Article

Pandemic’s Accentuations:  Theoretical Reflection on the Politics of Neglect within Cairo’s Urban Context 

SPACE International Journal of Space Studies in Architecture and Urban Design
Volume: 1
Issue: 1
Hagar Faggal
Faculty of Architecture and Fine Arts, Girne American University, Cypru
https://doi.org/10-51596/sjp2020.zsjo1539
Received October 1, 2020 – Accepted November 2, 2020 – Published December 2, 2020
Abstract

Right after WWII, informalities within Cairo evolved gradually, forming 70% of today’s urban spaces and 50% of the Egyptian economy. This paper aims to review the policies that triggered this growth over time, arguing that the incrementally implemented Politics of Neglect in Cairo shapes today’s severe urban segregation in the city. Furtherly, adopt the current pandemic crisis to address the effect of informal labour on the city as a whole: the rich and the poor. Thus, asserting that the pandemic crisis must be a junction to reassess the Egyptian urban policies’ approaches and target groups in contemplation of attaining Social Inclusion in Cairo. The paper is developed by analysing the historical trajectory and evolutional map analysis of Cairo’s urban growth and examining the quantitative data of informal economy growth rates in Egypt. Accordingly, correlating data to understand the evolution of informality in relation to the cumulative policies applied in the city.

 

Keywords
Informality, urban growth, informal labourlabor, urban segregation, Politics of Neglect
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Endnotes

This paper has been presented at the Conference “AGORA CAUMME 2020 – Mediterranean: Between Expansion and Regeneration” and selected by the Conference Scientific Committee to be published in the SPACE International Journal of Space Studies in Architecture and Urban Design. Peer review under the responsibility of the scientific committee of AGORA CAUMME 2020.

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Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Biographical Notes on Contributors

Hagar Faggal

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