Stabl Antar Dream

Shantytowns are one of Cairo city’s major dilemmas and are always a leading topic of concern. There are 81 shantytowns in Cairo, with the total across Egypt reaching 1,221. Such areas house 8 out of the 15 million living in the capital. The dwellers occupy 45% of Cairo area [1].

Shantytowns are defined as the areas where dwellers have built their houses without license, either on their own land or on government-owned land. Such homes frequently spring up outside the formal construction zones, with no public utilities since their presence is not acknowledged by government. Moreover, such areas represent a major threat to the inhabitants and to society [2].

Many planners assert that shantytowns in Egypt started in the beginning of the last century due to non-compliance of the ministerial decree no. 29 of 1914. The ministerial decree stipulates that all the government-owned spaces that were allocated to public utility shall revert back to the Authority of Governmental Properties. However these spaces turned into shantytowns due to the absence of any regulative authority and the unprecedented urbanization movement witnessed in the second half of the last century. Such urbanization came as a result of natural demographic expansion and rural-to-urban migration. Many Egyptian cities witnessed accelerated urban growth coupled with a shortage of material and technical potentials necessary for managing and planning the surplus growth on domestic levels. Many shantytowns sprang up on the fringes of the cities, whether on government-owned desert or arable lands. This was due to the informal establishment of shantytowns on previous arable land, with no regard to the laws which regulate urban planning and construction [3].

These slum areas are stereotyped as a breeding ground and a source of crime, suicide, drug use and disease. However, these stereotypes fail to recognise that these people simply lack access to basic human needs in order to lead a decent life. With a bit of effort, those slum dwellers can be transformed into a productive workforce. A large part of this effort can be exerted by the civic organisations despite their limited financial resources; they can approach the dwellers, empathise with their problems and contribute to solving them. An advantage of the civic organisations’ involvement is that they are trusted more than the government (by the dwellers), especially if the organisation has been undertaking the development of the region for a long time.  A good example of such type of an organisation is Stabl Antar Dream.

Stabl Antar Dream Project recognises the extent of the suffering of Stabl Antar and Ezbet Kheir-allah inhabitants and strives to alleviate their problems and improve their living conditions.

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[1] Al-Ahram Newspaper, 2May 2007 page 1
[2] Last Hour Magazine, 12 July 2007.
[3] Middle-East Newspaper, 19 November 2005.