2015

``

EGYPTIAN URBAN PLANNING LEGISLATION

MOHAMED MOHSEN

Faculty of Arts Porto University

Master in Geographical Information Systems and Spatial Planning

Abbreviations and Acronyms:

DFID
GDPUD
GOE
GOPP
GSP
GTZ
IDA
LAU
LPC
MOAD
MOH
MOPIC
NCPSLU
NOUH
NUP
SCPUD
TDA
USAID

Department for International Development

General Department for Planning and Urban Development
Government Of Egypt
General Organization for Physical Planning
General Strategic Plan
German Technical Cooperation
Industrial Development Authority
Local Administrative Units
Local Popular Councils
Ministry of Administrative Development
Ministry of Housing
Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation
National Center for Planning the State Lands Usages
National Organization for Urban Harmony
National Urban Policy
Supreme Council for Planning and Urban Development
Tourist Development Authority
United States Agency for International Development

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction:................................................................................................................................ 3
2. Local Administration System (Law 43/1979): ............................................................................... 3
2.1 Laws organize ownership and use of desert lands outside current urban space: ................... 4
2.1.1 Departments responsible for defining land usage for different activities: ....................... 4
3. Key actors hierarchy of urban planning polices in Egypt: ............................................................. 6
4. The Planning Law and its Executive Regulations (Law 119/2008):................................................ 9
Part 1: Urban planning ................................................................................................................. 9
4.1.1 The National Strategic Plan:............................................................................................. 9
4.1.2 The Regional Strategic Plan: .......................................................................................... 11
4.1.2.1 Shift from central to regional: ................................................................................. 11
4.1.2.2 General principles of regional system: .................................................................... 11
4.1.2.3 Determine the frontiers of territories of the regions: ............................................. 11
4.1.2.4 Regions functions and legislative and administrative frameworks: ........................ 12
4.1.7 The General Strategic Plan:............................................................................................ 14
4.1.8 The Detailed Plans: ........................................................................................................ 16
Part 2: Urban Harmony: ............................................................................................................. 18
4.2.1 The Areas of Peculiar Value ........................................................................................... 19
5. Coordination and connection between national plans and policies: .......................................... 20
6. The Main Findings and Recommendations: ................................................................................ 21
7. Bibliography: .............................................................................................................................. 23

Table of Figures:
Figure 1. Key actors hierarchy of urban planning polices in Egypt ................................................... 6
Figure 2. Egyptian National Strategic Plan 2050 ............................................................................. 10
Figure 3. Suggested Regional Division 2027 ................................................................................... 13
Figure 4. General Strategic Plan 2050 (Egyptian City as an Example) ............................................. 15
Figure 5. The Detailed Plan of Cairo's Nile Bank ............................................................................. 17
Figure 6. Examples of Urban Harmony Projects in Egypt ................................................................ 18

1. Introduction:
There is a near consensus among scholars, policy makers, and urban residents that managing
urban expansion is crucial. What is controversial, however, is whether it should be restricted or
encouraged (Myers, and Puentes, 2001). Most views call for the adoption of policies that are
geared towards achieving sustainable urban expansion, smart growth, and compact cities
by increasing existing cities' densities to reasonable levels, encouraging infill, re-use of
infrastructure and previously developed land, implementing zoning and land subdivision
regulations, placing urban growth limits, and land conservation measures (Schwanen, Dijst et al.
2004).
The vast majority of cities in Egypt are located within the fertile Nile river valley and delta. This
leaves about 93% of Egypts land vacant. This fact has significant ramifications: the increase in
urbanization and the continuous population growth occur at the expense of existing agricultural
land. The pressure of urban expansion was further escalated by the inability of the government to
formulate efficient and integrated policies and plans that channel urban expansion towards new
(Nada, 2014).
Several policy instruments could be recognized, most prominently: public acquisition of land for
managing urban growth and protecting open space; policy instruments addressing market failures
by employing incentives or disincentives that affects behavior towards urban expansion (such as
the introduction of development taxes, congestions tolls, or impact fees); policy instruments
adopting a regulatory Command and Control approach, which entails an authoritative
relationship between the individuals or groups being regulated and the government through the
employment of sanctions in case of noncompliance (such as applying rate of growth controls,
growth-phasing regulations, adequate public facility ordinances, up-zoning or small-lot zoning,
minimum density zoning, greenbelts, and urban growth boundaries); and finally through
informational or awareness campaigns aiming at influencing people behavior.

2. Local Administration System (Law 43/1979):

The law defines the local units (governorates, centers, cities, districts and villages); it lays down
rules for the selection and appointment of their heads [governors and deputies, heads of the
centers, the cities and the districts]. Moreover, it sets rules concerning the formation of the
executive boards, the selected Local People's Council for each local unit, and the rights and duties
of each of them.
The law states, that the competent governor defines rules for the disposition of land intended for
construction, which is owned by the state and the local administration in the governorate, after
the approval of the Local Pupils Council of the governorate and within the rules established by
the Cabinet, noting that the priority should be given to the people, living and working in the
governorate.

The governmental administration in Egypt includes two administrative levels: The first level is
the central administration in the capital; it is represented in sovereign ministries of state and
productive and service ministries. The second level is the local administration that manages
governorates, cities and villages or what is known with municipal. The Egyptian administrative
system has given to the first level almost complete dominance over the second level. That is to
say the local administration has no independent identity, as it in fact works for the central
government and is considered an extension of it. It is like arms for this government in
administrating governorates and municipal. This can be explained by the following:
1. In most of the centralized ministries, each ministry has an administration office that follows it
in every governor in Egypt. This administration is called directorate (like the housing directorate
of a subsidiary of the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development, etc.). Each ministry
performs the technical and administrative supervision upon the subsidiary directorate, which
implements the ministry plans and programs inside the governorate.
2. The central government appoints and changes the public employees in the governorates like
governors, heads of cities, heads of areas and managers of above mentioned sector directorate,
without local participation in taking the decisions of appointing and changing those employees.
3. The local administrations have no big subjective financial resources, but they almost completely
depend upon the available finance offered by the treasury.
4. The centralized ministries put development plans, provide services in different governorates
and supervise plan execution through their directorates in the governorates without real local
participation in planning and execution.

2.1 Laws organize ownership and use of desert lands outside current urban
space:
In the mid-70s, Egypt has started a new phase of urban development after 1973 war. It started
this phase by reconstructing the canal three cities and new societies outside the valley and delta
and set planes for regions development, like Sinai, north coast, red sea, and new valley. The state
started to expand in land reclamation projects and touristic projects. Also, different ministries put
future Sectorial plans. In other words, Egypt has started its first steps towards development of
deserts and coasts and getting out of the narrow valley to new wide development horizons. Since
the mid-70s till now, many presidential laws and decrees were issued to organize the use of
desert and coast lands (THE WORLD BANK, 2008).
2.1.1 Departments responsible for defining land usage for different activities:
Legislations are organizing land usage for different activities: Military, production, services, and
urban, have passed through three phases as follows:
First phase: Group of presidential laws and decrees according which ministries of defense,
agriculture, land reclamation, reconstruction and housing and tourism work alone or respectively

to define the areas they need and issue ministerial decrees concerning them. But in this phase,
and in the next phases, allocation priority was to purposes of defense and national security. These
laws obliged other ministries to refer to Ministry of Defense before defining the areas they need.
Second Phase: According to the laws issued in this phase, ministries could define the lands they
need by its own, military areas and areas needed for reclamation, tourism and reconstruction was
allocated according to presidential decree after agreement of the cabinet and the relative
minister proposition. In this phase, there was some coordination among different ministries, as
ministries' requests to acquire desert lands outside the valley and delta go through one channel;
which is the cabinet, then a presidential decree was issued to allocate it to the ministry after the
agreement of the cabinet.
Third Phase: A national center associated with the cabinet was established to plan land usage It is
responsible for, in coordination with different ministries, to locate state lands and prepare the
general planning for its usage. Then presidential decrees are issued concerning its allocation after
the cabinet agrees to the allocation. This center represents the planning technical center that is
responsible for defining the land usage for different activities and offers this allocation to the
cabinet to approve it to issue a presidential decree about it.

3. Key actors hierarchy of urban planning polices in Egypt:

`
Figure 1. Key actors hierarchy of urban planning polices in Egypt

The key actors involved the implementation of polices aiming at managing urban expansion in
existing cities according to the current legal and institutional framework are:

a) Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC) is mandated with the

preparation of the state general plan and the follow-up of its implementation according to Law
No. 70/1973. According to this law, the Ministry of Planning is expected to review and assess all
proposed plans and projects submitted by different ministries and only include those that were
proven to be valid from an economic perspective. The Ministry compiles all approved projects in a
coordinated and integrated manner in a draft plan to be submitted together with the draft state
general budget (prepared by Ministry of Finance) to the Cabinet. The draft plans are then referred
it to the parliament prior to the commencement of the financial year to be endorsed and issued
as laws. Once the plan is approved by the parliament, different ministries and other governmental
entities are expected to adhere strictly to it.
b) The Supreme Council for Planning and Urban Development (SCPUD) is chaired by the Prime
Minister, relevant ministers, and urban planning experts. The SCPUD is mandated (among other
functions) to:
i) Adopt general goals and policies for planning and urban development at the national level.
ii) Coordinate between ministries and bodies concerned with urban development and state land
use.
iii) Suggest and to express opinion regarding draft laws pertaining to urban development.
iv) Evaluate the general results of implementing the national strategic plan, the regional strategic
plans.
v) Approve the strategic plans for national and regional urban development and governorate
plans.
c) The National Center for Planning the State Lands Usages (NCPSLU) is mandated according to
the Presidential Decree No. 153/2001 to (among others):
i) Count and reform state lands outside the reins and prepare the general planning for their
development within the framework of the general policy of the country.
ii) Prepare maps of the uses of the state lands outside the reins for all purposes in coordination
with the Ministry of Defense.
iii) Give each ministry the maps of the lands specified for uses of its activities; each ministry will
have complete and free authority in the specialization and the supervision of the uses of these
lands and how to develop them.
iv) Restrict and handle annual programs of the development and uses of the lands of each
ministry and budgeting the revenues and expenditures of these developments.

vii) Coordinate between ministries concerning land pricing rules, the system of their sale and the
collection of their value and organizing their protection.
d) The GOPP and its regional offices: The GOPP is the state agency responsible for developing the
general policy for planning and sustainable urban development. The GOPP prepares the reports
to the Minster of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Development and acts as the technical secretariat
of the SCPUD. The GOPP also has a mandate to:
i) Develop the national program for the preparation of strategic plans for urban development on
the different levels.
ii) Prepare the strategic plans for urban development on the national, regional, and governorate
levels as well as the general strategic plans for cities and villages.
iii) Review, endorse, and monitor the implementation of general strategic plans for cities and
villages and their urban areas.
iv) Improve and develop the capabilities of the urban planning departments in local units.
v) Develop the implementation mechanisms of the strategic plans for the different levels and
detailed plans.
The GOPP has regional offices in each of the seven economic regions. These centers are
responsible for undertaking the competencies of GOPP in the region and provide technical
assistance to the General Planning and Urban Development Departments at the governorate
level. The Center shall also follow-up the preparation and implementation of city and village plans
in such governorates.
e)Regional Centre for Urban Planning and Development (Centre) at each economic region
should be founded, following the GOPP, to carry out its competences in the region. Such regional
centers shall provide the technical support to the General Departments for Urban Planning and
Development at the governorates of the region. Moreover, the Centre will follow up the
preparation and implementation of the general strategic plans of the governorates. It will also
prepare the guidelines of the city in accordance with the framework of the detailed plan.
f)General Department for Urban Planning and Development (Department) shall be established
at each governorate to prepare the detailed plans in accordance with the specific building
requirements, land use indications, and the programs and priorities of the Strategic Plan of the
city. The detailed plan shall be drafted by experts, consultants, engineering and consultancy
bodies and offices registered at the GOPP, under the supervision of the Centre. Afterward, the
Governorate executive council in cooperation with the GOPP, through its regional centers, will
prepare the local urban objectives and policies, following the needs determined by the local
popular council.

g) The heads of the Local Administrative Units (LAUs): Egypt has five types of LAUs. They are the
governorate, the city region or the district (Markaz), the city, the neighborhood or the urban
district (Hay), and the local village administration. For each of these units, there is an appointed
civil servant who is responsible for heading its executive council and insuring the proper
implementation and provision of the different services. The Governor is the head of the LAU at
the governorate level and is appointed by the president. The accountability line between the
heads of LAUs is hierarchal whereby the head of the lower LAU reports to the higher. In each
governorate there is a GDPUD which is mandated to prepare detailed plans for cities and villages,
through experts and consultants that are registered at the GOPP. The head of this department
reports to the governor.
h) The Local Popular Councils (LPCs): For each LAU, there is a LPC which is formed from directly
elected representatives. The main function of the LPC is to hold the executives accountable for
the delivery of the basic services and infrastructure in accordance with the competencies granted
for each LAU. They are also responsible for approving the proposed budget and the proposed
socio-economic plan of their administrative unit, as well as the detailed plans, including the plans
for urban expansion areas. Prior the 25th of January Revolution, the vast majority of LPC members
were from the ruling National Democratic Party, which was abolished along with these councils
just after the Revolution.
i) The private sector involved in urban expansion over agricultural land is predominantly
composed of small-scale to moderate-scale constructors. Very limited efforts have been
dedicated to document the modality by which they function on the ground and the factors that
affect their operation.

4. The Planning Law and its Executive Regulations (Law 119/2008):

The following selected parts of the Law and its Executive Regulations highlight definitions and
issues that are considered important in relation to territory management plans and the legislation
which are used in Egypt:

Part 1: Urban planning

4.1.1 The National Strategic Plan:
As per planning Law no. 119/2008, the national strategic plan is the plan that defines goals,
policies and programs of urban development all over Egypt and illustrates the national projects to
be carried out and execution phases as well as the role of each public and private entity in
carrying out these projects. In preparing this plan, GOPP was driven by the spatial, economic,
political, social and security challenges that face Egypt and took into consideration the widespread developmental resources and components all over Egypt.
The draft project of the strategic plan for urban development in Egypt faces (quantitative,
qualitative and spatial) challenges for achieving future urban development and the required

integration of existing populated areas and new areas to achieve the best possible future
population distribution according to resources, natural wealth and development elements all over
the Egyptian populated area, and in a way that achieves social justice and contribute in curbing
poverty through creating new job opportunities in areas where development plans are suggested.
The plan also aims at reducing gaps in natural resources and wealth distribution among regions
on the national level, as well as among governorates of the same region. GOPP has studied areas
suggested for different agricultural, industrial, mining, touristic and logistic developmental
activities as well as centers for generating new and renewable energy and the available water
resources. GOPP then determined development ranges and the most important proposed
projects and services that can be carried out in these areas, the population they can
accommodate and the available job opportunities. Based on these studies, features of dividing
Egypt into developmental regions appeared.

Figure 2. Egyptian National Strategic Plan 2050

4.1.2 The Regional Strategic Plan:

4.1.2.1 Shift from central to regional:
The regional system means dividing the State into planning developmental and administrative
regions, each region shall manage its issues in production fields and services, leaving the central
government set the strategic planning and public policy in addition to implementing major
national projects and coordinating between the regions. Consequently, each region has separate
self-administrative entity with its own financial resources and administrative, financial and
technical entities capable of achieving its objectives and programs. The success of such system
needs in first place conscious political will and public acceptance as well as efficient leaders at
national and regional level (THE WORLD BANK, 2008).
4.1.2.2 General principles of regional system:
Regional system varies between countries. There are no fixed patterns to the regional system that
can be applied. The system should arise from the nature of the state: geographical, historical, and
demographic as well as possibilities and opportunities available in each region. Also, the
development policy of the State has its impact on determining their territories.
4.1.2.3 Determine the frontiers of territories of the regions:
Frontiers of the regions are specified through multiple foundations based on multiple approaches.
As well as the specific nature of each country that must be taken into consideration in
determining the regions. The following rules would be sound foundation for regional planning in
Egypt:
1. The region should own sufficient developmental potentials to be able to do self-development.
The role of the central government in this regard is the "empowerment" and support in the early
stages of development. The development activities should be multiple and varied. Although it is
possible - indeed, better that the region has a leading development activity to be as competitive
asset representing the development approach, such as: particular industry, tourism or specialized
agriculture or any other.
2. The region space and its population should be enough to represent an entity spatially and
demographically able to manage its own affairs. As well as the human base that can be
rehabilitated to accommodate new technologies in the planning, implementation and operation
of projects.
3. The region should include part of the current populated space and part of new populated space
in order to facilitate population distribution process and overpopulation resettlement outside Nile
valley and Delta. The region should also have view on Mediterranean or Red Sea, in other words
to have seaports in addition to international airports.
To determine the regions on sound bases, it must come after preparing economic planning and
spatial planning and merge them in a comprehensive national planning of Egypt, the potentials

and advantages of each region. Determination of regions depends on this map after specifying its
spatial and developmental features, population, potentials and advantages of each region.
4.1.2.4 Regions functions and legislative and administrative frameworks:
A) Regions functions:
Regions functions as a new administrative level between centralized ministries and local
administrations can be summarized in the following points:
Drawing and following up the regional plan in its different phases.
Planning, carrying out and operating new developmental projects in the region, especially in the
new space.
Providing citizens of the region with the needed social services, including housing, utilities,
transportation networks, education, health care and security services, and cultural and sports
activities.
Promoting urban life in currently populated governorates in the region.
Developing and supporting existing developmental industrial and agricultural projects in current
governorates using modern technologies, without reliance on traditional technologies.
Undertaking supervision and coordination tasks among different governorates in the region to
achieve a balanced and fair development that leads to comprehensive national development.
B) Administrative and legislative framework of regions:
With defining roles, responsibilities and functions of regions governments, regions relation with
the centralized ministries, on one hand, and local administration of governorates, cities and
villages, on the other, should be precisely defined as well.
In other words, the duties and tasks of each administrative level should be defined and work
should be accurately and specifically divided to create a comprehensive highly-qualified
administrative structure in running development. To guarantee effectiveness and sustainability of
this structure, it should be put in its sound legislative framework, that is crucial for applying
regional system or otherwise centralization will remain to be the only available alternative for
managing development and urbanization (THE WORLD BANK, 2008).
The developmental regions suggested in the GOPP proposal up to year 2027 are ten regions
with basic activities as follows:
1. Greater Cairo Region: The capital of the state that represents center of the government and
administrative institutions and services, other governorates of the region represent urban
extension. Investment activities are concentrated in this region and compete on the national and
international levels.

2. Delta Region: Agricultural and industrial region that competes on the local and national levels.
3. Alexandria Region: Services, logistic, industrial and agricultural region with developed
structure.
4. Matrouh Region: A comprehensive development region that can accommodate the hugest
possible future population and depends on new energy and sea water desalination.
5. Suez Canal Region: An international center for logistic services.
6. Sinai Region: A security and strategic border region that enjoys economic, touristic, industrial
and agricultural elements.
7. North Upper Egypt Region: A region for agricultural industries and exporting medicinal plants
and generating new and renewable energy.
8. Middle Upper Egypt Region: An agricultural, industrial and touristic region and a center for
generating new energy and seawater desalination.
9. South Upper Egypt Region: A touristic, industrial and mining region and a center for generating
new energy and seawater desalination.
10. New Valley Region: A touristic and environmental region and a center for generating new and
renewable energy.

Figure 3. Suggested Regional Division 2027

4.1.7 The General Strategic Plan:

In the planning Law it is mentioned that a strategic plan determines the vision of the urban
development, whether at the national, regional or governmental level, the city or village level.
This should identify goals, policies, socio-economic plans, development plans, and urban plans
necessary to achieve sustainable development. It addresses the needs for urban expansion, land
uses, implementation programs, and priorities and mechanisms and sources of finance at the
planning level.
The Department shall prepare and submit a report to the Centre on the requirements at the local
level for physical developments, proposed projects and relative action plans. The report is drafted
in collaboration with the appropriate administrative bodies, local popular councils, competent
executive bodies and civil society representatives, and has to be approved by the head of the city,
in light of the set of guidelines prepared by GOPP to create a strategic plan.
The Centre shall study the reports submitted by Department and design accordingly the General
Strategic Plan (Draft), through a body of specialized experts, consultants, engineers registered at
GOPP. The Draft shall be in accordance with the guidelines identified for the General Strategic
Plan, the limitations and guidelines of any included area of peculiar value should be observed. The
draft is composed of maps and reports, according to the guidelines issued by GOPP (UNESCO, 2013).
For the preparation of the Draft, the following steps should be followed:
The governor will prepare upon request of the authority the population, social, urban,
economic, infrastructure and environmental data; a map with the city boundary and the maps
required. The documents will be shared with the contractor in charge of drafting the project.
Studies on the current situation: historic development and land uses, identification of properties
of peculiar value, land uses and current occupation, typologies, building heights, population
density, vacant plots, unplanned areas, relationships with surroundings at city and regional scale.
Furthermore, economic studies that frame the natural resources of the site and their
development, the trade of raw materials and available resources, the identification of official and
non-official economic activities, the job opportunities, the role of institutions, the average income
levels and the trend of expenditures and all pertinent economic issues of the site. Also, studies on
the basic infrastructures including roads and electricity networks, potable water and sanitary
drainage systems, in addition to utilities and infrastructures. Collect social studies on the social
services (education, health, youth, sports, motherhood and childhood), on the population growth
and characteristics, on the social and economic structure, on the religious practice and places, on
the post services, on the communication services and on the security ones. It will be then
requested to identify the points of weakness and of excellence of the ongoing programs and
projects addressing different development field. This study should also identify pilot local projects
and initiatives to boost them and ensure their continuity (UNESCO, 2013).

 The studies should include a future vision for an urban, social, economic, infrastructure and
ecological future vision to be applied within a defined schedule, respecting the agreements of the
Plan. This includes goals, strategies, programs, priority projects, and has to be in conformity with
the report submitted by the department.

Figure 4. General Strategic Plan 2050 (Egyptian City as an Example)

The studies lead to the Draft that takes into account GOPP guidelines. The Draft will be
characterized by a strategic planning on short, medium and long term. Providing maps with
indication of:
a) Residential areas, historic places, areas of peculiar value, city centers, tourist, industrial,
vocational and commercial areas, areas to be re-planned, unplanned, expansion and other areas
that the planner deems necessary to identify. In regards of tourist, industrial and commercial
areas the competent administrative bodies have to be consulted to identify the matching projects
with their respective goals and needs. The project should include the mechanism, the
implementation programs and sources of finances for priority projects in the areas.
b) Delimitation of the urban area within a year time.
c) Land uses plan for present and future uses within a year time, with the list of activities
identified.
d) The planning and buildings requirements that identify the main urban characteristics of the
areas, in accordance with the intentioned population density levels.

e) Identification of building population and its relationship with the population density, heights
plus other buildings requirements that should be in harmony with the planning requirements.
The final draft version has to be presented to the public by each governorates department.
Received remarks from citizens, relevant bodies and local popular council have to be collected by
the department and addressed by the center within two weeks. The center sends the updated
draft to GOPP that in return send it to the Governorates for approval. After this approval, GOPP
completes the final revision, adapt and obtain the approval of the competent Minister.
4.1.8 The Detailed Plans:
The Executive Regulations of the Building Law state that a detailed plan for the area should be
prepared, with identification of building density in the framework of the general strategic plan of
the city. This detailed plan is prepared by a General Administration for Planning and Development
established at each governorate, through experts, consultants, engineering and consultancy
bodies and offices registered at the General Organization for Physical Planning.
On completion of the General Strategic Plan and in the light of its outcomes and priorities, the
Department shall prepare the Detailed Plans for designated areas. The Detail Plan shall be
prepared through studying population, labor force, economic services and activities, land uses,
environmental, social, economic and urban factors which affects the strategic plan, in addition to
detailed studies on the current and potential situations in the framework of the strategic plan.
Such studies include:
The applicable requirements of existing areas are:
Land uses of both vacant and constructed plots including current uses, natural properties
(canals, ditches). Existing utilities as potable water and drainage system, electricity and
communication networks, paved and unpaved roads, fire extinguishing system, with an
identification of all type of existing buildings and uses violations.
Minimum areas of lands and their dimensions, according to the type of use.
Recess of the front, side and rear buildings.
Conditions of buildings
Heights of buildings
Population density rate
Building density
Further studies:
Estimated land prices

 Location of educational, recreational, health, commercial, crafts, religious, services etc...

Network of public utilities: their locations and
potentials
Road networks: their sectors, pathways,
conditions and intersections
Traffic size and directions and public
transportation (routes and capacities)
Parking lots, loading/unloading areas in
properties and outside street boundaries
Ecological requirements and treatment in
terms of pollution, noise, etc...
Areas of public parks, green spaces and voids
Typology of the area to be taken as buildings
facades
regulations:
colours,
materials,
architectural features,
Zoning proposal (surface areas and boundaries)
Concordance of uses of interstitial areas
between the boundaries of properties
Ratios of areas cut out for public utilities:
roads, squares, green spaces and services
The requirements of the detailed plan shall be
illustrated through maps that indicate the
different areas, in addition to a written report
that varies in its form according to the city, and
including at least:
- An introduction that explains the purpose area
regulations.

Figure 5. The Detailed Plan of Cairo's Nile Bank

- Detailed regulations consistent with the city general regulations as mentioned in the GSP.
- Inconsistent land uses with the detailed plan, to be considered as existing violations at the time
of the preparation of the plan.
It should be accompanied by an identification of the building density, economic lands value,
permitted uses and services efficiency, utilities and streets in the framework of the general

strategic plan of the city. Each area shall be described in detail, with its boundaries, permitted
uses and structures, defined according to the requirements of each area. Moreover, each area
should have building regulations that harmonizes the area (dimensions, coverage rate, building
density, road width, heights).

Part 2: Urban Harmony:

The National Organization for Urban
Harmony (NOUH) has a domicile in Cairo and
at each economic region a regional center for
urban harmony to carry out its competences
in such region. These centers will be entitled
to exercise NOUHs role at local level,
providing technical support to the bodies
concerned with urban harmony and follow-up
the execution of projects at the governorate
level. The Agency will prepare project for the
areas and building of value and will carry out
the necessary works to preserve their value
such
as
alterations,
improvements,
restorations and structural works, or decide
on possible re-uses. Such works will be carried
out at the expenses of the NOUH in
cooperation with the governmental or nongovernmental bodies or civil society.
The NOUH is in charge of the following tasks:
a) Draw the general policy of urban harmony
and lay down detailed and executive plans and
programs with the competent bodies. And
also approve the general policies and plans.
b) Propose/express opinion in the draft of
laws, regulations and decrees relevant to
urban harmony
c) Lay down the basis, standards and urban
harmony criteria adopted by the Council. The
competent administrative bodies shall abide
by such bases, standards and criteria upon
issuing the relevant licenses

Figure 6. Examples of Urban Harmony Projects in Egypt

d) Conduct detailed researches and studies in the field of urban harmony

e) Coordinate with the competent bodies to guarantee the implementation of regulations to
realize the goals and objectives of urban harmony
The Agency has also the power to designate areas of peculiar value based on the standards and
guidelines set for the preservation. Nonetheless, the final decision is taken by the Supreme
Council for Urban Planning and Development. Standards and guidelines of urban harmony
specified by the Agency and approved by the Council will be applied for issuing new licenses for
buildings, for total or partial modifications of existing buildings, reconstruction, as well as on the
construction of urban voids (ex. roads and paved areas).
4.2.1 The Areas of Peculiar Value
The areas of peculiar value can be proposed according to one or more of the following criteria:
1) The area shall have a unique architecture, aesthetic value, road system or urban characteristics
that reflect a phase of urban or historic development.
2) The area shall include listed monuments according to Law 117/1983, or building of peculiar
value as inventoried by Law 144/2006 that influence the overall architectural quality of the area.
3) The area shall be associated with cultural, historic, political or military events, reflecting
economic, social, artistic or functional values or containing an established scientific or historic
indications or information in any of these fields.
4) The area shall be associated with very important event or figures that clearly influenced such
area along the history of the country.
5) It shall be the hub or path that leads to important uses, buildings or areas of peculiar value.
6) The area shall be of unique natural or cultural value for a group if present or past people.
7) The area shall have natural value with aesthetic features, natural forms or unique geology or
shall be natural reserve according to Law 102/1983 and Law 4/1994.
Within these areas no buildings, projects, movable or fixed establishments may be erected,
modified, heightened or restored, nor temporary or permanently occupied without obtaining the
necessary license. The Agency is entitled to create an inventory of the buildings and areas of
peculiar value and set out standards of urban harmony for their protection. It may suggest the
confiscation of buildings of peculiar value for public utility, issued on a resolution by the Council,
after compensation is given. It may request the removal of violations within areas of peculiar
value at the expense of the violator (UNESCO, 2013).
As for issuing a demolition or land clearing license or implementing internal modifications of
buildings of value, it should be respected whenever possible, the preservation of facades with
architectural value, even if the inner part is partially or completely demolished, with the purpose

of preserving a unique building appearance and or the balance of the urban environment. Special
care should be given to listed buildings, whenever a neighboring property is demolished, or its
land is cleared for a new construction.
The guidelines drafted by NOUH shall apply for the issuance of licenses in the whole city, despite
private or public ownership, including also pavements and infrastructures of public domain.
NOUH can subcontract qualified firms or professionals for consultancies or for the execution of
works, but in any case NOUHs approval should be obtained on any decision and on any work
executed.
Approval should be obtained before placing any art work in public open space, to ensure its
harmony with the physical surrounding and verify that it has no secondary advertisement or
promotional scopes.

5. Coordination and connection between national plans and policies:

Several ministries and central authorities in Egypt are mandated to produce national plans and
policies that have direct effects on urban expansion in Egyptian cites. The most prominent are:
the National Socio-Economic Plan (produced by the Ministry of Planning); the National Strategic
Spatial Plan (produced by the GOPP), and a set of sectorial plans and policies produced by the
different sectorial ministries and central authorities. To date, a challenge facing the Egyptian
government is how to ensure the coordination and synergy between these plans and policies.
A recent assessment was undertaken to explore the legal and institutional challenges that hinder
the coordination between these plans and policies. It was concluded that the framework
governing planning in Egypt (the Planning Law and the Building Law) is following two different
and conflicting approaches to planning. On one side, the Planning Law integrates centrally
between programs and projects, and finances their interventions through the state budget,
however, with very limited spatial sensitivity and inclusion of development partners at the
different levels. On the other hand, the Building Law spatially integrates between the
interventions of the different ministries in a spatially sensitive manner but with no clear
specifications on how their programs and the interventions will be financed (Nada, 2014).
The lack of integration and connectivity between these two plans results in the allocation of
investments by central ministries and agencies that might not be consistent (or might even be
contradictory) with the national, regional, or local strategic plans. In term, this will result in the
establishment of major infrastructure and investment projects in metropolises and cities facing
high density and the challenge of expansion on agricultural land.
The Supreme Council for Planning and Urban Development was established, according to Building
Law, with the aim of coordinating between ministries and other actors concerned with urban
development and to endorse the objectives, and general policies for planning and urban
development on the national level. However, since its inception, the council has not contributed

significantly in synergizing between the different actors involved in the planning process nor the
different policies and plans produced dealing with regional and urban development, and instead
most decision taken by the council were seen as being predominately operational.
The absence of contemporary National Urban Policy (NUP) was seen by several experts as a key
factor that restricts the synergy between the different national plans and policies. The only NUP
that was drafted for Egypt was prepared in the 1970s and presented to the Ministry of Housing in
1982, and has not been updated since.

6. The Main Findings and Recommendations:

In a way, any urban sector strategy in Egypt must start largely from scratch. Egypt has had
decades of an asymmetrical urban policy which concentrated on new towns and desert
development and which largely ignored progressive urban growth in the Nile Valley and the
dynamics of urbanization around existing towns and cities. Since 2004, the GOE has begun to
realize that new approaches are needed which are realistic and which aim to influence underlying
urban dynamics. Much work remains to be done, and it is hoped that this Note will advance both
the understanding of urban dynamics and provide a structure or framework for the complex
efforts which need to be undertaken in the coming years.
Unfortunately, until now urban policies have largely ignored the phenomenon as an intrinsic
dynamic of urban life. Urban upgrading is on the policy agenda, and there has been a welcome
increase of interest in some informal areas and better tools are being developed for participatory
upgrading under a GTZ program. Yet the upgrading approach treats these areas as specialized
phenomena, either focusing on particular pockets which exhibit "slum" characteristics, or in
simply redressing the shortfall in urban services in larger informal agglomerations. Donorsupported upgrading projects remain isolated pilots and "islands of excellence" (THE WORLD
BANK, 2008).
The Egyptian Administrative system has been characterized by two serious phenomena,
namely:
1. Lack of adequate coordination between the centralized ministries in the fields of development
and services, each of them puts its plans and its implementation in isolation from the others. This
phenomenon is also clear at the local level in which the activities of the various directorates in the
same governorate are not gathered with one administrative structure. This means that the
horizontal relationships between ministries at the central level and departments at the local level
are almost absent.
2. Performance at the central level mainly focused on finding solutions to immediate problems in
the short run. The Central Government has shrugged off a lot to make long-term plans visions
achieving the national goals agreed.
Steps of turn to regionalization:

The shift from excessive centralization to regionalization for managing development in current
and new urban spaces and achieving population distribution can be achieved through the
following steps (UNESCO, 2013):
1. Conclusion of the national strategic plan for development until year 2052 with participation of
the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation on the economic level, the Ministry of
Housing, Utilities and Urban Development on the urban level and the National Centre for Planning
State Land Uses for defining areas for different uses. The GOPP has taken positive steps in
preparing this plan and can be concluded within a year.
2. Drawing borders of developmental regions and governorates within every region as well as
defining the institutional and legislative system, goals and tasks of these regions. This will be
carried out in cooperation with the abovementioned ministries and institutions as well as the
Ministry of Local Development. This can be also achieved within a year.
3. Offering the national strategic plan and the developmental regions project to the society for
societal agreement and then taking the needed steps for presenting the projects to the legislative
authorities to be legally passed. This may take a year as well.
4. Carrying out the national strategic plan and applying the regional system gradually, starting
with training of human resources that will carry it out.
Some of the specific recommendations to address the issue of informal development growth
include:
1. Enforce cities urban administrative boundaries in Egypt, considering adequate (tahzem) zones.
2. Reduce fragmentation of land ownership and management responsibility: Transfer land
management responsibility, in which there are informal or squatter settlements, to municipalities.
3. Enable Governorates to apply sustainable financing mechanisms: Deposit all revenues
generated from land sale in squatter and informal settlements in a Special Fund within the
Governorates (e.g. the Housing Fund or the Development & Service Fund, which already exist in
all Governorates) with a delegated authorization from the center to reuse land sale revenues for
upgrading purposes.
4. Increase technical capacity within Governorates to start a long-term program to prepare
remodeling plans (new Khotoot Tanzim) for squatter/informal settlements and facilitate the
processes of land regularization and house improvement/reconstruction permits, including cost
reduction to obtain permits.
5. Put in place criteria to strike a balance on land sale prices between households affordability
and upgrading/valorization cost.

6. Benefit from past integrated participatory urban upgrading experiences in Egypt (with DFID in
Hai Al Salam- Ismailia, USAID in Helwan- Cairo, and GTZ in Nasriya- Aswan). Such programs
included: land titling, infrastructure & municipal services, socio-economic development (e.g.
health & education, micro-credit for income generation and employment for men and women),
and sites and services.
7. Apply global experience in sites and services in Egypt as a means to guide the
formation/growth of new squatter areas, and enhance the roles of the private sector in providing
housing and services.
8. Enforce the new unified planning law in delegating the function of setting urban planning and
building standards in squatter settlements to Governorates.

7. Bibliography:
THE WORLD BANK, (2008). TOWARDS AN URBAN SECTOR STRATEGY. Urban Sector Note. S. D.
Department. Arab Republic of Egypt, THE WORLD BANK - Sustainable Development Department.
UNESCO & Hassan Fahmy consultant (2013). Egyptian legislations in relation to the rehabilitation
of Historic Cairo. Urban Regeneration Project for Historic Cairo - URHC. Arab Republic of Egypt,
UNESCO.
Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, (2012). Strategic Framework for Economic
and Social Development plan 2012 - 2022. Arab Republic of Egypt.
Government of Egypt, (2008). The Planning Law 119/2008 and Its Executive Regulations. Arab
Republic of Egypt.
Myers, P. and R. Puentes (2001). Growth at the ballot box: electing the shape of communities in
November 2000, Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, the Brookings Institution.
Nada, M. (2014). "The Politics and Governance of Implementing Urban Expansion Policies in
Egyptian Cities." gypte/Monde arabe" (11).
Schwanen, T., et al. (2004). "Policies for urban form and their impact on travel: the Netherlands
experience." Urban studies 41(3): 579-603.