No. 82 THE INFORMAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN EGYPT

Christian Arandel & Manal El Batran July 1997 Working Paper No. 82

THE INFORMAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN EGYPT

Christian Arandel* & Manal El Batran** July 1997

*Christian Arandel **Manal El Batran Environmental Quality International 7 Abbas Hamza Street 3B, Bahgat Ali Street Nazlet El Batran Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt El Haram 12111, Giza, Egypt

Tel: + 20 2 341 7879 Fax: + 20 2 341 3331 Fax: + 20 2 360 2800 E­Mail: [email protected]

This Report was prepared for Centre Nacional de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France, as part of a programme of research co­ordinated by Alain Durand­Lasserve, 7 Rue Sante Garibaldi, 33000 Bordeaux, France THE INFORMAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN EGYPT

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

INTRODUCTION 1

SECTION I: LAND MANAGEMENT AND HOUSING IN EGYPT: POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

1.1 Land Management and Tenure Systems 3 1.2 Urban and Regional Planning in Egypt: Toward Spatial Decentralisation? 3 1.2.1 Housing Policies in Egypt 3 1.2.2 New Towns and New Settlements Policies 5 1.3 Institutional Framework: Toward Policy Decentralisation? 8 1.3.1 Institutions Involved in Urban and Regional Planning 8 1.3.2 Planning Process in Egypt 9 1.3.3 The Nature of the Relation Between the Central and Local Government 11

SECTION II: INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS IN EGYPT 13

2.1 Typology of Informal Settlements 14 2.1.1 Squatter Settlements 14 2.1.2 Informal Housing on Legally Owned Land 14 2.2 Main characteristics of Informal Settlements 14 2.3 Informal Housing Development: Constraints and Opportunities 16 2.3.1 The Informal Housing Markets 16 2.3.2 Main Constraints 18 2.3.3 Major Opportunities 18

SECTION III: INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS AND STATE INTERVENTION 19

3.1 The Main Causes of State Intervention 19

3.2 Evolution of the Legal Framework for Upgrading and Regularisation 20

3.3 Forms of settlement upgrading 21 3.3.1 Early Attempts at Regularising and Upgrading Informal Settlements 21 3.3.2 Upgrading through the Provision of Infrastructure 22 3.3.3 Rehabitation and Upgrading in El Mounira and Shubra 27 El Kheima

CONCLUSION 29

BIBLIOGRAPHY 33

NOTES 34 List of Tables

Table I: Residential units executed by the public and private sectors 4 Table II: Situation of housing units in the New Towns (1988) 6 Table IV: Average urban land values evolution in Egypt 1960­1983 (L.E./m2) 18 Table V: Average residential unit cost evolution, 1960­1983 (L.E./m2) 18 Table VI: Description of upgrading projects undertaken under the auspices of bilateral and multilateral donors 23 Table VII: Urban population in the governorate selected for upgrading administration 25 Table VIII: Budget for settlement upgrading by governorate 25 Table IX: Projected clearance of inner­city areas in Cairo and Giza 26

List of Maps

Map I: New Towns in the Greater Cairo region 6 Map II: Location of Cairo's new settlements 7 Map III: Location of informal settlements in Cairo 13 Map IV: Urbanisation of agricultural land in Greater Cairo 17 Map V: Boundaries of Greater Cairo region 26 Map VI: Existing land use in El Munira 27

List of Figures

Figure 1: Urban policy administration: functional structure 10 Figure 2: Schematic organisational structure for Central and Local Government and urban policy monitoring 12 Figure 3: Proposed policies according to land use 28 THE INFORMAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN EGYPT

INTRODUCTION rate of 2.8%, meaning that one million persons were added to the country's population every nine months. Cities in developing countries face similar challenges Egyptian cities have received the bulk of this increase: in attempting to cope with the phenomenon of rapid the ratio of urban to total population grew from 26.4% urbanisation. Their ability to cope with such in 1937 to 37.5% in 1960, and 43.9% in 1986. Recent challenges is largely contingent upon their limited trends however indicate a gradual decrease of the resources and the institutional framework in which urbanisation rate as the percentage of Egypt's they operate. Social organisations, cultures, population living in urban centres grew only from administrative traditions, planning conventions and 43.8% to 43.9% between 1976 and 1986. This figure, political dynamics vary considerably from city to city, which indicates that urbanisation is now more or less and country to country, (Stren and White, 1989, and increasing at the same rate as the overall population is Stren, 1991). Egypt was a pioneer among developing confirmed by data showing a decrease in rural­urban countries in instituting a system of public migration. From 1976 to 1986 growth rates of cities administration whose changes over the ages reflect the have varied with population size: they have decreased country’s long and complex history. According to for cities over 100,000 inhabitants, slightly increased Valsan, (1990; p.131): “In modern times, three major for cities between 50 and 99,999 inhabitants, and events have had considerable impact on the decreased for smaller cities (El Kadi, 1990). Urbanis­ administration inherited by the free officers who came ation in Egypt is also characterized by very high to power in 1952: first The French Invasion under population densities. This is particularly true in Cairo, Napoleon; second, the rule of Turkish Viceroy the second most dense city in the world after Bombay, Mohammed Aly; and third, the British occupation of where average density is 172.7 persons per hectare. Egypt”. Two factors compound the effects of urbanisation and Before July 1952, Egypt was divided into 14 population growth in Egypt. First, this growth is provinces. Each province was headed by a high occurring on a small portion of the country's territory: central govern­ ment official, responsible to the of a total area of one million square kilometres no Minister of Interior. The desert regions were excluded more than 4% is inhabited. Second, population is from the civil administration and placed under the unevenly distributed between the various urban control of the Ministry of War. As Cairo did not have centres. Approximately 46% of the total urban the status of a municipality until 1944 (Waterbury population is concentrated in 4 cities, Cairo, 1973) public authorities were ill­equipped to Alexandria, Port Said and Suez, which cover a total effectively control land development at the city's area of 20,806 square kilometres. Meanwhile, the periphery. This contributed, from an early stage, to population of four other governorates (the Red Sea, El the growth and proliferation of uncontrolled urban Wadi El Gedid, Matrouh, Sinai) represent no more settlements. Moreover, Abu­Lughod (1980) reports than 1.5 % of the total urban population living in an that before 1952 Cairo had no housing policy and that area which is four times as vast (85,016 km2). As by 1965 the city only had a rudimentary land building population is concen­ trated on a very small, and code and law governing subdivision of land, and there fertile, part of the country, it is inexorably eating up were neither housing codes nor a general zoning precious agricultural land. ordinance. There were nonetheless some architectural codes in Cairo proper which dealt with restrictions on Informal urbanisation can be seen as a result of the buildings heights, setbacks, and health and safety of combination of the above factors (rapid and uneven the occupants. urbanisation, high population densities etc.) with the inability of the formal sectors to provide land and/or After the 1952 revolution, Egypt embarked on a phase housing adapted to the needs of the urban population of decentralisation. The Government established and particularly to its lower income segments. different administrative units called “Moderia” in which the central ministries were represented at the As a result of the lack of coordination between local level. These units had the full responsibility to concerned agencies and ministries, and of the use of formulate and implement the local urban policy. In different definitions and techniques in estimating 1960, the "Moderias" were replaced by the informal building activities it is hard to clearly governorates which received increased responsibilities delineate the scope of the informal housing sector in for local planning. Egypt. A construction industry study in 1981 (World Bank and GOHBPR) estimated that approximately The problems that this administration had to face were 77% of all housing units built nationally between daunting. Similar to most developing countries, Egypt 1966­1976 were informal. This estimate reflects the has been affected by a demographic explosion over the difference between the increase in housing units past forty years. Subsequently, its population rose from recorded by the 1966­1976 censuses and the increase 24 million in 1952 to nearly 50 million in 1986 and is in the number of building permits and registrations expected to reach more than 65 million by 2000, and over the same period. In contrast, a study on informal 90 million by 2025. In the 1980's population grew at a housing in 1982 (ABT Associates and GOHBPR)

1 estimated that informal units represented 84% and infrastructure increasingly ineffective and inefficient; 91% of all units built between 1970 ­ 1981 in Cairo the failure of “Sites and Services” approach to reach and Beni­Suef, respectively. the target group of the urban poor; and the limited effectiveness of the government's interventions to solve Moreover, estimates regarding the number of informal the problems of housing for the urban poor. Such settlements also tend to vary according to the source. factors impose to rethink approaches to urban A 1993 report (GOPP) estimated that there were 23 management in order to generate solutions adapted such settlements in the Greater Cairo Region to deal with contemporary urban problems. (El­ comprising a total population of about 5.88 million, Batran, 1992) with an average density of 285 persons per feddan. In contrast, the Ministry of Local Administration estimated that, in Greater Cairo, 4.52 million people A major obstacle toward adopting such approaches are live in 171 areas which have an average density of the constraints facing local administrative authorities 78,000 persons per square kilometre. Nationwide dealing with urban land management. They are estimates of population living in informal areas vary operating within the context of national policies over from 4.7 to 7 million persons spread in 904 areas with which they have limited influence: for example, an average density of 50,821 persons per square priorities; criteria and budgets are set with reference to kilometre. Whereas the development of most of these national development objectives rather than urban settlements dates back to the 1960's, the largest growth development needs. There is therefore no occurred after the completion of the last census in comprehensive approach to public administration that 1986, which explains the scarcity of reliable data. aims at solving the problems of land provision to meet the housing needs of the urban poor. The above data are a testimony to the failure of the formal sector, both public and private, to provide land A paradox of the Egyptian situation is that, in most and shelter accessible to all segments of Egyptian cities, there is no shortage of land with a potential for society. It is evidence that, if there is indeed a crisis in urbanisation. In fact, spontaneous urbanisation tends the housing sector in Egypt, it is specifically a crisis of to occur on scarce and precious agricultural land while the formal sectors. Meanwhile the informal private large stretches of desert land located in the immediate sector is thriving. The structural inadequacies of the vicinity of urban centres remain mostly unaffected by formal housing and land production sectors are best the phenomenon. This should come as no surprise: illustrated with the following paradox: the spectacular private agricultural land was better able to respond to growth of informal settlements took place in a market demand than publicly owned desert land which situation of oversupply of formal housing units. The remained under government control. Government 1986 census revealed that there were 1.8 million policies aiming at taking advantage of this important vacant housing units in Egypt, representing 17% of land reserve have so far failed to meet the needs of low the total stock. In Cairo alone, the census uncovered income urban dwellers. the presence of 523,000 vacant housing units. In the meantime, the number of precarious units was This study investigates the resourceful ways in which multiplied by 3, from 40,000 to 144,000. The problem the urban poor cope with their shelter needs; it is an is therefore characterized by the inadequacy of the attempt to assess the significance of the informal formal housing supply as units provided are not housing sector in the Egyptian context and the affordable to those who most need them. challenges it poses to planners and policy makers. For this purpose, a three­fold methodology was adopted. The inability of the formal sectors to provide land and Section I deals with the issue of land management and housing to the poor is also a direct result of Egypt's housing in Egypt. It exposes the general policy and administrative and policy framework. The main institutional framework for land management and responsibility for policy making lies with the President explores how the decentralisation policy has was and his advisers play a crucial role in influencing the developed as part of a strategy for enhancing the initiation of national urban policy (El­Batran, 1992). implementation of urban development programs. A class of managers and technocrats has been Hence, the aim of Section I is to examine the responsible for the achievement and the failures of historical, institutional, and ideological context in urban development and housing programs targeted to which the informal housing development process is the urban poor. As a result the Egyptian occurring. It addresses the main factors leading to an administrative system is characterized by a high increase in the demand for decentralisation. These degree of centralisation of decision­making and the factors include the institutions involved in urban and lack of coordination among various ministries and regional planning, the planning process in Egypt, and agencies involved in urban development. These two the nature of the relation between the central and local factors have greatly inhibited the effectiveness and government. efficiency of urban planning in Egypt. Sections II and III provide the basis for an Proponents of decentralisation argue that it can understanding of the recent policy shift that took place minimize problems encountered in the implementation in Egypt regarding informal settlements. Section II of urban development programs for the poor. Many provides insights in the phenomenon of informal factors lead to an increased demand for decentral­ housing. For this purpose it investigates the main isation: rapid and complex processes of urban change characteristics of informal settlements and the render the provision of local services and dynamic and the modes of production of informal

2 settlements. Section II, therefore, describes the public purpose. It includes governorate Amlak land, typology of informal settlements and the different land reform, antiquity and military properties. types of tenure, the main characteristics of informal settlements, and the development process of the Ownership of land by the government in its various informal housing sector. Section III examines the forms (public, wakf and leased land) is the prominent main causes of the government’s change of attitude type of ownership in Egypt as the government owns all towards informal settlements, and the types of desert land. Access to this land can be achieved intervention it engages in. This examination will through three means: buying, leasing, or, most allow us to identify possible new directions for commonly, seizing it. The sale of government land is government intervention to provide land and housing rather rare and, when it occurs, often amounts to the to the urban poor. recognition of an act of dispossession. The regularisation of seizure find its foundation in the principle of Wad Al Ayad which legitimates the transfer of property to the user after 15 years of "absence" of the owner. This principle applies to both SECTION I : LAND MANAGEMENT AND private and public land. Since the agrarian reform HOUSING IN EGYPT: POLICY AND acts, enacted after the 1952 revolution, ownership of INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK agricultural land has been democratized and inequalities were partially reduced. 1.1 Land Management and Tenure Systems Generally, access to urban land is restricted by Egypt's contemporary administrative system is the legislation regarding land subdivision and building product of the country's long and complex history. regulations. Legal subdivision can occur both on Accordingly, legislation regarding the ownership and agricultural and non­agricultural land but procedures control over land reflect a diversity of influences, are time­consuming and costly, and the chances of including ancient customs, Islamic laws, as well success are small. The subdivision of agricultural land French and British legal systems. Land in Egypt can legally occur only in a limited number of cases customarily belonged to the state, and only urban land defined by the 1978 agricultural law. For an owner to and houses could remain as private property (Mulch). be able to legally subdivide his land, he must obtain a This tight state control over land was made necessary variance by demonstrating that his land is not by the country's dependence on irrigation and the cultivable. He can also take advantage of loopholes in resulting need to strictly regulate land uses. the law, such as:

Land tenure defines the various modes of land ∙ The possibility to subdivide land to accommodate ownership and the ensuing rights. In Egypt, five main family members: there is little control to verify that the types of land tenure can be identified: land was subdivided for this purpose rather than to provide parcels for non­related buyers. Leased Land: is owned by the state and leased on a long term basis to its occupants. Squatters may be ∙ The possibility to install a facility which can be granted this status, if they make a request to the considered a contribution to the Food Security Governorate. Land which remains permanently under Program, i.e. a poultry farm with housing for a leasing status and cannot be sold is known as “hekr” employees. The owner does not have to prove that the land. Other leased lands can be converted from public occupants of the housing are indeed employees. This to private ownership following the end of the lease type of subdivision is not considered residential period. subdivision under existing laws.

Trust or Wakf Land: consists of property set aside Subdivision of non­agricultural land is in practice not for charitable or religious purpose and usually much easier than that of agricultural land. administered by the Ministry of Wakf. Patriarchal Subdivision in urban areas is the responsibility of the property is considered Wakf, but is independent of the housing department of the concerned governorate. Wakf Ministry. The department must reach a decision, positive or negative, within six months following the submission Encroachment (Wad Al Ayad): the civil code makes of the plans by the applicant. This delay is however it possible for the possessor or user of a plot of land to rarely respected and the applicant must often wait for gain ownership of that land if it is occupied much longer periods. Subdivision can be turned down continuously for 15 years and if the owner does not for a variety of reasons, including subdivision and assert his/her rights. building regulations.

Private Ownership or Freehold: this land is 1.2 Urban and Regional Planning in Egypt: registered with the local district office of the land Toward Spatial Decentralisation? registration division (Ministry of Justice) and owned by private persons or companies. 1.2.1 Housing Policies in Egypt

Public Ownership: This land is registered as state Until the 1952 revolution, the housing market was property or land owned by the state which serves a largely dominated by foreign capital and state intervention was minimal. After World War II, Egypt

3 entered a period of economic crisis resulting from the population continued to increase and urbanisation decline of war time industry. As a result of the followed, the gap between demand and the supply, ensuing social crisis, the first rent control legislation both private and public, greatly widened. In addition, was enacted in 1947; the new law froze rents at their a law passed in 1965 resulted in an additional 1941 level and forbade owners from evicting their reduction of 20% of the rental value of all buildings tenants. built after 1944. The main effect of this, was the grave deterioration of the rental housing stock as the It was only in the last years of colonial domination maintenance costs exceeded the rents collected by the that the Egyptian government decided to undertake a owners. more active role in the production of social housing, with the construction of two "workers housing The third period started after 1975 with the rise of projects" in Helwan and Imbaba (Hanna, 1992). President Sadat to power, who engaged the country in Another mode of direct intervention by the state a drastically new direction. This new direction, the involved the provision of housing units for civil infitah, is marked by a greater opening to the west and servants. In fact, until the 1950’s state intervention in an emphasis on privatisation. At the end of the 1973 housing was hardly needed: an overall balance war one of the priorities was the reconstruction of the between supply and demand had been achieved both in cities along the Suez canal, to which purpose a new rural and urban areas. Deficits in housing units came ministry was created: the ministry of reconstruction. later, as the result of a combination of rapid In terms of housing, the government announced that it urbanisation and counter­productive policies. The would only be responsible for the construction of low involvement of the Government of Egypt (GOE), in income housing and that the private sector would have the process of public housing provision started with the primary responsibility for the provision of housing the 1952 revolution and the rise to power of Gamal units for Egyptians. Furthermore, while the state Abdel Nasser. The Nasser era was marked by an produces rental housing only marginally, it maintains attempt to reform society while strengthening the the policy of rent control with only minor political and economic independence of Egypt. The modifications aimed at making the construction of post ­ revolution era can be divided into three rental housing more profitable. Nevertheless, the distinctive periods ­ 1952­65, 1965­75 and 1975 ­ public production of mass housing did not stop; on the present, which have been characterized by markedly contrary, it increased considerably, to reach a rate of different housing policies. approximately 30,900 units per year, (Kardash, 1993).

During the first period, extending from 1952 to 1965, In Cairo, the open door economic policy and in flux of a socialist government undertook a series of reforms Arab and Foreign investment participated in the aimed at achieving greater social and economic equity. sudden soar of prices inside the city centre and This led to the redistribution of wealth and major affected the price of land in the outskirts of the city changes in the country’s social stratification. The gap and outside the urbanisation cordon. As money was between the upper class, the aristocracy, and the rest of invested in real estate speculation, land became a basic the population was reduced, leading to the emergence commodity and the demand on agricultural land at the of a middle class, and of a large class of workers city's periphery greatly increased. Due to the soaring employed in public factories and firms. The new prices of the land inside the city, the prominent real middle class became the backbone of the regime and estate investors tightened their grip on land, (El its main constituency. Batran, 1994).

After 1952 a series of laws were passed at 5 year The following table shows that the public production intervals to reduce and control rents of housing units of mass housing is continuously increasing. The rate constructed after 1944. The Government became of residential units per year increased from 39,529 in heavily involved in the construction of low­cost public the first five years plan (1982­1987) to 77,375 in the housing built on the outskirts of Cairo, and in cleared second five years plan (1987­1992), to up 81,796 in slum areas in the centre of the city. As a result, the last two years (1992­1994). thousands of low cost units were financed and constructed by the Development and Housing Company, a public sector development company. In addition, the Government also built workers housing around newly established industrial centres and public housing units for the middle class. The average target of production in the five year plan of 1960­65 was 14,500 units. This level of intervention was made possible by the availability of important government funds as a result of the nationalisation policy.

During the second period, from 1965 to 1975, the production of public housing dropped to less than a third of the previous decade’s production. This, in part, resulted from a quasi­permanent state of war which forced the state to direct a large share of the national income for military purposes. As the

4 Table I: Residential units executed by the public and private sectors (according to the Ministry of Housing & Public Utilities, 1994)

Period Public Sector Private Sector Total First Five Years Plan 197,647 648,032 845,679 1982 / 1987 23 % 77 % 100 % Second Five Years Plan 386,879 517,107 903,986 1987 / 1992 43 % 57 % 100 % 1992 / 1994 163,592 86,013 249,605 66 % 34 % 100 % Total 775,418 1,375,021 2,150,439 Percent 36 % 64 % 100 %

Due to the restrictions imposed by rent control laws, affordability was only possible when heavy public the majority of units built by the private sector were subsidies were involved. owner­occupied, meanwhile, the public sector stopped building for the rental market. In order to evade rent ∙ Units provided since the 70’s are not affordable to control laws and secure a return on rental units, the the target group and benefit groups that are practice of key money appeared. Key money is an economically better off. In addition, subsidized amount paid by the renter to the owner which is cooperative loans which are available only after equivalent to the difference between regulated rents obtaining a building permit, are absorbed by the and actual costs. This practice enabled the private middle and higher income groups. sector to earn enough return on rental housing to continue supplying it. In effect, rent control and key ∙ The private capital which had been pouring into the money greatly undermine social equity objectives both market led to a substantial increase in land prices. vertically and horizontally. In vertical terms, wealthy The continuous increase in land speculation activities people benefit from rent control as much as the poor. within and around urban centres is an endless spiral of Horizontally, two families with similar incomes will escalating prices which exclude the urban poor. The experience widely different welfare levels, depending informal market was the only alternative affordable to on whether they lived in a rental unit for many years, urban dwellers with low or middle incomes. or whether they have recently arrived and must pay key money, (Saker, 1990). ∙ Rent control was conceived as a measure to reduce the cost of housing for lower income people, but has However, because of the illegal nature of key money, had a major effect in reducing the amount of low and owners were forced to sell units rather than rent. middle income housing built. Under the best Rental units gradually disappeared from the market circumstances, a large percentage of the lower income and were replaced by condominiums. As a urban population have no chance in participating in consequence, the formal private market deals almost any of the formal housing programs. exclusively with high middle ­ and upper ­ income groups that represent less than 15% of the urban 1.2.2 New Towns and New Settlements Policies households, (Saker, 1990). Policy

Meanwhile, the government concentrated its efforts on The new towns and new settlements policies reflect the the construction of new towns. Large amounts of general urban policy of the present Egyptian public investment in housing were directed towards government, their goal is to favour the development of providing housing units on the desert. However, even urbanisation in the desert rather that on agricultural with heavy subsidies, the housing units are not lands. One of the objectives of this policy is to act as affordable by the majority of the population. The an alternative to spontaneous urbanisation by failure of public housing to reach the target groups is attracting the population that would have otherwise demonstrated in the new towns where thousands of settled in informal settlements. The main difference fully built and equipped low income flats remain between new towns and new settlements is that the unoccupied for many years while the demand for former aim at spatial redistribution at the regional or affordable new housing continues to rise. The national levels, and the latter aim at redirecting urban consequences of forty years of housing policy can be growth within Greater Cairo. New towns can be summarized as follows: divided in two categories: independent new towns and satellite new towns. The former are meant to be self­ ∙ The public housing provided in the 60's and the sufficient communities whereas the latter are located early 70's was unable to satisfy the needs of the low in the proximity of large urban centres and are only income groups in terms of quality and quantity ­ partially autonomous. New settlements serve only to

5 provide housing are fully integrated into the Greater Cairo Region.

The new towns policy aimed at providing low cost housing for the segments of the population that could not afford to live in the urban centres of Cairo and Alexandria. New towns were also to play an instrumental role in the industrialisation policy of the country as most of the new industrial activity was to be located in the new communities. Map I indicated the location of the main new towns around Cairo. Between 1977 and 1982, a series of decrees established 15 new towns, among which the following received priority status.

∙ 4 are autonomous new towns:

­ Tenth of Ramadan, located 35 miles northeast of Cairo, planned for a total of half million people. ­ Sadat City, located 60 miles northwest of Cairo on the desert road to Alexandria; the city was initially planned for 1 million habitants and was to be a new industrial hub with 158 new industries. Government administrations were also relocated in Sadat city. ­ Al Amiriya al­Gadida, located 40 miles southwest from Alexandria was planned for half a million habitants. ­ Al Amal, located 40 miles east of Cairo with a target population of 250,000 residents.

∙ 4 are satellite cities:

­ 15th of May, located 20 miles south of Cairo, it was supposed to be occupied by 150,000 people, mostly workers from the nearby industrial city of Helwan. ­ 6th of October, located 20 miles west of Cairo was planned as an industrial city of 250,000 habitants. ­ Al Obour, located 20 miles northeast of Cairo's centre, was planned for a population of 240,000 habitant by the year 2004. MAP I: NEW TOWNS IN THE GREATER CAIRO REGION (Source: CEDEJ, 1987)

6 It is already apparent that most of these new towns are It can be seen that the occupation ratio vary greatly planned in the Cairo area and therefore follow the goal from town to town but are overall quite low. Another of redirecting urban growth in the national capital. So phenomenon can be detected in this table: the far the results obtained in the development of the new development of certain towns is behind schedule such towns have been at best mixed, and in most cases as is in Al Amiriya, where construction started in 1980 neither population nor industrialisation objectives have but only 192 units were built by 1988. been met. Table II shows the results in terms of housing for selected new towns in 1987.

Table II: Situation of Housing Units in the New Towns (1988)

Place Completed Housing Inhabited Units Percent Units 10th of Ramadan 6,323 4,922 77.8% 15th of May 12,718 10,400 81.8% Sadat City 1,431 240 16.8% Al Amiriya al­Gadida 192 27 14.1% 6th of October 5,783 832 14.4% Total 26,447 16,421 62.1%

Source: Feiler, 1990.

The objectives of the new settlements are to learn from and 3.6 meters for secondary or access roads. When informal settlements and emulate them on desert, and core houses are provided, they consist of a two rooms therefore public, land. They therefore rely more apartments (kitchen and bathroom) connected to sewer heavily on the concept of sites and services than the and water. new towns, and incorporate core­housing. They also try to achieve a balance and define flexible standards providing necessary health and hygiene guarantees. The target are therefore those currently occupying spontaneous settlements: low and middle income dwellers who are excluded from the existing housing market. New Settlements are located in close proximity to Cairo and allow easy access to the city (see map II).

New settlements are to be divided into blocks of 5 to 7 parcels organized around one internal courtyard. Increases in density through vertical extensions of the building, are permitted, provided that public and semi­ public spaces, such as internal court­yards, be respected. In order to preserve the urban fabric, width of streets are limited to 6 meters for the main arterial

7 Whereas this model of urbanisation seems a sound alternative to informal urbanisation, the implementation process led to a widening gap between the original concept and the practice. The Ministry of Housing and New Communities invoked the following reasons for diverting from the original self help scheme to a more conventional approach consisting of 4 to 6 story low income housing buildings (OUCC, 1993):

∙ The failure of previous self­help schemes such as the new community in Helwan. 1

∙ The slowness of the self­help process and the resulting unfinished physical aspect.

∙ The scarcity and resulting high cost of construction materials.

∙ The problems of administration and control of the building process, and of the respect of norms and standards.

Other not so official motives resulted from the links between the Ministry of Housing and the large public construction and public works companies which receive

MAP II: LOCATION OF CAIRO’S NEW SETTLEMENTS (Source: OUCC, 1993)

8 the contracts; as well as the unwillingness of the and the problems become more difficult to solve. The administration to deal with small private subdividers shortage of funds and staff, require a more dynamic and builders which would have unavoidably played a planning process in which priorities are continuously role in a self help scheme (OUCC, 1993). assessed and reassessed to adapt to available resources and to the macro­economic context (UNCHS, 1989). So far, the implementation of the new settlements This occurs in a context in which local services and policy has been very slow as it faced a number of infrastructure are promoted as means to increase social obstacle relative to the choice of sites, the status of the welfare, enhance productivity, increase opportunities land, and water supply. To date, only one settlement for the labour force and allow markets to work more is in its population phase which has been advanced in effectively (World Bank, 1975; World Bank, 1990). order to relocate the victims of the October 1992 The response of the Egyptian government to rapid earthquake. However the infrastructure is only partly urbanisation has however been totally inappropriate realized and most units do not have access to running (Stren, 1991.) In most urban centres, local services water. Other equipment such as retails, schools, and infrastructure are provided for by the central recreation parks are lacking. (Jossifort, 1995). government ineffectively and inefficiently

New settlements and new towns are two sides of a In this context, decentralisation is increasingly same policy and ultimately pursue the same goal of considered as a mean to increase government redirecting urban growth where it does not threaten efficiency in responding to local problems and precious agricultural land. They address the right priorities. Rondinelli and Nelli (1986) define issues: the problem of urbanisation in Egypt is not one decentralisation as the delegation of administrative of scarcity of land per se, but one of the control of the functions such as planning, management and housing location and development process. However, distribution of funds from central government to the the bias of the new settlements and new towns toward lower levels of government. Political, economic, owner occupied, fully built housing, means that they spatial and administrative concepts of decentralisation are beyond the reach of the urban poor. have different meanings and implications and all governments have mixed centralized and Forty years of government policies in housing and decentralisation set­ups (Rondinelli, 1990). However, regional planning policies years have naturally led to decentralisation is not a solution to all urban problems, the emergence of informal housing as the only for example, central governments can be more alternative to provide access to land and housing to the effective in redistributing wealth than local majority of Egyptians urban dwellers. While the governments. Even proponents of decentralisation government produced housing for the middle class, the acknowledge that centralisation can result in formal private sector targeted the upper end of the economies of scale and optimisation of resources. market and only the informal private sector was able to respond to the remaining unmet demand. It is also In the case of Egypt, the issues of centralisation versus clear that the contradiction in government policies, decentralisation must be understood in a broader such maintaining rent control while stopping the context than that of the national framework. Valson production of rental housing, as well as the alarmist (1991, p 150) argued that "In the name of decentral­ discourse of the 70's and early 80's contributed to the isation, a new element of centralisation has emerged, recent situation. Rent control led developers to neglect one of depending on decisions made not only by the rental housing for more profitable ventures; and the central government in Cairo, but also by those in official discourse encouraged well­to­do families to USAID headquarters in Washington D.C. assistance stock units to provide for the future needs their sons' bureaucracy. Nevertheless, the massive aid given to families (Hanna, 1992). local development programme created some awareness among local beneficiaries regarding their 1.3 Institutional Framework: Toward Policy problems and potential”. Decentralisation? The movement toward decentralisation in Egypt must Responding to housing needs is one of the most also be placed within the complex framework for pressing challenge facing Egyptian cities. The policy making in which numerous levels of shortage in low­income urban housing has reached a government, different agencies and ministries have critical point, and is becoming increasingly worse as sometimes conflicting responsibilities. This has the government's role in providing housing is limited resulted in an ineffective planning process and by the scarcity of funds. The combination of rapid confused responsibilities between local and central urban growth, inadequate urban housing policies, governments, with the latter retaining most of the scarcity of land, the huge rise of construction costs, power for policy design and implementation. and building material prices, has created a situation in which a large proportion of urban population are 1.3.1 Institutions Involved in Urban and Regional unable to afford basic shelter legally. Planning

Therefore, central and local governments face In Egypt, while a number of agencies are concerned increasingly complex problems in fulfilling some of with urban development, few have a clear mandate; their basic responsibilities toward their constituents. overlapping jurisdictions are furthermore common. As population and Egyptian cities grow rapidly, Three ministries have important responsibilities in already large deficits in infrastructure keep increasing designing and implementing national urban

9 development strategies: the Ministry of Planning, the ­ inclusion of subdivision approval in contracts of State Ministry for the New Urban Communities and sale or rent; the Ministry of Housing and Public Utilities. The ­ conditions in subdivision approval must be Ministry of Planning is responsible for approving included in transfer of property to inheritors; budgetary appropriations for all central ministries, public authorities and governorates, while also ­ extent of subdivision may be set by the local undertaking regional planning studies, and is popular council and include lands expropriated if responsible for reconstruction, new town development, owners do not voluntarily participate; and development of desert land. Within this Ministry the GOPP is responsible for the preparation of urban ­ the Ministry of Development is given authority, master plans for each of the major cities and for after consultation with the governor and implementation of the revised master scheme for approval of the local popular council, to modify Cairo. The Ministry of Housing and Public Utilities is previously approved subdivision conditions. responsible for housing and public utilities. A January 1996 Presidential decree integrated the State Ministry ∙ Restrictions may be placed upon subdivision for the New Urban Communities with The Ministry of approval by the governor, with city/village approval Housing and Public Utilities. for up to two years and with a maximum extension for another two years. The governor may exclude parts of In addition, there are a number of governmental towns and villages from subdivision due to capacity agencies in charge of, the national urban development limitations of public utilities or to control stages of organisations including the Central Authority for development according to an approved plan. Development (CAD), New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), and the General Organisation for ∙ Penalties for violations have been strengthened by Physical Planning (GOPP), all of which are under the providing for imprisonment for five to ten years and a supervision of the Ministry of Reconstruction and New fine of no less than L.E.10,000 (and a minimum fine Communities. These national organisations play an of L.E.50,000 if the violation is intentional). Fines important role in urban land management and may be collected through administrative procedures indirectly influence the scope of land development and do not require a court order. opportunities available to the governorates. Moreover, the following agencies have the right to modify local Master planning is the primary tool to guide urban development projects without coordination with other development throughout the world. It has proved, concerned agencies: the National Investment Bank, however, to be a tool of limited effectiveness the international agencies, the Ministry of Planning, particularly in the developing world. The Egyptian the Ministry of Development, and the Ministry in experience is no different. Over the past ten years, the Charge of Local Governments. Due to overlapping General Organisation for Physical Planning (GOPP) responsibilities and a lack of effective coordination prepared master­plans for many Egyptian cities, most between ministries and agencies incoherence abounds of which have yet to be implemented. The Egyptian in the implementation of urban development projects. experience suggests that the main cause for the deficient implementing of master plans is that they 1.3.2 The Planning Process in Egypt greatly exceed the limited resources of the concerned cities. The physical planning law of 1981 established the necessary planning framework for development by The difficulties and problems encountered in providing for mandatory preparation of master plans implementing master­plans result from the gap for cities and villages. All subdivisions, and building between planning theory and the reality of practice. In permit approvals in cities and urban parts of villages fact, conventional planning tools are inappropriate in must be consistent with adopted master plans. managing and guiding the development of urban Detailed plans should be prepared by local units areas. The planning gap results from the fact that (city/village) following the approval of master plans. planning policies are designed at the central level The development of the master plan should be done without giving enough consideration to the local with the assistance of the General Organisation for resources and priorities (El­Batran, 1994, pp.1­3). In physical Planning (GOPP) and the governorates’ fact, “this centralisation has often contributed to departments of housing and development. enlarge the gap between the planning process and the executive system at the local level with conflicting Additional features of the 1981 Physical Planning Law chains of command, and insufficient coordination, include: between central and local government department”, (UNCHS, 1989, p.3) ∙ The elimination of some specific subdivision standards and provisions for granting exemptions to In 1979, a new law was promulgated which these standards for specific areas and buildings which reorganized the regional planning process in the increase development affordability (Articles 65,66). country. Egypt was divided into eight economic regions each having a regional planning commission ∙ A broader range of control measures and tightening chaired by the Governor of the Governorate where the of existing measures regarding: regional capital lies. The commission consists of all the regions’ Governors, the chairmen of the Local ­ subdivision advertisement; People’s Councils, the Director of the Regional

10 Planning Agency (who also serves as Secretary General of the commission) and representatives of the ministers in charge of local governments. Under the law, the Regional Planning Commissions are responsible for:

11 FIGURE 1. URBAN POLICY ADMINISTRATION: FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURE (Source: PADCO Inc et al, 1982)

12 ⋅ Coordinating the Governorate plans, and by the local units that might interfere with its own determining priorities as proposed by the Regional policy. In addition, budgetary commitments and Planning Agency. allocation are decided at the central level and central grants represent about 80 % of local financial ⋅ Reviewing periodical reports. resources. This evidently precludes any meaningful system of autonomy or local initiative (World Bank. ∙ Following up the execution of the plan suggested by 1982) In the 70s and early 80's, a series of laws were the Regional Planning Agency. passed to define the respective powers of the various levels of government, particularly that of the Local ⋅ Evaluating the development of the region’s Councils and the Governor. capability and resources, for the purpose of proposing appropriate projects. Law No. 43/1979 established that governors have the right to cancel any decision of Local Popular Councils ⋅ Recruiting and training the staff. if it is found to be against the general policy of the state. This means that not all the decisions taken by Because they are composed of the executive members the Local Popular Councils will be discussed in the from authorities concerned with local and regional Higher Council of Local Government as a result of planning, the regional planning commissions have the government control. potential to be an effective planning vehicle. However, due to the lack of experience, the scarcity of Local Elected Councils obtained the right to reliable information and data bases, and the weak interrogate the governor and all other local coordination with concerned professionals, regional government executives on their work and hold them planning commissions have yet to become an effective accountable. This prerogative was seriously weakened tool to manage the regional planning process. This is in the 1979 law and was confined to the right to draw clearly illustrated by the fact that 5 of the 8 regions attention to specific issues. A new law in 1981 have not yet developed regional plans. reinstated the Local Councils' right of interrogation, but on a more restricted basis than in 1975; the law Although they are not yet functioning up to the states that an absolute majority of the members is standards intended by the law, the Regional Planning required for the interrogation of an executive head, Commission may play a leading role in the and a two­thirds majority in the case of Governor. decentralisation process. Their good functioning The Council's claim of wrongdoing is then to be requires that considerable power be given to the submitted to the President, who can either replace the regional level. However, Law 50/1981 de­emphasized Governor or dissolve the local council. the formal role of these economic regions by eliminating the need for draft annual governorate In 1981, the Board of the Governors, headed by the budgets, and draft annual financial statements as parts Prime Minister, composed of ministers concerned with of the draft regional level budgets, before final budgets local governments and the Governors, was replaced by are submitted to the proper central ministries. The the Higher Council for Local Government. The new provision of the 1979 law allowing employees of structure retains the same composition as the Board of governorate directorates working within an economic Governors with the noteworthy addition of the region or in two or more governorates to be considered chairmen of the governorates' local popular councils. as one unit with respect to promotions and transfers The local popular council have thereby gained access was also eliminated. However, the basic provisions to the decisions making process regarding the local regarding economic regions remained unchanged, matters. This however does not represent a major indicating more realism with regard to the pace at increase in the local council's influence over local which regionalism can be adopted. Effective regional matters and the fact is that little has changed since planning will require that all ministries adopt uniform 1981 regarding local government organisational regional boundaries which is not true at present. structure.

1.3.3 The Nature of the Rrelation Between the Central The Greater Cairo Region, (GCR) is good example of and Local Governments the difficulty and complexity of the decentralisation process in facing the consequences of rapid Power in Egypt is highly centralized and most large urbanisation. The GCR is composed of three scale urban projects are carried out by central governorates, Cairo, Giza and Qaliubiah, 15 urban agencies. Nevertheless considerable effort has been quarters (12 in Cairo and three in Giza), eight rural made in recent years to devolve power to the local districts, eight towns and about 300 villages. level. There currently exist five distinct levels of local Governors are appointed by the Head of State and government: governorates,urban quarters, rural oversee the presidents of each of the local executive districts, towns and villages. Each local unit has an committees. Cairo Governorate, which employs a staff executive committee and a popularly elected council. of some 140,000 persons, is responsible for housing, Local Executive Councils are responsible for public utilities, land development, slum upgrading, implementing the plans and programs of the National conservation and many aspects of urban planning, Program; supervising the work and activities of public design and project implementation. utilities and services; and preparing the annual plan and budget.. In practice, however, the central Cairo is somewhat unusual among developing country Government has the power to veto any decision made mega­cities in that it does not have a metropolitan

13 region development authority. A Higher Commission for the Planning of Cairo, whose membership consists of the three Governors of the governorates in GCR plus seven ministers, was established within the Prime FIGURE 2: SCHEMATIC ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE FOR CENTRAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND URBAN POLICY MONITORING FUNCTION (SOURCE: PADCO INC. ETAL, 1982)

Minister's office but is not considered a major force in the leniency in dealing with violations of the law urban planning, (UNCHS, 1990). contributed to the ill­management of land and the creation of an imbalance in the urban: land is used for Municipalities in GCR face many difficulties in the purpose that validates the highest profitability with implementing urban plans and enforcing regulations. no consideration to problems arising from this For example, despite the fact that municipalities particular use (El­Batran, 1993). This demonstrates consider land located within city boundaries to be part that legislation, master­plans, and other planning tools of their jurisdiction, ownership conflicts between are not capable or sufficient to deal with existing different governmental authorities help perpetuate the problems in Egyptian cities. phenomenon of seizure (Wad Al' Ayad). In addition,

14 A review of the current status of Egyptian local popular, irregular.... In Arabic, the term Ashawayat is governments reveals that they have endured a number used to refer to them, its literal meaning is of problems namely: the ineffectiveness of regional "disorganized" and by extension "unplanned." This planning commissions, the weakness of the regional study will use essentially the term informal as it seems planning agencies, the absence of communication to best convey the idea that these settlements do not between the authorities responsible for development, follow formal or legal procedures and escape the the control of the governor on the local popular control of governmental authorities. Unplanned and councils, and the control of the ministry of land spontaneous express well the fact that their existence reclamation on the lands around the governorates. is a challenge to planners's plans and to their "raison Despite the numerous improvements that occurred d'être", but fails to evoke that these can result from since 1960 in local government capacity, much "planned" land speculation schemes essentially remains to be done to achieve real decentralisation of capitalistic in nature (El Kadi 1982 and Deboulet, power. In fact, what happened in Egypt under the 1994). name of decentralisation could be more appropriately be termed as deconcentration: the governors, who are the chiefs beneficiaries of the reforms, are no more than direct representatives of the central government in the country's regions.

SECTION II: INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS IN EGYPT

A wide range of terminology exist that qualify settlements occurring outside the bounds of planning and legality: unplanned, informal, spontaneous,

MAP III: LOCATION OF INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS IN CAIRO

15 2.1 Typology of Informal Settlements This study is concerned only with the three first types: A to C, of informal settlements which present the Whereas several criteria can be used to differentiate highest levels of irregularities and have developed between the different types of Ashawayats, land tenure outside the bounds of planning and land use appears to be the most potent criteria in explaining the regulations. different forms and manifestations of these settlements. We can therefore distinguish between 2.2 Main Characteristics of Informal Settlements settlements occurring on public land and settlements occurring on private land. The former are squatter It is important to note that informal settlements are not settlements and the latter occur on legally owned land. synonymous with shantytowns or bidonvilles. The two latter refer to highly precarious housing units often 2.1.1 Squatter Settlements made of tin sheets or other low quality material and that are highly insalubrious. In fact, shantytowns are Most squatter housing in Egypt occurs on land owned relatively rare in Egypt, and most studies on informal by the government. Whereas illegal occupation of settlements highlight the fact that the quality of governmental land has remained a marginal construction of informal dwellings does not vary phenomenon, it is now rising in spite of the high level significantly from that of legal private or public of insecurity associated with such settlements. This is dwellings. Slums, defined as "conditions forming part a result from the increased attractiveness of publicly of an unhealthy quarter and therefore detrimental to owned desert land located on the urban fringe and the health" is neither typical of, nor limited to informal rising costs of agricultural land. settlements (UNCHS, 1993). They can be found in many poor areas of Cairo, and particularly older and A study conducted in 1981 on "Informal Housing in decaying areas. Common characteristics among Egypt" (ABT Associates and GOHBPR, 1982) informal settlements include: identifies several degrees of housing informality. It distinguishes between two types of squatter ∙ The progressive and incremental construction of settlements: housing by small contractors and owners themselves.

A)Dwellings constructed on illegally­occupied land ∙ The non­compliance with standards for street width not included in a legal subdivision. Examples of this and public open space and the absence of architects. are temporary or permanent structures situated on The urban features of informal developments are public land abutting a canal or right­of­way or private therefore determined by existing street patterns and land (vacant land comprising part of a building site buildings, topography, and natural and man­made slated for non­residential construction). features.

B) Dwellings constructed on illegally­occupied land ∙ The lack of facilities, basic sewerage, amenities and included in a legal subdivision. Examples of this are infrastructure which leads to a very low standard of temporary or permanent structures situated on private living and to environmental deterioration. residential building lots where the land owner is absent, or on rights­of­way, or in public open spaces. ∙ Residents of these areas belong to the poorer segments of the population and are affected by 2.1.2 Informal Housing on Legally Owned Land unemployment, low level of professional skills, low educational level and spreading illiteracy especially The large majority of informal settlements take place among girls and women. on private agricultural land; and have developed around existing villages or as extensions of the official There exist significant differences between settlements city. These settlements benefit from a high security of built on private land and those built on public desert tenure and, so far, never had to face expulsion or land. Dwellings built on desert land tend to be of relocation. The above mentioned ABT/GOHBPR lower quality and rarely rise above 2 stories (compared (1982) study distinguishes between two levels of to 3­5 for dwellings on private land); residents of informality in these settlements informal settlements built on agricultural land represent a wider socioeconomic spectrum than on C) Dwellings constructed on legally­owned land not desert land who are the poorest among the poor. The included in a legal subdivision. Examples include latter cannot afford legally owned housing and are temporary and permanent structures part of a parcel "willing" to take the risk of being evicted from their which has been subdivided and sold without either homes. In contrast, informal housing occurring on obtaining any permit nor complying to zoning private land meets the needs of a larger clientele regulations. particularly that of the lower middle class which does not have access to an apartment with rent control and D)Dwellings constructed on legally­owned land cannot afford the upscale end of the private sector included in a legal subdivision. These are permanent production (El Kadi, 1982). A study carried out by the dwellings situated on private land zoned for residential Higher Institute of Social Services (HISS, 1989) in Al use and included in a legal subdivision conforming to Munira and Imbaba, two informal zones located on zoning regulations, but have been built without a agricultural land, found that these neighbourhood are building permit or without respecting building codes. multifunctional and gather numerous service activities as well as professional workshops. We will see in the

16 next section that differences in tenure status also lead to drastically different attitudes regarding state authorities.

Table III: Summary of informal settlements characteristics

Main Charac­ Desert/Collective Desert/ Village Core Urban Fringe teristics invasion Subdivision Settlement Occurred in the 50s: Since the 1980’s, Develop prior to their Results from the history collective invasion by settlement from incorporation into the extension of the city tribal groups or several groups from a city results from the limited number of eviction of a previous locations. settlement Physical Houses are huddled Urban fabric results Street layout and Streets are very pattern together; core from the subdivision urban fabric follow narrow and follow settlement is rapidly of plots on an field boundaries and field boundaries and built and consolidated individual basis. natural or man made natural or man made to avoid risks of Little or no space is features (i.e., canals). features eviction; space is provided for common Buildings built to provided for streets space and streets. reach at least 4 floors. and common facilities Social Strong leadership, Weak, no unified Original village Weak leadership as organisation relies on leadership leadership cannot settlements develop tribal/community always cope with new rapidly and are made links developments. New up of a great variety leadership emerges of persons. No sense of community. Growth Growth is rapid at Growth is rapid and Urbanisation slow at Growth is very rapid pattern first, but size remains settlements can be first, increases as relatively restricted fairly large village becomes more attractive to city dwellers Employment Little opportunity Little opportunity Different between Diverse economic within the settlement. within the settlement. rural and new urban base, skills and Socio­ economic Socio­ economic population. The latter educational levels level is low. level is low. tend to be better paid and have higher levels of skills Community Communities are well Few community Vacant land makes High densities leave services organized and make services unless the creation of little space for up for the lack of provided by the community centres community facilities government services government. possible

settlements which resulted from a collective invasion and lowest in the fast developing peripheral The 1982 study of informal housing by ABT settlements located on private land. Associates and GOHBPR distinguishes between four categories of households living in informal settlements: the nuclear family (83.3% of all households); integrated family which includes married children (6.3%); the extended family which includes In 1986, Environmental Quality International (EQI) relatives but no married children (7.6%); and the conducted a study on the various types of informal integrated­extended family which comprises both settlements in Egypt. It detailed the characteristics of married children and close relative (1.8%). These three main types of settlements: those developing on figures are very similar to those of population residing desert or mountainous land, those that are the in regulated housing units which have only slightly extension of existing villages and settlements located lower levels of integrated and extended families, on the urban fringe. The first type occurs on public respectively 4.8% and 6.3%. The social cohesion of land and the two last on private agricultural land. The the informal settlements tend to vary according to the main characteristics for each settlements are types of settlements; it tends to be highest in squatter summarized in table III and completed by findings

17 from other studies when possible. An additional The subdivision society represent a step beyond the category was created to discern between desert subdivider and sometimes results directly from the settlements resulting from collective invasion and process described above. In 1982, El Kadi counted 39 those from a process in which informal subdividers subdivision societies in Cairo, of which 30 had at least played a dominant role. (Deboulet, 1990 and 1994) another activity. They operate at a larger scale than the subdividers, perform some site preparation and ­ even though the subdivisions have not been approved ­ advertise through newspapers. During the 60's and the beginning of 70's, the rate of informal growth was moderate and most of informal Of these three modes, El Kadi, found the first to be areas were characterized by homogeneity and strong dominant mainly due to reasons of greater community relations. During the last two decades a competitiveness. The owner­subdividers, who offer great change took place in the social structure due to the smallest and cheapest parcels as well as the best the very rapid growth rate which followed the open credit conditions, constitute 80% of all the actors of door economic policy. The informal settlements spontaneous housing. On the other hand, the became attractive for different categories of unrelated subdivision societies address their products to a better new settlers from different origins, leading to weak off clientele, mainly emigrants returning from the Gulf social cohesion and the lack of accepted leadership. countries. More recent work by Deboulet (1994) confirms that popular housing production in which the 2.3 Informal Housing Development: owner subdivides and builds the structure remains the Constraints and Opportunities dominant mode of production.

2.3.1 The Informal Housing Markets b) Formation of informal settlements on public land

In order to describe the process of informal The informal land delivery systems on public land urbanisation, it is important to distinguish between the have been described in detail by Deboulet in her 1994 two main types of settlements: those occurring on dissertation. She identified the same overall categories private land, and those on public land. Whereas the as El Kadi; however, she distinguishes between two two processes are different, Deboulet (1990 and 1994) markedly different ways to seize government land. argues that they are becoming increasingly similar. It Collective invasion and a more capitalistic system in is therefore important to compare her work with that which the subdivider plays an important role. She of Galila El Kadi (1982) who focused primarily on notes that the latter form is now preponderant. developments occurring on private land. Collective invasion of public land dates back to the a) Formation of informal settlements on private land 1940's and was the dominant mode well into the 60s. In the 1940's Bedouin or Nubian communities invaded El Kadi distinguishes three processes of urbanisation fringe desert land in the Cairo area and divided it of agricultural lands based on three different actors: among themselves. In this mode of appropriation, the owner­subdivider, the subdivider and the there is no room for a subdivider as he/she would not subdivision societies. These differences in the process be able to have legitimacy against a well established also result in marked differences in the end product, community. i.e., the type of housing provided. In the 1960's, however the seizure of public land with The owner­subdivider is typically a small farmer who the aim of subdividing it and selling the parcels owns a small parcel of land, usually less than an acre, emerged as a major phenomenon. This mode of subdivides his parcel and sells it while keeping a appropriation rests on "rapport de force" between the portion for himself. This process does not imply any settlers and subdividers. As described below it is often capital investment nor does it lead to the formation of profoundly exploitative in nature. The phenomenon of capital surplus. The owner only gets the price for the the subdivider is very diverse and Deboulet was able to land and in some cases the rent from a room or identify several sharply contrasted profiles of apartment added to his own unit. This added income subdividers in the area of her study: Istabl'antar, a is however rarely sufficient to provide for livelihood desert area in the eastern periphery of Cairo. In the and the owner, who in the process has lost his means early 60s two individuals, a man and a woman, seized of production, must look for a new job. portions of Istabl'Antar for themselves and started selling individual parcels. The legitimacy of these The subdivider is formerly a small land owner who subdividers resides either in a "clan" or in the sub­divides part of his land and with the added income charismatic personality of the subdivider who is buys new parcels for further subdivision. In this case considered as a founder of settlement. In the early there is a process of accumulation of capital, and the 80's, however a phase of massive urbanisation of the activities of the subdividers can extend to different area started which was marked by the apparition of areas of the city. The subdividers keep their overall "professional subdividers." This urbanisation is made costs low by selling the parcels, without site by large groups who move from area to area, and seize preparation, and relying on word of mouth to find subdivide and sell the land. Their legitimacy is based their customers. on sheer force and number and, according residents accounts, on physical threats. The price paid for the

18 parcel is assimilated to a "protection" from other potential subdividers.

What happened in Istabl' Antar is the result of a large scale land speculation scheme: large areas of public land were seized, divided, further subdivided, and finally sold without any site preparation. The incoming populations were ill prepared to face the subdividers and negotiate a favourable arrangement with them. The distinction between the two modes of development led to different urban spaces: one in which the space was divided by the community based on their needs and MAP IV: URBANISATION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND IN GREATER CAIRO (Source: Greater Cairo Region Master Plan)

19 which made provision for community life such as basic infrastructure networks (site and services common spaces and streets; and the other in which schemes), as in the case of the Ismailia Site and only the attribution of individual parcels is negotiated, Service Demonstration project, where the land with little regard for community needs. purchased from the project agency witnessed a dramatic increase in value when it was illegally 2.3.2 Major Constraints transferred to other owners. The formal land prices as purchased from the Project Agency at the outset of the A major constraints to the access to land is the project ranged from L.E. 2.00 per sq. meter to L.E. continuous escalation of prices. The cost of land has 10.00. Some years later, in 1986, it was found that risen from approximately 8% of the building land prices had increased in the range from L.E. construction cost in the 1950's to more than 100% 80.00 per sq. meter to L.E 200.00 when transferring today (Allam, 1992). The price of land for low ownership, (Metwally, 1987). income housing was multiplied by 23 between 1960 and 1993, i.e. from 4 L.E./sqm to 93 L.E./sqm in Government intervention to limit the rapid increase in 1983 while the average unit building cost increased the value of urban land is urgently needed. This sevenfold from 12 L.E./sqm in 1960 to 91 L.E./m2 in policy will aim at restoring market balance, taking 1983. into account the main constraints affecting the quantity and price of land, in order to enable low Due to the high rates of growth in urban land prices, income groups to re­enter the formal land market. the occupiers of low­income settlements are very likely Here, we stress the importance of reviewing the to be forced to move to more peripheral sectors of the existing land laws so that low­income dwellers may city, especially if such settlements are located close to acquire land formally, and limit the spread of informal the city centre. The original land uses of these areas settlements, (El Batran, 1994). would be replaced by higher types of investments to match the price of the land. This process of pushing out the poorer land uses to the outskirts has already 2.3.3 Major Opportunities started in Cairo in areas such as Boulak and Imbaba since the 1960s. However, the rate with which this The dynamic growth of informal settlements in Egypt process has developed has increased substantially since can be explained by a variety of factors: the start of the last decade. ∙ As land prices increase in the urban peripheries, Land speculation plays an influential role in the selling land piece by piece, becomes increasingly increase of land prices, both in free land market attractive compared with agricultural returns. The during the process of subdivision of land or even in the heavy pollution resulting in decreasing productivity state owned plots of land which have been further compounds this phenomenon. connected to

Table IV: Average urban land values evolution in Egypt 1960­1983 (L.E./m2)

Year 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1983 Quality Moderate 4 6 12 21 47 93 Good 6 9 16 29 80 154 Distinguished 12 16 33 67 136 266

Table V: Average residential unit cost evolution, 1960­1983 (L.E./m2)

Level / Year 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1983 Moderate 12 16 24 37 61 91 Good 16 22 31 48 73 106 Distinguished 22 29 38 58 85 128

Source : CAPMAS, (Allam, 1992)

20 ∙ The savings accumulated by Egyptians who worked support. Informal housing therefore contributes to in the Gulf countries during the last decade have been maintaining a balanced supply/demand equilibrium in invested in land and housing both for self use and in the land and housing market. The range of plots, the search of high investment returns. Culturally house and apartment sizes offered by the informal based motives which valued the possession of a piece system, as well as location and service characteristics of land and of a house as an important form of social of the settlements, represent a much greater variety of security and prestige largely contributed to this trend. options and prices than formal sector projects.

∙ The formal approval of land is a time­consuming, It is better able to meet the demand of low­income and costly process with a low probability of success urban dwellers than government housing and to when dealing with agricultural lands. provide a greater number of options.

∙ The high costs associated with formal development Despite these advantages, informal settlements are no standards, both for land subdivisions and building panacea. They allow only partial access to the city for construction. For example, law 52/1980 limits plot their residents, little or no space is provided for public coverage to 60% of the total area, compared to nearly uses such as schools and or green areas, infrastructure 100% in informal settlements where only the space is nonexistent or inadequate, access to the settlements necessary for ventilation and light is left undeveloped. is difficult, and they are pockets of poverty and Land subdivision laws further require that 33% of the overcrowding. Informal settlements constitute land be set aside for public uses when such spaces obstacles to the harmonious growth of cities and can never exceed 15 ­ 20% in informal settlements, if render destruction necessary. Providing infrastructure present at all. The building codes (law 106/1976) to these areas is significantly more costly than on impose high construction standards which increase vacant land. They are major contributors to the building costs while informal builders modulate the gradual erosion of agricultural production. Finally, standards according to their needs and financial they lie beyond the reach of government's control and constraints. (Steinberg, 1987). Finally, land use represent thereby a threat to its sovereignty. standards (Law 28/1948)provide for spatial separation of residential, commercial and industrial areas, and are not adapted to the economic structure of informal SECTION III: INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS settlements where these uses are integrated. AND STATE INTERVENTION

∙ The unavailability of formal affordable housing 3.1 Main Causes of State Intervention units. Neither private nor public housing are affordable to lower income groups. The main factor that led to an evolution in the government’s attitude toward the Ashawayats, was ∙ A high level of security of tenure in the case of pressure from international donors which led to the informal settlements developed on agricultural land. first attempts at upgrading informal settlements (see The National Assembly contributed to this feeling by section 3.2). Other contributing factors include regularly legalizing already established and partially structural adjustment policies, the need to regain consolidated informal settlements from 1966 onwards. control over large urban areas, the increased sensitisation to some of the most negative aspects of Whereas the rapid development of informal uncontrolled urbanisation, and the need to limit settlements does not result in the urban nightmare urbanisation on agricultural land feared by planners and government officials, it poses a number of real problems which need to be addressed. Since the beginning of the 1980's Egypt, as most developing countries, is going through a phase of The most positive features of informal housing benefit structural adjustments of its economy characterized by the individual. From the perspective of owner a disengagement of the state, the cutting of public builders, it provides an incentive for saving and deficits, large scale privatisation of public sector investment, allows gradual expansion, growth, companies and a focus on productive investments. In changes, is adapted to family needs and resources, the context of structural adjustment the provision of and provides an opportunity to incorporate income infrastructure is considered as a form of productive earning support in the residential environment, such investment which contributes to economic growth. as shops, workshops, and rental units. The size of Urban productivity was identified as priority in the construction procedures also permit the entry of small World bank's New Urban Agenda for the 1990s. and medium size investors and contractors into the Deficient infrastructure is among main constraints housing market who are otherwise discriminated which the World Bank perceived to be restricting the against by the high­capital requirement operating in growth of productivity (Cohen, 1992). The impact of the formal housing market. poor infrastructure is particularly felt by poor people in urban areas as it increases the cost of doing business or From a planning perspective, informal settlements affects the efficiency of both public and private constitute a rather rational use of limited space as high investment. In addition, as market logic becomes the density guarantee that land is used to its full potential. main basis for service provision, decisions to connect It is a system which adds more units to the national areas to basic infrastructure are no longer contingent housing stock than all public housing efforts upon specific policy objectives but rather on the ability combined, and is occurring without any government of the concerned populations to pay for the service.

21 and amounts to renouncing any commitment to exert The increased sensitisation of government authorities control over urbanisation patterns. to the needs of residents of informal settlements can also be traced to its willingness to regain control over 3.2 Evolution of the legal framework for large areas the country's cities, especially in Cairo. In upgrading and regularisation the absence of any government intervention informal communities have organized themselves for the Whereas the recognition of the significance of the provision of the most basic services such as health urban challenge posed by informal areas is recent, care, water, mosques...This effort has been led by attempts at regulating and regularizing them date back organisations with a strong religious affiliation: in to the 1960's. Since 1960, an impressive body of laws, Istabl'Antar for example, such an organisation was decrees and regulations has been enacted covering created from a mosque which offers classes and social every aspect of urban development from master services to the areas' inhabitants (Deboulet, 1994). planning and land subdivision to building codes and While these associations do not necessarily pursue any standards of infrastructure. However, despite wide political objectives, they are a fertile ground for the powers to remove violations and impose sanctions on dissemination of ideology and the recruitment of new violators, local authorities have been largely impotent converts for the fundamentalist movement. This a in the face of widespread disregard of planning and clear challenge to the government’s authority that it building regulations. could not tolerate much longer. In December 1992, 18,000 security agents raided Imbaba, an informal However, it is not until 1980 that the regularisation of area north­west of Cairo, in search of fundamentalists informal land development, in Egypt, was identified as (Denis, 1994). This indicated without ambiguity that an official policy which should go beyond periodic and the government intended to reassert its sovereignty highly controversial blanket regularisation of past over informal areas. However, it was also clear that violations. Regularisation laws have legalized exerting political control without meeting the subdivisions and structures that violated codes and population’s basic needs would prove illusory. As a have granted municipalities discretionary power to result, in his 1993 May 1st, speech, President service these areas while specifically prohibiting future Mubarak stressed the importance for the country's violations (Serageldin, 1991). The first legalisation of stability to upgrade all informal areas in Egypt. informal settlements located on agricultural land took place in 1956 and was followed by similar acts in The raid in Imbaba, along with a few well publicized 1966, 1981 and 1984. These acts have greatly catastrophes involving informal settlements, have contributed to increase the feeling of security of helped reviving the debate on the role and informal settlers residing on private land but did not responsibility of the government toward these areas. address the more serious tenure issues faced by For instance, the 1994 catastrophe in Durunka, Upper squatters. Furthermore, since the underlying causes Egypt, which resulted in 500 hundred deaths and fostering informal land development had not been hundreds of displaced persons, served to dramatize the addressed, it was necessary to issue laws at regular challenges posed by uncontrolled urbanisation. The intervals to legalize continuing informal land victims of this catastrophe were the inhabitants of an development. informal settlement that had developed in close proximity to an oil depot and was located on land In the late 70’s and early 80’s, a series of laws and prone to flash flooding. During the night of November decrees were passed aiming at creating a framework 2, 1994, heavy rains caused a series of accidents which for the regularisation and upgrading of informal land. led to the explosion of the oil depot. The burning oil A first step was taken in 1976 with the adoption of a was carried by flood water and reached the settlement law authorizing governorates to sell public land to while residents were sleeping. This tragedy was a public companies and private developers. The same direct result of the inability of the government to year, a presidential decree was promulgated which control urbanisation, even when the most basic safety authorized the sale of government land to illegal rules are at stake. The press largely blamed the occupants upon payment of the full market value informal settlers for the accident but did not fail to prevailing at the time of the transaction. In 1981 a reveal the government's responsibility, noting that the law was passed which gave the governorates the main concerned settlement had been connected with water responsibility for the upgrading of informal and electricity (Ayed, 1995). settlements. Finally, in 1984, a law provided a framework for allowing the settlers to regularize their Finally, the need to protect agricultural land from situation by buying back their parcel. The rapid urbanisation has long been an obstacle to the implementation of this legislation suffered due to great regularisation of informal settlements as it was discrepancies between and among governorates. This perceived as condoning a practice detrimental to evolution is in part the result of upgrading projects agricultural production. It is estimated that 12 to sponsored by USAID and the World Bank in Cairo in 16,000 hectares of agricultural land are sacrificed to 1978. These projects raised the issue of tenure urbanisation every year. This means that by the year regularisation in squatter zones along the desert’s edge 2000, 9.5% of agricultural land will have been and on illegally subdivided agricultural land. The converted to urban land (Deboulet, 1994). It is institutionalisation of legal procedures to regularize however becoming increasingly clear that ignoring tenure in upgrading sites was therefore required for this phenomenon only contributes to strengthening it, these projects.

22 The 1976 law for the sale of public land proved Cairo and a decree was issued by the governor in 1986 difficult to implement due to the conflict of ownership that spelled out the policies and procedures for the between ministries, and Defense Ministry reluctance to regularisation of land titles. By the end of 1987, forego land it considers strategic. In 1984, Cairo fewer than 30,000 requests had been filed, governorate identified 30,000 ha. of vacant desert representing about 5 percent of the estimated number land, one third of which were the sites of military of eligible illegal occupants in the governorate. No installations. Only one third were devoid of conflicts more than 750 had actually made the required down of ownership. (Simms quoted by Deboulet, 1994). As payment. In Helwan, an industrial suburb southeast a result of the lack of cooperation and conflicts of Cairo, the price of land was set between L.E. 100 between ministries, large amounts of urbanizable land and 120 and then reduced to L.E. 80­100. This price, remain frozen, leaving squatting as the only mode of corres­ ponding to the market level was too high for access to land for urban dwellers who can afford the settlers and few were in a position to take neither formal housing nor informal housing located advantage of this opportunity to increase their security on private land. of tenure. In Aswan and Ismailia, on the other hand, Serageldin, (1991) has noted that Law 135/1981 was low land prices negotiated with the inhabitants, the first to mention procedures for the regularisation of combined with attractive payment conditions, resulted informal developments in Egypt. It mandated in high rates of application for land regularisation. In governorate authorities to prepare upgrading plans for Ismailia, the program included cross­subsidizing settlements located within their administrative scheme giving a more favourable price for dwellers boundaries, but did not specifically address issues already installed in the settlement. (Deboulet, 1994). related to land tenure. Following enactment of the law, local authorities turned to the national legislature 3.3 Forms of Settlement Upgrading for the definition of the rules governing the transfer of state land to their occupants. As a result, the main 3.3.1 Early attempts at regularizing and upgrading effect of Law 135/1981 was essentially to put on hold Informal settlements any decisions regarding the demolition, destruction, or adjustments of buildings erected prior to 1981 for a In the late 1970s, the Egyptian government was period of 5 years. Penalties under the law where also interested to renew slum areas in the Old Districts of put on hold. Cairo city. A general strategy was established for replanning these Old Districts to improve the living Law 31/1984 empowered governorates to dispose of conditions of the urban poor. A decree by the minister land through negotiated sales on the condition that the of Housing, Reconstruction, and Public Utilities in recipient would utilize and develop the land in 1977 issued to form a committee concerning renewal accordance with the terms specified in the sales and replanning of these old districts of Cairo. The agreement. A year later, executive regulations to study involved the physical survey of old deterioration implement law 31 had still not been issued, although of districts in different areas in Cairo. There was found governorates felt pressured to develop interim on obvious low standard of building quality. Lack of regulations to outline procedures for filing requests to infrastructure and urban services due to informal purchase land plots, paying fees to cover survey costs, housing arrangements together with high population and depositing a down payment related to the size of density and general low standard of living. the parcel pending appraisal of the property. The GOE first enacted strategic policies to renew slum Executive regulations were finally issued in 1985 the areas in the old districts of Cairo in 1978. To achieve ministerial decree referred to procedures for the the goals set in this strategy, the replanning policies transfer of wastelands to occupants who had brought recommended the clearance of selected areas, “Eshash the land into use prior to the enactment of Law 31 and El­Torgoman” and “Arab El­Mohamedy”, and the allowed governorates to define their own operational relocation of their inhabitants. The program intended protocol implement the law. The decentralisation of to relocate inhabitants who lived in “Eshash El­ responsibilities entailed a sequence of incremental Torgoman” and “Arab E­Mohamedy” to three new adjustments in the central/ local interface. National areas on the periphery of Cairo, “El­Zawia El­Hamra”, laws have increasingly been enacted in the form of “Ain Shams”, and “Madinat El­Salam”. These enabling legislation, which sets a framework of broad correspond to three public housing projects which had powers and areas of responsibility. Local authorities been designed by the Ministry of New Communities, have been given wide discretion to formulate land Housing and Public Utilities, in 1978, in order to policy and disposal strategies and define the rules, relocate people who illegally occupied state lands in regulations, and procedures governing transactions, two areas needed for investment at the national levels, including the regularisation of informal tenure, and particularly the state lands are located in the (Serageldin, 1991). Central Business District, (CBD), of Cairo. Moreover, the Egyptian experience in clearance and rehousing As a result, the law's implementation suffered great approach is still limited, and its actual application has discrepancies from governorates to governorates. It not exceeded the experience of Eshash El­Torgoman was successfully implemented in Alexandria, Ismailia and Arab El­Mohamedy in Cairo city, (El­Batran & and Aswan but faced greater difficulties in Cairo El­Shahed, 1995). (Deboulet, 1994). In the latter city, a deliberation was issued by a special committee after one year, its In the late 1970's, the World Bank and USAID recommendations were adopted by local councils in initiated the first attempts at upgrading informal

23 settlements in Egypt, the former institution initiated the poor and achieving cost recovery proved to be two the Egyptian Urban Development project in 1977 and irreconcilable objectives and often neither goal could the latter the Community Upgrading for low­income be reached. In Ismailia, the combination of well Egyptians project. These projects were the first below­market land prices with the high cost of services attempts to introduce the concepts defined by John meant that the poorest households could not afford the Turner (1976) stressing the positive aspects of improvements and had to sell their land and move informal housing and the value of self­help. They elsewhere (Soliman, 1988). The resale of plots was combined the upgrading of existing settlements with also often performed to pocket the difference between the provision of serviced plots and/or core housing. subsidized land cost and its market value which rose This represented a drastic shift in governmental as a result of the upgrading project (see box 1). housing policy which had so far focused on the supply of finished high standards housing units mostly to middle income groups. It consequently met with great resistance from government officials who resented the reduction of the government's role as well as the length of the self­help process and the unattractive (i.e., unfinished) aspect of sites and services settlements. A major concern of government authorities was that upgrading informal settlements would be actually condoning an illegal act and would encourage the development of more informal areas. Moreover, the lower standards implied by site and services schemes were assimilated to creating slum areas with government consent. Four major projects initiated under the leadership of foreign/multilateral agencies are summarized in Table VI on the next page.

These four projects met with various levels of success. Where the participation of local population and government was actively sought they greatly contributed to the integration of residents into the urban network by providing basic infrastructure and social services, and regularizing land tenure. Where a reluctant central government was the main project overseer (Mansheyet Nasser) they achieved at best the provision of infrastructure. Indeed, one of the major weakness of the projects was that they represented a top down approach and that the local stakeholders were at best involved in the implementation, but not in the design of the projects. For the local population in desert areas, obtaining land title was a prerequisite to improving their living environment and even to the installation of basic infrastructures. This issue was the main conflict between government and local populations and caused delays or even failures to complete these projects.

Overall, upgrading and site and services projects conducted in the 80's failed to reach their main objective: to fundamentally alter Egypt's housing policy. The Egyptian government did not replicate the approach at the national level and resumed its policy of building finished housing units, particularly in the New Towns. In the late 80s a team of French planners belonging to IAURIF and working with the GOPP, proposed the creation of new settlements to meet the housing needs of the lowest socio­economic segments of Cairo. Their original approach, which was based on sites and services, was quickly abandoned for a more traditional approach including modern housing units (Jossifort, 1995). This was compounded by the fact that sites and services schemes had for the most part failed to meet the needs of the poorest households due to stringent payment conditions (Soliman, 1988). Furthermore, reaching

24 It is only in 1993 that a systematic approach to the upgrading of informal settlements was initiated. It was formally launched in President Mubarak in May 1993 Labour Day speech, when he announced the beginning of the intensification of national effort for the upgrading of informal settlements all over Egypt. This shift in attitude toward informal settlements is largely the result of a shift in the overall approach of the government toward the provision of housing. As it is retreating from its role as a housing provider it can no longer ignore the fact that the informal sector is contributing close to 80% of all new housing units. The provision of infrastructure and the regularisation of the status of existing settlements remain its two main instruments to retain some control over urbanisation. The government has therefore abandoned its role as a regulator and as a planner in the commonly understood sense of the terms.

3.3.2 Upgrading through the provision of infrastructure

The first large­scale effort to improve infrastructure in Egypt and particularly in urban centres, started in 1981 when the Decade of Potable Water and Sanitation was declared. This effort at improving the country's infrastructure was spearheaded by USAID which, until now, sets aside nearly 25% of its development aid to Egypt for this particular sector (Deboulet, 1994). The overriding guiding principle for these projects is that: whoever can pay should have access to water. Projects are based on the principle of full cost­recovery and costs can vary greatly according to one's location and size of the dwelling: the further one lives from the house connected to water, and the smaller the building, the higher the price. This results from the fact that the price of the connection is based on its cost per meter. (Deboulet, 1994).

A direct consequence of this market­based approach to infrastructure provision is that the legality of settlements and overall planning objectives and regulations are put aside. As such squatter settlements will ultimately be connected to water, provided that their residents can pay the high costs involved for connecting settlements located at a distance from all existing infrastructure. This does not mean,. however that government attitude toward informal settlements has become indifferent to land status and that settlements resulting from the invasion of public land are treated on an equal basis.

In early 1981, for example, Cairo governorate issued a decree allowing access to water and sanitation for informal settlements. However, Deboulet (1994) notes that settlements located on public land were not included in the infrastructure layout. She further asserts that even when water connection is provided on a market basis, the government uses access to sewer to exert pressures on squatters. As sewer is provided on a non­market basis it retains all latitude to connect or not certain areas.

25 26 Box 1: Ismailia: the failure of site and services and upgrading projects to serve the target group

In the late 1970's, Ismailia governorate initiated a program to upgrade informal settlements using the concept of Aided­Self Help in "El­ Haker" presently known as "Hai El­Salam", one of the largest informal settlements north of Ismailia city. The main objective of the upgrading and development projects was to help the very low­income residents of informal settlements. As part of a cross­subsidisation scheme higher incomes individuals were given the opportunity to acquire parcels. The project was two pronged: upgrading in the settlements' old area and sites and services in a new area. The government's role was limited to providing the appropriate infrastructure meeting the demand of the beneficiaries.

In 1985, a survey of the population indicated that the number of habitants (70,000) had largely exceeded projections for that year; and that the area encompassed a great variety of social groups. (GOHBPR, 1985). The study further noted the increase of commercial activities in the area. The most drastic change occurred in the new area where housing standards had improved, indicating that the purchasing power of present inhabitants was much greater than before the upgrading process. One of two things had happened: either the poor who had acquired most of the land had greatly increased their income, or the people living in the new Hai El­Salam are not the same who officially bought the land. In fact, official estimates indicate that 75% from the land sold was purchased by second buyers in an informal manner. The poor who managed to obtain money for building from relatives working in Arab countries, were able to stay while those who did not succeed sold their right to purchase the land and cashed the difference between the actual and subsidized price of land (Metwalley, 1993). The latter moved to reside in other area matching their income, i.e., new informal settlements.

In short, the project was successful in transforming an area from a settlement where only the poor would live to an area modern enough to attract high and middle income groups. In the end this means that the poor were excluded from the benefits of the project

A number of reasons explain the failure of the project to serve the targeted groups. First the prevailing concept was that the new project should not end up as a similar informal project. Inhabitants were directed to build with higher construction specifications using skeleton structures instead than bearing walls type. The subsidies provided by a number of bodies encouraged a higher building standards anticipation in price increase. Second important changes occurred in the layout of the sites and services section. The original plan was to allot the plot of lands overlooking the main streets to middle income group at market prices. Meanwhile, narrower subsidiary streets were allotted for the poor. The design included a number of spaces for common use. However, the inhabitants pressured project officials to cancel the narrow streets and common urban spaces, and to have modern streets instead. This led to:

⋅An increase in land prices beyond low income families financial abilities.

⋅Increases in land prices created a black market for selling and purchasing the land. The price of square meter ranged from EL 2.5 to EL 10 by the Project Agency in 1985. A majority of low­income dwellers sold their land despite the prohibition of such transaction.

⋅Increases in rent values. It is worth noting that the rent of the housing unit in average L.E. 10 for 3 rooms in the old area has become L.E. 120­150 in addition to a key money amounting to L.E. 5000.

Source: El­Batran, (1994), ” Transforming the Role of Private Sector in Managing and Developing of Urban Land for the Poor, with special reference to Ismailia, Egypt”. 2nd Symposium Housing for the Urban Poor, International Convention Centre, Birmingham, U.K.

27 accompanied the intensification of the repression against terrorism (Shoubra Council Report, 1994). A national plan was established for upgrading these In the field of local administration, an important informal settlements to improve the living conditions development took place as result of specific funds from of the urban poor. The upgrading policies USAID to the Egyptian government as part of the recommended the provision of infrastructure and American agency’s decentralisation support urban services for all informal settlements. programme. For instance, sums of US $ 455.2 millions, and approximately 125,000 Egyptian pounds During the period May ­ June 1993, 106 millions L.E were allocated to sectors being decentralized between was allocated for upgrading programme; the budget the years 1981 and 1986. It is significant that these was allocated mainly for infrastructure provision such sums were allocated for local infrastructure projects as; electricity, water supply, sewerage, street and were to be spent mainly by the local pavement, paving rivers and canals banks, trees bureaucracies., The main aim of the USAID grants planting and landscaping. The most significant was therefore to decentralize policies and the provision amounts were allocated for electricity, and special of infrastructure to the local level. As was the case in consideration was given street width, lighting and the Helwan project, however, popular participation in pavement in informal settlements mainly as security decision­making and project development exists measures meant ensure easier control over the mainly in theory and has yet to be practised during concerned areas. However, policy implementation project implementation. (Gardner & Van Huyck, does not leave any scope for community participation 1990) in decision making nor does it include tenurial security, except when required to justify investment for In the meantime, and as mentioned earlier, President public budget, (Shoura Council Report, 1994). Mubarak initiated, in his 1993 labour day speech, a massive programme for upgrading of informal settlements all over Egypt. This program was seen as a social response to the spread of fundamentalist religious ideology in informal settlements and

Table VII: Urban population in the governorate selected for upgrading (Source: Ministry of Local Administration, Egypt, 1993)

Governate Informal Settlements Total Urban % Informal Area Population Density Pop. No Population Area Pop. to Urban Area Population 1000/KM2 Cairo 79 2,437,988 6,774,000 35.9% 79 Giza 32 1,398,000 2,332,000 62.0% 31 Qualiubiah 60 686,350 1,494,071 46.0% 34 Alexandria 40 1,162,750 3,284,668 34.0% 33 Fayoum 28 99,853 425,400 23.5% 22 Beny Suef 46 144,660 548,225 31.0% 15 Menya 30 273,000 558,366 49.0% 36 Assyout 49 401,000 1,590,451 25.0% 65 Sohag 34 381,180 675,983 56.4% 125 Quena 8 22,700 72,311 31.4% 39 Total 434

Table VIII: Budget for settlement upgrading by governorate 2 (Source: Ministry of Local Administration, Egypt, 1993

Governorate Budget in L.E 1,000 Percentage Cairo 79,800 22% Giza 41,078 11% Qalyubiah 37,500 10% Alexandria 28,960 8% Beni­Suef 12,827 4% Menia 16,700 5% Fayoum 32,400 9%

28 Assiut 38,000 11% Suhag 32,654 9% Qena 39,131 11% Total 359,050 100%

Table IX: Projected clearance of inner­city areas in Cairo and Giza Source: Ministry of Local Administration, Egypt, 1993

City Informal Settlements Total area(km2) Average Density No. Population (Person/km2) Cairo A 12 112,987 0.464 243,626 B 67 2,080,600 27.298 76,217 Giza A 4 77,000 0.16 481,250 B 28 1,321,000 43.9 30,091

­ A: Clearance ­ B: Upgrading ­ Residential densities’ average in Cairo Governorate is 4313­person/ km2. ­ Residential densities’ average in Giza Governorate is 4927­person/ km2.

Because of political priorities the program was only authorities. implemented in ten governorates, (Table VIII) where it was most urgent to regain political control. Out of a It is clear from Table VIII that the Greater Cairo total number of 904 informal settlements, 434 were Region is benefiting from the bulk of this effort as selected for the implementation of the first stage of Cairo, Giza, and Qalyubiah receive 43% of this this national programme. Governmental budget for investment. This is justified by the fact that Greater upgrading programme for the year 1993­1994 was Cairo contains over 63% of the informal settlement increased up to 401 millions L.E., and it is expected to population of the 10 governorates and Giza has the reach more than 600 million L.E., (Cabinet highest proportion of informal population in the Information Centre, 1994). Clearance was country. Accordingly, the first national plan for 1993­ recommended for 25 deteriorating inner city areas 2000 recommended the upgrading of 171 areas in the located in Greater Cairo and Alexandria. This Greater Cairo Region. Included in this figure are 16 program is financed in its entirety by the Egyptian squatter areas located on valuable state which will be Government without provision for cost cleared. recovery and implementation is carried out by local

Map V: Boundaries of Greater Cairo Region

29 3.3.3 Rehabilitation and upgrading in El Munira and Its population grew from 410,000 inhabitants in 1971 Shubra El Kheima to 1,330,000 in 1995 (GOPP­IAURI1F 1995 estimate). In the meantime, the area covered by Whereas most of the recent effort at upgrading agricultural land was divided by two, from 1,550 to informal settlements focuses heavily on the provision 800 hectares. Growth was spurred by the of infrastructure, projects developed recently in Giza industrialisation of the area, the presence of a railway and Qalyubiah, two governorates which are part station and the Ismailia canal. Despite its informal Greater Cairo, adopt a more integrated approach and nature, a number of facilities are available, albeit in offer alternatives to current practices. The proposals insufficient numbers, in the area, including a jointly developed by the GOPP and IAURIF represent university, a research centre, hospitals markets and a significant evolution both as it relates to informal schools. The GOPP and IAURIF identified a variety settlements and more generally in their planning of problems and needs in the area: difficult access by approaches to the Greater Cairo Region. This road and public transportation, insufficient social approach combines the upgrading of informal infrastructure and public facilities as well as settlements with the planned developments in desert continuing encroachment on arable land. Three main areas, which are "reserved" for middle income objectives were identified for the upgrading of the populations. (Denis, 1995). It also represents the area: 1) limit encroachment upon arable land; 2) recognition of the fact the city is developing outside of improve transportation conditions and 3) increase the traditional planning. Considering that Giza is over self sufficiency of the area. The first objective is to be 60% informal, this is a welcome news. Two main achieved by limiting urbanisation to the southern projects were proposed by the IAURIF: Shubra El section of the new ring road; the second by improving Kheima in Qalyubiah and El Munira in Giza. the road network and public trans­ portation; and the third objective will be met by creating city centres, Shubra El Kheima is a largely informal settlement public facilities, open spaces and strengthening the which is located on agricultural land north of Cairo. employment base.

MAP VI: EXISTING LAND USE IN EL MUNIRA (Source: GOPP­IAURIF 1995)

30 FIGURE 3: PROPOSED POLICIES ACCORDING TO LAND USE (Source: GOPP­IAURIF 1995)

31 El Munira is a mostly informal area located north­west The success of these projects is contingent on two of Cairo on agricultural land which dates back to the factors: first, the ability of the government to enforce 1950's. The period from 1957 to 1966 witnessed a land use regulations and, second, its capacity to act growth of over 16% per year of the built area swiftly, before the area is entirely built up. On both corresponding to 10 hectares per year. The expansion accounts, its track record is rather dismal. Finally, has now slowed down with a rate of 2.14% between even though the projects sanction a new and more 1989 and 1993, corresponding to the urbanisation of humble conception of the planner's role, it is still 7.5 hectares annually (GOPP­IAURIF, 1995). essentially based on traditional physical planning and Densities in El Munira vary according to the duration top­down approaches: roads, district boundaries, of urbanisation; older areas have densities of 1000­ social infrastructures are proposed based solely on the 15000 persons per hectares, more recent areas have existing urban fabrics and communication networks. densities of 500 to 1000 persons per hectare and the No in­depth social studies have been conducted to peripheral areas which are still under construction assess the social and economic fabric of the areas and have much lower densities. The settlement suffers no provision is made in the plan for any participatory from the chronic inadequacy of most urban services: processes. There is clearly a need to be more modest main utilities are implemented on an ex post basis and about what one can learn from a map. large areas remain unserved; public facilities, particularly schools and hospitals are lacking and only 29% of children go to school (HISS, 1989 quoted by CONCLUSION GOPP­IAURIF 1995). Informal growth of urban settlements have become a The strategy proposed by GOPP and IAURIF is phenomenon characteristic of developing countries differentiated according to the various degrees of where planning and law implementation are deficient density observed in the settlement. For the old and and governmental agencies are unequipped to deal dense areas it proposes a long term policy combining with rapid urbanisation. The purpose of this study is the strict enforcement of land use regulations to avoid to resituate the phenomenon of informal settlements further densification of the area and the upgrading of within its broader policy and institutional context, in the area including housing rehabilitation and order to begin determining its nature, its influence in demolition when necessary and the widening of shaping cities, and its impact on planning practices existing roads (which implies some level of and land management. Special attention was therefore demolition). For areas with medium densities a two given to the causes and forms of informal housing and pronged strategy is proposed: strict enforcement of to the government's responses. land use regulations to avoid further densification and use of vacant areas for the provision of social facilities. We have attempted to demonstrate that the rapid In the case of low density areas the plan proposes to growth of informal settlements is a direct consequence provide necessary road infrastructure and to set aside of high rates of urban growth and rural­urban large areas of vacant land for main public facilities for migration, but its magnitude is also the direct result of all the inhabitants of El Munira. Finally, an important failed approaches to housing and spatial planning opportunity presents itself as the nearby airport policies. provides a 42 ha. area which is likely to be available in a not so distant future. Over the past forty years the government of Egypt has strived to modernize and industrialize the country in It is certainly too early to assess projects which have order to attain greater productivity for the economy not yet been implemented but a few remarks can made and to improve the quality of life for the urban poor. about the two above proposals. Their main objectives Therefore, since the mid 1970s the Egyptian are to integrate into the urban network settlements government has initiated policies designed to address which have developed in an ad hoc fashion over the the problems resulting from the spread of informal last 40 years. For this purpose they propose to remedy settlements. In retrospect, however, one has to the most undesirable consequences of this planning recognize that little was done for the urban poor who deficiency, mainly the physical segregation of these inhabit these settlements (El Batran, 1992; p57). areas and the lack of infrastructure, to limit further Housing policies and urban planning practices have densification, and to take advantage of present evolved from a state controlled and centralized opportunities. Transformation of these areas is approach to greater decentralisation and reliance on possible at this stage since the areas are not entirely private market forces. National planning policies built up. It is however urgent to act immediately aimed at redirecting urban growth to the desert and at before the area becomes too densely built and action is providing housing for the urban poor. These policies impossible or very costly. In itself, this an important have largely failed in reaching their objectives: shift in the role of the planner who acknowledges that uncontrolled urbanisation on private land continues, the city is being built and whose objective is limited to and the surest means of access to land and housing for accompanying this growth so as to limit its negative the poorest of the urban poor are squatter settlements. consequences. As such, these projects represent a Three main reasons can be cited for this failure. difficult balancing act between the acceptation of popular city buildings and the reassertion of planning Firstly, rent control legislation is the main cause for principles and land use regulations. the limited supply of rental housing units and the advanced state of deterioration of the housing stock in

32 many parts of Egyptian cities. Investors have been serviced urban land for housing should be controlled reluctant to build and provide houses for rent. by a land development agency.

Secondly, of the Egyptian government have focused on Government interventions for the upgrading and the supply of low­cost and subsidized housing units regularisation of informal settlements followed three which never seemed to be low­cost or subsidized different approaches. The first approach was carried enough for the poor to acquire. As a consequence, out in the late 1970's in cooperation with ODA the developers are now proposing developments located in World Bank, USAID, and GTZ. It combined the new settlements which are geared to the upper middle upgrading of informal settlements and the provision of income categories of the population (Jossifort, 1995). sites and services in order to limit the rapid growth of It becomes increasingly accepted that new towns and these settlements. This approach was implemented in new settlements will address the needs of segments of several parts of Egypt, including Ismailia, Cairo, and the population which are relatively well off and can Aswan. In 1981, the USAID sponsored Helwan afford to buy a finished housing unit. project led to the first law concerning the regularisation of informal settlements in Egypt. The The third reason an offspring of the two first: the second approach was initiated in 1978, as a result of withdrawal of the government from the rental market the recommendations of the Greater Cairo Region in favour of owner occupied units resulted in the (GCR) master plan, according to which, a general disappearance of this market. Whereas poor strategy was formulated for the renewal of old slum households maybe able to afford a subsidized rent, areas located in Cairo's Central Business District they cannot buy a subsidized flat, especially when high (CBD). Renewal was achieved by means of clearance down payments are required. As the formal private and relocation of illegal settlers residing on state land. market was scared away from the rental market by Finally, the third approach, initiated in 1992, as a stringent rent control laws it has become impossible to result of the fundamentalist crisis, represents a shift find rental units in the formal market. The informal from clearance to upgrading approach. The Egyptian housing market on private land appeared to fill this government instigated a nationwide upgrading gap and meet the poor’s needs. program which was in fact implemented only in ten governorates, where it was most urgent to reassert It is therefore not quite accurate to say that the state sovereignty. Egyptian government has disengaged itself from the provision of housing, rather it could be argued that it The first national plan for 1993­2000 recommended has withdrawn from the provision of housing to the the upgrading of 434 informal settlements. However, poor. Implicitly, it is a recognition that the poor has to included in this figure are 25 inner city areas, all use their own resources to provide a shelter for located on valuable state land needed for investment. themselves and their families. As the land that was The government has, therefore, adopted two distinct meant to meet the urban poor's shelter needs is beyond approaches to deal with the problem of informal their reach, self help processes are bound to happen settlements in Egypt: clearance for state land and outside of the planning and legal framework. As a upgrading for private land. However, as a result of result, government policy options become limited to political and social pressures, not a single area has post facto actions focusing on the supply of basic been cleared to date. By contrast, the provision of services and infrastructure. This implies a recognition infrastructure to informal settlements is well on its of informal settlements and of their role in pursuing way in all governorates national housing objectives. To summarize, the government of Egypt has adopted An additional cause for informal settlement three distinct and often contradictory approaches to development results from the fact that almost no deal with the problem of informal settlements in subdivision approvals have been granted over the last Egypt: 20 years in most Egyptian cities. In the absence of planning, city officials have been unable to make 1. regularisation of informal settlements/state land decisions about the location of specific developments. and The absence of such planning has also meant that few upgrading for state land; efforts have been made to control new subdivisions, either those of formal development or those 2. clearance for state land and relocate the inhabitants constructed for housing cooperatives. What little on state land suited on the outskirts of Cairo; controlled development has been done has largely been in Cairo and Alexandria areas through the public 3. upgrading for private land, and clearance for state sector housing and development. The most important land. component of an attractive system of land development controls and the ordering of future urban development The government's focus on infrastructure provision is an effective housing location policy. means that the root causes of the development of informal settlements have yet to be adequately In order to improve local government's ability to addressed. Despite the existence of vast public land control urbanisation patterns and enforce regulations it reserves, often located in attractive locations at the is imperative that master plans be designed to match periphery of cities, the Egyptian government has not local resources, realities and the existing housing been able to provide land for housing the urban poor. development process. In addition, the allocation of Conflicts of property and contradictory claims between

33 various ministries have resulted in the de­facto existence of groups pursuing the radical freezing of these lands. The Defense Ministry’s transformation of the state, often by violent means. reluctance in giving away land it considers strategic Centralisation is therefore an essential tool to ensure and its habit of installing facilities wherever it pleases political stability and pursue the housing and urban are good examples of this trend (Deboulet, 1994). development process. The decision to decentralize is a political decision and its actual implementation and One is hard pressed to find coherence in the Egyptian unless it is backed by strong political will, it will exist policy toward informal settlements: infrastructure is only in theory. provided on a market basis in some places and freely in others, settlements located in areas posing a threat Decentralisation is not a solution for all urban to their residents are connected to water and sewer, de problems and centralisation can be more effective in facto recognition is rarely followed by de­jure solving them. There is a no clear evidence favouring recognition by granting land titles; and official attitude decentralisation over centralisation to solve the is more complaisant with settlements located on problems of the urban poor. It is therefore important agricultural land, where they poses a real threat to to define the different forms of decentralisation and food security, than on desert land when urbanisation of the different factors which affect the need for the desert is considered a national priority. decentralisation such as the relationship between the individual citizen and officials, technological Contradictions in policies toward informal settlements innovations in communication, cultural differences, and housing for the poor find their roots in the and different levels of economic development and administrative structure and the decision making political conditions. processes of the government. Upgrading projects carried out in the late 1970's Between 1975 and 1982, the Egyptian executive illustrates some of the problems associated with high authority was transferred from central ministries to levels of centralisation. The first problem was the units of local government. Policy guidelines, inadequacy of the program to the needs and priorities development standards, capital investment of the concerned population. The local residents saw programmes, and operational budgets continued to be the regularisation of their situation as an indispensable the responsibility of central ministries. Programme prerequisite to upgrading the settlement. This issue implementation and construction, operation and was the main cause of conflict between all levels of maintenance were delegated to the governorates government and resulted in delays or even the failure through hierarchies headed by undersecretaries to complete these projects. Manal El­Batran (1992) attached to the central level but working for and in the noted that the centralisation of managerial and governorates. It has been argued that without direct administrative responsibilities leads to great links and coordinating mechanisms between decision inefficiencies in implementing urban upgrading makers at the central and local levels, it is impossible policies in Cairo metropolitan area. She further to implement land policy. In addition to the regular suggests that policies towards informal housing responsibilities of municipal authorities regarding the settlements should not be under the control of central delineation of public rights of way, the enforcement of government, but rather that the process of policy building codes and subdivision regulations, and the formation, and implementation should come under the provision of community service, the extensive control of urban municipalities. Decentralisation and functions in the field of land management and the increased power at the local level should therefore development were delegated to municipal authorities be a means to increase the effectiveness of planning. as well. Legally, the governorates were empowered to manage and dispose of state lands within their Many laws and regulations were elaborated by the jurisdiction. government to encourage the upgrading of informal settlements, land use and controlling subdivision of However, in spite of the various reforms, a land. None of these laws managed to integrate fundamental reality of housing policies in Egypt is that informal developments into the formal sector. The they are not determined by technical planner on the effectiveness of planning and regulatory measures has basis of actual needs but by elite politicians who have been greatly hampered by difficulties in formulating control over urban development programs for the and in enforcing urban land policies. The majority of urban poor. Policy decisions are influenced by the violators have little incentive to engage in registration nature of the state, its core constituency, and its social and appraisal processes which are bound to prove and economic objectives. In case of conflict between costly and time consuming. The lure of substantial general social objectives and the interest of key profits to be gained from speculative transfers at the constituencies decisions and policies almost always urban fringe easily offset the deterrence of official favour the elite over the poor. This is why, in the pronouncements, particularly when adjustment of absence of high level government support, urban municipal boundaries will no doubt soon follow, de development plans, no matter how well designed, have facto regularizing the situation. little chance of being carried out successfully. Local government capacity should therefore be The debate around decentralisation must be strengthened if they are to carry out their roles of understood in the Egyptian context which is marked planning, execution and enforcement of land by a bureaucracy which serves the interest of the elite development regulations and projects. To this end it and a political atmosphere characterized by the is particularly important to:

34 The Egyptian government seems to have finally ∙ strengthen the power of the governor and the acknowledged this simple and obvious truth and is governorate’s physical planning capacity; now conducting a large­scale effort to provide infrastructure to the country's informal settlements. ∙ increase the participation of the Local Popular Council; Infrastructure provision however, provides only a small part of the answer to the challenges posed by ∙ increase the financial resources at each level of informal settlements in Egypt. In the current socio­ local government through; local government block economic and policy context there is no doubt that the grants; Ashawayats will continue to proliferate throughout the country in the foreseeable future. There is nothing ∙ create a significant local role in the budgeting that the government can do to stop this phenomenon, process; but there is much it can do to limit its magnitude and its negative consequences. One of the main lessons of ∙ increase the attractiveness of government services informal settlements is that the poor can build their at the local government level. housing without state help, what they cannot do, however is "creating" the land they use for their In addition, metropolitan areas and informal shelters. As long as the only available land will be settlements require special administrative attention. private agricultural land, the informal housing Proper attention must be given to attract skilled staff, development process, and urbanisation, will happen at promotions need to be related to merit, and a more the expense of the country's agricultural production. flexible structure established which allows local The main tool at the disposition of the government is administrators to change staffing patterns to meet the therefore the vast areas of desert land located at the demands of rapidly growing populations. It is clear, periphery of Egyptian cities. Putting this land at the that at least in the particular circumstances of Cairo, disposal of the urban poor would go a long way in policies towards informal settlements should not be limiting the growth of informal settlements. under the total control of central government. The process of policy formation and implementation should be decentralized to come under the control of urban municipalities. In any case, housing policies, whether they operate within a centralized or decentralized set­up, need to be adapted to local needs and should be realistic in their expectations.

Informal settlements, in Egypt, have become the dominating factor in the urbanisation process and in the provision of housing for the urban poor. These settlements should not be looked at as part of the country's housing crisis, but rather as the urban poor's contribution to its solution. It is a particularly remarkable contribution as, under the prevailing conditions of scarce economic resources and bureaucratic control, neither the government nor the private sector could provide the urban poor with basic shelter.

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NOTES 1. The USAID supported Helwan upgrading project, consisted originally of two components an Upgrading Scheme and a New Community Programme of expandable housing units with infrastructure and community facilities. However, later the core housing programme was replaced by a site and services programme. The project is an illustration of how the centralization of managerial and administrative responsibilities leads to great inefficiencies in the implementing urban upgrading policies in Cairo Metropolitan areas, (El Batran, 1992). Since then USAID has withdrawn from the low­income housing sector in Egypt.

2. Total budget is inferior to 401,050 because Aswan governorate is not included in the table. The governorate was at first included among those benefiting from the project but was later withdrawn from the list. Its budget (L.E. 42,000) was redistributed to the other governorates.

38