Jomana Rateb - 2022/23 Undergraduate Dissertation

The New Administrative capital Will it help resolve Cairo’s urbanization and prevail in becoming Egypt’s new capital while abiding by the UN Habitat’s national urban policy?

394AAD Dissertation Cultural Context 3

Jomana Mohamed Said Rateb 10458769

Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr Tulika Gadakari and Sebastian Hicks for their insightful inputs and guidance during this study. I’m dedicating this dissertation to my parents and siblings who are always supporting and encouraging me through tough times.

Abstract From the Egyptian government’s perspective, the development of a new administrate capital is the prime solution for tackling the challenges of rapid urbanization in Cairo. The construction of a new administrative capital will potentially alleviate these urbanization challenges and adopt sustainable urbanization principles for further development in Egypt. This study aims to determine if The New Administrative Capital (NAC) will help resolve Cairo’s urbanization and prevail in becoming Egypt’s new capital while abiding by the UN Habitat’s national urban policy. In order to properly evaluate the NAC, the study is based on secondary qualitative data that responds to UN-National Habitat’s Urban Policy (NUP) – an internationally recognized policy that coordinates toward a shared vision and an aim that fosters more sustainable urban development in the long term. The evaluation of the NAC is carried out through the NUP’s four main domains: 1) Spatial inequality and Poverty, 2) Shared prosperity of cities and regions, 3) Climate action and Urban environment, and 4) Urban crisis prevention and response. The findings show that as a smart green city, the NAC promises exceptional amenities and a high standard of living in residential, entertainment, trade, educational and healthcare facilities.

However, it is extremely possible that its urban layout will blend with the earlier developments surrounding it. Given the challenges left unaddressed such as the provision of affordable housing and social inclusivity, the NAC’s purpose will not be fulfilled and it will be deemed as a further failed attempt at a new capital unless the government firmly adheres to the NUP’s sustainable urbanization principles.

Keywords: Egypt, Cairo, New Administrative capital, National Urban Policy, Urbanization, Urban development.

Word count: 6192

Table of content 1.

Introduction & Context

2.

Methodology

3.

The four domains of analysis 3.1

Spatial inequality and Poverty

3.1.1

Services, sustainable mobility, and public space

3.1.2

Access to land, and adequate and affordable housing

3.1.3

Settlement’s growth and regeneration

3.2

Shared prosperity of cities and regions

3.2.1

Spatial connectivity and productivity of cities and regions

3.2.2

Distribution of locally generated revenues

3.2.3

Deployment of frontier technologies and innovations for urban

development 3.3

Climate action and Urban environment

3.3.1

Greenhouse gas emissions and Air quality

3.3.2

Resource efficiency and Protection of ecological assets

3.3.3

Adaptation of communities and infrastructure to climate change

3.4

Urban crisis prevention and response

3.4.1

Social integration and inclusive communities

3.4.2

Resilience of the built environment and infrastructure

4.

Conclusion

5.

Bibliography

6.

Appendix

List of abbreviations NAC

New Administrative Capital

NUP

National Urban Policy

NUA

New Urban Agenda

LRT

Light rail transit

ACUD

Administrative Capital Company for Urban Development

NUCA

New Urban Communities Authority

CSCEC

China State Construction Engineering Corp

CFLD

China Fortune Land Development

List of figures Figure 1 - Population level and growth rate for the Cairo, Egypt (Macrotrends LLC) Figure 2 - Patterns of the internal migration in Egypt during the mid 1990s (Serag, 2017) Figure 3 - Informal settlements in Cairo (Khaleej Times, 2020) Figure 4 - Location of Sadat city (Author, 2022) Figure 5 - Location of Downtown Cairo and the NAC (Author, 2022) Figure 6 - NAC design concept (Nasreldin & Abdelfattah, 2020) Figure 7 - UN-Habitat’s National Urban Policy results (appendix A) Figure 8 - UN-Habitat’s National Urban Policy strategic plan (appendix A) Figure 9 - Rendered aerial view of the NAC (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, 2015) Figure 10 - Medical City in the NAC (MG Developments, 2022) Figure 11 - Metro lines in Cairo extended to the NAC (Author, 2022) Figure 12 - Transportation and access networks in the NAC (Author, 2022) Figure 13 - Relation between major stakeholders in the NAC (Kaye-Essien & Bhuiyan, 2021) Figure 14 - NAC’s average housing prices per meter (Aqarmap, 2022).

Figure 15 - Rendered aerial night view of Cairo and the NAC (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, 2015) Figure 16 - NAC’s twelve valleys (Cube Consultants, 2020) Figure 17 - NAC’s rendered masterplan construction process (Cube Consultants, 2020) Figure 18 - NAC’s phase one zoning (Author, 2022) Figure 19 - NAC’s phase one exploded spatial analysis (Bolleter & Cameron, 2021) Figure 20 - The axial-shaped governmental neighbourhood (Bolleter & Cameron, 2021) Figure 21 - NAC’s masterplan zoning (Ali, 2021) Figure 22 - Smart services application model for the NAC (Ali, 2021) Figure 23 - Knowledge City under construction (Makary, 2022) Figure 24 - Render of the Green River Park (Dar Al-Handasah, 2022) Figure 25 & 26 - Green spaces in the NAC (Dar Al-Handasah, 2022) Figure 27 - Potential areas under risk of flood in the NAC (Abdeldayem & El-Khouly)

1.

Introduction & Context

The 2015 announcement by the Egyptian government regarding the construction of a new capital, namely the New Administrative Capital (NAC), was a foreseeable event. Since the start of the 20th century, Egypt has struggled with rapid urbanization, notably within its current capital- Cairo (Sims, 2003). Despite Cairo’s growth declining over the years to settle at a rate of 2.00% in 2022, it is still considered relatively high, especially when it is predicted to surge up to 2.34% in 2035 as shown in figure 1.

The centralization of the country’s population in Cairo falls back to the 1882 British colonization of Egypt as the British government favoured Cairo as its political and administrative base. Hence, urban development mainly occurred along the Nile Valley and in the Delta, accounting only for 4% of Egypt’s total area (Yousry & Aboul Atta).

2022 2022 25,000,000 25,000,000 20,000,000 20,000,000

Cairo

15,000,000 15,000,000 10,000,000 10,000,000 5,000,000 5,000,000 0 0 1950 1950

1960 1960

1970 1970

1980 1980

1990 1990

2000 2000

2010 2010

2020 2020

2030 2030

2022 2022 5.00 5.00 4.00 4.00 3.00 3.00 2.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 1950 1950

1960 1960

1970 1970

1980 1980

1990 1990

2000 2000

2010 2010

2020 2020

2030 2030

Figure 1 - Population level and growth rate for the Cairo,

Figure 2 - Patterns of the internal migration

Egypt (Macrotrends LLC)

in Egypt during the mid 1990s (Serag, 2017)

Currently, the most adequate educational, health, governmental, cultural, entertainment, recreational, and commercial services reside in Cairo in contrast to rural areas that lack adequate services. Seeking the services and employment opportunities offered in Cairo, people from rural areas internally migrate (figure 2) in addition to at least three million people that travel daily for work and governmental facilities (Hereher, 2012).

These disturbances in urban agglomeration have caused various complications for instance congestion of traffic, overload of public transportation, lack of affordable housing, and growth of informal settlements on agricultural land. (figure 3) (Khorshed, 2017). Naturally, with all of Cairo’s urbanization problems, the notion of establishing a new administrative capital has created public disputes on whether such a grand project would benefit the community, specifically the inhabitants of Cairo, and whether it is designed based on sustainable urbanization principles that would allow it to prevail in becoming the new administrative capital of Egypt.

Since urbanization is sprawling into the direction of the desert east of the country towards the Red sea and north towards the Mediterranean sea; the government’s focus shifted to new developments and strayed away from old developments along the Nile Valley and in the Delta (The World Bank, 2008). The negligence of old developments’ growth in Cairo has caused a phenomenon of low and middle classes informal settlements with a far greater magnitude than the government could organize or control (figure 3). These informal settlements take the form of random, high-rise, and low-quality housing without basic services and infrastructure; nevertheless, the government is forced to provide the missing services and infrastructure to avoid conflicts with the settlers.

No building permits were issued by the government as most of the informal housing is constructed on privately owned agricultural land which is then sold without any official documentation

(Yousry

& Aboul Atta).

Alternatively, the government’s focus was concentrated

on

promoting

new

desert

development in an effort to reshape Cairo’s settlement patterns.

Figure 3 - Informal settlements in Cairo (Khaleej Times, 2020)

Unfortunately, the new cities developed remained at a low occupancy and functionality, due to their high prices, and eventually fused with Cairo’s problematic urban agglomeration (Elmouelhi, 2019). Since the failure of this method, the government has redirected their vision into constructing an entirely new capital to divert the population away from Cairo.

The vision of establishing a new capital is not new one; it has occurred several times throughout history and during various eras for different reasons. The latest attempt was in 1978 when former President Muhammad Sadat decided to construct a new capital in the desert- 94 kilometres northwest of Cairo (figure 4) (Serag, 2017).

Sadat’s new metropolis (Sadat City), which was supposed to

Mediterranean Sea

serve as Egypt’s new administrative capital, showed temporary promise. The plan at the time was to move all governmental offices to the new city which would encourage a sizeable El-Nasery Canal

population to move too, especially after the introduction of a concrete industrial economic base that would draw in more people. However, after President Sadat’s assassination in 1981, the plan was completely revoked, and the city’s population only

Desert Area

0

2

4 Km

increased by a relatively small amount- about 150,000 people (Kaye-Essien & Bhuiyan, 2021).

Figure 4 - Location of Sadat city (Author, 2022)

Now the vision of a new administrative capital has been reclaimed by the current President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi; he states that “The New Administrative Capital will provide outstanding service and a high quality of life for the citizens of Cairo and the surrounding area. The new city will also create a variety of job opportunities, as part of a comprehensive development framework.” (Hassan, 2022). The NAC, located 45 kilometres east of the heart of Cairo, is promoted as a green city, a sustainable city, a smart city, a business city, a walkable city, a connected city, and a liveable city (figure 5) (Metwally, 2022).

These seven design parameters are illustrated through a masterplan designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill to accommodate seven million people in an area of 700 Km2 with 250 km of road networks costing the government up to 500 billion US dollars.

10th of Ramadan City

45 KM

Cairo

60 KM El Shorouk City Badr City

Downtown Cairo

New Cairo City

6th of October City

Downtown Cairo

The New Administrative Capital (NAC) Suez

Helwan

The New Administrative Capital Cities Airports Ain Sokhna

Figure 5 - Location of Downtown Cairo and the NAC (Author, 2022)

The masterplan is divided into three phases consisting of twelve different valleys that will serve as hubs for different zones– one zone, in particular, will hold all governmental ministries and departments (Serag, 2017). Furthermore, being the first Egyptian smart city, the NAC will significantly rely on automated services rather than labour to provide services to its inhabitants, and it will “embrace an ethos of sustainability born from Egypt’s tradition. The new capital will consider the sustainable technologies of today as well as be adaptable to future technologies, further enhancing its resource-efficiency. It calls for a new destination designed to embrace and adapt its natural desert setting.” (Nasreldin & Abdelfattah, 2020).

10

4

1

1

2

8

5

2

11 12

3

3

Figure 6 - NAC design concept (Nasreldin & Abdelfattah, 2020)

6

7

9

13

2.

Methodology

Based on the claims made by the Egyptian government, this study’s primary objective is to determine if the NAC will help resolve Cairo’s urbanization and prevail in becoming Egypt’s new capital. To fairly assess the NAC, the study is based on secondary qualitative data with supporting visuals that answers to the UN-Habitat’s National Urban Policy (NUP). The NUP is a deliberate government-led process of coordinating toward a shared vision and an aim that fosters more transformational, fruitful, inclusive, and resilient urban development in the long term. The adoption of this policy promotes stronger regional and national economic development, provides a fair standard of living for everyone, and safeguards the environment, especially within countries that lack the policies needed to direct their urbanization process towards sustainable patterns. However, such policy isn’t merely a list of corrective measures, but it is also proactive measures that encourage development that is sensitive to the economy, society, and environment.

Figure 7 - UN-Habitat’s National Urban Policy results (appendix A)

Given the severity of Egypt’s urbanization, H.E. Osama Abdelkhalek (2022), Permanent Representative of The Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations in New York, has affirmed in an official statement that Egypt is firmly implementing Habitat III’s New Urban Agenda (NUA) and is determined to reach the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. He proceeds to state that the government adheres to this agenda and goals when establishing new urban developments, including the NAC, to attain environmental sustainability, poverty eradication, and resilience to disasters and climate change. In this context, the UN-Habitat’s NUP is a rational methodology as each outcome of its four domains contributes to certain aspects of both Habitat III’s New Urban Agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

The policy’s vision of “a better quality of life for all in an urbanizing world” is compressed into the following four domains along with their outcomes which were utilized in assessing the adequacy of the NAC:

1) Spatial inequality and poverty 2) Shared prosperity of cities and regions 3) Climate action and urban environment 4) Urban crisis prevention and response

Figure 8 - UN-Habitat’s National Urban Policy strategic plan (appendix A)

3.

The four domains of analysis 3.1

Spatial inequality and Poverty 3.1.1

Basic services, sustainable mobility, and public space

Contributes to paragraphs 29, 30, 34, 37, and 74 of the NUA

Contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, and 11

Regional disparity is not a foreign concept to Egypt, especially within Cairo, where an area is viewed as less desirable for economic and social developments such as education, healthcare, and other daily services (Serag, 2017). Thus, the Egyptian government has diligently worked on avoiding this disparity trend in the NAC by providing a masterplan consisting of 10% services, 15% green and open spaces, 20% roads, 25% regional and business services, and 30% residential areas across all the three phases of the project (Nasreldin & Abdelfattah, 2020). As a smart city, the NAC is set to deliver various efficient services to its occupants; however, there are concerns regarding the supply of basic services such as water and energy.

Figure

9

-

Rendered

aerial view of the NAC (Skidmore,

Owings

&

Merrill LLP, 2015)

As Serag (2017) explained, the challenge in supplying water to the NAC lies in the topography difference between the new capital itself and the Nile River – the primary source of water supply in Egypt.

Nevertheless, MG Developments (2022) deflated this issue by affirming that the existing water treatment plants in nearby cities (10th of Ramadan City and New Cairo City) will supply the new capital with a combined 305,000 cubic meters of water per day. Eventually, a new water treatment plant, an extension of water and sanitation networks, and a desalinated water pumping line connected to the Red Sea will be supplementary to the new capital (Bolleter & Cameron, 2021). Another pressing matter is the increased demand for energy; the Egyptian government has opted to use renewable energy within the NAC’s green river as a solution. The green river includes a 4 square kilometres wide regional recreational park with artificial lakes and a 90 square kilometres of solar energy farms, which will power the new capital (Serag, 2017). Furthermore, a power plant will be placed among the mountain terrains to aid with the electricity supply (MG Developments, 2022).

The determination to deliver excellence has been prominent in the NAC, especially within the health and education sectors. It will host 663 hospitals and clinics in a medical city and about 2,000 educational institutions for all levels (Hussein & Pollock, 2019). The medical city (figure 10) will be furnished equally with the newest machinery and technologies in all specialities in both public and private hospitals (MG Developments, 2022). As for the educational sector, the higher education minister announced that at least ten foreign universities are branching out into the new capital; unfortunately, he failed to mention any prospects for public universities joining the project (Elmouelhi, 2019).

Figure 10 - Medical City in the NAC (MG Developments, 2022)

Out of the 20% road networks in the new capital, 40% is designed for walking, cycling, and pedal-assisted e-biking; such active mobility is encouraged in efforts to reduce car congestion via the green river’s park (Metwally, 2022). The park is designed to prioritise its users’ health and social well-being, hence providing drinking water, shaded areas, frequent resting areas, and appropriate walking surfaces (Dar Al-Handasah, 2022). Inclusive mobility will attain a strong connection between the NAC and other Egyptian cities by establishing metro, tram, trolleybus, and taxi networks. Based on the Official Portal of Cairo Governorate (2022), Cairo currently operates metro lines one, two, and three, with four under construction and five and six planned constructions. These planned expansions include a line with eleven new stations branching out 65 Km from the existing line three to the NAC (figure 11) (RATPDev, 2022). Furthermore, the National Authority for Tunnels has deployed advanced rail systems in the NAC by inaugurating Egypt’s first electrical autonomous monorail and light rail transit (LRT) (Ahram Online, 2022).

Unfortunately, due to the extent and mono-functionality of the new capital’s masterplan, its occupants and visitors are predicted to use cars as the primary mode of transport despite all transportation and access networks available (figure 12) (Bolleter & Cameron, 2021).

1 Shubra

Ezbet El-Nakhil Ain Shams El-Matareyya

Koleyet El Zeraat El Mazallat

Heimiet El-Zaitoun Hadayeq El-Zaitoun Saray El-Qobba 3

El Khalafawi Embaba

St. Teresa

Hamamat El-Obba Kobri El-Obba

Rod El Farag

Sudan

Manshiet El- Sadr

Massara

Nasser Gezira (opera)

El Bohoos

Dokki Cairo University Faysal Giza Omm El Misryeen

Sakiat Mekki

2

El Monib

Airport Abour Future Haroun El Rashied Al Ahram

Industrial Park Robaikey

Shorouk New Badr

Kolleyet El Banat

Cairo Fairgrounds

Ghamra

10th of Ramadan City

New Heliopolis

Cairo Stadium

El-Demerdash

Kit Kat Al Shohadaa Zamalek Boulaq Orabi Mohandseen

New El-Marg El-Marg

2

Abbasiya

New Administrative Capital (NAC)

Abdo Pash Attaba

Emad-Eldin

3

Saadat

El Geish

Bab El Sha’reya

M. Naguib Saad Zaghloul Sayyeda Zeinab El-Malek El-Saleh Mar Girgis El-Zahraa Dar El-Salam Hadayeq El-Maadi Maadi Sakanat El-Maadi Tora El-Balad Kozzka Tora El-Asmant El-Maasara Hadayeq Helwan Wdi Hot

Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Planned

Helwan University Ain Helwan

1

Helwan

Figure 11 - Metro lines in Cairo extended to the NAC (Author, 2022)

LRT lines Metro line 4 Monorail High Speed Regional Rail Bus Lines 10th of Ramadan Line

Figure 12 - Transportation and access networks in the NAC (Author, 2022)

The need for urban order has been magnified due to the relocation of all governmental buildings (parliament, ministries, diplomatic missions, public sectors, and international agencies) from Cairo to the NAC. In order to evade potential political instabilities, the Egyptian government will take control over public spaces, which will diminish the youth’s sense of democracy and limit their ability to conduct protests (Elmouelhi, 2019). Not only will public space intimidate the youth, but there will also be a lack of it. Public space has been previously misconstrued into becoming a rare commodity in Cairo, as the distinction between ‘public space’, ‘open space’, and ‘green space’ became mislaid. Similarly, the NAC’s masterplan takes Cairo’s exact approach to public space by adding substantial open green space and merely labelling it as ‘public space’ (Hassan, 2022).

3.1.2

Access to land, and adequate and affordable housing

Contributes to paragraphs 35 of the NUA

Contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 5, and 11

For the development of any urban project, land needs to be acquired; in this case, the New Administrative Capital Company for Urban Development (ACUD) oversees land acquisition.

The AUCD, formed in 2016, is administered by the Armed Forces National Lands Projects Agency by 51% and the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, represented

by New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) by 49% (figure 13) (Elmouelhi, 2019). Under the law for maintaining urban order, citizens who are not able to afford the NAC’s housing prices are denied access to it and its public spaces. Besides, it is nearly impossible for the middle to low class to acquire land with this structure of governance over it. Additionally, the AUCD was primarily established in efforts to conceal the army’s and the Ministry of Housing’s control over selling and distributing plots of land to big corporations and investors that will profit them in the short term (Elmouelhi, 2019). Such agenda of land acquisition will lead to the domination of the working and housing districts by specific sectors of society – lessening social inclusion.

Egyptian government

51% Armed Forces National Lands Projects Agency

Partnership

49%

ACUD

Sale of plots, building permits, branding, and marketing

Partnership

Ministry of Housing represented by NUCA

Development of plots

Private real estate developers

Figure 13 - Relation between major stakeholders in the NAC (Kaye-Essien & Bhuiyan, 2021)

Out of the 21 housing residential areas accounting for 30% of the NAC, 35% are high density (50-100 m2), 50% are medium density (100-200 m2), and 15% are low density (200-350 m2) (Khorshed, 2017). Even though these housing areas are constantly advertised as affordable, one can easily recognize it as a marketing façade since all the houses are within private gated communities. Multiple media platforms have come forward to confront officials about the affordability of the housing units; in response, general Abdeen, a former military officer, stated: “The residents of the NAC will definitely need services to be provided, for example, doormen will be needed, and definitely they will have houses.”. Furthermore, he added that these workers would be placed in high-density and low-income houses, but the prices of these units remain unknown (Elmouelhi, 2019). It can be argued that the NAC is deliberately neglecting the social aspect of inclusive communities, especially when 80% of units in phase one were already sold by the end of 2018 (Elmouelhi, 2019) despite the spike in prices in mid-2017 (Sweet, 2019). As Shown in figure 14, as of December 2022, the demand for apartments has been at a low 15% with a 12.1% price spike in the past year, while the demand for villas has been at a low 12% with a 6.41% price deficit in the past year (Aqarmap, 2022).

25,000

Neighborhood

20,000

R4

15,000

Downtown R3

10,000

Central Bussiness District

5,000

Central Bussiness District Investors Area

0

R7 Mu23 R8

Apartments

Villas

New capital compounds Al Asema Gardens

Neighborhood

Apartments average price per meter

Neighborhood

Villas average price per meter

R4

29,650 EGP/ m^2

R4

28,150 EGP/ m^2

Downtown

22,900 EGP/ m^2

R3

22,750 EGP/ m^2

R3

17,250 EGP/ m^2

Investors Area

21,650 EGP/ m^2

16,750 EGP/ m^2

New capital compounds

20,150 EGP/ m^2

Central Bussiness District

14,600 EGP/ m^2

R7

19,050 EGP/ m^2

Investors Area

14,550 EGP/ m^2

R8

18,550 EGP/ m^2

R7

13,750 EGP/ m^2

Al Asema Gardens

8,950 EGP/ m^2

Central Bussiness District

Mu23

13,500 EGP/ m^2

R8

11,700 EGP/ m^2

New capital compounds

11,550 EGP/ m^2

Al Asema Gardens

5,100 EGP/ m^2

Figure 14 - NAC’s average housing prices per meter (Aqarmap, 2022).

Since the NAC’s real estate business model has been steadily profiting from targeting the higher classes that are looking for segregation from the lower classes, it is in the best interest of project managers to remain silent. Consequently, the neglection of the lower classes will foreseeably remain unending, and housing prices will be “not important and not fixed. We have a dream, and we are building our dreams now.” as spoken by Elhusseiny - ACUD’s former major general (Sweet, 2019).

3.1.3

Settlement’s growth and regeneration

Contributes to paragraphs 38 of the NUA

Contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 4, 6, 11, and 16

Elmouelhi (2019) emphasises that in the interest of avoiding an urban sprawl similar to Cairo’s, the Egyptian government must focus on growth and regeneration through the ethics of urban densification and protection of its natural lands instead of actively focusing on the urbanism of new cities. Evidently, the government is using the NAC to alter neighbouring cities’ urban growth patterns by acting as an urban barrier within itself (Hassan, 2022). As previously mentioned, NAC is made up of gated communities resulting from the ACUD’s political smart governance centralistic idea of urban development, which drives complete control of urban growth and regeneration to the head of state (Loewert & Steiner, 2019). These physically isolated communities have caused fragmentation of space leading to increased mobility distances around their borders (Khorshed, 2017). Additionally, the centralistic approach has increased the disassociation between physical and social development by concentrating specific social classes in certain areas, which deteriorates the process of urban growth and regeneration and the formation of homogenous developments (Serag, 2017).

Figure 15 - Rendered aerial night view of Cairo and the NAC (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, 2015)

3.2

Shared prosperity of cities and regions 3.2.1

Spatial connectivity and productivity of cities and regions

Contributes to paragraphs 49, 51, and 52 of the NUA

Contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 8, 9, 11, 12, and 14

Spatial connectivity between the NAC and Cairo can be interpreted through the certainty that the new smart city will not be run by its own governate but by Cairo’s governate (Loewert & Steiner, 2019). Besides the de-concentrating spatial development strategies implemented in aid of Cairo’s current urban fabric, the NAC will have its own unique identity by being the first smart city in Egypt with the latest technological and cognitive developments that promote productivity (Ali, 2021). The NAC is depicted as a smart green city comprising twelve valleys (figure 16), each with single land uses with a few mixed-use zones along with their own residential, entertainment, trade, educational and healthcare facilities (Khorshed, 2017).

However, the monofunctionally of each valley fails to take the streetscape into perspective, causing constraints in mobility from one valley to the other (Bolleter & Cameron, 2021). Such disconnection between valleys affects its inhabitants’ connectivity and productivity, especially within gated communities, as the various facilitated spaces are beyond the scale of walkability, thus the need for vehicular access (Khorshed, 2017).

Figure 16 - NAC’s twelve valleys (Cube Consultants, 2020)

Figure 17 - NAC’s rendered masterplan construction process (Cube Consultants, 2020)

The three planned phases of the NAC account for a total of 184,000 acres; 40,000 acres for phase one, 47,000 acres for phase two, and 97,000 acres for phase three. The ongoing phase one, which commenced construction in 2018, is divided into various zones, primarily: residential, financial, recreational, and governmental (provided with their own social infrastructure and services) (figure 18) (Kaye-Essien & Bhuiyan, 2021). The 150,000 high-rent housing units spread equally among six residential neighbourhoods are comprised of villas, townhouses, and mixed residential buildings equipped with roof solar systems that provide 70% of the city’s energy (Hassan, 2022). To attain better prospects for Egyptian start-ups and improve capital, a central business and finance district was established as a headquarter for major Egyptian and international companies, banks, and financial and investment institutions. Additionally, the district will house administrative and commercial towers, including the Iconic Tower at the height of 345 meters, making it the highest skyscraper in Africa (MG Developments, 2022). The previously mentioned organically shaped Green River Park complex, imitating the course of the Nile River, is divided into green spaces, open spaces, memorial squares, recreational areas, lakes, playgrounds, bike paths, and restaurant complexes (Kaye-Essien & Bhuiyan, 2021).

Water – 3% / 2.5 km2

Canopy – 4% / 7 km2

Built Space – 52% / 90.5 km2 Residential district

Diplomatic area

Opera

Multiple use area (high density) Multiple use area (medium density) Multiple use area (low density)

Exhibition area

Hotel

Governmental district

Sports club

Presidential Palace

Mosque

Green river

University

Train station

Services

University city

Gas station

Smart village

Courthouse

Figure 18 - NAC’s phase one zoning (Author, 2022)

Green Space – 41% / 70 km2

Figure 19 - NAC’s phase one exploded spatial analysis (Bolleter & Cameron, 2021)

The most security in the NAC transpires in the axial-shaped governmental neighbourhood (figure 20), divided into three sectors: the northern, the middle, and the southern (El-Khouly, 2019).

The central area is the heart of the neighbourhood as it contains 34 governmental buildings in a large memorial square, including ministries, parliament, supreme council, conference hall, and diplomatic missions. Besides its primary purpose, the memorial square will also act as a recreational hub by providing gardens and fountains for governmental employees. Moreover, the northern sector houses the luxurious presidential palace, while the southern sector holds international government institutions, with the addition of museums and service and retail units. In addition to phase one, phase two will act as a multinational technology corporations attraction hub to companies such as Microsoft and Amazon. Phase three will be a continuation of both phases, making it the most extensive phase, with 53% of the total NAC area (figure 21) (Kaye-Essien & Bhuiyan, 2021).

Figure 20 - The axial-shaped governmental neighbourhood (Bolleter & Cameron, 2021)

Figure 21 - NAC’s masterplan zoning (Ali, 2021)

3.2.2

Distribution of locally generated revenues

Contributes to paragraphs 67 and 75 of the NUA

Contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 8, 11, and 17

In the natural course of events, the NAC has received the government’s increased financial resourcing and the redirection of investments away from Cairo. However, any financial resourcing programs allocated for the new capital have not been publicly announced nor disclosed by the Ministry of Housing. Furthermore, the lack of transparency regarding the use of the revenue generated from the NAC has raised questions which still need to be answered.

This financial confidentiality can be attributed to the Armed Forces’ involvement as the dominant shareholder in the ACUD; they own most of the vacant desert land in the NACwhich the financial model profit upon selling (Elmouelhi, 2019). Then again, the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Housing (represented by the NUCA) are both public institutions whose expenditures and income should be accessible to the public. In order not to jeopardize any potential investors, the government censored reports questioning the credibility of named public institutions; even after such measures, there has been a constant struggle to secure investors to fund the construction of the new capital since its announcement in the 2015 conference (Hassan, 2022).

The government has anticipated that private foreign investors would fund up to 83% of the NAC, but Hassan (2022) stated that current investors only fund 40% to 50%. Initially, negotiations between the ministry of housing and the UAE-based construction company, Emaar, commenced in summer of 2014. Shortly after, Emaar’s involvement as a guarantor of loans was annulled in June 2015, resulting in a shortage of funding for phase one (Loewert & Steiner, 2019).

However, in September 2015, a Chinese corporation, China State Construction Engineering Corp (CSCEC), was in talks to finance the NAC. Moreover, a $20 billion investment over ten years was secured in October 2016 for the development of 70 square kilometres by the Chinese developer- China Fortune Land Development (CFLD).

After previous discussions, CSCEC decided to back out in February 2017 after construction cost disagreements but was back in October 2017 with a $3 billion deal. Five months later, 85% of this deal was reported to come from Chinese bank loans over ten years with an interest rate between 2% and 3%. A Complication occurred in December 2018 when CFLD cancelled the $20 billion investment over arguments regarding splitting profits between them and the ACUD, which offered only 33% of the revenue. A second attempt at negotiations with Emaar was in the works in January 2019; however, it was unsuccessful since Emaar wanted to acquire the land from ACUD for less than $223 per square metre. Lastly, an extra $1.2 billion was loaned from China in January 2019 (Sweet, 2019). Beyond the additional by disruptions caused

by Covid-19, the future of phases two and three of the NAC are at risk; relying solely upon loans puts the new capital in a vulnerable position since it cannot be funded from the state’s budget as it is highly in debt. Part of the decision to rely solely upon loans is to eliminate the involvement of taxpayers, assert influence over citizens, and deny them participation as they don’t contribute to the new capital financially (Hassan, 2022). The ministry of housing added: “In the case of the new capital, we don’t even need to think about asking the people because it’s a national project.” (Loewert & Steiner, 2019). Relentless power struggle between the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Housing, resulting in the military being the main negotiator with international investors, has come at the hefty price of losing vital funds for the continuation of the NAC’s construction. Primarily, negotiation control was within the Ministry of Housing through the NUCA; however, later on, the Armed Forces started intervening with its legal rights of owning and profiting from all desert land in the NAC. Furthermore, “Presidential Decree No. 446 allowed the Armed Forces Land Projects Agency to expand its commercial activity and form for-profit corporations, both on its own and jointly with national and international capital sources” (Loewert & Steiner, 2019). With the establishment of the ACUD, the NUCA’s influence over negotiations diminished over time to be replaced by the Armed Forces’ influence – supported by the president. By helping the Armed Forces assert dominance over the ACUD, Egypt’s president, Al-Sisi, formerly a leading general in the army, gained the upper hand in all financial decision-making and solidified his loyalty to the Armed Forces (Loewert & Steiner, 2019).

3.2.3

Deployment of frontier technologies and innovations for urban

development

Contributes to paragraphs 66 of the NUA

Contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, and 17

Establishing a fourth-generation sustainable smart city, based on studying data and modern information without human intervention, within the NAC was integral to building an environmentally friendly digital community- the first of its kind in Egypt and the Middle East.

This smart city model embellishes a smart network infrastructure with a smart services system driven by technology, information-based decision-making, and processes management (Ali, 2021). To ensure the quality of the smart services model, the government appointed the ACUD as a delegate to manage, operate, and develop assets between the services’ provider and receiver.

As shown in figure 22, the services are operated from the Commander Control Centre (CCC), the City Operating Centre (COC), and the Capital Data Centre (CDC). Furthermore, the smart services, which maintain the NAC’s life cycle, are set in respect of profitability, rationalized expenses, and competitive advantage.

Figure 22 - Smart services application model for the NAC (Ali, 2021)

For the sake of sustainability, the smart city model uses International Organization for Standardization (ISO 37120 and ISO 37122 for sustainable cities) that endorse secured smart infrastructure with high investments, informational and spatial databases, and human component in management and society. Innovation in this smart city model thrives through knowledge; therefore, the NAC contains smart governmental districts, fourth-generation universities, and business district with multi-international companies to promote knowledge transfer to upcoming generations (Ali, 2021). On top of these components, a 200 acres Knowledge City (figure 23) is assembled with four leading establishments: Egypt Informatics University, Egypt Digital Innovation Centre, Applied Research Centre, and Technology Development Centre.

Besides being a catalyst for a progressive and innovative society, the Knowledge City will provide 500,000 job opportunities (MG Developments, 2022).

Despite all exerted efforts, the NAC only accounts for 50% of successful smart city indicators; mainly including CCTV cameras surrounding the whole capital for the safety of residents, bicycle hiring to reduce traffic congestion, online ticket purchasing of shows and museums, citizen Figure 23 - Knowledge City under construction (Makary, 2022)

proposed ideas submitted via the Ministry of Housing’s website, and accessible

information regarding local government decisions via the Ministry of Housing’s website

(Metwally, 2022). For the NAC to reach a smart city position, all indicators must exist and link to the main city information network. The other half of successful smart city indicators that are not present in the NAC are mainly concerned with connecting services to citizens through websites and Mobile Apps to allow them to monitor air pollution, check traffic congestion, start a new business, access capital’s finances, and vote online (Metwally, 2022).

3.3

Climate action and Urban environment

3.3.1 Greenhouse gas emissions and Air quality

Contributes to paragraphs 67 and 75 of the NUA

Contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 3, 11, and 13

In the interest of reaching a net zero-carbon status, the NAC is optimizing the use of the 7,464 acres of the central Green River Park (figure 24) for the absorption of CO2 emissions through an afforestation programme. By planting trees and plants, climate change can be combated with environmental and social attributes. All trees and plants in the green spaces (approximately 15 square meters per person) are chosen by the ease of maintenance with respect to their water needs, resilience to climatic conditions, pest resistance, and absorption of pollutants and dust (Abdel-Basset & Gamal & Teleb, 2022). However, based on other neighbouring cities to the NAC, long-term maintenance, financing, and management of green spaces have previously failed (Ali, 2021). The entirety of the NAC will be equipped with pollution sensors and solar cells to ensure the harvest of clean air and renewable solar energy. Also, no industrial activities will be allowed in phase one of the city unless they are environmentally friendly (Ghanem, 2018).

Figure 24 - Render of the Green River Park (Dar Al-Handasah, 2022)

3.3.2

Resource efficiency and Protection of ecological assets

Contributes to paragraphs 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, and 73 of the NUA

Contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15

Without proper design considerations, the desert landscape’s biodiversity, where the NAC is located, is vulnerably at risk. Contradictory, Dar Al-Handasah (2022), an active developer, claims that the Green River Park’s design concept creates positive environmental improvements: specifically in its urban ecosystem, material use, and solid waste. First, to protect the desert’s ecosystem, habitats for native species have been built and xeriscape landscaping has been applied to limit water use. Secondly, recycling and composting measures have been implemented across frequently visited areas through the placement of segregated waste bins to evade any health hazards in disposal facilities. With such extensive green spaces, the need for irrigation is significantly high even with the use of xeriscape landscaping; 26% of the city plan is made up of grass with high water needs and nominal ecological values. All irrigation water to be used in the NAC will be wasted as there are no current plans on how to preserve it. This profligate use of water will eventually raise equity concerns since the extraction of the needed water from the Nile River carries out major environmental effects- only to end up being wasted (Bolleter & Cameron, 2021). To enhance resource efficiency, beyond the use of sustainable technologies, developers followed the UN goals to assess the construction of the NAC; the assessment of such goals critiques both the environmental and societal efficiency of the new urban development. These environmental goals, if achieved, will “protect, conserve and restore the NAC’s ecosystems, water, natural habitats and biodiversity, minimize its environmental impact and embody sustainable consumption.” (Nasreldin & Abdelfattah, 2020).

Figure 25 & 26 - Green spaces in the NAC (Dar Al-Handasah, 2022)

3.3.3

Adaptation of communities and infrastructure to climate change

Contributes to paragraphs 77, 78 and, 79 of the NUA

Contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 9, 11, and 13

As previously mentioned, the government has been trying to limit the impact of the NAC on climate change through the notion of building sustainable green cities and relying less on fossil fuels in order to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Microclimate has been managed by the placement of buildings and plants in favour of wind and air movement to improve outdoor thermal comfort (Dar Al-Handasah, 2022). Moreover, a weather forecast centre can be found in the strategic state command centre to face any sudden climate changes (MG Developments, 2022). Since 1994, there has not been an environmental law issued to mention “global warming” only the mention of pollution has been noted. Subsequently, the government allocated $75 billion for green investment, particularly within the real estate sector in the NAC and the acquiring of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification by real estate buildings has increased (Daily News Egypt, 2022). Mohamed Al Bostany, chairperson in the NAC, has clarified that by applying green building standards in real estate projects it will “support sustainable architecture and support facing climate change, link building code with building permit, enact a law to encourage the private sector with tax incentives to expand green architecture, ease and mechanize procedures for obtaining a green license, and educating the citizen that he has pay the same money or less for a healthier home and live longer.” (Daily News Egypt, 2022).

3.4

Urban crisis prevention and response

3.4.1

Social integration and inclusive communities

Contributes to paragraphs 33, 40, 77, and 78 of the NUA

Contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 9, 10, 11, and 16

Earlier mentioned in 3.1.2 Access to land, and adequate and affordable housing, the NAC is constantly advertised as inclusive, civically engaging, and socially cohesive. However, the project will struggle to achieve such deliverables since these advertisements are concealing the true ideology upon which the new capital is built- segregation between social classes defined by their income (Elmouelhi, 2019). The NAC sets out multiple socio-spatial segregation signs in public transport, social mobility, and democracy but particularly within housing (Bolleter & Cameron, 2021). The new capital is naturally aiming to stray away from Cairo’s informal settlements but at the same time it doesn’t offer low-income housing; only housing for government employees, social housing, and housing for middle-income and higher-income classes are taken into account (Hassan, 2022). Hence, social groups that cannot afford the NAC’s housing market are geographically limited to certain public spaces and are deprived of social interaction, public debate, and upward social mobility (Bolleter & Cameron, 2021).

The NAC’s housing market is comprised of private compounds/gated communities to attract higher-income classes through a sense of exclusiveness and distinction amongst lower-income classes (Elmouelhi, 2019). This glorification of a “neater” and “chic”-er and overall better lifestyle in gated communities reflect the prejudice towards the minorities’ wealth and status while jeopardizing the majorities’ social prospects (Khorshed, 2017). Therefore, to increase social integration and inclusive communities, private compounds/gated communities must be eliminated, and affordable low-income housing must be included in the NAC’s masterplan.

3.4.2

Resilience of the built environment and infrastructure

Contributes to paragraphs 77 and 78 of the NUA

Contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 9, 11, 13, and 16

Since the NAC is represented as a smart city, its connected through a smart fibre-optic infrastructure and shared mobile towers that will offer a distinct standard of life and attain economic prospects (Nasreldin & Abdelfattah, 2020). The high communication technology and modern information system infrastructure operates via fibre optic cables, telecommunications equipment and sensors, and data centres (ACUD). Moreover, the enhancement of the NAC’s external nationally and internationally connections has been facilitated by infrastructure networks such as electric bus lines, high-speed electric trains, the first monorail line, and a 16 km administrative capital airport (MG Developments, 2022). By the end of 2018, 80% of the infrastructure and utilities in the governmental district were completed (Sweet, 2019). However, the rest of the NAC’s infrastructure is at risk as the NUCA, responsible for the provision of infrastructure, does not provide its services for land acquired by private investors. Each private investor is responsible for supplying working infrastructure within their project’s acquired land.

Contradictorily, the NUCA is aiding in the provision of infrastructure in esteemed residential towers, constructed by a Chinese company, by investing 51 billion Egyptian pounds (five times more than the average amount for housing infrastructure) (Elmouelhi, 2019). As explained in 3.2.2 Distribution of locally generated revenues, there has been a constant struggle to source fixed funding; this has forced contractors to accept work in the NAC without signing contracts or negotiating their fees. In fear of being unemployed, poor working conditions were typical for these contractors which led to low-quality work. Additionally, infrastructure provision is progressing much more slowly than building construction; hence, buildings have no basic services, for example, the Sports City containing swimming pools does not have water (Elmouelhi, 2019). Another threat is stormwater; being that the NAC is located close to the Gulf of Suez– subjecting it to the occurrence of flash floods.

Figure 27 - Potential areas under risk of flood in the NAC (Abdeldayem & El-Khouly).

Dar Al-Handasah (2022) deflated concerns by assembling pipes and culverts for a resilient stormwater management network. However, Abdeldayem’s and El-Khouly’s study of water management revealed that the NAC’s masterplan and existing flood basins are incompatible.

“The masterplan does not enable floodwater to find its own way out of the city through the natural flood channels. That is reflected in the street network/urban structure and the settling of the land-use schemes in ways that are incompatible with flood directions, basin shape or slope.” (Abdeldayem & El-Khouly).

4.

Conclusion 4.1

Main findings

As per the previously mentioned statement made by the ministry of housing “In the case of the new capital, we don’t even need to think about asking the people because it’s a national project.” (Loewert & Steiner, 2019), the government is primarily regarding the NAC as a national project rather than a people’s project. Behind all the advertisements for inclusivity, civic engagement, and social cohesion comes the targeting of the high-income class that can afford the NAC’s costly housing market within private gated communities. Additionally, the ACUD’s control lawfully limits the chance for the middle and low classes to acquire land and denies them access to the new capital and its public spaces. It is quite unfortunate that the NAC is only permitted to a certain class to experience as the government was determined to deliver excellent services and public spaces that are a rare commodity in overpopulated Cairo. As for the people who are allowed entry, inclusive mobility between Cairo and the new capital via Egypt’s first electrical autonomous monorail and LRT will establish a strong physical connection. However, people are still expected to need cars in the NAC since the distance between different services is out of the walkability range which will negatively affect connectivity and productivity. With a total area of 184,000 acres composed of smart services and infrastructure across three distinct phases, the government is immensely struggling to secure durable foreign investors that were anticipated to fund nearly the entirety of the project.

Now, decided through the Armed Forces asserted dominance over the ACUD, the development of the next two phases solely relies on loans which put the country in an enormous debt as the state’s budget is not capable of affording such expenses.

As the first established fourth-generation sustainable smart city in Egypt and the Middle East, the NAC uses International Organization for Standardization that endorse secured smart infrastructure, but the applied smart city model only accounts for half of the successful smart city indicators. Given the importance of combating climate change, a green investment of $75 billion has been allocated along with the monitoring of gas emissions and air quality and the reduction of CO2 emissions through greenery. Additionally, habitats and landscaping have been utilized to limit water use and protect the desert’s ecosystem. The new capital’s infrastructure is facing two major threats, the first being its slow progression over the progression of building construction: thus, having no basic services in buildings. The second threat is stormwater as the NAC’s masterplan and existing flood basins are incompatible. Unless the government addresses these challenges, the NAC’s urban structure is very likely to fuse with its surrounding older developments and its prospects are expected to be similar to that of the Sadat City- even with its promise of outstanding services and high quality of life. In conclusion, the NAC does not fulfil the principles of sustainable urbanization that would resolve Cairo’s urbanization and allow it to prevail in becoming the new administrative capital.

4.2

Research limitation & further research

The outcome improved living standards and inclusion of migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons under the domain 4) Effective urban crisis prevention and response in the UN-Habitat’s National Urban Policy has been eliminated from this study as the NAC is not currently inhabited, hence no secondary data about migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons are currently available. Due to the nature of the NAC and the limitation of secondary research, a repetition of this study can be conducted through primary resources when the NAC finishes construction and becomes the capital of Egypt and its inhibition process commences.

5.

Bibliography

Abdel-Basset, M., Gamal, A., & Teleb, S. S. (2022). Intelligent fuzzy decision‐making system of afforestation in new cities: A case study of the New Administrative Capital, Egypt. Intelligent Systems With Applications, 14, 200085. https://doi.org/10.1016/iswa.2022.200085

Abdeldayem, W. S., & El-Khouly, T. (n.d.). A macroscopic view of water management of the New Administrative Capital city of Egypt. Retrieved from http://www.12sssbeijing.com/ upload/file/1562668356.pdf

Abdelkhalek, O. (2022, April 28). Statement by H.E. Osama Abdelkhalek Permanent Representative of The Arab Republic of Egypt High-level meeting on assessing the implementation of the New Urban Agenda. Retrieved from https://estatements.unmeetings. org/estatements/10.0010/20220428/3wk2elojImOr/aG20qClt9Vmp_en.pdf

ACUD. (n.d.). Final acud E - ecrg.de. Retrieved from https://ecrg.de/images/Download_pdf/ Brochure.pdf

Ahram Online. (2022, June 11). Explainer: What you need to know about Egypt’s first LRT system to link new capital in July - Urban & Transport - egypt. Ahram Online.Retrieved from

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/1235/467686/Egypt/Urban--Transport/

Explainer-What-you-need-to-know-about-Egypt;s-firs.aspx#:~:text=Egypt%20will%20 inaugurate%20its%20first,pilot%20operation%20since%20January%202022.

Ali, M. A. (2021). Smart city policy in developing countries: Case study of the new administrative capital in Egypt. Journal of Public Affairs. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2774

Aqarmap. (2022). Aqarmap.prices guide.new administrative capital. Aqarmap.Retrieved from https://aqarmap.com.eg/en/neighborhood/cairo/new-administrative-capital/#:~:text=New%20 Administrative%20Capital%20real%20estate%20apartments%20and%20villas%20 prices&text=Prices%20of%20Apartments%20in%20New,12%2C850%20EGP%20per%20 square%20meter.

Bolleter, J., & Cameron, R. (2021, June 25). A critical landscape and urban design analysis of Egypt’s new Administrative Capital City. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/ Julian-Bolleter/publication/352742625_A_critical_landscape_and_urban_design_analysis_ of_Egypt%27s_new_Administrative_Capital_City/links/61d8f842da5d105e5526e760/Acritical-landscape-and-urban-design-analysis-of-Egypts-new-Administrative-Capital-City. pdf?origin=publication_detail

Cairo population 2023. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/ cairo-population

Cube Consultants. (2020, August 5). The new administrative capital Cairo. Cube consultant.

Retrieved from https://cubeconsultants.org/thecapitalcairo/

Daily News Egypt. (2022, November 27). New Cairo, NAC Developers Association pushes for Green Building in new. Retrieved from https://dailynewsegypt.com/2022/11/27/new-caironac-developers-association-pushes-for-green-building-in-new-capital/

Dar Al-Handasah. (2022). Cairo capital park. Retrieved from https://www.dar.com/work/ project/cairo-capital-park

El-Khouly, T. (2019, September 30). A macroscopic view of water management of the new administrative capital city of Egypt assessing the capability of the urban structure to face various states of flood risk. 12th International Space Syntax Symposium 12SSS, Beijing: Beijing Jiaotong University, China. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/40403528/A_MACROSCOPIC_ VIEW_OF_WATER_MANAGEMENT_OF_THE_NEW_ADMINISTRATIVE_CAPITAL_ CITY_OF_EGYPT_Assessing_the_capability_of_the_urban_structure_to_face_various_ states_of_flood_risk?from=cover_page

Elmouelhi, H. (2019). New Administrative Capital in Cairo: Power, Urban Development vs.

Social Injustice – an Egyptian Model of Neoliberalism. Neoliberale Urbanisierung, 215–254. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839437803-007

Ghanem, S. (2018, November 8). New Administrative Capital is an incomparable integrated city: Acud chairman: Invest-gate. INVEST. Retrieved from https://invest-gate.me/features/ new-administrative-capital-is-an-incomparable-integrated-city-acud-chairman/

Hamdy, Y., Mohamedb, A., Othman, M. A.-el-K., & Abu-Alenieen, M. S. (2022, March 2).

Drinking water treatment plant design for administrative capital in Egypt. Retrieved from https://ijaebs.journals.ekb.eg/article_224947_f1580cfd9214e2ce44c4f773a959e4e4.pdf

Hassan, E. H. M. A. (2022, February 25). The new administrative capital of Egypt (Wedian City). Webthesis.Retrieved from http://webthesis.biblio.polito.it/id/eprint/21906

Hereher, M. (2012, March 11). Analysis of urban growth at Cairo, Egypt using remote sensing and GIS. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266504383_Analysis_of_ urban_growth_at_Cairo_Egypt_using_remote_sensing_and_GIS

Hussein, A. A. A., & Pollock, E. (2019). Sustainable Development approaches in Egypt.

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 297(1), 012027. https://doi. org/10.1088/1755-1315/297/1/012027

Kaye-Essien, C. W., & Bhuiyan, S. (2021, December 8). Capital City Boosterism as policy legitimation: A discursive perspective of Egypt’s new administrative capital. City, Culture and Society. Retrieved from https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S187791662 1000679?token=6C8F466FC5368303CA380B3A436628168716C02548C08E8F2EE77E 426129E2A9B13AAC0730AED96CDAF87197D93E7245&originRegion=eu-west-1&originCreation=20221229232744

Khaleej Times. (2020, August 15). Cautious hopes for slum dwellers relocated in Egypt housing project.Khaleej Times. Retrieved from https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/cautious-hopesfor-slum-dwellers-relocated-in-egypt-housing-project

Khorshed, M. (2017, February). Cairo’s new administrative capital Wedian City : Lessons from the past and for the future: Semantic scholar. Retrieved from https://www.semanticscholar.org/ paper/Cairo%27s-new-administrative-capital-Wedian-City-%3A-Khorshed/42b8ade8b9f8388 3eb6eb5b4634043b29cbdc576

Loewert, P., & Steiner, C. (2019). The New Administrative Capital in Egypt: The Political Economy of the Production of Urban Spaces in Cairo. Retrieved from https://archiv.ub.unimarburg.de/ep/0003/article/view/7933/7876

Macrotrends LLC. (n.d.). Cairo, Egypt metro area population 1950-2023. MacroTrends.

Retrieved from https://www.macrotrends.net/cities/22812/cairo/population

Makary, M. (2022, February 28). Knowledge City of the new administrative capital: Egypt’s latest technology hub. Egyptian Streets. Retrieved from https://egyptianstreets.com/2022/02/28/ knowledge-city-of-the-new-administrative-capital-egypts-latest-technology-hub/

Metwally, E. (2022, February 9). The role of indicators in evaluating the new administrative capital of Egypt as a smart city.

MG Development. (2022, November 7). The new administrative capital. Mg Developments.

Retrieved from https://mg.com.eg/the-new-administrative-capital/

Nasreldin, R., & Abdelfattah, D. (2020, January 30). Toward biophilic Egyptian cities. the case of new administrative. Retrieved from https://journals.ekb.eg/article_90264_ e05c1b7b0149727b2831c7ee6b462b39.pdf

RATPDev. (2022, September 16). Reducing Capital Train Ticket Prices. Mobility Cairo.

Retrieved from https://www.mobilitycairo.com/en/about-us/projects/new-line-new-capitalcity

Serag, Y. (2017, November 24). The New Administrative Capital of Egypt a Critical Review from the Regional. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3162316

Sims, D. (2003). UNDERSTANDING SLUMS: Case Studies for the Global Report on Human Settlements 2003. Home. Retrieved from https://www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu-projects/Global_Report/ home.htm

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP. (2015, March 13). Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Leading City Planning for new Egyptian Capital City. SOM. Retrieved from https://www.som.com/ news/skidmore-owings-merrill-leading-city-planning-for-new-egyptian-capital-city/

Sweet, R. (2019). Dreamland: A critical assessment of Egypt’s plan for a brand new capital.

Construction Research and Innovation, 10(1), 18–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/20450249.2019.

1583946

The World Bank. (2008, June). Arab Republic of Egypt Urban Sector Update. Retrieved from https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/749891468023382999/ pdf/411780v10REVIS1Box0327393B01PUBLIC1.pdf

Wordsteel Association. (n.d.). New Egyptian capital represents bold vision for Smart Cities. worldsteel.org.Retrieved from https://worldsteel.org/steel-stories/construction-building/newegyptian-capital-represents-bold-vision-for-smart-cities/

Yousry, M., & Aboul Atta, T. A. (n.d.). 4 The challenge of urban growth in Cairo. Retrieved from https://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu26ue/uu26ue0d.htm

Yousry, M., & Aboul Atta, T. A. (n.d.). 4 the challenge of urban growth in Cairo. Retrieved from https://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu26ue/uu26ue0d.htm

6.

Appendix

Appendix A - UN-Habitat’s National Urban Policy (NUP) “A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL IN AN URBANIZING WORLD”

D”

THE STRATEGIC PLAN 2020-2023

(UN-Habitat)

“A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL IN AN U

“A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL IN AN URBANIZING WORLD”

THE STRA PLAN

2020-2023

United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi 00100, Kenya www.unhabitat.org

Appendix B - Ethical approval