Over the past few decades the Egyptian built environment has been witnessing major transformations. With rapid urbanization and increasing demand, the state policies failed to provide required jobs, housing, infrastructure and facilities. To fulfill their needs, people started to improvise through establishing their own self-built communities in major cities since the 1960's – what we call now as 'informal areas' or 'ashawiyat.
Official and public response to this phenomenon has been taking different forms: denial, combating, containment, relocation of local residents to remote areas, or adaptation with this new reality. The situation in formal neighborhoods was no better: our 'formal' urban and rural areas continued suffering from lack of investments, deteriorated environmental conditions, and lack of quality services and infrastructure. However, and despite the state efforts over the past couple of decades, these efforts fall short of addressing two main causes behind this continues deterioration: devastating urban inequalities and systematic failure of the Egyptian urban governance framework.
This presentation aims to give an overview the efforts of Takween Integrated Community Development – a social enterprise established in 2009 – to work within this context. It demonstrates how Takween has been advocating for better urban policies and practices through one of its initiative – TADAMUN: The Cairo Urban Solidarity Initiative implemented in partnership with the American University (Washington D.C.). The presentation also demonstrates how Takween has been implementing principles such as community participation and active community engagement in a range of urban development projects. And more importantly, the presentation attempts to put the efforts of Takween and other similar groups within perspective of the state's current and proposed urban development policies, and how these efforts and policies would shape Egypt's urban future.
Kareem Ibrahim is an architect and planner graduated from Cairo University in 1995. In 1997, he worked on the UNDP’s Historic Cairo Rehabilitation Project. He has also worked for Aga Khan Cultural Services – Egypt between 1997 and 2010 as the Built Environment Coordinator of the Darb al-Ahmar Revitalization Project, one of Cairo’s most ambitious urban revitalization programs. In 2009, he co-founded Takween Integrated Community Development and has been working on a range of issues including sustainable architecture, participatory planning, affordable housing, public infrastructure, and urban revitalization throughout Egypt with a number of local and international organizations. He is also the Co-Leader of TADAMUN (The Cairo Urban Solidarity Initiative) aiming at encouraging citizens to claim their Right to the City and its democratic management.