Yehya Serag

Ain Shams University · Department of Urban Planning

Regardless of politics, I have heard the words of former President Hosni Mubarak about the tunnels with Gaza strip, although I have touched on it before in one of my researches, but the part that was said that the tunnel starts large and then branches into several tunnels, makes me think of an attempt to make a comparison between nature of the tunnels between Sinai and the Gaza Strip, with the Viet Cong tunnels network during the Vietnam War. I know before the issue of tunnel exits and how they come out from houses or farms, but of course I hope to see a radar survey map of one of these tunnels, to make a comparison of the complexity of the two types. Any suggestions?

I would like to get some information about the companies and firms involved in postwar/conflict reconstruction in the Middle East. I have been active academically in that field, however, I want to get in contact with active firms on the field for practical exposure.

The City (Re)Shaped

The Architecture & Urbanism Research Cluster, sponsored by the Cities Theme and the School of Civil Engineering, invites you to The City (Re)Shaped.

This multi-disciplinary seminar aims to further our understanding of the intertwined dynamic nature of the Politics of Urbanism and the Urbanism of Politics as manifested in many cities around the world. Conversely, it questions how cities and everyday urban life are used – and abused – in the containment of these wider national conflicts, and it explores their potential for achieving the self-sustaining moderation, constructive channelling or resolution.

Strategic Planning was introduced in Egypt in the first half of the 2000s, after decades of applying the comprehensive planning approach in the planning process throughout the 20th century. The SP was first introduced by the UNDP and the UNHABITAT, and was officially adopted by the planning authorities in Egypt in 2006. It was mainly used in the re-planning and upgrading the existing cities and villages. This was done through an ambitious initiative that is entering now its third stage. It is important to note that there are two main bodies that are responsible for the official planning activities in Egypt and are both affiliated to the Ministry of Housing and Public Utilities. The first one is General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP), which I responsible for the planning of existing settlements, as well as making regional plans. The second one is the New Urban Communities Authority, which is responsible for the planning of the new settlements.

The SP approach has been significantly applied by the GOPP in the re-planning and upgrading attempts of the existing settlements, cities and villages, since the mid-2000s. The initial reception of the SP approach among the planning consultants and the GOPP officials was of a great anticipation and hope for a better change towards fulfilling the needs of the local communities, enhancing the built environment and improving the stagnant situation of the many Egyptian settlements. The concepts of having a vision that leads to the formulation of strategic plans to be realized by implementing strategic projects within a span of five years – to be revisited and modified according to the needs afterwards- was quiet appealing, while having strong citizen participation during the SP process.

Now with more than a decade that passed since the implementation of the SP approach in Egypt, several aspects are being questioned in relation to the whole approach and its implementation.  Questions related to Visions, actors, citizen participation as well as the actual implementation of the formulated Strategic plans are raised.

I have been involved in the planning domain since 2008, where I contributed in formulating the Strategic Master Plans for four cities in the Egyptian Delta as well as the Initial Regional Strategic Plan for the Halayeb sub-region in the Soth of Egypt. I already have critical reflection that I will share as well in an article to be formulated.

In this Post, I am requesting the feedback, opinions and comments of those who were involved in the SP process since it started in Egypt in 2006 (or earlier) and would like to ask them to use the following Questions for reflections. I would say that those who would like to participate don't need to reflect on all the points, but they can select whatever they like or even add more points. The questions are as follows:

-         Are the visions formulated during the SP approach get really implemented and respected during the plan making and later its implementation or are they just consumed and produced for the sake of administrative purposes?

Visions are set at the beginning of the Strategic Planning project, with the contribution of most of the stake holders

-         Did the strategic planning approach realized its purpose in improving the planning process of planning the Egyptian cities both new and existing?

-         What kind of drawbacks were experienced by the planners and decision makers when applying the SP approach in Egypt?

-         To which extent are the SP plans implemented, especially that the initial milestone for these plans was the year 2017 and the year has already passed?

-         What kind of factors affect the implementation of the plans? And are these plans respected?

-         What are the roles of the involved actors and what kind of actors are involved both in new and existing cities, as well as the regional dimension?

-         What kind of actor networks /arenas get involved in the planning process? Or are they overshadowed and dominated by more influential actors?

-         The engagement of citizens in the planning process, is this really obvious, or is it a drawback? In terms of participation?

I am thinking of investigating the dynamics of building new capital city regions in the Middle East. I know about the new administrative Capital in Egypt (my home country) and I have heard about the new intended one in Amman, but are there any other similar plans in the rest of the Middle East and North Africa?

I appreciate your help

I am currently working on a research that tries to classify the ghost towns in Egypt. So I am looking for a reference diagram that shows the different phase for becoming a ghost town.

Any suggestions??

I am looking for a university or a research institution in the field of urbanism and city planning that is interested in hosting and funding a series of seminars that are related to the impacts of political change and politics on the built environment as well as the physical transformation of cities.

Some topics could be:

Transformation of cities post the Arab spring revolutions

Urbicide and postwar reconstruction

Border settlements and regions

New Capitals

Forced displacement

Impact of the waves of migration on cities

Planning for control.

Any suggestions?