Changes of Urban Characteristics as a Function of Private Investments Residential Developments

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor Architecture Department Faculty of Engineering, Menoufia University

Abstract

As development of human settlements always reflects
settlements' function, economic and lifestyle, the analysis of a 
new phenomenon will lead to more precise understanding of 
reasons behind urbanity changes. The present paper is a multiple
convenience exploratory case study that compares between two 
private residential projects in the 20th century: „Heliopolis Oasis‟
designed at the beginning of the century and „Al Rehab City‟ 
designed by its end. These two units of analysis were selected as
being two of the most renowned residential developments in
Egypt. A document study was the qualitative data collection
method used in this research to identify similarities and 
differences between the two projects. The result indicates that 
they were both similar in terms of targeted social class, location,
marketing strategy and selling points used –keeping in mind the
building time for each project. On the other hand, a crucial
difference between them was indicated, that is „the gate‟: A 
major attribution of the private sector in housing market since the 
mid-1990s. The study proceeds to provide some evidences of the
rising of this enclosure movement. Interviews with developers,
residents, and public officials are used to address this issue. The 
findings will provide more information concerning the 
abundance demand for this new type of residential living in
Egypt.

Keywords