Right to the City and Public Space in the Post-Revolutionary Cairo. (original) (raw)
Greater Cairo hosts different typologies of settlements that, due to illegal land occupation or construction, are referred to as informal and cover more than a third of the city’s footprint, hosting almost two-thirds of the population. This chapter outlines the reasons for Cairo’s informal growth and the official political attitude towards informal urbanization over time, until the 2011 revolution as a crucial turning point. After the revolution, building on the attempted reconnection of physical and political spaces, Cairo witnessed an exponential rise of community initiatives that reclaim the right to the city and public spaces, sparking a debate on a new possible narrative that reconciles informal neighborhoods in the metropolitan system. The case of Ard al-Liwa is discussed as an example of these contested rights and spaces, with citizens claiming a role in deciding about their neighborhood and initial attempts of participatory mapping processes. Ard al-Liwa is a fast-growing informal settlement of closely packed towers rapidly devouring agricultural land and characterized by substandard infrastructure, scarce public spaces and services, and poor connection to the rest of the city. Yet, its strategic position attracts conflicting interests. The international attention that these conflicts have raised and the public mobilization around the future of the area are the ingredients of a telling example of the meandering path for the right to an inclusive Cairo.