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Conference Paper

Housing Cairofrom small-scale informal housing construction to semi-professional speculative urban schemes

Author(s): Malterre-Barthes, Charlotte

Publication Date: 2016

Permanent Link: https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-a-010817175

Rights / License: In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted

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HousingCairo

Fromsmall-scaleinformalhousingconstruction

tosemi-professionalspeculativeurbanschemes.

CharlotteMalterre-Barthes1

1ETHZ/ArchitectureDepartment,ChairofMarcAngélil,Neunbrunnenstrasse50,8050Zürich,malterre@arch.ethz.ch

ViewoverArd-el-Liwa,Cairo(©LorenzBürgi)

ABSTRACT(max.250words)

Approximately60%ofthetwentymillioninhabitantsofthebiggestcityontheAfricancontinentarelivinginso-called informal housing. Up to fifteen-story concrete and brick-infill constructions, these housingsettlements in Cairo are considered informal because they were built without permits, mostly on formeragrarian land.While the phenomenon is not new, the pace of illegal constructions on fertile areas at thecapital’s fringeshasacceleratedsincethe2011revolution.Markedby incrementalconstruction,settlementspredominantlyfollowpropertylinesandthecontoursoffeddans–thebaseunitofagriculturalfieldsinEgypt,

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narrowstripof landof100-300meters longand6-17meterswide, framedby irrigationcanals.1After2011,illegaldevelopmentsaccelerated–apossibleconsequenceofthepowervacuumleftfollowingthecollapseoftherulingregime.Therearenoimpedimentstothemechanismsofpresent-dayurbanization,whichdestroysthousandsofhectaresofarable land.Considering theabsenceofany formofcontrol, incrementalandself-built construction has evolved into a neoliberal speculative scheme. New semi-legal construction firms arecurrentlyengagedinanunderhandedproductionofarealestatestocktobesold illicitly,butnonetheless inplain sight. This profitable mode of illegal construction is noticeable in the transformation of housingtypologies,evolvingfromself-built,low-risestructurestosemi-professionallybuilt,fifteen-storytowersboughtas securitieson themarketwithin the frameworkofagreyeconomy. Informal constructionat this stageofdevelopment points to the manner in which capital and financial forces have penetrated into what wasnormallyasmall-scaleandself-builtformofurbanproduction.

KEYWORDS(upto5)

Informalhousing,self-built,politicaleconomy,Cairo,Egypt

AUTHORBIOGRAPHY:(short,notmorethan5lines)

CharlotteMalterre-Barthesisanarchitectandurbandesigner(ENSAMarseille,TUVienna,ETHZ).DirectoroftheMasterofAdvancedStudiesinUrbanDesign(ChairofMarcAngélil,ETHZ)investigatingurbandynamicsofCairo,shecurrentlyworksonherdoctoraldegreeonFoodandTerritories,casestudyEgypt.Co-founderoftheurban research office OMNIBUS, she lectured and taught workshops at the AA, the Storefront for Art andArchitecture,Hong-KongUniversity,andFCL-Singapore.SheiseditorwithMarcAngélilof“HousingCairo:TheInformalResponse”(RubyPress).

1GalilaElKadi,"L'articulationDesDeuxCircuitsDeLaGestionFonciéreEnEgypte:LeCasDuCaire,"inHousingAfrica'sUrbanPoor,ed.PhilipAmis,PeterCuttLloyd,andInstituteInternationalAfrican(Manchester;NewYork:ManchesterUniversityPressfortheInternationalAfricanInstitute,1990)

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1Introduction(max.250words)Home to approximately 60% of the twenty million inhabitants of the Egyptian capital, so-called informalhousingareup-to-fifteen-storyconcreteandbrick-infillconstructionsbuiltwithoutpermits,mostlyonformeragrarian land.While the phenomenon is not new, the pace of illegal constructions on fertile areas at thecapital’sfringeshasacceleratedsincethe2011revolution.InUnderstandingCairo,DavidSimsclaimsthat“in1950 there were virtually no informal settlements around Cairo,” and that the first developments onagricultural landappearedintheearly1960’sfollowingGamalAbdelNasser’s industrializationpolicies.Statehousingprogramsprovedunabletocopewiththeensuingruralmigration.2Adecade later,housingclusterswere identified spreading incrementally on privately owned farmland in close proximity to existing ruralvillagesjustnorthofCairo.Illegalurbanizationonthecity’sedgescontinuedtothriveunderAnwarSadat’sandHosniMubarak’stermsinoffice,fueledbymarketliberalizationpoliciesandremittancesfromEgyptianmalelaborersintheGulf.AftertheJanuary2011events,illegaldevelopmentsaccelerated–apossibleconsequenceofthepowervacuumleftfollowingthecollapseoftherulingregime.Consideringtheabsenceofanyformofcontrol, incrementalandself-builtconstructionhasevolved intoaneoliberalspeculativescheme.Newsemi-legalconstructionfirmsarecurrentlyengagedinanunderhandedproductionofarealestatestocktobesoldillicitly, but nonetheless in plain sight. This profitable mode of illegal construction is noticeable in thetransformationofhousingtypologies,evolvingfromself-built,low-risestructurestosemi-professionallybuilt,fifteen-storytowers.

2MainText(1500words)Heartof theEgyptianeconomyand institutions,Cairodraws ruralmigration fromUpperEgyptand theNileValley constantly since the 1970s. While Nasser’s welfare state policies saw public housing programs andpromulgated rent-control laws, construction of mass housing came to a standstill after the 1967 war withIsrael. Soon after, evacuees from the Suez Canal Zone and Egyptian workers from the Gulf amplified thehousingdemand inCairo.3UnderSadat,with limitednationalexpendituresdedicated topublichousing, thetaskofhousingpopulationwastransferredtoprivateinvestors,whichdidnotrespondtotheneedsoflowerincomefamilies.Forthese,theformalmarketremainsinaccessible,andhousingininformalareasistheonlyaffordablesolution.InformalhousingisthusthelogicalresponsetoalackofbothpublicandprivatesolutionsforalargemajorityofEgyptians.Informalconstruction,mostlyonformalagrarianland,isdrivenandorganizedbylocalactors,whomaimtoproducestandardizedhousingatreducedcostswhilegeneratingaprofit.Theseactors are partaken in the entire process: pooling financial capital, buying land, sourcing materials andresources,organizingandsupervisingconstruction,andconnectingtoinfrastructures.MahmoudGad,60yearsold,residentofArd-el-Liwa,aninformalareaofCairo,isoneoftheseactors.4

Fromsmall-scaleinformalhousingconstructiontosemi-professionalspeculativeurbanschemes.

MahmoudGadisoriginallyfromUpperEgyptandworkedintheGulfbetween1970and1990.Withhiswages,he securedaplotofagrarian landat theedgeof theupscaleneighborhoodofMohandesseen inCairo.Theland was bought through a gamaya, a savings-and-credit association, for two Egyptian pounds per squaremeter(atthetime,about$5)withalegalsubdivisionlicense.56Thegamayahiredengineerstodrawastreetgridcomplyingwithmunicipalrules(streetwidthoftenmetersformainroadsandeightforsecondaryroads).Theaverageplotcovered150squaremeters,fromwhichthespaceofthestreetwasdeducted,leavinganet

2DavidSims,UnderstandingCairo:TheLogicofaCityoutofControl(Cairo:TheAmericanUniversityinCairoPress,2010)3SarahSabry,"AnIntroductiontoInformalHousinginCairo,"inHousingCairo:TheInformalResponse,ed.MarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes(Berlin:RubyPress,2016)4CharlotteMalterre-Barthes,"AStoryofConstruction,"inHousingCairo:TheInformalResponse,ed.MarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes(Berlin:RubyPress,2016)5Agamayaisagroupsavingassociation,asocialmechanismthatreliesoncollecting,eachmonthforoneortwoyears,afixedamountofmoneyfromeachmember.Agroupleadercollectsthefixedsharesandholdsthefund.Thenumberofmemberspoolingtheirmoneyrangesfromasfewassixtoasmanyas40,andthemoneycollectedispaidoutaslumpsumsinrotationtoeachmemberofthegroup,allowingthemtofinancemajorexpenditures(landpurchases,weddings,education,etc.).Arotatingsavings-and-creditassociation(ROSCA)isbasedonbalancedreciprocityandisapopularformofinformalfinanceinwhichallmembersarebothsaversandborrowers.6Atthetime,thepoundwaspeggedtotheUSdollar;ithasfloatedsince1989andisworthroughly$0.12today.

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surfaceof 125 squaremetersonwhich toerect abuilding. For constructiononhis 196 squaremetersplot,Mahmoudhiredacontractortoerectamulti-storybuilding.Fundsweremonthlytransferredtoacousin,whopaidthecontractorincash–16,000poundsperfloor.Thebuildinghadthree60-square-meterapartmentsperfloor,eachwithtwobedroomsandalivingroom.Thoughtherewerenoofficialheightregulations,Mahmouddecided on a five-story structure, which took eight months to build, one concrete slab per month plusfoundations.Thefifteenapartmentswereputtorentforbetweensevenandtenpoundsamonth,respectingthe rent-control laws (which applied regardless of the legality or tenure status of the unit itself), untilMahmoudmovedhisfamilyfromUpperEgyptintothebuilding,afewyearslater.7Atthattime,AnwarSadatinstigated the neoliberal policy of al-Infitah, steering away from Gamal Nasser’s state socialism and post-colonial nationalism, opening the economy to foreign capital, and pivoting politically toward theWest.8 Asthese changes were implemented, land prices everywhere in Cairo inflated. Speculation and constructionemergedas the favoredways to reachprosperity,and landbecame theprimary repository for remittances.Between 1974 and 1984, informal construction thrived, encouraged by the permissive attitude of theauthoritiesandfueledbytheoilboomintheMiddleEastandtheensuingflowsofcapitalfromSaudiArabiaandtheotherGulfstatestoEgypt.Thisperiodcanbeconsideredasawatershedforinformalhousing,withashift from a construction out of need to a profit-oriented approach.Wealthy individuals bought land fromfarmersandsubdivideditontheirown,withoutengineersorlicenses,andignoringgovernmentalregulations.Some agrarian landlords subdivided their farmland tomaximize the built-and-sold area, generating smallerstreetsizes.Insteadofbuyinganetarea,purchaserswouldgetthewholeplotincludingthestreet–paying,forinstance,fora100-square-meterplotfromwhichhalfastreethadtobededucted,andthusactuallygettingonly70squaremeters.Thesepracticesandthelackofregulationmarkedthetruebeginningofinformality,the‘ashwa’iyyat. When Mahmoud Gad returned from the Gulf, he got involved in the budding constructionbusiness in informalareas.Today,hedefineshimselfasadeveloper-contractor.Sincehehasnopermanentstaff, he hires employees for specific contracts, purchases the raw construction material, and supervisesconstruction. He considers real estate to be themost reliable and stable form of investment in Egypt. Hisnewest building is representative of the formalization and capitalization processes that the informalconstruction industry is undergoing.With threebusiness partners, hepurchased two adjacent plots, a 500-square-meter surface. He bought the agricultural land for about $200 per squaremeter. An engineer wascommissioned to calculate the structure, and the building was completed in a year. He holds a permitapproving constructiononagricultural land, and theedifice complieswith regulations.Authorities reviewedthestructuralplansandverifiedthesetbacksandthesizeofthe lightandventilationshafts. It isaten-storybuildingwithanelevatorshaft; the first fivestoriesare reserved forcommercialuseandtheremaining fivemadeupofresidential flats,withfourapartmentsperfloor,twooverlookingeachstreet.Atabout$200persquaremeter, the land cost $100,000, a sum split equally among the four business partners,who paid vialump-sumbank transfers. Eachpartner also contributed roughly $62,500 for construction,which cost some$250,000intotal.Eachpartnernowownsaquartershareofthecommercialfloors,oneresidentialfloor,andaflat; in total, each share is worth $225,000. Costs vary from $150,000 for the commercial spaces, andapartments’valuefrom$18,700fora90-square-meterflatwith3bedrooms,areceptionroom,andabalcony,to$20,000 for129 squaremeters,or$22,500 for the largest flatson themain street.WhileMahmoudwillmove in this building eventually, thus guaranteeing by his very presence the soundness of the structure topotentialbuyers,itappearsevidentthathisbuildingactivityisaspeculativeprocess.

Transformationofhousingtypologies

7Rent-controllawsinEgyptdatefromtheearly20thcentury,whenthelandlords’righttoevacuatetenantswasfirstabolished.InthesocialistNasserera,astatutewaspassedallowingtheinheritanceofrentedunits,whichpermittedthecontinuationofrent-controlimplicationsacrossgenerations.LawspassedunderSadatallowedtenantstore-rentorexchangetheunittheyoccupiedwithoutapprovalfromthelandlord.This,combinedwiththerentalinheritancelaw,markedthenear-fulleliminationoflandlords’rightsovertheirproperty,whilestillholdingthemresponsibleforitsmaintenance.Aftermaintainingthebulkoftheaforementionedlawsforovertwodecades,MubarakpassedRentLawNo.4,of1996,whichexemptsunitserectedfromthatdateonwardsfromrentcontrols.SalmaMansour,"NewLaw,OldProblems:TheEgyptianRentControlDilemma,"TheChronicles-TheAmericanUniversityinCairo,(2009)8LeilaVignalandEricDenis,"CairoasRegional/GlobalEconomicCapital?,"inCairoCosmopolitan:Politics,Culture,andUrbanSpaceintheNewGlobalizedMiddleEast,ed.DianeSingermanandPaulAmar(Cairo,NewYork:AmericanUniversityinCairoPress,2006)99-152

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The changes in the production processes of informal housing, and the shift to a profitablemode of illegalconstruction bordering to neoliberal speculative schemes are noticeable in the transformation of housingtypologies, which have evolved from self-built, low-rise structures to semi-professionally built, fifteen-storytowers.Initially,housingstructuresfollowedasimpletypologyofconcreteframesandbrickinfill,withstreetpatternsregisteringagrariansubdivisions,generating‘urbancanyons’.Urbangrowthwasrelativelytimidandbuildingswereplacedatadistancefromthemainroadascontractorsaimtoconcealillegalhousingfromtheauthorities’attention.Buildingswere,atfirst,single-housetypesandmultistoryapartmentbuildings,muchlikeMahmoudGad’sfirsthome,withatypicalbuilding’sfootprintvaryingfrom75to125squaremeters,and one or two small apartments per floor. This corresponds to what urban researcher Davis Simsidentifiesasthe“classicalinformal,” characterizedbysimplebrick-and-concreteconstructionofoneandupto7 floors –themaximum acceptable height to be reachedwithout a lift.9 This is currently still the prevalenttypologyintheseareas.Itisoftenabuildingcommandedbyafamily,hometoanelderlycouplewithonesonper floor. The structure is left open on the roof for further extension. At the other side of the spectrum,speculativeone-offtowersappearedinthemid-1990s,mainlyatthefringesofCairo.Thetowertypologyhasamuchlargerfootprint,from250upto450squaremeters,withlargerapartmentsandseveralunitsperfloor.8 Unlike the plain apparent brick and concrete aspect of the simple types, towers are plastered andpainted inbrightcolorstofacilitatesellingandrental.10Buildingshaveupto15floors,andif inhabited,areequippedwithlifts.AftertheJanuary2011eventsandthecollapseoftheregime,contractorsgrewconfidentandmoreupfrontwithspeculative illegalconstructions.Hightowerswithbalconiesandornamental facadesappeared along Cairo Ring Road. Units bought as securities on themarketwithin the framework of a greyeconomy, these dwelling have owners, yet they often remain unoccupied, materializing their speculativenature. This new typology shows the penetration of market forces with larger investments operating in aneoliberalmode,withcontractorsandinvestorsengagedinanunderhandedproductionofarealestatestocktobesoldillicitly,butnonethelessinplainsight.

3Conclusion(max.500words)Informalconstructionatthisstageofdevelopmentpointstothemannerinwhichcapitalandfinancialforceshavepenetratedintowhatwasnormallyasmall-scaleandself-builtformofurbanproduction.Whatemergedin the1970sas thepopular responsetopublic incapacities toprovideaffordablehousingsolutions to lowerclasses in Egypt has evolved into a classic market processes, tending towards formal modes of real-estateinvestment.Whilethe‘classicinformal’typestillprevails,the‘tower’typeisthearchitecturalsignofamarket-orientedlogic,onethatmightturninformalconstructionintoamoreformalizedprocess.Towersmaterializeinmannermoreobviousthenthemorediscreettypesthe illegalaspectof informalconstruction.Thisblatancymight force authorities to take action. While it is know that many public policies attempting to combatinformalconstructionhavebeenimplemented,nonewasabletolimittheircontinuousexpansion.11Anotherdirectioncouldbeexplored,thatoflegalization.Currently,intermsoftenure,buildingsininformalareasarenotfullyregisteredasbuiltonthemunicipalcadaster.Atthemomentof landpurchase,asignedchange-of-ownershipcontractisbroughttothenotarypublictobecertified.Buildingsininformalareasarenotofficiallyregisteredandarethusexemptedoflandtax.Thisrepresentsanuntappedresourceforthenationalbudget,whichcouldbeexploited,providingthatinformalareaswouldbelegalizedandbenefitfrompublicservices.Inshort, the emergence of speculative typologies, with an architecture similar to that on formal markets, ispointing towards a possible dismissal of the current dichotomy between formal and informal, and for therecognitionoftheseareasasinherentlypartofthecity.

AcknowledgementTheauthorthanksMahmudGad,HanaaGadandCLUSTERfortheirhelpandsupportduringfieldwork.

9Sims,105.10MariaKouvariandHeechulJung,"ANewVernacular.Typology,Construction,andAesthetics"inHousingCairo:TheInformalResponse,ed.MarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes(Berlin:RubyPress,2016).11ZoiAlexandropoulouandMarilenaFotopoulou,"WaronInformality:GovernmentalPoliciesagainst‘Ashwa’iyyat"inHousingCairo:TheInformalResponse,ed.MarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes(Berlin:RubyPress,2016).

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GraphicWork,Images

01) Transformation of typologies: From small-scale informal housing construction to semi-professionalspeculativeurbanschemes.(©DrawingsbyMariaKouvariandHeechulJung,withCharlotteMalterre-Barthes,in "A New Vernacular. Typology, Construction, and Aesthetics " In Housing Cairo: The Informal Response,editedbyMarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes.Berlin:RubyPress,2016.)

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02)‘Classicalinformal’typology:Earlyconstructionstageofatypicalbrickandconcretebuildingononeplot,Ard-el-Liwa,Cairo(©MASUrbanDesign)

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03)‘Classicalinformal’typology:Architecturalrepresentation.Homeforanelderlycoupleatgroundfloorandtheir family,withonesonperfloor,plusopenrooffor futureexpansion. (©‘Abdullah’sbuilding, inHousingCairo: The Informal Response, edited by Marc Angélil and Charlotte Malterre-Barthes. Berlin: Ruby Press,2016.)

(1)

(2)

(2)(3)

(4)

10.00 m

3.10 m 4.00 m 2.65 m

4.50

m2.

90 m

7.90

m1.

15 m

(1) Living-room(2) Bedroom(3) Kitchen(4) WC-bathroom

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04)‘Tower’typology:Plasteredandornamentedfaçadewithbalconies,12storeysstructure,Ard-el-Liwa,Cairo(©MASUrbanDesign)

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05)‘Tower’typology:Architecturalrepresentationofa12storeystower,locatedinadenseurbanfabric.(Hanaa’sBuilding©MASUrbanDesign)

41.00 m

20.90 m1.00 m

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ReferencesAlexandropoulou,Zoi,andMarilenaFotopoulou."WaronInformality:GovernmentalPoliciesagainst

‘Ashwa’iyyat"InHousingCairo:TheInformalResponse,editedbyMarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes.Berlin:RubyPress,2016.

ElKadi,Galila."L'articulationDesDeuxCircuitsDeLaGestionFonciéreEnEgypte:LeCasDuCaire."InHousingAfrica'sUrbanPoor,editedbyPhilipAmis,PeterCuttLloydandInstituteInternationalAfrican,103-117.Manchester;NewYork:ManchesterUniversityPressfortheInternationalAfricanInstitute,1990.

Kouvari,Maria,andHeechulJung."ANewVernacular.Typology,Construction,andAesthetics"InHousingCairo:TheInformalResponse,editedbyMarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes.Berlin:RubyPress,2016.

Malterre-Barthes,Charlotte."AStoryofConstruction."InHousingCairo:TheInformalResponse,editedbyMarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes.Berlin:RubyPress,2016.

Mansour,Salma"NewLaw,OldProblems:TheEgyptianRentControlDilemma."TheChronicles-TheAmericanUniversityinCairo,(2009):40-43.

Sabry,Sarah."AnIntroductiontoInformalHousinginCairo."InHousingCairo:TheInformalResponse,editedbyMarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes.Berlin:RubyPress,2016.

Sims,David.UnderstandingCairo:TheLogicofaCityoutofControl.Cairo:TheAmericanUniversityinCairoPress,2010.

Vignal,Leila,andEricDenis."CairoasRegional/GlobalEconomicCapital?"InCairoCosmopolitan:Politics,Culture,andUrbanSpaceintheNewGlobalizedMiddleEast,editedbyDianeSingermanandPaulAmar.Cairo,NewYork:AmericanUniversityinCairoPress,2006.