional development. Theses villages negatively affected the regional development and the environment. This case study aims to confirm that Coastal economic Production and hosting by Elsevier development in different sector (economic diversity) affects 1687-4048 ª 2012 Housing and Building National Research Center. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hbrcj.2012.10.009 Egyptian coastal regions development through economic diversity for its coastal cities 253 the social and economic development rates in these cities which Coastal Management programs constructed to reflect the accordingly raise the development rates in their coastal re- management issues address these constraints, and opportuni- gions. This study division into four parts. The first part: Quick ties which are defined by cultural, social, economic, political, review of theoretical base of the coastal planning and and administrative factors within an individual coastal region management. as shown in (Fig. 2). The second part: Discuss Egypt’s practice in coastal and beach development through studying the private coastal tour- Egypt’s practice in coastal and beach development ist villages and its impact on development rates. The third part: Reading and analyzing the current situation Egyptian practices were limited to coastal zone planning. In re- of the Egyptian coastal cities and its social and economic cent decades, coastal zone tourism has grown significantly development rates such as (the evolution of population – bringing enormous economic benefits to host communities, growth rates – the evolution of GDP – Population distribution and causing many environmental and social impacts to the on the economic activities...). coastal environment. Beach resort developments face problems The fourth part: Evaluate coastal cities in development due to an inability on the part of stakeholders to make sound rates, based on an analysis of the Egyptian coastal cities by decisions about sustainable designs, in part to the complexity the statistical program (SPSS) in order to show the relation- of the sustainability issues and a lack of comprehensive ship between the diversity of the economic activities, social, decision-making to assist them. In Egypt, design and planning and economic development rates regulations have not changed for decades, resulting in non- sustainable beach resort development. This vision provides a Theoretical base of the coastal planning and management ‘‘decision framework,’’ a conceptual ‘‘Sustainable Design’’, which shifts the focus of stakeholders from the application Many researchers have addressed the issues of coastal planning of traditional physical carrying capacity procedures to a com- and management; John R. Clark was one of the most recent with prehensive approach linking sustainability indicators and car- his study on ‘‘Integrated Coastal Zone Management’’ (ICZM) rying capacities. This approach includes an array of acceptable [2], he discussed the role of coastal management that achieved capacities based on the ecological, social, psychological, phys- the compatibility between both the economic development ical, economic, and managerial capacity thresholds of a site. and the natural environment protection. ICZM can be achieved This framework assists stakeholders in making rational deci- through development plans, planning decisions, and implemen- sions about what is to be built, where it is located, and how tation of policies of maintenance and improvement of the coast- to build it. As a result of this approach, future Egyptian policy al environment while improving the recreational and service may be better informed of the gap between the theoretical con- aspects. Clark explained how the costal resources include a vari- cepts of sustainability and real world coastal development ety of economic sectors and political powers which influence an implementation. The Mediterranean and the Red sea in Egypt integrated coastal management as shown in (Fig. 1). comprise coastlines of more than 3000 km [4]. The intensive On the other hand, how coastal planning affects this frame- development of the Egyptian coastal zone has caused incre- work, Robert Kay [3] recognized: ‘‘the most important factors mental pressure and impacts. There is a desire in Egypt to impacts on coastal planning framework are the type, number, manage coastal areas, the ecological and the economical valu- intensity of management issues, and problems’’. These factors able resources, in an integrated manner, so that the next gen- have direct and indirect impact such as the choice of particular eration can also utilize and develop in a sustainable way. In styles of coastal plans to fit particular objectives as a direct ef- response to this global trend, the Egyptian government passed fect but indirect effect on the framework design through their new environmental law. influence on the shape and nature of an overall coastal man- The government started to implement the tourist coastal agement system. villages in 1990s, These consist of the Mediterranean beaches Fig. 1 Coastal resources include a variety of economic sectors and political powers each with need to influence an integrated coastal zone management program Source: John R. Clark, Coastal zone management Hand Book, 1996, p. 40. 254 T. AbdeL-Latif et al. Fig. 2 Major factors impacts on coastal planning framework Source: Robert Kay & Jacqueline Alder, Coastal Planning and management, 1999, p. 253. along the mainline coast from the Suez Canal over to Libya, section of the coast is so much under development that it pre- the Mediterranean beaches along the northern Sinai, the Sinai sents a bit of a moving target to discuss, with new vacation ori- coast along the Gulf of Aqaba, the Sinai coast along the Gulf ented beaches seemingly popping up everywhere along the of Suez, the southern Sinai region which opens onto the Red coast. Much of the new development is not unlike the Ain Sukhna Sea, the Mainland coast along the Gulf of Suez and the Main- area on the Gulf of Suez, where village-like compounds are land coast south of that along the Red Sea. Obviously the big- the common denominator. It should be noted that the beach gest differences are between the Mediterranean coast and all of region of Egypt’s mainland north coast does not really include the other regions that connect with the Red Sea. Some of these the region east of Greater Alexandria. For the most part, Abu regions attract extensive tourism, while others are almost void Qir, which is a bit east of Alexandria proper, but really on the of tourists. Some attract very specific tourists, while others are city’s eastern edge, signals

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