Students: Stefan Kindschi, Daniela Meyer
Location: Cairo
Date: October, 2010
Type: Research project, student work

The area of Bulaq el Dakrour which has between 1 and 2 million inhabitants is on the west bank of the Nile.  Stretching from Faisal Street to the Arab Leagues Boulevard (Gamiat al-Dual al-Arabia), it is separated from the upper middle class areas of Mohandessin and Dokki by the tracks of the Metro. Having been agricultural land before with narrow plots which are sold off by the farmer to people who want to build houses, the streets of the area are therefore narrow, straight and extremely long. The pattern of the distrct follows the old pattern fo the drainage canals of the former agricultural land and the houses are from five to seven stories high. Having moved from areas such as Saida Zaynab, Agouza or Imbaba, which became overcrowded in the 1980s, many of its residents work as employees in the ministries and are part of a broader middle class.  

With key entertainment nodes and business hubs, the central arteries El Ahram street and El Malek Faisal—named after King Faisal of Saudi Arabi—lead from Dokki and extend to the pyramids to the south west. The strip contained between the two spines are officially considered formal and the areas north and south of it are officially informal areas.  This topic will look at the interactions of the spaces of the two areas and the potentials that for example the Cairo 2050 Plan envisions for the area.  The Khufu Avenue plan which is part of the Cairo 2050 Plan has planned an 8km long diagonal axis of the 600m width that extends from Zamalek straight to the Pyramids will not only cut through the neighborhoods of Mohandessin but largely through the informal fabric of Bulaq al-Dakour.  

This topic will also look at the actual compositions that make up areas considered informal and the transformations that altered the agricultural landscape of the left bank areas and analyze the interactaions of the cosmopolitan spine and the compactness of the surrounding residential areas via a sectional approach.