Understanding Growth

The change happening to cities today is not being dictated by planners, municipalities, architects or even its dwellers. The real-estate market has become the main motor for the change of the city. This has become increasingly obvious in Cairo, where the formal (planned) neighborhoods of the city are being collectively reshaped by micro processes of real-estate investment on the scale of apartment buildings.The research is focusing on the apartment building of Nasr city districts, and mapping their different building processes that led to the densification of Nasr city, since the beginning of its development in 1959 until June 2015. While mapping the simultaneous change of the patterns with which families dwell within these apartment buildings. The result of the mapping process is describing a wave of urban migration of the extended-family dwelling patterns outside Nasr city, mainly towards the desert city on the margins of Cairo.

The lecture will be on Arabic
Lecture by Omar Akl
He is an Architect born in Cairo. He studied Architectural engineering (BSc Arch) at “Ainshams university”, He holds a Master degree in Architecture (MA Arch) from “Hochschule Anhalt”. In Cairo, He worked for several Design firms; as well as, co-working at Megawra. His research fields are city growth and the housing market.