Cairo, Egypt (2002-2007)

Greater Cairo is spreading more each day. At the same time, the old city, which was classified as world heritage by UNESCO at the beginning of the 80s, is continuing inexorably to become run-down.
Determined to check this phenomena, the Governor of Cairo became interested in the City of Paris’ experience in renovating historical sectors and by the procedures put in place for involving the population in drawing up neighbourhood projects.

Greater Cairo is spreading more each day. At the same time, the old city, which was classified as world heritage by UNESCO at the beginning of the 80s, is continuing inexorably to become run-down.
Determined to check this phenomena, the Governor of Cairo became interested in the City of Paris’ experience in renovating historical sectors and by the procedures put in place for involving the population in drawing up neighbourhood projects.

Linked by a friendship pact since 1985, the two capitals began a technical cooperation project in 2002, addressing  the urban renovation of the Sayeda Zeinab district. Through this specific case, the aim was to find the exact methods and tools best suited to renovating these old districts and involving inhabitants in the process.  

As partner of the City of Paris in this decentralised cooperation programme, Apur helped to define the studies and urban projects for the Sayeda Zeinab district. The fruit of this partnership between the Governorate of Cairo and the City of Paris (Department of International Relations), with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was a first, bilingual work, published by Apur, that presents the projects drawn up within the framework of the cooperation and shows how the redevelopment of roads alongside renovation work on buildings could become the starting point of a series of operations to improve everyday life and bring a new dynamic to these old and poor neighbourhoods.

Following on from the first publication, a new one was devoted to the outcome of a second series of studies, carried out in the context of the 2006-2007 Cairo - Paris decentralised cooperation programme, which dealt with the territory stretching from Ibn Tulun to the aqueduct that was undergoing enormous changes. Those in charge locally were concerned that these ever accelerating transformations be carried out within a controlled framework,  ensuring that the city retains its unity, respects the environment and contributes to improving the inhabitants’ living conditions.
It is the joint thinking and work of the Paris and Cairo teams, in response to these issues that the second publication endeavors to share.