“… there are many Cairos, and many other Cairos in metropolitan Cairo itself. Indeed there is Cairo, the city of migrant workers; Cairo, the city of informals, who occupy much of its space; Cairo, the city of unique urban pockets whose residents feel that they live elsewhere; Cairo, the city of gated communities and exclusive urban malls that transport their visitors to another world; and Cairo, the city of expatriates and experts who spend lifetimes trying to figure it out.” Nezar Alsayyad, 2006 The basis on which the city has been designed and formed can hardly be traced within the contemporary city. The clear division between; the outside and the inside; the public and the private; and the religious and the secular, no longer exists. The continous expansion and growth of the city has transformed its structure and mutated its form. These transformations are not just about a scale jump; it is also about reversing codes in the city. Previously invisible urban actors and spaces became visible. There are periods and epochs when the City stops working as a necessary counterpart to the aggregative pulses which push forward urban society; it stops being a necessary break from the over homogenous nature of ordinary urban space (Boeri, 2011). In these periods, the city fabric is turned into a collective tissue of isolated enclaves. The processes of fragmentation, through numerous small activities, dilute the value of human relationships and construct these enclaves where there is no social or cultural variety. They grow parallel to each other forming heterotopias (Foucault, 1967), each one identifying its own borders, and containing a certain life and nature. These heterotopias act as test beds for change. They are the places in which new ideologies are experimented and developed into norms and laws to be then practiced across the entire city. Their diverse typo-morphological characteristics reflect economical, social and cultural isolation. They house communities of homogenous race and ethnic backgrounds holding their traditions and performing them within a contemporary urban environment, forming ‘a city within the city’. This weakens the relationships between different communities and transforms differences of identity and culture into physical barriers. Eventually, these fragmented enclaves interconnect to create a Parallel City. This Parallel city does not oppose itself to the cities where they evolve; it tends, on the other hand, to erode it from within. Without making big gestures, it moves quietly and often invisibly within the mechanisms of reproduction of contemporary urban space; it breaks down connections, and unties knots, it compromises the very workings of the city.(Boeri, 2011) One of the cities, which exemplify the evolution of parallel cities, is Cairo. The city of Cairo, like all global-megacities, is entrenched in processes of globalization where flows of labor, capital and information are re-shaping its physical boundaries as well as the structure of the city. The city has quadrupled in size in the last 50 years, and with continuous and expeditious forces of transformation, the city landscape has been completely altered. The very definition of the city is quite ambivalent in Cairo today. The growth, of the city has been associated with the emergence of these heterotopic enclaves, addressing new forms of exclusion and segregation, through the creation of new neighborhoods to house the poor and others to house the rich, fulfilling the needs forced by the adopted neo-liberal economy. These heterotopias have grown overtime to be the norm, not the exception, creating complete independent parallel cities. Cairo is now composed of three parallel cities, each representing an isolated system, with a different social, cultural and economic structure. First, the Formal city, it can be identified as the original multi-layered capital, along the Nile valley, with its heterogeneous fabric and diverse communities. Second, the Informal city, which is basically composed of urban aggregates that sprawled along the formal city periphery, to contain the housing needs of the poor and the immigrants from the countryside, who could not afford an alternative place at the capital. It is a very structured entity, yet illegally built on agricultural and state-owned lands. Finally, the Desert City – which was originally constructed as the government solution for the extensive increase in population in the form of New Towns in the deserts around the capital, but eventually it was turned into a collection of gated communities for the city elites. These three parallel cities have worked on further segregation of the city and deepening the socio-economic gaps between the different communities. However, the investigation of the patterns, processes and logics of each of the parallel cities is essential to develop a comprehensive understanding of the physical and spatial transformations in the city and thus propose methodologies for intervention. The thesis is meant to explore the theme of the parallel city with a special focus on the phenomenon of the informal parallel city, as it presents a unique experience, and played an essential role in the city transformation processes. The informal city occupies around a third of Cairo’s territory (excluding the desert New Towns) and houses two thirds of Cairo’s population. The relation between the formal and the informal cities represents the majority of the conflict the city experiences, especially with current changes in the balance of powers, with the 25th of January Revolution. This continuously changing atmosphere allowed the emergence of new urban orders, which requires a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of the parallel city and a re-thinking of the current practices.
“... ci sono molte Cairo, e molte altre Cairo nella stessa città metropolitana. Infatti c’è Cairo, la città dei lavoratori migranti; Cairo, la città informale, che occupa molto del suo spazio; Cairo, la città delle parti urbane i cui residenti hanno la sensazione di vivere altrove; Cairo, la città delle gated communities e dei centri commerciali esclusivi che trasportano i loro utenti in un altro mondo; e Cairo, la città degli espatriati e degli esperti che hanno speso le proprie vite nel tentativo di comprenderla”. Nezar Alsayyad, 2006 Le basi sulle quali la città è stata progettata e costruita possono essere individuate con grande fatica nella città contemporanea. La chiara divisione tra interno ed esterno, pubblico e privato, religioso e profano, non sussiste più. La continua espansione e l’incessante crescita della città ha trasformato la sua struttura e mutato la sua forma. Queste trasformazioni non interessano una sola scala di riferimento, e questo determina una inversione dei codici nella città. Attori e spazi urbani precedentemente invisibili sono diventati visibili. Ci sono periodi ed epoche in cui la città cessa di lavorare, come una necessaria controparte agli impulsi aggregativi che fanno avanzare la società urbana; scompare quella necessaria pausa dalla natura omogenea dello spazio urbano (Boeri, 2011). In questi periodi, il tessuto urbano è trasformato in un tessuto collettivo costituito da recinti isolati. Il processo di frammentazione, attraverso numerose piccole attività, diluisce il valore delle relazioni umane e costruisce questi recinti dove non c’è varietà né sociale né culturale. Questi crescono l’uno parallelamente all’altro determinando eterotopie (Foucault, 1967), ciascuna delle quale definisce i suoi propri margini, all’interno dei quali sono contenute una certa vita e una certa natura. Queste eterotopie agiscono in qualità di banchi di prova per futuri cambiamenti. Si tratta di luoghi in cui nuove ideologie sono sperimentate e sviluppate sotto forma di norme e leggi tali da essere praticate sull’intera città. Le loro diverse caratteristiche tipologiche e morfologiche riflettono il loro isolamento economico, sociale e culturale. Esse ospitano comunità di razze ed etnie omogenee, che posseggono le proprie tradizioni e le osservano all’interno dell’ambiente urbano contemporaneo, determinando “una città nella città”. Questo indebolisce le relazioni tra le differenti comunità e trasforma le differenze, identitarie e culturali, in barriere fisiche. Infine, questi recinti frammentati concorrono alla definizione di una Città Parallela. Questa Città Parallela non si oppone alle città in cui essa si definisce, ma allo stesso tempo questa tende a eroderla dal suo stesso interno. Senza intervenire attraverso grandi gesti, agisce silenziosamente e spesso in maniera invisibile all’interno dei meccanismi di riproduzione degli spazi urbani contemporanei; interrompe connessioni, e scioglie nodi, compromettendo il funzionamento della città (Boeri, 2011). Una delle città in grado di esemplificare l’evoluzione delle città parallele è il Cairo. La città del Cairo, come tutte le megalopoli globali, è interessata da consolidati processi di globalizzazione: flussi di lavoro, capitale e informazione stanno ri-definendo i suoi contorni fisici, così come la struttura complessiva della città. La città ha quadruplicato la propria estensione negli ultimi 50 anni, e attraverso continue e veloci trasformazioni, il paesaggio urbano è stato completamente alterato. La definizione della città è piuttosto ambigua al Cairo oggi. La crescita della città è stata associata alla emergenza di questi recinti eterotopici, raggiungendo nuove forme di esclusione e segregazione, attraverso la creazione di nuovi quartieri per accogliere i poveri e altri per i ricchi, soddisfacendo i bisogni indotti dall’adozione dell’economia neo-liberale. Queste eterotopie sono cresciute nel tempo a tal punto da diventare la norma, non l’eccezione, definendo città parallele completamente indipendenti. Il Cairo è oggi composta da tre città parallele, ciascuna identificabile con un sistema isolato, con una differente struttura sociale, culturale ed economica. La prima, la città Formale, può essere identificata con l’originale capitale caratterizzata da successivi strati sovrapposti lungo la valle del Nilo, con i suoi tessuti eterogenei e le sue diverse comunità. La seconda, la città Informale, è composta sostanzialmente da aggregati urbani diffusi attorno alla periferia della città formale, al fine di contenere le abitazioni per i poveri e per gli immigranti provenienti dalle campagne, che non possono permettersi un luogo alternativo all’interno della capitale. Si tratta di una entità molto strutturata, sebbene edificata illegalmente su terreni agricoli o di proprietà dello stato. Infine, la Città Deserto (o la città deserta?), che è stata originariamente costruita quale soluzione governativa all’incremento di popolazione, nella forma delle New Towns, nel deserto attorno alla capitale, ma che è stata, in un successivo momento, trasformata in una serie di gated communities per le elites della città. Queste tre città parallele hanno contribuito alla segregazione della città e all’incremento del divario socio-economico tra le differenti comunità. Tuttavia, l’investigazione delle trame, dei processi, e delle logiche di ciascuna delle città parallele è essenziale al fine di sviluppare una comprensione complessiva delle trasformazioni, fisiche e spaziali, in atto nella città, e quindi di proporre metodologie di intervento. La tesi intende esplorare il tema della città parallela con una particolare attenzione al fenomeno della città informale dal momento che presenta una esperienza unica e gioca un ruolo essenziale nei processi di trasformazione urbana. La città informale occupa all’incirca un terzo del territorio del Cairo (escludendo le New Towns situate nel deserto) e ospita due terzi della popolazione del Cairo. La relazione tra la città formale e quella informale rappresenta la maggior parte del conflitto dell’esperienza urbana specialmente con il sopraggiungere dei cambiamenti a cui stiamo assistendo negli equilibri di potere, con la rivoluzione del 25 di gennaio. Questa atmosfera di continuo cambiamento permette l’emergenza di nuovi ordini urbani, che richiedono una più approfondita comprensione del fenomeno della città parallela e un ripensamento delle pratiche correnti.
The parallel city : a proposal for reconnecting the formal and the informal cities. The case of greater Cairo
ELGENDY, NOHEIR
Abstract
“… there are many Cairos, and many other Cairos in metropolitan Cairo itself. Indeed there is Cairo, the city of migrant workers; Cairo, the city of informals, who occupy much of its space; Cairo, the city of unique urban pockets whose residents feel that they live elsewhere; Cairo, the city of gated communities and exclusive urban malls that transport their visitors to another world; and Cairo, the city of expatriates and experts who spend lifetimes trying to figure it out.” Nezar Alsayyad, 2006 The basis on which the city has been designed and formed can hardly be traced within the contemporary city. The clear division between; the outside and the inside; the public and the private; and the religious and the secular, no longer exists. The continous expansion and growth of the city has transformed its structure and mutated its form. These transformations are not just about a scale jump; it is also about reversing codes in the city. Previously invisible urban actors and spaces became visible. There are periods and epochs when the City stops working as a necessary counterpart to the aggregative pulses which push forward urban society; it stops being a necessary break from the over homogenous nature of ordinary urban space (Boeri, 2011). In these periods, the city fabric is turned into a collective tissue of isolated enclaves. The processes of fragmentation, through numerous small activities, dilute the value of human relationships and construct these enclaves where there is no social or cultural variety. They grow parallel to each other forming heterotopias (Foucault, 1967), each one identifying its own borders, and containing a certain life and nature. These heterotopias act as test beds for change. They are the places in which new ideologies are experimented and developed into norms and laws to be then practiced across the entire city. Their diverse typo-morphological characteristics reflect economical, social and cultural isolation. They house communities of homogenous race and ethnic backgrounds holding their traditions and performing them within a contemporary urban environment, forming ‘a city within the city’. This weakens the relationships between different communities and transforms differences of identity and culture into physical barriers. Eventually, these fragmented enclaves interconnect to create a Parallel City. This Parallel city does not oppose itself to the cities where they evolve; it tends, on the other hand, to erode it from within. Without making big gestures, it moves quietly and often invisibly within the mechanisms of reproduction of contemporary urban space; it breaks down connections, and unties knots, it compromises the very workings of the city.(Boeri, 2011) One of the cities, which exemplify the evolution of parallel cities, is Cairo. The city of Cairo, like all global-megacities, is entrenched in processes of globalization where flows of labor, capital and information are re-shaping its physical boundaries as well as the structure of the city. The city has quadrupled in size in the last 50 years, and with continuous and expeditious forces of transformation, the city landscape has been completely altered. The very definition of the city is quite ambivalent in Cairo today. The growth, of the city has been associated with the emergence of these heterotopic enclaves, addressing new forms of exclusion and segregation, through the creation of new neighborhoods to house the poor and others to house the rich, fulfilling the needs forced by the adopted neo-liberal economy. These heterotopias have grown overtime to be the norm, not the exception, creating complete independent parallel cities. Cairo is now composed of three parallel cities, each representing an isolated system, with a different social, cultural and economic structure. First, the Formal city, it can be identified as the original multi-layered capital, along the Nile valley, with its heterogeneous fabric and diverse communities. Second, the Informal city, which is basically composed of urban aggregates that sprawled along the formal city periphery, to contain the housing needs of the poor and the immigrants from the countryside, who could not afford an alternative place at the capital. It is a very structured entity, yet illegally built on agricultural and state-owned lands. Finally, the Desert City – which was originally constructed as the government solution for the extensive increase in population in the form of New Towns in the deserts around the capital, but eventually it was turned into a collection of gated communities for the city elites. These three parallel cities have worked on further segregation of the city and deepening the socio-economic gaps between the different communities. However, the investigation of the patterns, processes and logics of each of the parallel cities is essential to develop a comprehensive understanding of the physical and spatial transformations in the city and thus propose methodologies for intervention. The thesis is meant to explore the theme of the parallel city with a special focus on the phenomenon of the informal parallel city, as it presents a unique experience, and played an essential role in the city transformation processes. The informal city occupies around a third of Cairo’s territory (excluding the desert New Towns) and houses two thirds of Cairo’s population. The relation between the formal and the informal cities represents the majority of the conflict the city experiences, especially with current changes in the balance of powers, with the 25th of January Revolution. This continuously changing atmosphere allowed the emergence of new urban orders, which requires a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of the parallel city and a re-thinking of the current practices.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/74289