Gentrification in Cairo's Informal Ashwa'iyyat

Abstract

In this paper, I examine gentrification as a global phenomenon through a study of the recent redevelopment of informal neighborhoods, "ashwa'iyyat," in Cairo, Egypt. I use a series of transect walks, unplanned explorations through urban spaces, which I undertook throughout Spring 2022. These transect walks covered a variety of neighborhoods, including those which had already been redeveloped, those whose redevelopment was in progress, those targeted for future redevelopment, and newly-built areas intended to house relocated residents. I begin by tracing the history of the ashwa'iyyat, focusing on the worlding discourses and planning documents which guide redevelopment strategies according to particular Egyptian urban histories and international urban models. Exploring the similarities between these Egyptian projects and other examples of gentrification as a global urban strategy, I examine debates on the applicability of classical literature on gentrification in the Global North to urban change in the Global South. I find that Egyptian experiences of redevelopment and newer scholarship regarding the roles of policing and securitization in gentrification point to a conception of gentrification that foregrounds a logic of elimination in an urbanized settler colonialism over classical economic models. Finally, I examine my own positionality researching urban change in Egypt and speculate that my researcher's gaze may in fact be a driving force behind this gentrification.