HousingCairo
Fromsmall-scaleinformalhousingconstruction
tosemi-professionalspeculativeurbanschemes.
1
CharlotteMalterre-Barthes 1
ETHZ/ArchitectureDepartment,ChairofMarcAngélil,Neunbrunnenstrasse50,8050Zürich,
[email protected]
ViewoverArd-el-Liwa,Cairo(©LorenzBürgi)
ABSTRACT(max.250words)
Approximately60%ofthetwentymillioninhabitantsofthebiggestcityontheAfricancontinentarelivingin
so-called informal housing. Up to fifteen-story concrete and brick-infill constructions, these housing
settlements in Cairo are considered informal because they were built without permits, mostly on former
agrarian land. While the phenomenon is not new, the pace of illegal constructions on fertile areas at the
capital’sfringeshasacceleratedsincethe2011revolution.Markedbyincrementalconstruction,settlements
predominantlyfollowpropertylinesandthecontoursoffeddans–thebaseunitofagriculturalfieldsinEgypt,
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narrowstripoflandof100-300meterslongand6-17meterswide,framedbyirrigationcanals. After2011,
illegaldevelopmentsaccelerated–apossibleconsequenceofthepowervacuumleftfollowingthecollapseof
therulingregime.Therearenoimpedimentstothemechanismsofpresent-dayurbanization,whichdestroys
thousands of hectares of arable land. Considering the absence of any form of control, incremental and selfbuilt construction has evolved into a neoliberal speculative scheme. New semi-legal construction firms are
currentlyengagedinanunderhandedproductionofarealestatestocktobesoldillicitly,butnonethelessin
plain sight. This profitable mode of illegal construction is noticeable in the transformation of housing
typologies,evolvingfromself-built,low-risestructurestosemi-professionallybuilt,fifteen-storytowersbought
as securities on the market within the framework of a grey economy. Informal construction at this stage of
development points to the manner in which capital and financial forces have penetrated into what was
normallyasmall-scaleandself-builtformofurbanproduction.
KEYWORDS(upto5)
Informalhousing,self-built,politicaleconomy,Cairo,Egypt
AUTHORBIOGRAPHY:(short,notmorethan5lines)
CharlotteMalterre-Barthesisanarchitectandurbandesigner(ENSAMarseille,TUVienna,ETHZ).Directorof
theMasterofAdvancedStudiesinUrbanDesign(ChairofMarcAngélil,ETHZ)investigatingurbandynamicsof
Cairo,shecurrentlyworksonherdoctoraldegreeonFoodandTerritories,casestudyEgypt.Co-founderofthe
urban research office OMNIBUS, she lectured and taught workshops at the AA, the Storefront for Art and
Architecture,Hong-KongUniversity,andFCL-Singapore.SheiseditorwithMarcAngélilof“HousingCairo:The
InformalResponse”(RubyPress).
1
GalilaElKadi,"L'articulationDesDeuxCircuitsDeLaGestionFonciéreEnEgypte:LeCasDuCaire,"inHousingAfrica's
UrbanPoor,ed.PhilipAmis,PeterCuttLloyd,andInstituteInternationalAfrican(Manchester;NewYork:Manchester
UniversityPressfortheInternationalAfricanInstitute,1990)
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1Introduction(max.250words)
Home to approximately 60% of the twenty million inhabitants of the Egyptian capital, so-called informal
housingareup-to-fifteen-storyconcreteandbrick-infillconstructionsbuiltwithoutpermits,mostlyonformer
agrarian land. While the phenomenon is not new, the pace of illegal constructions on fertile areas at the
capital’sfringeshasacceleratedsincethe2011revolution.InUnderstandingCairo,DavidSimsclaimsthat“in
1950 there were virtually no informal settlements around Cairo,” and that the first developments on
agriculturallandappearedintheearly1960’sfollowingGamalAbdelNasser’sindustrializationpolicies.State
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housingprogramsprovedunabletocopewiththeensuingruralmigration. Adecadelater,housingclusters
were identified spreading incrementally on privately owned farmland in close proximity to existing rural
villagesjustnorthofCairo.Illegalurbanizationonthecity’sedgescontinuedtothriveunderAnwarSadat’sand
HosniMubarak’stermsinoffice,fueledbymarketliberalizationpoliciesandremittancesfromEgyptianmale
laborersintheGulf.AftertheJanuary2011events,illegaldevelopmentsaccelerated–apossibleconsequence
ofthepowervacuumleftfollowingthecollapseoftherulingregime.Consideringtheabsenceofanyformof
control,incrementalandself-builtconstructionhasevolvedintoaneoliberalspeculativescheme.Newsemilegalconstructionfirmsarecurrentlyengagedinanunderhandedproductionofarealestatestocktobesold
illicitly, but nonetheless in plain sight. This profitable mode of illegal construction is noticeable in the
transformationofhousingtypologies,evolvingfromself-built,low-risestructurestosemi-professionallybuilt,
fifteen-storytowers.
2MainText(1500words)
Heart of the Egyptian economy and institutions, Cairo draws rural migration from Upper Egypt and the Nile
Valley constantly since the 1970s. While Nasser’s welfare state policies saw public housing programs and
promulgated rent-control laws, construction of mass housing came to a standstill after the 1967 war with
Israel. Soon after, evacuees from the Suez Canal Zone and Egyptian workers from the Gulf amplified the
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housing demand in Cairo. Under Sadat, with limited national expenditures dedicated to public housing, the
taskofhousingpopulationwastransferredtoprivateinvestors,whichdidnotrespondtotheneedsoflower
incomefamilies.Forthese,theformalmarketremainsinaccessible,andhousingininformalareasistheonly
affordablesolution.Informalhousingisthusthelogicalresponsetoalackofbothpublicandprivatesolutions
foralargemajorityofEgyptians.Informalconstruction,mostlyonformalagrarianland,isdrivenandorganized
bylocalactors,whomaimtoproducestandardizedhousingatreducedcostswhilegeneratingaprofit.These
actors are partaken in the entire process: pooling financial capital, buying land, sourcing materials and
resources,organizingandsupervisingconstruction,andconnectingtoinfrastructures.MahmoudGad,60years
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old,residentofArd-el-Liwa,aninformalareaofCairo,isoneoftheseactors. Fromsmall-scaleinformalhousingconstructiontosemi-professionalspeculativeurbanschemes.
MahmoudGadisoriginallyfromUpperEgyptandworkedintheGulfbetween1970and1990.Withhiswages,
he secured a plot of agrarian land at the edge of the upscale neighborhood of Mohandesseen in Cairo. The
land was bought through a gamaya, a savings-and-credit association, for two Egyptian pounds per square
5 6
meter(atthetime,about$5)withalegalsubdivisionlicense. Thegamayahiredengineerstodrawastreet
gridcomplyingwithmunicipalrules(streetwidthoftenmetersformainroadsandeightforsecondaryroads).
Theaverageplotcovered150squaremeters,fromwhichthespaceofthestreetwasdeducted,leavinganet
2
DavidSims,UnderstandingCairo:TheLogicofaCityoutofControl(Cairo:TheAmericanUniversityinCairoPress,2010)
SarahSabry,"AnIntroductiontoInformalHousinginCairo,"inHousingCairo:TheInformalResponse,ed.MarcAngélil
andCharlotteMalterre-Barthes(Berlin:RubyPress,2016)
4
CharlotteMalterre-Barthes,"AStoryofConstruction,"inHousingCairo:TheInformalResponse,ed.MarcAngéliland
CharlotteMalterre-Barthes(Berlin:RubyPress,2016)
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Agamayaisagroupsavingassociation,asocialmechanismthatreliesoncollecting,eachmonthforoneortwoyears,a
fixedamountofmoneyfromeachmember.Agroupleadercollectsthefixedsharesandholdsthefund.Thenumberof
memberspoolingtheirmoneyrangesfromasfewassixtoasmanyas40,andthemoneycollectedispaidoutaslump
sumsinrotationtoeachmemberofthegroup,allowingthemtofinancemajorexpenditures(landpurchases,weddings,
education,etc.).Arotatingsavings-and-creditassociation(ROSCA)isbasedonbalancedreciprocityandisapopularformof
informalfinanceinwhichallmembersarebothsaversandborrowers.
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Atthetime,thepoundwaspeggedtotheUSdollar;ithasfloatedsince1989andisworthroughly$0.12today.
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surface of 125 square meters on which to erect a building. For construction on his 196 square meters plot,
Mahmoudhiredacontractortoerectamulti-storybuilding.Fundsweremonthlytransferredtoacousin,who
paidthecontractorincash–16,000poundsperfloor.Thebuildinghadthree60-square-meterapartmentsper
floor,eachwithtwobedroomsandalivingroom.Thoughtherewerenoofficialheightregulations,Mahmoud
decided on a five-story structure, which took eight months to build, one concrete slab per month plus
foundations.Thefifteenapartmentswereputtorentforbetweensevenandtenpoundsamonth,respecting
the rent-control laws (which applied regardless of the legality or tenure status of the unit itself), until
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MahmoudmovedhisfamilyfromUpperEgyptintothebuilding,afewyearslater. Atthattime,AnwarSadat
instigated the neoliberal policy of al-Infitah, steering away from Gamal Nasser’s state socialism and post8
colonial nationalism, opening the economy to foreign capital, and pivoting politically toward the West. As
these changes were implemented, land prices everywhere in Cairo inflated. Speculation and construction
emerged as the favored ways to reach prosperity, and land became the primary repository for remittances.
Between 1974 and 1984, informal construction thrived, encouraged by the permissive attitude of the
authoritiesandfueledbytheoilboomintheMiddleEastandtheensuingflowsofcapitalfromSaudiArabia
andtheotherGulfstatestoEgypt.Thisperiodcanbeconsideredasawatershedforinformalhousing,witha
shift from a construction out of need to a profit-oriented approach. Wealthy individuals bought land from
farmersandsubdivideditontheirown,withoutengineersorlicenses,andignoringgovernmentalregulations.
Some agrarian landlords subdivided their farmland to maximize the built-and-sold area, generating smaller
streetsizes.Insteadofbuyinganetarea,purchaserswouldgetthewholeplotincludingthestreet–paying,for
instance,fora100-square-meter plotfromwhichhalfastreethadtobededucted,andthusactuallygetting
only70squaremeters.Thesepracticesandthelackofregulationmarkedthetruebeginningofinformality,the
‘ashwa’iyyat. When Mahmoud Gad returned from the Gulf, he got involved in the budding construction
business in informal areas. Today, he defines himself as a developer-contractor. Since he has no permanent
staff, he hires employees for specific contracts, purchases the raw construction material, and supervises
construction. He considers real estate to be the most reliable and stable form of investment in Egypt. His
newest building is representative of the formalization and capitalization processes that the informal
construction industry is undergoing. With three business partners, he purchased two adjacent plots, a 500square-meter surface. He bought the agricultural land for about $200 per square meter. An engineer was
commissioned to calculate the structure, and the building was completed in a year. He holds a permit
approving construction on agricultural land, and the edifice complies with regulations. Authorities reviewed
thestructuralplansandverifiedthesetbacksandthesizeofthelightandventilationshafts.Itisaten-story
building with an elevator shaft; the first five stories are reserved for commercial use and the remaining five
madeupofresidentialflats,withfourapartmentsperfloor,twooverlookingeachstreet.Atabout$200per
square meter, the land cost $100,000, a sum split equally among the four business partners, who paid via
lump-sum bank transfers. Each partner also contributed roughly $62,500 for construction, which cost some
$250,000intotal.Eachpartnernowownsaquartershareofthecommercialfloors,oneresidentialfloor,anda
flat; in total, each share is worth $225,000. Costs vary from $150,000 for the commercial spaces, and
apartments’valuefrom$18,700fora90-square-meterflatwith3bedrooms,areceptionroom,andabalcony,
to $20,000 for 129 square meters, or $22,500 for the largest flats on the main street. While Mahmoud will
move in this building eventually, thus guaranteeing by his very presence the soundness of the structure to
potentialbuyers,itappearsevidentthathisbuildingactivityisaspeculativeprocess.
Transformationofhousingtypologies
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th
Rent-controllawsinEgyptdatefromtheearly20 century,whenthelandlords’righttoevacuatetenantswasfirst
abolished.InthesocialistNasserera,astatutewaspassedallowingtheinheritanceofrentedunits,whichpermittedthe
continuationofrent-controlimplicationsacrossgenerations.LawspassedunderSadatallowedtenantstore-rentor
exchangetheunittheyoccupiedwithoutapprovalfromthelandlord.This,combinedwiththerentalinheritancelaw,
markedthenear-fulleliminationoflandlords’rightsovertheirproperty,whilestillholdingthemresponsibleforits
maintenance.Aftermaintainingthebulkoftheaforementionedlawsforovertwodecades,MubarakpassedRentLawNo.
4,of1996,whichexemptsunitserectedfromthatdateonwardsfromrentcontrols.SalmaMansour,"NewLaw,Old
Problems:TheEgyptianRentControlDilemma,"TheChronicles-TheAmericanUniversityinCairo,(2009)
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LeilaVignalandEricDenis,"CairoasRegional/GlobalEconomicCapital?,"inCairoCosmopolitan:Politics,Culture,and
UrbanSpaceintheNewGlobalizedMiddleEast,ed.DianeSingermanandPaulAmar(Cairo,NewYork:AmericanUniversity
inCairoPress,2006)99-152
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The changes in the production processes of informal housing, and the shift to a profitable mode of illegal
construction bordering to neoliberal speculative schemes are noticeable in the transformation of housing
typologies, which have evolved from self-built, low-rise structures to semi-professionally built, fifteen-story
towers.Initially,housingstructuresfollowedasimpletypologyofconcreteframesandbrickinfill,withstreet
patternsregisteringagrariansubdivisions,generating‘urbancanyons’.Urbangrowthwasrelativelytimidand
buildingswereplacedatadistancefromthemainroadascontractorsaimtoconcealillegalhousingfromthe
authorities’attention.Buildingswere,atfirst,single-housetypesandmultistoryapartmentbuildings,much
likeMahmoudGad’sfirsthome,withatypicalbuilding’sfootprintvaryingfrom75to125squaremeters,
and one or two small apartments per floor. This corresponds to what urban researcher Davis Sims
identifiesasthe“classicalinformal,” characterizedbysimplebrick-and-concreteconstructionofoneandupto
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7 floors –the maximum acceptable height to be reached without a lift. This is currently still the prevalent
typologyintheseareas.Itisoftenabuildingcommandedbyafamily,hometoanelderlycouplewithoneson
per floor. The structure is left open on the roof for further extension. At the other side of the spectrum,
speculativeone-offtowersappearedinthemid-1990s,mainlyatthefringesofCairo.Thetowertypologyhas
amuchlargerfootprint,from250upto450squaremeters,withlargerapartmentsandseveralunitsper
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floor. Unlike the plain apparent brick and concrete aspect of the simple types, towers are plastered and
paintedinbrightcolorstofacilitatesellingandrental.10Buildingshaveupto15floors,andifinhabited,are
equippedwithlifts.AftertheJanuary2011eventsandthecollapseoftheregime,contractorsgrewconfident
andmoreupfrontwithspeculativeillegalconstructions.Hightowerswithbalconiesandornamentalfacades
appeared along Cairo Ring Road. Units bought as securities on the market within the framework of a grey
economy, these dwelling have owners, yet they often remain unoccupied, materializing their speculative
nature. This new typology shows the penetration of market forces with larger investments operating in a
neoliberalmode,withcontractorsandinvestorsengagedinanunderhandedproductionofarealestatestock
tobesoldillicitly,butnonethelessinplainsight.
3Conclusion(max.500words)
Informalconstructionatthisstageofdevelopmentpointstothemannerinwhichcapitalandfinancialforces
havepenetratedintowhatwasnormallyasmall-scaleandself-builtformofurbanproduction.Whatemerged
in the 1970s as the popular response to public incapacities to provide affordable housing solutions to lower
classes in Egypt has evolved into a classic market processes, tending towards formal modes of real-estate
investment.Whilethe‘classicinformal’typestillprevails,the‘tower’typeisthearchitecturalsignofamarketorientedlogic,onethatmightturninformalconstructionintoamoreformalizedprocess.Towersmaterializein
mannermoreobviousthenthemorediscreettypestheillegalaspectofinformalconstruction.Thisblatancy
might force authorities to take action. While it is know that many public policies attempting to combat
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informalconstructionhavebeenimplemented,nonewasabletolimittheircontinuousexpansion. Another
directioncouldbeexplored,thatoflegalization.Currently,intermsoftenure,buildingsininformalareasare
notfullyregisteredasbuiltonthemunicipalcadaster.Atthemomentoflandpurchase,asignedchange-ofownershipcontractisbroughttothenotarypublictobecertified.Buildingsininformalareasarenotofficially
registeredandarethusexemptedoflandtax.Thisrepresentsanuntappedresourceforthenationalbudget,
whichcouldbeexploited,providingthatinformalareaswouldbelegalizedandbenefitfrompublicservices.In
short, the emergence of speculative typologies, with an architecture similar to that on formal markets, is
pointing towards a possible dismissal of the current dichotomy between formal and informal, and for the
recognitionoftheseareasasinherentlypartofthecity.
Acknowledgement
TheauthorthanksMahmudGad,HanaaGadandCLUSTERfortheirhelpandsupportduringfieldwork.
9
Sims,105.
MariaKouvariandHeechulJung,"ANewVernacular.Typology,Construction,andAesthetics"inHousingCairo:The
InformalResponse,ed.MarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes(Berlin:RubyPress,2016).
11
ZoiAlexandropoulouandMarilenaFotopoulou,"WaronInformality:GovernmentalPoliciesagainst‘Ashwa’iyyat"in
HousingCairo:TheInformalResponse,ed.MarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes(Berlin:RubyPress,2016).
10
5
GraphicWork,Images
01) Transformation of typologies: From small-scale informal housing construction to semi-professional
speculativeurbanschemes.(©DrawingsbyMariaKouvariandHeechulJung,withCharlotteMalterre-Barthes,
in "A New Vernacular. Typology, Construction, and Aesthetics " In Housing Cairo: The Informal Response,
editedbyMarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes.Berlin:RubyPress,2016.)
6
02)‘Classicalinformal’typology:Earlyconstructionstageofatypicalbrickandconcretebuildingononeplot,
Ard-el-Liwa,Cairo(©MASUrbanDesign)
7
10.00 m
4.50 m
(2)
2.90 m
(2)
4.00 m
2.65 m
(3)
(4)
(1)
(1) Living-room
(2) Bedroom
(3) Kitchen
(4) WC-bathroom
1.15 m
7.90 m
3.10 m
03)‘Classicalinformal’typology:Architecturalrepresentation.Homeforanelderlycoupleatgroundfloorand
theirfamily,withonesonperfloor,plusopenroofforfutureexpansion.(©‘Abdullah’sbuilding,inHousing
Cairo: The Informal Response, edited by Marc Angélil and Charlotte Malterre-Barthes. Berlin: Ruby Press,
2016.)
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04)‘Tower’typology:Plasteredandornamentedfaçadewithbalconies,12storeysstructure,Ard-el-Liwa,Cairo
(©MASUrbanDesign)
9
41.00 m
1.00 m
20.90 m
05)‘Tower’typology:Architecturalrepresentationofa12storeystower,locatedinadense
urbanfabric.(Hanaa’sBuilding©MASUrbanDesign)
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Cairo:TheInformalResponse,editedbyMarcAngélilandCharlotteMalterre-Barthes.Berlin:Ruby
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Malterre-Barthes,Charlotte."AStoryofConstruction."InHousingCairo:TheInformalResponse,editedby
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Mansour,Salma"NewLaw,OldProblems:TheEgyptianRentControlDilemma."TheChronicles-TheAmerican
UniversityinCairo,(2009):40-43.
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Amar.Cairo,NewYork:AmericanUniversityinCairoPress,2006.
11