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Urbanization

Main article: Urbanization

Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) with over 88 million inhabitants. Since the majority of Egypt’s geography consists of expansive desert, 43.1% of citizens live in urban areas along the Nile or Mediterranean Sea, such as Cairo, Alexandria, or Aswan.

Cairo is not only the largest city in the Arab World, with a population 6.76 million, but is also one of the densest. The governate of Cairo was reported to have an urban population density of 45,000 per square kilometer (117,000 per sq mi) in 2012 (CAPMAS). This is 1.5 times the density of Manhattan. A report from United Arab Emirates University states, "This pattern of urban growth has two contradictory facets. On the one hand, mega-cities act as engines of economic and social growth, but on the other hand, most of this is also being accompanied by the urbanization of both poverty and environmental degradation." Much of government policy has focused on population density as the main contributor to a multitude of social, economic, and environmental challenges such as noise and air pollution, heavy traffic, limited housing capacity, and poor public health.

Cairo's government officials have been making efforts to decentralize living and working arrangements since 1970 as a way to improve quality of life. Rather than focusing on improving infrastructure within the city, many of the proposed solutions involve moving residents into recently constructed metropolitan areas in the desert. This tactic has introduced many of its own issues such as interference with agricultural practices and increasingly limited water access. Former President Mubarak emphasized the necessity of desert expansion in a speech to parliament in 2006, stating, "Leaving the narrow (Nile) valley and fanning out, in a planned and organized manner, throughout the country, has become an unavoidable necessity. In view of these facts, the conquest of the desert is no longer a slogan or dream but a necessity dictated by the spiraling population growth. What is required is not a token exodus into the desert but a complete reconsideration of the distribution of population throughout the country." City planners have proposed the construction of megacities, built from the ground up, to diffuse populations out of Cairo. New Cairo and 6th of October City are brand new subdivisions built to hold millions by 2020 and hold major headquarters currently housed in Cairo. These planned cities are still under construction but are already home to large industrial areas and several universities. Most recently, the Egyptian government has proposed the construction of an entirely new capital city. However, reports show that these tactics have had limited success and a different approach is necessary in order to alleviate the impact of many urban problems.

Traffic

Heavy and chaotic traffic in Cairo

See also: Transport in Cairo

The greater metropolitan area of Cairo is notorious for its extreme levels of traffic congestion. The World Bank reports at least 1,000 deaths annually as a result of traffic related accidents, half of which are pedestrians. While an additional 4,000 Cairenes are injured from car accidents. Other urban areas, such as New York City, report less than 300 fatalities yearly from motor vehicle accidents. The traffic has grown to be damaging not only to public safety, but also economic growth. With an average traffic speed less than 10 kilometers per hour and an average commute time at 37 minutes, the congestion has grown to limit the city's productivity and efficiency. This has had significant economic effects, costing the country $8 billion annually, equivalent to almost 4% of Egypt's gross domestic product (GDP), resulting from lost work hours, wasted fuel, and the environmental impacts of those additional emissions.

The high number of cars on the road is the result of many factors such as government subsidies on fuel, limited public transportation options, and enhanced credit opportunities from banks. In 2012, The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) reported 2.07 million licensed vehicles in Cairo. However, researchers cite the millions of personal vehicles are not the sole reason for congestion. The lack of public parking forces cars to park in inconvenient and illegal spaces, the sparse number of traffic signals creates chaos and confusion, and even where they do exist, they are unlikely abided to, and heavy pedestrian traffic with no sidewalks or crosswalks leads to unorganized, mixed road use.

Attempts to reduce traffic congestion have increased in the last several years. Many government workers and urban planning experts believe in developing more efficient public transportation systems as a means to mitigate the effects of private cars. The Cairo Metro currently only runs three lines for the city's 7 million people. Christian Bauriedel, a professor at the American University in Cairo claims that the addition of 10 to 15 new metro lines and 200 new bus lanes has the potential to reduce traffic by 40%. A fourth line is scheduled to be built by 2019, however work has yet to begin. Another proposed solution has been the creation of pedestrian tunnels underneath the city to ensure citizen's safety while crossing roads.

A New Capital City

See also: Proposed new capital of Egypt

Proposed new capital of Egypt

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Location in Lower Egypt

On March 13, 2015, Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced Egypt's plans for a 45 billion dollar project constructing a new capital city just east of Cairo. The new city, which is currently unnamed, is estimated to take only five to seven years to complete and house up to seven million people. Madbouly reported the goal of the project to be a major reduction in the congestion and population of Cairo, which is expected to double over the next 40 years. The city's brand new website describes the development as "a momentous endeavour to build national spirit, foster consensus, provide for long-term sustainable growth and address various issues faced by Egypt through a new city, which will create more places to live, work and visit". The plans have received skepticism for being fairly ambitious, boasting new administrative and government buildings, an international airport, a technology and innovation park, solar energy farms, eighteen hospitals, and thousands of schools and universities. The situation was complicated further when President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi cancelled the project a month after its unveiling due to a lack of government funds. However, Madbouly stated that the project will continue with funding from the private sector.

Green Spaces

As a consequence of Cairo's ever-growing urbanization, the components that enhance the city's livability have diminished. Incredible levels of traffic combined with severe air and sound pollution place a major hinderance on Cairenes' quality of living. The lack of urban green space is yet another one of these factors. Cairo currently only has about 1.65 square meters of green space per capita. This is low considering the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests a minimum of nine square meters per person, with the optimal amount being between ten and fifteen square meters. The presence of these spaces has been reported to reduce air pollution while incentivizing physical exercise, fresh food production and improved mental health. Cairo's minimal green space is surprising when considering the city's history of parks and landscaping. The capital was originally founded around a bustan, a modern-day park, and has since been filled with many different kinds of open spaces, such as basatin and mayadin. However, these open spaces with parks and gardens offered ideal locations for development and have since been considered attractive targets for profitable real estate. Today, the city's low quantity of parks has only been worsened by rapid increases in development and a lack of urban planning. Where green spaces do exist, they are poorly distributed and inadequately maintained. While some residents are hopeful that the establishment and development of satellite cities will improve conditions in Cairo, others are not as optimistic and foresee further neglect of green spaces in the future.