Exposing urban sustainability transitions: urban expansion in Alexandria, Egypt

ABSTRACT

Based on a case study of Alexandria city, Egypt, this paper investigates the configuration, interrelation, and integration of urban expansion within the framework of sustainability transitions to enhance the performance of sociotechnical transitions. It explores two main arguments; first, to evaluate the recent urban planning innovations, and second, to raise awareness of the participatory planning model to enhance the involvement of the three pillars to better integrate urban sustainable development. It presumes there is a linkage between urban sustainability transitions and the geographical transitions. It further evaluates whether this linkage would benefit accommodating the rapid population growth of Alexandria. This research applies an empirical methodology to test concepts and patterns known from theory generating three scenarios from empirical data. Moving beyond the ‘niche–regime dichotomy’, this study concludes that innovative practices and vested interests are typically constituted in a dualistic manner and tend to incite processes of change in both.

KEYWORDS:

• Urban expansion
• urban informality
• sustainable transitions
• land
• informal market

Acknowledgement

This research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Taylor & Francis has been quite kind in covering the publishing expenses for this work, which we much appreciate. The authors wish to acknowledge Prof. Ramin Keivani, the editor of the International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, for his constructive comments and support on various drafts of this paper. The two anonymous reviewers’ comments were helpful for improving the paper, for whom we appreciate their valuable efforts and their constructive feedback during the review process.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. One feddan equals 0.42 hectare

2. A part of the planning process is concerned with the formulation of aims and goals and then their translation into more specific objectives, which might be termed plan objectives (derived from policy aims and goals) (Chadwick 1978). The terms ‘aim’, ‘goal’, and ‘objective’ are often confused, but the simplest way to explain it would be that you aim to accomplish a goal so that you can reach your objective. To reach this objective, the planner needs to analyse the existing condition of a certain problem by assembling and analysing the information that can be obtained from different sources, such as the actual spatial situation. This could be called the analysis process. In the analysis process as applied in this study, special attention is given to the dynamic character of new urban expansion, and, in particular, to the development of techniques that could be used for collecting information, analysing and monitoring the problem.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ahmed M. Soliman

Ahmed Soliman received his Ph.D. in Social Sciences – Urban Planning and Housing studies from the University of Liverpool, UK from 1981 to 1985. He is currently working as a professor of urban planning and housing Studies and was a former Chairman of Architecture Department in the Faculty of Engineering at Alexandria University (2007-2012), Egypt. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Architectural Engineering at Beirut Arab University, Lebanon from 2000 until 2004. He has published widely on issues of urban planning, urban housing, and informal settlements in several distinguish international journals and contributed in chapters in various books. He worked with Hernando De Soto twice, the first time was in 1997 and the second time was in 2000, studying the informal settlements in Egypt. Soliman is a chair of the academic scientific committee for evaluating the work of academic staff in Egyptian Universities for the qualification to a higher post at the Egyptian Universities. He is the author of A Possible Way Out: Formalizing Housing Informality in Egyptian Cities (2004), University Press of America, USA. His recent publication is “Urban Informality: Experiences and Sustainability Transitions in Middle East Cities”, 2021, Springer Nature.

Yahya A. Soliman

Yahya Soliman obtained his B.A from Architectural Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt. He also awarded his M.Sc. from the same institution in 2020. He has worked as a Teaching Assistant, Architectural Department, Faculty of Engineering, Pharos University, Alexandria. Currently, he is a Ph.D. candidate Design and Urban Planning Department, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. He also participated in international conference IST 2020 with paper titled “Urban Sustainability Transitions on new urban expansion Alexandria, Egypt”. Moreover, by 2022 he participated Ecocity World summit 2022 with paper under name of “Platform Urbanism: New administrative Capital City Cairo Egypt”.