Informal settlement upgrading policies in Egypt: towards improvement in the upgrading process

Abstract

The problem of informal settlements in Egypt is one of the most serious problems due to its economic, social and security impacts which influence the safety and stability of the Egyptian society. Due to inadequacies in planning, management and provision of basic urban infrastructure and services, the urbanization process is taking place in a haphazard manner with no control and regulation. The growth of informal areas has become a natural indicator of the process of the country’s urbanization. It is essential that at least 40% of the urban population lives in informal areas. This paper aims to evaluate the urban upgrading process in Egypt by taking the policy issue of upgrading the informal settlements as an instance in order to provide some practical actions and strategies that could help to advance effectively urban upgrading process towards achieving more improvements in the upgrading process.