Thursday, October 20, 2016

Urban Sprawl: A view from developing and developed Countries

By Ebenezer Adaku,

Though urban sprawl is often discussed without a specific definition, the term generally, connotes development patterns that are undesirable. In developed countries, this phenomenon of urban sprawl has a significant attention with regard to how it is described as well as its impacts. However, the nature of this phenomenon in developing countries still requires attention and traction in literature. Therefore, this study sought to highlight some of the characteristics of urban sprawl from the perspective of a developing country by juxtaposing the Ghanaian and the U.S. versions of urban sprawl as way of also stimulating further discussions in this direction. The study found out that though there are similarities in the causes and impacts of urban sprawl in both Ghana and the U.S., the socio-economic conditions as well as cultural systems in both countries play significant roles in the evolution and perception of the phenomenon in both countries.

Accra, Ghana Tiltshift

More about urban and suburban sprawl:

The Status of Urban and Suburban Sprawl in Egypt and Iran

Evaluation of Urban Sprawl Speed and Intensity Based on International Urbanization. Example from a Mexican City

Applying a CA-based model to explore land-use policy scenarios to contain sprawl in Thessaloniki, Greece

Monitoring and modeling the urban growth of mid-size cities in Iran by Markov model: the case study of Zanjan City

A scale-adjusted measure of ‘‘Urban sprawl’’ using nighttime satellite imagery

URBAN PATTERNS FOR A GREEN ECONOMY: LEVERAGING DENSITY

Friday, October 7, 2016

Upgrading informal settlements in Egypt towards a sustainable urban development

By Prof. Khaled Dewidar, Dr Ayman Hassan, Inji Kenawy, Nourhan Magdy

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone,  now and for generations to come. This requires meeting four key objectives that are the social progress which recognize the need of everyone; the effective protection of the environment; the prudent use of the natural resources and the maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employments. Informal settlements are areas where groups of housing units have been constructed on land that the occupants have no legal claim to, or occupy illegally; an unplanned settlements and areas where housing is not in compliance with current planning and building regulations (unauthorized housing). In developing countries, cities are experiencing a real demographic explosion. This paper will deal with the problem of the informal settlement phenomenon in Egypt and the means of its upgrading by adopting the concept of sustainable urban development. It applies SWOT-AHP method to analyze stakeholders’ perception of quality of life and their relationship to sustainable development. Results revealed significant agreement between stakeholers’ groups of perception of strengths, threats and opportunities.


Backstreets of Islamic Cairo

More articles about Egypt: 

The Status of Urban and Suburban Sprawl in Egypt and Iran

Cairo’s Informal Areas Between Urban Challenges and Hidden Potentials

Revolutionary graffitis in the streets of Cairo, Egypt

Urbanization and Natural Disasters in the Mediterranean Population Growth and Climate Change in the 21st Century Case Studies on Izmit, Algiers and Alexandria