5 Ways Capital Cairo Will Shape Egypt's Future
MARCH 13, 2015
While Egypt secures billions in investments at the ongoing economic conference, a transformational vision emerges of the futuristic new capital city that promises to solve the troubling issues crippling its current capital. Based on the information released on the website that appeared online on Friday, we decided to compile a list of the five promises that will make the futuristic new capital vastly superior to the old.
A Diversity of Open Walkable Spaces
The new capital city promises 10,000km of pedestrian-friendly boulevards, avenues and streets split off into 21 districts with their own distinct character. Each of the city districts and neighbourhoods will have an open and unique community forum or social centre. In present day Cairo, clean green spaces to walk in are hard to come by. Looking to solve that problem, the new capital city promises to have compact walkable urban neighbourhoods that provide families with safe and green walkways filled with gardens.
A Sustainably Smarter City
Once upon a time one could argue old Cairo was sustainable. However, over time the population of Cairo exploded and with it a slew of poorly planned districts riddled with illegal construction; the result is a densely populated city that has become accustomed to regular blackouts. The new capital Cairo promises to take advantage of the sustainable technologies of today and incorporate into its infrastructure. Aside from recycling organic waste and growing organic produce locally, the new capital Cairo is eyeing the instalment of 91 km2 of energy farms, 100 km2 of green spaces, and the ability to make, reuse and conserve water.
A City of Diverse Permanent Employment
The reason present-day Cairo is over populated and largely unemployed is because it is one of the few job centres in Egypt as whole. This why people from all over Egypt come to Cairo in hopes of finding a job that can make ends meet. In order to persuade five million people to live in the new Capital Cairo, a promise of 1,750,000 permanent jobs spread across a 5.6 km2 Central Business district, a 4,200,000 m2 retail malls, 40,000 hotel rooms, and will include the creation of a new government administrative district. Strategically located along the corridor between Cairo and Red Sea, the new Capital Cairo will be able to provide linkages to significant shipping routes while boosting the economy on all fronts.
A Decongestion Remedy
Cairo’s infamous traffic is a symptom of being a densely populated city that decided to build up instead of out. By 2050 Greater Cairo’s population is set to grow from 18 million to 40 million citizens. Looking to entice five million people to relocate, the new Capital Cairo promises to build 1.1 million residential units spread across 21 districts connected by 140 km2 of major and minor streets that will provide a wide array of public transportation.
Entertaining your Lifestyle
There is plenty of entertainment in present day Cairo, however due to its sprawling, poorly laid out nature going anywhere can be daunting task. Hoping to build the entertainment district of the future, the new Capital Cairo promises to a rich mixed-use community filled with public plazas, recreational spaces, schools, massive retail malls, a 4 km2 theme park and variety of nightlife that is destined to shape this new cities identity.
Of course all of these grand promises sound like a dream, but hopefully this dream becomes a reality because Cairo is in desperate need of a rethink. Rather than destroy a city in order to properly rebuild it, it seems more logical and beneficial to build a new city of dreams just beside instead on top of it.
