A
new shining capital
writes Mohsen Zahran
The writer is professor of urban planning at the University of Alexandria.
To save Cairo, and spur
the development of Egypt on the national scale, there is no reason to delay in
making the appropriate plans and setting to work on building a new capital
city,
I have long held that
securing a bright future for Egypt rests on a comprehensive integrated strategy
for stimulating the wheels of growth and development. Such a strategy must
engage a scientifically sound approach and an ambitious national plan for targeted
human resource development that encompasses all political, urbanisation,
social, economic, development and cultural realms. We are all morally bound to
share in the bold and daring fight to overcome the gruelling difficulties and
hardships that result from the forces of underdevelopment, the high population
growth rates that compound general deterioration, sluggish economic and social
development, high unemployment rates, spread of informal urban settlements,
shortages in food and shelter, closed horizons and the dissipation of the hopes
of younger generations.
One of the facts
established by the numerous scientific conferences and workshops and
intellectual meetings in which I have taken part is that we must redistribute
our populace away from the traditional Nile Delta and Nile Valley axis, where
95 per cent of Egypt’s 83 million people are densely concentrated, leaving 95
per cent of our country’s approximately one million square kilometres
uninhabited and a lure to others’ greed. The demographic redistribution across
all quarters of our territory to the south, north, east and west, in the
framework of a national network of transportation grids, urbanisation and
production, as laid out in a comprehensive national development plan, will
accomplish national strategic goals in security, safety, sustainable
development and growth in the unipolar world of this current era of
globalisation.
One is dumbfounded by
what we do to ourselves. Our duties to honesty and scientific objectivity
compel us to acknowledge that the construction of 22 satellite cities around
old cities, with plans for new ones down the line, is not the answer. Rather
than alleviating our problem, these schemes will generate further deterioration
and crises, spur greed and speculation, and exacerbate the problems of housing
shortages, informal settlements and rising prices.
A bold national urban
development project should require plans to create new corridors and nuclei
that will attract development and, more crucially, that are dispersed across
our national territory far away from the current octopus-like urban sprawls. We
could begin with the 1,100 kilometre long urbanisation artery along the north
coast and another 1,300 kilometre long artery along the Red Sea mountains, and
then gradually proceed to develop and integrate new arteries elsewhere across
the country, taking advantage of local natural resources, environmental
features and economic potentials, aiming to complete a grid covering our entire
territory by 2050.
The first pioneering urban
corridor in this region arose in tandem with the construction of the Suez
Canal, which was opened in 1869. It led to the construction of the three Canal
Zone cities, Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, linked together by an urban artery
supported by a network of roads, railroads and communications facilities. That
was a quintessential model of the linkage between an economic aim and an urban
development aim. As attested by the documents of the Suez Canal Company that
would later be nationalised, the project accomplished numerous local, national
and international goals, while drawing the urban development movement eastward
away from the Nile Valley and Delta and giving birth to a dynamic artery for
habitation, commerce and transportation. It was an unprecedented feat that
overturned the history of Egypt, the region and the world.
It seems as though one
must forever despair at the opportunities lost. After the October 1973 war, a
new dawn broke with golden rays promising rapid growth and development,
engaging billions of dollars in the development of new infrastructure and the
construction of dozens of new cities, especially around the capital.
Unfortunately, those investments and works at the time were not directed to the
realisation of a brave and ambitious urban development strategy aiming to
create new urban and industrial corridors away from the overcrowded Nile Valley
so as to open new horizons for a poor developing people whose hopes and dreams
had been deferred for the sake of helping others and were now dissipated again
due to the lack of vision, much talk and little action.
Reality does not lie. In
spite of huge outlays and expenditures following the adoption of the “Open Door
Policy”, we have yet to develop a bold, unconventional comprehensive urban
development vision. Instead of planning for new and promising urban corridors
and pioneering development nuclei we have repeated the same mistakes and
consequent ills of the satellite cities in other countries. Is it possible
that, as of yet, there is no comprehensive plan for Greater Cairo, binding on
all, in spite of the numerous plans that have been drawn up but were never
authorised and implemented? Does it make sense to construct rings of new
cities, all connected to the mother city with umbilical cords and perpetually
feeding on it, aggravating the conditions of a capital that is already strained
and reeling under enormous pressures? Some have even volunteered the idea of
linking the new cities to the metro and bus lines, a suggestion that promises
to only make matters far worse. The government spends billions on constructing
overpasses and tunnels for cars and metros in the hope of alleviating the urban
ailments that we, ourselves, have created and that have given rise to the
spreading tentacles of informal settlements, suffocating urban congestion and a
permanent haze of pollution. Is there some unwritten rule stating that we
should permit construction around ring roads as soon as they are completed,
only to begin construction of other ring roads further out in endless waves of
expansion, in spite of the fact that we know that we should prohibit
construction near the ring roads so as to develop the green belt that we have
been talking about since the 1980s? It is as though we are set upon forever
battling with accumulating symptoms, narrowly escaping disaster and muttering
supplications.
Greater Cairo is being
strangled by one ring after another, each bringing new woes. We will continue
to suffer from these until eventually we wake up and opt for the rational,
scientific approach and proper strategic planning. The experiences of other
countries, both developed and developing, have proven that new cities should be
built well away from parent cities so that they can mature healthily and become
independent and self-sufficient. These experiences also show that when new
cities are built close to parent cities they turn into commuter towns or
bedroom communities that empty out during the day. Even if factories and
commercial centres are built to create jobs, these new cities cannot compete
with the pull of the larger parent cities. The thousands of empty housing units
that inhabit our new cities testify to this. Perhaps, at least, it would have
made sense to link employment in new jobs in the factories of the new cities to
a commitment on the part of the employee to live there so as not to defeat the
purpose of their construction.
Some countries have
followed an approach that has proved successful: creating new capitals and
administrative centres far away from the old capital. A prime example is
Brasilia, the planning and construction of which began in the 1950s in a vast
unpopulated area well out of reach from the urban pull of San Paolo and Rio de
Janeiro. The construction of Washington as a capital city in the US certainly
did not halt expansion and the rise of major cities such as New York, Boston,
Philadelphia, Chicago or San Francisco, each of which is thriving, unique in
character, and capable of sustaining their pioneering civilisational
contributions. The same applies to Ottawa in Canada, Melbourne in Australia,
Ankara and Turkey and Bonn in former West Germany. In like manner, building a
new capital for Egypt will not diminish the brilliance of Cairo and its
pioneering civilisational role.
The time has come to put
an end to the cancerous urban growth of Greater Cairo that now houses 20 per
cent of Egypt’s population. This mega polis monopolises the lion’s share of
national investment per capita, yet it continues to buckle under the weight of
sprawling slums, congested roads, and deteriorating services and infrastructure
while it gobbles up the agricultural land around it. Why do we blindly and
blithely keep inflicting this harm on ourselves? How can we allow ourselves to
persist in this waste of labour and money?
The idea of building a
new capital for Egypt has been discussed since the 1950s. At one point, the
government made an attempt to create an alternative administrative capital in
Sadat City. The idea was soon abandoned and the empty ministry buildings were turned
to educational purposes.
Now, the idea should no
longer be put off or ignored. The current policy of the government emphases
change, reform, decentralisation and eliminating red tape. Serious and
encouraging steps have been taken in this direction. Provincial governors have
been delegated a number of ministerial powers enabling them to set into motion
the constructions of new urban and development corridors and nuclei. But
radical change is needed in development planning, policies, programmes and projects
at all levels and in all fields.
The location of a new
capital city must be carefully chosen. Above all, it must be situated at a
sufficient distance from Greater Cairo to prevent the rise of more bedroom
communities that feed off the mother city, and to ensure the practical
realisation of the goal of decentralisation. The construction of Heliopolis
over a hundred years ago was, for its time, a pioneering venture in urban
development that was carried out with little cost to the state. The same
applied to Maadi and Moqattam. The crucial point is to identify the aim, the
feeling and the specifications of the new capital, and to choose a location
that offers the best possible potential for communications, energy,
transportation networks, buildings, businesses and all the other ingredients for
a healthy vibrant life. Also to ensure the independence of the city and its
ability to thrive, it will be important to ascertain that the land in the
surrounding desert areas can be reclaimed and put under cultivation so as to
provide the city’s inhabitants with food and clean air.
Cairo will have nothing
to fear. Its eternal light will not dim. In fact, it will have a chance to
shine brighter once we alleviate it of its chronic ailments and burdens.
Meanwhile, the new city will perform its intended role and functions, becoming
a true seat of government complete with the institutions, agencies and support
services fit for a capital of Egypt of the future. Naturally, the project can
be carried out in phases over time and space. For example, we can begin with the
government agencies that do not interact with the public on a daily basis, such
as the presidency, some government administrations, embassies, research
centres, private universities and high tech industries. In our computerised age
of internet communications, there is no longer any need for government agencies
and institutions to be clumped together. Global transnational companies manage
their daily activities from continents away. The same applies to the world’s
major newspapers that are printed and distributed in various spots on the globe
at the same time. Our technocratic era has erased the borders of time and place
in the global village of today.
Reflecting this spirit,
Egypt’s new capital must be more than just an administrative centre. It should
incorporate science parks, industrial parks, business and management parks,
entertainment and recreation parks and other diverse and modern features that
give it the unique and attractive character that we would like to see in our
capital of the future. It is important to ensure that its activities are
diverse, organised into diverse hubs, like pearls woven together by a solid,
efficient and elegant fabric of state-of-the-art transportation and
communications networks, services and utilities, and other such features that
will give life to our dreams for a new, prosperous and trailblazing Egypt.
As a temporary step, we
might consider turning one of our promising existing cities, such as
Alexandria, Sharm El-Sheikh or Luxor into an interim capital until the new
capital of our dreams is sufficiently prepared to take off. The crucial point
is that the idea of creating a new capital for our country is consistent with
the nature of the challenges and promises of the 21st century. We can no longer
afford to procrastinate. We need to forge ahead with the type of great dreams
and innovative projects that help guard the safety, security and stability of
nations and fulfil the hopes and aspirations that are shared by people
everywhere.
If we agree to
summon our resolve, we must renew the covenant with a state that protects
without intimidating, invests but does not squander, disseminates peace and
works make people’s hopes and dreams come true. Accordingly, this requires
introducing and implementing the necessary changes in all the political,
legislative and regulatory frameworks governing development, the economy,
culture, the environment, society and other crucial aspects of life without
delay.
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