Transactions Template JO URNAL O F ENGINEERING RES EARC H AND TEC HNOLOGY, VOLUME 3, IS SUE 1, MARCH 2016 16 Al-ashwaiat areas in Greater Cairo Region (GCR) a Challenge for the state As. Prof. Dr. Abdelrehim Kenawy Department of urban planning, Faculty of Engineering, Al Azhar University, Egypt Abstract— urban growth of Egyptian cities takes place primarily on informal areas, where informal settlements grow at high rates that they have really become to represent connected cities where poor and middle classes adjoin. Informal areas are a disgrace on the forehead of urban communities in Egypt, as their environments and communities lack many basic elements of accepted human life. The informal areas issue has gained increasing concern since almost fifteen years ago, receiving more political and security attention. Concern with this issue has become the official drift announced by the State. Informal areas have several, diverse, and extremely disparate types. Cairo alone includes 81 informal areas with eight million people living amongst 16 million inhabiting the capital. These informal areas occupy 62 % of GCR. Two factors needed to be considered with regard to land use of GCR are that: (1) Half of the urban expansion takes place on agricultural land; and (2) Most of the growth occurs on the agglomeration fringes. For the future, it will probably be difficult to avoid a substantial increase in the urban population, and this is assuming that very favorable conditions will exist in the rural areas. But whatever the case may be, decision maker and planners should take this figure as a target because any failure to meet the demand for urban space would mean resorting to agricultural land for further development. Aim this paper to address the issue of “Al-ashwaiat areas in GCR as a Challenge for the state ”. Keywords — Al-ashwaiat areas, Egypt, Greater Cairo Region, informal areas. Introduction: Egypt's cities are growing fast and will continue to grow. About half of the population of GCR lives in informal areas, under supplied and densely populated settlements with too little space and too few social services. The large amount of the Al- ashwaiat areas are built on valuable farmland without building permits, some are built illegally on government-owned land. Until now, former centrally steered attempts to solve Egypt’s urban problems have not proven successful [1]. Egypt's cities are growing rapidly, often in the absence of any governmental or urban planning. Around 20 million people currently live in the GCR, the majority (around 60 per cent) in informal, underserved and densely built areas. There is a lack of basic social services and physical infrastructure such as health centers, schools, youth centers, access to drinking water, sewage and waste disposals as well as access to job opportunities. The extreme population density results in high environmental pollution. The local population is mostly poor, with low levels of formal education. Generally, the residents develop their habitat independently without obtaining building permits, which often results in their deprivation of public services and infrastructure [2]. The growth of Al-ashwaiat areas is a major concern in many cities of Egypt. Therefore, one of the most challenging tasks of urban planners is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the complex characteristics of informal growth in order to develop integrated and sustainable solutions. In this regard, the GCR is an extreme showcase with an estimation of almost half of the buildup area being Al-ashwaiat areas. Providing shelter for the growing urban population, informal areas have grown for decades as a consequence of the chronic lack of affordable housing. At the same time, Al-ashwaiat areas in GCR hold complex problems: e.g. loss of valuable agricultural land, illegal tenure, unsafe building conditions, poverty and a lack of public infrastructure and services. Political decision makers and urban planners are highly under pressure to deal with Al-ashwaiat areas in a sustainable way in order to integrate them in the city. Finding the right balance between addressing problems while strengthening potentials in an integrated, efficient and sensitive manner is obviously most challenging [3]. Greater Cairo Region GCR: There are a number of definitions of what constitutes GCR. The most frequently used is the GCR which was defined by the General Organization for Physical Planning GOPP in 1982. This is a large area which includes all of Cairo Governorate and most of Giza and Qaliubia Governorates . Thus, a considerable number of distant rural areas and small towns in the latter two governorates which have little or no relation to GC are included in the GCR definition. It was decided to use a conservative and more limited definition of Greater Cairo so as to As. P rof. Dr. Abdelrehim Kenawy Al-ashwaiat areas in Great er Cairo Region (GCR) a Challenge for t he st at e (2016) 17 reduce the rural bias which the inclusion of these areas (almost all of which could be considered informal) would introduce [4]. The GCR is a vibrant megalopolis. The population of GCR is currently around 18.3 million inhabitants, which represents almost a quarter of Egypt’s population of 72.6 million inhabitants and almost half of the country’s urban population and making it the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the world, and one of the most densely populated (40,000 inhabitants per square kilometer) [5]. Cairo is a “primate city” and has maintained its urban dominance over the last few decades. It comprises Governorates (Cairo, Giza and Qalyobiya ). Over the past four decades, GCR has experienced rapid urban growth, during which population more than tripled, at an average annual growth rate of over 2.5 percent. Now the population is growing only slightly faster than that of the nation (2.1 percent versus 2.03 percent per year) [6]. GCR is a rare phenomenon of a third world mega-city where, since the 1980s net in-migration has almost stopped. The metropolis’s expansion is fulled by natural increase and the incorporation of surrounding rural populations. This fact, clearly supported by census figures and various studies, seems however to be ignored by most Egyptian observers, and the view is commonly held that rural migrants continue to pour into the city and that most of the problems are due to them [4]. Cairo as the capital and prime city of the Republic of Egypt has a current population of 16 million people and by 2050 it is estimated that Cairo will have 30 million inhabitants. The General Organization of Physical Planning (GOPP) therefore developed a vision for Cairo 2050, labeled “International – Green – Connected”. To be able to achieve this vision a wide range of projects are proposed to overcome the major current urban development problems. Besides the rapid urbanization and the task to provide housing, jobs and facilities for the expected 14 million new inhabitants, Cairo is faced with a multitude of other challenges such as unplanned developments, especially on scarce agricultural land, lack of green space, polluting industries in the city center and traffic congestion. For the spatial analysis of GCR, GOPP divided the city into 23 working zones and the 3 zones for the new towns of 6th of October and New Cairo. These zones have been analyzed using several spatial data sets: land use at block level, the non-built-up areas, unplanned and unsafe areas (Al-ashwaiat areas) and ongoing and proposed projects, and also for some basic statistics (population, population density, green space per person) [7]. The current situation for GCR: (1) the previous urban plan of 1997 expected that the population will reach 24 million by the year 2020 which means 9 million more than the current population, considering that capacity of the new cities can absorb about 5.6 million of this increase and the rest will be in the existing urban built-up areas. (2) The existing trend of unplanned development indicates that the GCR population will exceed 28 million by year 2020 which necessitate: (Controlling the GCR urban growth to guarantee that its population will not exceed the planned capacity within in its boundaries / Channeling the expected development directions to the planned areas to absorb this development). (3) GCR is composed of 3 Governorates (Cairo 8 million, Giza 3.5 million and Shubra El-Kheima and other areas from Qualiobya 2.5 million). It also includes 8 ‘New cities’ which are not managed by the Governorates, but by the NUCA. The density: 40,000 p/km2 (estimated 2000). (4) MostAl-ashwaiat areas are on private agricultural land, over 50% households live inAl-ashwaiat areas, out of which 82% built on agricultural land. More than 90% have access to utilities. In GCR, which houses 16 million inhabitants, there are 81 Al-ashwaiat areas, some 62 % of the GCR’s population lives in Al-ashwaiat areas comprising unlawful subdivision of agricultural land, squatting on desert land. Governance and Urban Management in GCR: The GCR is not yet a legal entity. It is a contiguous metropolitan area that is administratively under the jurisdiction of three governorates (Cairo, Giza, and Qalyobiya), in addition to a number of sectoral central government authorities. Since Cairo is the seat of national government, many other central government ministries and authorities have a direct role or indirect influence on urban management issues. As a result, development and public investment decisions affecting the GCR are typically taken at both the central and local government levels. The GCR is also a composite entity of several layers of local administration that varies by place. On the one hand, Giza and Qalyobiya follow a five-tier local administration system (governorate, district /Markaz, city, village and quarter /Hayy) on account of having a mix of urban and rural areas, whereas Cairo a special case of an urban-only governorate follows a two-tier system (governorate and quarter/Hayy) [4]. The challenge is to coordinate among these entities. The overlapping jurisdiction between central and local government complicates local management and service delivery. The situation is further exacerbated by the entities in charge of land-use planning and service delivery, which use different boundaries [6]. As. P rof. Dr. Abdelrehim Kenawy Al-ashwaiat areas in Great er Cairo Region (GCR) a Challenge for t he st at e (2016) 18 Land use of GCR: Figure (1) reflects the situation and the land use for Greater Cairo in 2009. The land use classes are aggregated into 7 main urban land use classes (Residential, Industrial, commercial, Institutional, Security/Army, cemetery and Green areas). In addition to these 7 classes also the Agricultural and Vacant/Desert areas are calculated. The land use class ‘others’ covers the remaining areas mainly used for roads, rail lines. The land use is summarized in table (1) [7]. Figure 1 land use of GCR Source: (GOPP, 2009) Figure 2 Non Built up of GCR Source : (GOPP, 2009) Table 1 land use & Non Built up of GCR Source : (GOPP, 2009) Governmental Respond towards Al-ashwaiat areas in GCR: In the 1960s, Government respond was demolition and resettlement several areas in Cairo have been demolished and developed for public housing projects. In the 1970s, with the pressure from international organizations, Egyptian government has started some demonstration projects for Upgrading informal settlements based on community participation. In the 1980s tolerance towards these Al-ashwaiat areas, rapid consolidation of Al-ashwaiat areas, absence of services and urban utilities and control, increase social unrest and violence. In the 1990s, the National Slums Upgrading Policy, its Stated Goals; (Improving the living standards of informal settlements, Integrating slums within the formal city, Providing slums with basic needs in terms of infrastructure and roads and sometimes services and Security Control of slum areas) [8]. GCR,s Previous Planning Efforts: (1) First Master plan in 1970: (Target year is 1990, planning area is 685,000 acres, Population is 6.1 million in 1966 and expected 14 million by 1990). (2) Long term development master Plan 1983: (creation of small urban settlements and new satellite cities being connected through development corridors / dividing the exiting built-up area into 16 homogeneous sectors in addition to 10 new urban settlements / Population is 10 million in 1982 and expected to be 16 million by 2002). (3) First update of the master plan 1991. (3) Second update in 1997: (Population is 13 million in 1993 and expected to be 24 million in 2022 / Combining several new urban settlements into one or more new city or new urban community, o Combining new settlements No. 1,3,5 to be New Cairo, o Combining 6A and 6B to be Sheikh Zaied City). As. P rof. Dr. Abdelrehim Kenawy Al-ashwaiat areas in Great er Cairo Region (GCR) a Challenge for t he st at e (2016) 19 Public Housing Policies in GCR (1952–2011): According to (Doaa Abouelmagd [9]) and others, There are five political regimes; within this division one can document the evolution of the housing Policies related to these periods, as following: (1) Post Second World War and before 1952: The first publicly subsidized low rent housing was constructed barley before the 1952 revolution. Some 1100 dwelling units had been constructed in Imbaba in Governorate of Giza. The project was named ‘the worker city [10]. (2) National state economy (1952- 1974): In order to achieve a social equality, the state had legalized a series of rent control laws in 1952, 1958, 1961and 1962 to reduce and/or freeze rent. In long term, these laws had an impact on the housing market. First, the withdrawal of the private sector from the rental housing market due to its limited profitability, secondly, the deterioration of housing stocks and the decline of the maintenance of the buildings due to the declining income from rent [11]. (3) Capitalism turn (1974-1981): with the creation of the new open door policy, many private companies started to operate again. They invested in construction upper income housing to achieve large amount of profit. But, only few of these companies invested in the construction of the middle-income housing [12]. There were no incentives of any of these companies to construct low- income housing. As the reaction of the new economic policy, the cities had suffered from waves of inner migration. In 1977, The state strategy to face the increasing housing demands was through launching a policy called ‘the new towns policy’ and since then was formalized as Law of New Communities in 1979. The new shape of town movement quickly appeared to dominate Egypt's urban development as well as budgetary allocations. It is still dominants current market. Currently, there are 39 new towns in Egypt [12]. (4) Neoliberal period (1981-2005): During the 1990s, the government continued a direct housing provision policy. This policy started in the 1950s, ensuring its responsibilities to house the low income classes. During 1982-2005 the overall production of housing was 1.26 million units, with an annual average production of 54,700 units. The government programs were under different authorities, but the housing models and payment conditions have remained similar over decades [11]. (4) Reformist period (2005-2011): In 2005, the state had launched a new housing program. It was aimed to construct 500,000 subsidized housing units over six years spread throughout the country for low income groups, and is located in new towns; the program was administrated by different governorates [11]. Al-ashwaiat areas definition: Al-ashwaiat is the Arabic word used in Egypt for informal areas or slums. It literally means (random or haphazard). The Egyptian government uses the terms Al-ashwaiat, informal areas, and slums interchangeably, and U.N. Habitat uses slums [14]. There is a wide range of terminology for "Al- ashwaiat areas": (unplanned, informal, spontaneous, popular, irregular). In Arabic, the term "Al-ashwaiat areas" is used to refer to them. In the context of GCR there exist different definitions for the informal areas established by the various political institutions involved. Thus, this section examines the existing definitions from different perspectives. According to the reference from GOPP, there are two main criteria defining the Al-ashwaiat areas: legal status and level of deterioration. Regarding legal status, the area that has been developed on unplanned land is considered informal. Regarding deterioration, physical degradation is not the only key issue. Environmental and social aspects, lack of basic services and infrastructure are also taken into consideration [15]. According to the new law of building and planning (no. 119), however, there are two definitions on the Al-ashwaiat areas, comprising only physical factors: unplanned areas and redevelopment areas. The former refers to the areas that were developed without detailed plan on privately-owned agricultural land, and are consolidated over time, fed with infrastructures and services. The latter refers to unsafe areas that need to be partially or completely redeveloped [15]. According to the reference from ISDF, It is a phenomenon began to fulfill the need to provide housing due to the increase in population as well as the migration of inhabitant from villages to cities seeking for job opportunities and good living conditions [16]. There are different attempts to define informal areas. The following three examples show the variety of their content: (1) Informality is the citizen’s holding of land and building on it privately whereby violating the regulations for sound planning such as the building code. (2) Informal areas are unplanned spontaneous high density expansions around existing cities or villages. (3) Informal Settlements are traps of poverty and deprivation. Drawing a conclusion, there is no all- inclusive definition of informality in the literature. Each definition focuses on a particular aspect of the issue. The conclusion of the different definitions is, that Al-ashwaiat areas (are not planned, have a high building and population density, have deficits in public services and have legal problems (occupy squatted land and/or are built without proper building permits) [1]. As. P rof. Dr. Abdelrehim Kenawy Al-ashwaiat areas in Great er Cairo Region (GCR) a Challenge for t he st at e (2016) 20 Figure 3 Al-ashwaiat areas on agrictural land in GCR Figure 4 Al-ashwaiat areas in Cairo The issue of Al-ashwaiat areas: Al-ashwaiat areas are considered an urban blight and the festering sore of urbanization. Accordingly, more people will choose or will find themselves living in Al-ashwaiat areas, unable to afford any other accommodation and enjoying freedom from rent and civic obligations. The government solutions were sought as one of three physically oriented approaches; upgrading and merging within city formal districts, buffering, or eradication. It seems that social aspects were not at all considered. After three decades of trial and error, the sought approach was involving the communities through participatory development. However, the issue of the Al-ashwaiat areas is not yet closed; most inhabitants refuse to leave their settlements, reject proposed rehabilitation projects, and vandalize urban projects proposed [16]. Al-ashwaiat areas and International Covenant: (1) International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights: Egypt ratified on 1982, it states in article 11 on (Ensure the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions / Safe housing as main human right and adequate standard of living. (2) UN Habitat Program: Shelter focal point, Responsible for monitoring slums worldwide and Outlined criteria for identifying and classifying slums. (3) Millennium Development Goals (MDG): Adopted by the UN member states in 2000 and Goal 7 Target 11 aims “By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers”. (4) Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness: Adopted by the governments and donors in 2005 and Places obligations on bilateral aid agencies to follow and align its programs with national strategies and priorities [17]. Al-ashwaiat areas criteria (ISDF, 2014): - Informal areas according to UN Habitat are: (1) Areas lacking suitable housing: (built on unsafe areas (geological formations); under threat of railways accidents; buildings made of make-shift materials; ruins; in the vicinity of industrial pollution; under high voltage power cables). (2) Areas lacking sufficient living space: (more than two person per room). (3) Areas lacking accessibility to clean water (lack accessibility to clean drinking water). (4) Areas lacking accessibility to sanitation (lack accessibility to improved sanitation). (5) Lack of Tenure Areas (Living areas that lack possession by documents of title or squatters on state land or other entities). - Informal areas according to ISDF are 4 grades: Grade (1): areas that threaten life (under sliding geological formations, in flood areas and under threat of railways accidents). Grade (2): Areas of unsuitable shelter conditions (buildings made of make-shift materials; sites unsuitable for building, solid waste dumps; ruins). Grade (3): Areas of health risks (lack accessibility to clean drinking water or improved sanitation; in the vicinity of industrial pollution; under high voltage power cables). Grade (4): Areas of instability of tenure (areas on state land; areas on territory dominated by central organization; areas on the territory of Endowments. (Grades are ordered according to degree of risk -thus higher risk overrules the lower) Dwelling Units in Al-ashwaiat areas: A total of 2.63 million dwelling units were estimated to be found in Al-ashwaiat areas of GCR. As expected, the large majority of units were associated with, “on private agricultural land”, representing 83.7% of the informal total. By far the largest type of dwelling unit found in informal areas is the “apartment”, representing 69.5% of total dwelling units. As. P rof. Dr. Abdelrehim Kenawy Al-ashwaiat areas in Great er Cairo Region (GCR) a Challenge for t he st at e (2016) 21 Main Characteristics of Al-ashwaiat areas: Common characteristics among Al-ashwaiat areas include: (1) the progressive and incremental construction of housing by small contractors and owners themselves. The noncompliance with standards for street width and public open space and the absence of architects. (2) The urban features of informal developments are therefore determined by existing street patterns and buildings, topography, and natural and manmade features. The lack of facilities, basic sewerage, amenities and infrastructure which leads to a very low standard of living and to environmental deterioration. (3) Residents of these areas belong to the poorer segments of the population and are affected by unemployment, low level of professional skills, low educational level and spreading illiteracy especially among girls and women [18]. Reasons of Al-ashwaiat areas in GCR: There are many Reasons but the most important are as following: (1) No formal access to land by urban poor. (2) Long history of unsuccessful governmental housing policies. (3) Long and difficult procedures to acquire land subdivision and building permit. (4) Weak control of government on land. (5) Unsuitable laws and regulations concerning planning and building codes. (6) Weak enforcement of laws and regulations by local government [8]. Al-ashwaiat areas and agricultural land: Sprawl of buildings, projects, services and the non- agricultural utilization of agricultural lands led to the loss of huge areas of agricultural land in Egypt reaching around a million Fadden. Available numbers clearly show significant disparity in agricultural land depletion rates resulting from urban growth. However, they almost agree that 53% of such depletion is owed to residential buildings, 26% to services, and 21% to other projects and infrastructure projects. It is however noticed that the expansion of villages, hamlets and satellites is horizontal using low buildings, thus with much less utilization of land than in informal urban growth, which is vertical with high utilization of land due to difference in living circumstances and lifestyles between urban and rural areas. Thus, informal growth in rural areas is much graver than in cities. This issue has not yet received due concern. Negative results of Al-ashwaiat areas: Negative results are numerous: (1) Decreased agricultural production. (2) Environmental degradation resulting from many development activities implemented in urban growth areas, particularly unplanned industrial activities and its impacts on the Egyptian citizen. (3) Contribution in the spread of the informal pattern in all aspects of life along with the hard living circumstances, decreased society productivity and values, and disturbance in the Egyptian urban system and its adverse impacts. Main Obstacles of Al-ashwaiat areas: One of the main obstacles to addressing the entire Al- ashwaiat areas phenomenon in the GCR is the fast growth of per urban areas around the urban agglomeration of the GCR. The 2008 population of the nine per urban areas in GCR is estimated at 4.21 million inhabitants, representing 24.7 percent of GCR’s 17 million inhabitants. The population of these areas has been growing rapidly in an informal pattern over agricultural lands, averaging 3.27 percent per annul over the (1996–2006) period. Although officially the per-urban areas of GCR are classified as rural, over the last few decades the role of agriculture has diminished significantly. By 1996, agriculture only accounted for 21 percent of the employment of the active population in GCR (compared to 47 percent for rural Egypt), and the largest single sector was manufacturing, with 22 percent of employment (higher even than the national urban average) [6]. Challenges for Al-ashwaiat areas upgrading: There are many challenges but the most important are as following: Political will to proceed with Al- ashwaiat areas upgrading approach Need for institutional reforms of local government (departments, staff, and decentralization) Administrative culture constraints (civil service, representation, technocratic approach) and capacity development and orientation of civil society and private sector. Al-ashwaiat areas in GCR: Many of the Residential areas in Cairo are unplanned and some areas are also classified as unsafe. The table below estimates in area occupied by unplanned residential areas in comparison to the planned residential areas. For zone A, B and C there are 65,670 Fadden planned to be finally (2027) developed into residential areas. Unplanned areas have in general a high density and limited space reserved for green areas and services. Unplanned areas are in many cases multi-story buildings which will not be easy to be converted in a later stage into other land uses. Avoiding further unplanned developments is therefore a major spatial planning policy which requires enforcement and alternatives and affordable housing options in the right location. The fore seen population growth of Greater Cairo cannot be accommodated in the 23 zones but have to find in the 6th of October (zone A and B) and As. P rof. Dr. Abdelrehim Kenawy Al-ashwaiat areas in Great er Cairo Region (GCR) a Challenge for t he st at e (2016) 22 New Cairo (zone C) or elsewhere. Figure 5 Unplanned and Unsafe areas in GCR Source : (GOPP, 2009) Table 2 Unplanned and Unsafe areas in GCR Source : (GOPP, 2009) State reaction for Al-ashwaiat areas: The increasing loss of agricultural land around Cairo, plans to “close” the city to immigration (also through physical means such as the ring road), western consultants who arrived in the late 1970 to advise the government on how to deal with Cairo’s growth, and also the inclusion of Al-ashwaiat areas in the census in 1986 all show that the government was very well aware of the fast growth of Al-ashwaiat areas but did little about it [19]. In 1992, two incidences increased the awareness of Al-ashwaiat areas and started a public discourse. One was an earthquake in October that year, which not only revealed the danger of unplanned and densely populated areas but also involved a much faster emergency aid from Islamic organizations. Both incidents led to a policy of accepting the existence of Al-ashwaiat areas. In consideration of their growth, established situation and a housing stock of relatively good quality the government gave up the idea of demolition in favor of development and up- grading [20]. In his May 1 speech in 1993, President Mubarak announced intensified efforts to rehabilitate Al-ashwaiat areas in all of Egypt for stability and security reasons. In early 1993, the government launched a National Programme for Urban Upgrading over LE 4.5 billion to be spent through the governorates until 2002. The Mubarak government sought to demonstrate that it had a policy for informal Cairo beyond coercion, and counter its critics’ accusations of neglect and Indifference” [19]. It the course of this programme, 16 areas in GCR was to be demolished, mainly because they were physically affected by the earthquake. Around 80 settlements, among them those, in which the clashes took place, were announced to be serviced with basic infrastructure such as water, sanitary drainage and electricity, and streets were to be widened, paved and provided with street lighting. These exclusively physical upgrading measures were seen as raising control over areas difficult to control, but also to rehabilitate people that were thought to be uncivilized [20]. In GCR great efforts have been done to enhance access to sanitation and drinking water, electricity and road paving, and LE 971 million were spent (51% of the national budget). However, processes to bring upgrading on the way were slow and complicated. Because the top-down programme was missing a participatory approach, and basic information on the needs of informal areas were lacking, many people were not aware of the programme and did not feel any improvements. Also, in the absence of a clear monitoring system, only 60% of the budget has actually been spent on informal areas. In terms of sanitation and access to clean water the programme has shown great achievements. According to the latest Human Development Report sanitation systems – for which 40% of the budget have been spent – nationally improved from 54% in 1990 to 70% in 2004, water respectively from 94% to 98% (World Bank 2008a:64). Yet the access to basic education, youth centers and health units still shows great deficits, and from 13 million people in need less than 6 million have been targeted. “the overall impact has been less than expected with continued migration, unemployment and poverty which have outpaced government resources”. Until today the National Programme for Urban Upgrading has been the only governmental effort to systematically address the issue of informal areas besides some smaller donor-funded pilot projects of upgrading [20]. As an attempt to solve the problematic issue of what counts as Al-ashwaiat areas, the Informal Settlement Development Facility (ISDF), since its establishment by a presidential Decree # 305/2008, has made a substantial change in the Egyptian vocabulary by replacing the term “Slums” or “Informal Settlements” or “Al-ashwaiat areas” by two distinctive terms; “Unsafe Areas” and “Unplanned areas”. Unsafe areas are characterized by being subject to life threat, or having inappropriate As. P rof. Dr. Abdelrehim Kenawy Al-ashwaiat areas in Great er Cairo Region (GCR) a Challenge for t he st at e (2016) 23 housing, or exposed to health threat or tenure risks, while unplanned areas are principally characterized by its noncompliance to planning and building laws and regulations [21]. According to the reference from ISDF - First Stage: 1994- 2004 Informal Settlements Development Program: Provide basic urban services (electricity, water, sanitation, road paving, etc.) for about 325 informal areas and eradicated 13 deteriorated areas with total expenditure 3.2 Billion L.E. - Second Stage: 2004-2008 Informal Settlements Belting Program: Focus on supporting local governments in preparing detailed plans to enable development efforts for restricts the growth of informal areas in Greater Cairo and Alexandria. - Third Stage: 2009- Informal Settlements Development Facility (ISDF): Priority is given to development of Slum Areas. - Fourth Stage: 2014- Ministry of Urban Renewal and Informal Settlements: Development of informal settlements and solid waste and construction waste management. Conclusion:  GCR's “Al-ashwaiat areas” have become a controversial issue on most local and global agendas. Lessons learned from World Bank, United Nations Organizations and other bilateral donors emphasize the importance of the communities involvement in developmental projects. However, Cairo society seems to evidence a paradoxical phenomenon in the relationship between subcultures. It is clear that the urban remaking of Cairo is taking place at the expense of visually excluding the mass of the unwanted poor, sharpening class distinctions [18].  As the urban poor do not have adequate housing options and formal access to building land, they are forced to live in the Al-ashwaiat areas. Legally converting agricultural land to building land and getting a building permission is an enormous bureaucratic procedure in all Egypt [20].  It is expected that Al-ashwaiat areas will increase in size and number explosively. It is our impression that, if this dialectic is not resolved, the case will be turned upside down; dominance of informality on Cairo's urban face.  The Government has focused on operational policies or programs which address the problems of Al-ashwaiat areas. This aggravated situation requires quick actions for developing an integrated urban policy that puts all State efforts in building new cities and desert hinterland villages, and developing informal settlements in the framework of a clear general plan that implements priorities.  And finally, one would expect, given that GCR represents almost 50 per cent of Egypt’s total urban population, that the capital metropolis would be a logical starting point for a focused approach to combating Al-ashwaiat areas.  Realistic view of Al-ashwaiat areas are a manifestation of wealth, not poverty and the majority of Al-ashwaiat areas are safe, not a security hazard. Social and political exclusion is a society-wide phenomenon, although more acute in informal areas Poor urban governance and low quality of public services are affecting all urban areas, although more apparent in informal areas i.e. Al-ashwaiat areas are not particularly subject to exclusion, but receive less attention and resources than formal parts of the city . So maintaining the status quo is part of ensuring control and manipulation.  Ultimately, the Egyptian government must recognize the value of the lives of those who live in the Al-ashwaiat areas and see them not as marginalized, terrorists, or backward, but as full citizens who participate and contribute socially and economically to Egyptian society. The government can then make political decisions prioritizing their lives and the livelihoods they can lead over other issues on the political agenda.  In Conclusion, there are some Positive Indicators that must be used against issue of Al- ashwaiat areas, for example: (1) the strong political support. (2) A national fund is created for comprehensive upgrading of informal areas. (3) Recent Planning law addresses informal areas classification and intervention strategies in a pragmatic way. (4) Institutional setting for dealing with informal areas is becoming clearer (governorates’ units for dealing with informal areas, committees for participatory development, Local Initiatives, etc.) As. P rof. Dr. Abdelrehim Kenawy Al-ashwaiat areas in Great er Cairo Region (GCR) a Challenge for t he st at e (2016) 24 Recommendations:  One of the greatest innovations is the way that officials are currently addressing the challenge of Al-ashwaiat areas in the GCR in an integrated manner. Ongoing upgrading schemes address existing challenges, while the affordable housing programs, the implementation of guided urban development around squatter settlements, and the changing the legislative framework for urban development in Egypt all aim to address the challenge in a sustainable manner in the long term [8].  Strengthening management of urban growth boundaries: Urban growth boundaries have been updated to control the urbanization within an expected limit in order to conserve precious green areas and regulate urban growth.  Increasing the information level of the public administration through creating GIS maps for Al- ashwaiat areas e.g. identifying locations and neighborhoods which are particularly vulnerable to be hazards.  Raising residents’ awareness of the consequences of informal areas on their livelihoods and ways to deal with these challenges in an adequate way.  Promoting the implementation of community based small-scale adaptation measures in Al- ashwaiat areas to strengthen the inhabitants’ resilience to Al-ashwaiat areas change.  Back to the development talk, knowing the community/building trust and sharing knowledge as main approach to facilitation and community participation regarded as the only credible approach to the development of Al- ashwaiat areas. If this is an accepted debate, then the issue of integration versus exclusion should be put into consideration on the government’s strategic planning levels.  It is argued that social integration is prior to physical development. An educational shift is therefore paramount. Emphasis on EBS (Environment, Behavior and Society) should then be given more attention; linking physical settings to user groups to behavioral patterns, identifying a particular culture of a particular locale, in relevance to the greater urban context of Cairo Society, will evidently help resolve the dialectic of the other in the perception of our future architects and decision makers. This in turn will help Working on the communities' developmental agendas, within a new talk rooted in trust and respect. Bridging gaps of inferences and reinforcing communication channels will thus promote for application of community participation through shared visions and cooperation towards the betterment of our city victorious.  Comprehensive reforms thus need to accompany any formalization program. Again, these reforms generally require political will, and in this approach good will is one of the aspects that are rather more difficult to achieve.  The decision makers must be taken into account the previous studies that confirmed the following: (1) A balanced view of informal areas can lead to practical strategies for dealing with them therefor Informal areas cannot be dealt with properly unless tackling city-wide problems such poor governance, neoliberal orientation, etc. (2) Enhancing partnership and cooperation mechanism, so Participatory upgrading of informal areas has the potential of achieving inclusiveness & equity. (3) Consistent policies backed up with political support should guarantee no-going-back on institutionalizing participatory upgrading in local government. (4) Development of efficient information management system. (5) Provide effective development programs and projects and Provide technical assistance and capacity building. (6) Adjusting the legislative framework.  Must be main Principles for Improving the urban Development Process in GCR: (Improving related legislation to urban development through incorporating participatory planning, Establishment of Urban Planning and Development Departments in Governorates, cities and markaz to promote decentralization and Adopting Strategic planning and integrative development instead of master plans). In Conclusion, the dealing with Al-ashwaiat areas requires using the participatory development tools on the three levels: Local, Regional and National in an integrated manner as following: (1) Ministries: Requesting and coordinating support from ministerial level to meet priority needs, like (Providing finance for Al-ashwaiat areas upgrading, providing technical support and Capacity development and training). (2) Governorates: Enabling local stakeholders of setting priorities and applying participatory tools “Governorates are mediators between the local and national levels”. (3) As. P rof. Dr. Abdelrehim Kenawy Al-ashwaiat areas in Great er Cairo Region (GCR) a Challenge for t he st at e (2016) 25 Districts and Communities (Local Stakeholders). The role of Local Administration (Governorates, Districts and Communities) should be: (1) detailed knowledge of Al-ashwaiat areas: their boundaries, types, development needs and required resources. (2) Managing the upgrading processes: coordinating the efforts of local stakeholders and external support agencies. (3) Monitoring the development of Al- ashwaiat areas: and its impact on their residents and on the city at large. Finally result: Next to the previous results and recommendations in this research, the researcher believes that out of this excruciating and complicated crisis that faced by successive governments. The Egyptian government must have the intention to solve the problem of Al-ashwaiat is not only in the GCR, but on the level of the Republic, and by doing that Establishment the Ministry of Al-ashwaiat and Urban Development, have the following tasks: - Inventory and classification of the Al-ashwaiat on the level of the Republic - Prepare the necessary policies to face the Al- ashwaiat at all levels (national, regional, local) in a specified period of time and at specified stages - Possession of the ministry decision-making power and coordination with other ministries - Availability of funding for this ministry - Decentralization and lower densities to accepta- ble ratio Abbreviations: GCR: Greater Cairo Region GC: Greater Cairo GTZ Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GOPP: The General Organization for Physical Planning CAPMAS Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics ISDF Informal Settlement Development Facility UN-HABITAT United Nations Human Settlements Project UNDP United Nations Development Programme NUCA New Urban Communities Authority References and selected literatures: [1] Mohamed Ibrahim (2009). Towards Reliable Spatial Database of Informal Areas in Greater Cairo Region, International Workshop on Spatial Information for Sustainable Management of Urban Areas FIG Commission 3 Workshop, Mainz, Germany, 2 - 4 February. [2] GTZ (2004). Participatory Development Program in Urban Areas (PDP). [3] GTZ - Egypt & TUB (2010). IMPROVING INFORMAL AREAS IN GREATER CAIRO The cases of Ezzbet Al Nasr & Dayer El Nahia. [4] Sims, David (2003). “The Case of Cairo, Egypt.” UNHabitat (2008). Global Report on Human Settlements: Slums and Poverty in the City. London: University College. [5] CAPMAS (2006). [6] The Cities Alliance (2008). Slum Upgrading up close, , http://www.citiesalliance.org. [7] GOPP (2009), V ision for Cairo 2050. [8] Mostafa Madbouly (2005). Cities Alliance Public Policy Forum Marrakech, 7-9 November. [9] Doaa Abouelmagd, Public Housing and Public Housing Policies in Greater Cairo, COSMOPOLIS - City, Culture & Society, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, DGGF, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. [10] Abu-Lughod .J (1971) ‘1001 years of the city victorious’, Princeton university press. [11] Sims, D. (2007) ‘Review of Egyptian Subsidized Housing Programs and Lessons Learned. Cairo’, Report Prepared by the Technical Assistance Policy Reform Project, processed. [12] El-Batran .M (2004) ‘Profitability versus Responsibility: Sustainable Housing in Focus’, the 48th IFHP World Congress: Governance for Urban Change, Oslo- Norway 5-8 September 2004. [13] NUCA (2011) ‘The new cities’, URL: http://www.urban-comm.gov.eg/english/index.asp. Accessed on 1/05/2011. [14] Shawn O’Donnell, Informal Housing in Cairo: Are Ashwa’iyyat Really the Problem? [15] GTZ & TUB (2010) ‘Identification of Informal Areas: classification studies & approaches’, unpublished. [18] Heba El Deen & H El Mouelhi (2009) New Glasses Theory: New Thinking Theory and Mind, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering – Cairo University, 5th International Conference 16th – 17th December. [17] ISDF (2014). [18] Christian Arandel & Manal El Batran (1997). THE INFORMAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN EGYPT, July. [19] Dorman, W. J. (2007) The Politics of Neglect, The Egyptian State in Cairo, 1974-98. PhD thesis, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London. https://epri nts.soas.ac.uk/155/ (26. 03.08). [20] Carolin Runkel (2009). the Role of Urban Land Titling in Slum Improvement – the Case of Cairo. Unruh, J. D. (2007) Urbanization in the developing world and the acutely tenure insecure. City, 11 (1), 115-120. [21] GTZ/MN (2004) Progress Report for the BMZ No. 5 (7-12/03), Participatory Urban Development of Manshiet Nasser. Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, Cairo. [21] Marwa A. Khalifa (2011), Redefining slums in Egypt: Unplanned versus unsafe areas, journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/habitatint. http://www.citiesalliance.org/ http://www.elsevier.com/locate/habitatint