Posts tagged madinet nasr

Resident Perspective: Madinet Nasr

Resident Perspective is a series of standardized interviews with Cairo residents to get their views on the city and their neighborhoods.

Where in Cairo do you live?
I live in Nasr-City since 1990. A district of perpendicular grid of streets that has transformed in the past 20 years from a deserted district to a high dense district.

List the most positive and the most negative aspects of living there.
The most positive aspect of living here is the availability of most services including medical, education, retail.

The most negative aspects are: traffic during day & night, lack of parking spaces, lack of sidewalks, the lack of a subway station, presence of parks that are not efficiently used by inhabitants probably due to the fact that they are fenced and requires entry fees.

How do you move around Cairo (modes of transport) and what would you like to see different regarding the future of transport in the city?
I move around using a car or a taxi. I would like to have the tram back (the tram lines are still in place in Mustafa el-Nahas st.), and also would like to have a subway station.

How does your district fit within Cairo? What would you like to see changed in that relationship between your neighborhood and the city?
It is accessible and well connected through various axes such as the autostrad, the Ring Road, the NA road, Cairo-Suez road, 6th of October bridge.

What are your top complaints about Cairo and what would you suggest to solve those problems?

1- Lack of humanly public transport .. Solving this issue requires governmental policies & budgeting providing more and more buses.

2- Terrible traffic all day long .. i suggest introducing back the Intersections instead of u-turns with traffic automated 60 seconds Signs instead of traffic officers, providing more parking areas & the most important in my opinion: introducing the one-way concept to all side narrow streets as in Heliopolis.

3- The lack of convenient sidewalks which makes walking in the street an uncomfortable experience.

What do you like the most about Cairo and what are your favorite places in the city.

1- The diversity of Cairo; within few kilos you can find almost all different types of lifestyle. 2- The potentials of Cairo; river front, historical heritage, fertile and a desert all in one city. Favorite Places: Azhar park - Nile front & Nile cruise restaurants & lately “Qursaya” island.

Do you relate to the historic heritage of your district or of Cairo in general? Do you think you have a good sense of history of the city? Would you say you are have “civic pride” or are proud to live in Cairo?

I do relate to the historic heritage of Cairo.. I wouldn’t say i am proud to live in Cairo.. I just love to live here..

Do you understand how the city is governed/managed? Do you think your community/district would be better or worst if residents from the community/district were involved in local government (محليات)?

Not until the previous parliament elections. Some inhabitants of Nasr-City have started events and initiatives that might be primitive but still a good start .. Also these initiatives have introduced the Child’s Park in Makram Ebeid as a public space for inhabitants .. The involvement of residents in the decision making process would be better for they know well their own complaints and demands ..

In the context of Cairo, what comes to mind when you think of these keywords?

Green Space/Parks: Azhar Park, Qursaya Island.

Gated communities: Ruthless who would pay millions to get isolated from lower classes.

Museums:  School trips.

Informal areas: Beautiful, full of potentials.

Downtown: Tourists, affordable hotels.

If you could move to another district in Cairo where would you move to?
Probably to Zamalek or Maadi. A Nile front apartment would be lovely.

*If you would like to tell us about where you live and share your views on Cairo, fill the survey by clicking here.

Resident Perspective: Madinet Nasr

Resident Perspective is a series of standardized interviews with Cairo residents to get their views on the city and their neighborhoods.

Where in Cairo do you live?
Nasr City (Madinet Nasr). A densely-populated neighborhood with many mixed-use high-rises (residential/commercial)

List the most positive and the most negative aspects of living there.
The most positive things about it is walkability, 24 hour accessibility to virtually all amenities, a relative sense of security, and a potential for the use of the small parks that are scattered around the district. Negative aspects include extreme overcrowding, lack of parking spots, not being connected to decent transportation (subway), and ugly architecture.

How do you move around Cairo (modes of transport) and what would you like to see different regarding the future of transport in the city?
My mode of transport is almost always my car. Decent public transport is extremely necessary for Cairo, I can’t even imagine how people will be able to use their cars in 10 years if everything stays the same in Cairo. Extending the subway system to give more accessibility to all parts of the city, even if at higher prices, would encourage people to use them. Introducing a park-and-ride system would encourage Cairenes to use public transit. Increasing the cost of parking would also discourage people from buying more cars

How does your district fit within Cairo? What would you like to see changed in that relationship between your neighborhood and the city?
The neighborhood is on the eastern end of the city. However, it is very well connected to the rest of the city and feels like an integrated part of it. Informal public transit and buses exist to connect them, but I would like to see a more structured and decent public transportation linking us to the rest of Cairo.

What are your top complaints about Cairo and what would you suggest to solve those problems?

Overcrowding, Pollution, Noise and Dirtiness. Also, the fact that we, as residents, do not have a say in how the city is governed. Decent public transit as mentioned earlier would help solve some of those, but also measures need to be taken to reduce pollution and noise. Cleanliness of the city and its streets definitely needs to be taken more seriously. The most important thing is to completely change the way the city is governed, Allow for electing a mayor, and drastically increase community involvement in the city’s plans

What do you like the most about Cairo and what are your favorite places in the city.

I love its almost 24-hour liveliness, its diversity, and the heritage and history of many of its areas. My favorite places are Zamalek, Maadi, and Heliopolis

Do you relate to the historic heritage of your district or of Cairo in general? Do you think you have a good sense of history of the city? Would you say you are have “civic pride” or are proud to live in Cairo?

Nasr City doesn’t really have a long history. However, if we consider it an extension of Heliopolis, as many do, then I definitely relate a lot to the history of that district especially given that my family actually moved from there. I have a very good sense of the history of the city mainly through my readings. I would definitely say I am proud to live in Cairo since it has an extensive heritage that is probably unrivaled in any other city in the world.

Do you understand how the city is governed/managed? Do you think your community/district would be better or worst if residents from the community/district were involved in local government (محليات)?

Not at all, and I think the district would be so much better if the community is involved in the local government. Electing a mayor is extremely necessary.

In the context of Cairo, what comes to mind when you think of these keywords?

Public Space: Tahrir Square

Green Space/Parks: Azhar Park, and the other small parks in Nasr City

Gated communities:  The American-style suburbia which Americans are starting to shift away from due to its sustainability.

Museums: Need to be much more presentable

“Informal Areas”: Don’t know what that is

Downtown: Beautiful heritage that is run down, needs urgent revitalization

If you could move to another district in Cairo where would you move to?
Maadi. This is a great initiative and I hope that it can reach higher levels of the city’s government since we really need to start involving our communities in shaping the city.

*If you would like to tell us about where you live and share your views on Cairo, fill the survey by clicking here.

Resident Perspective: Madinet Nasr

Resident Perspective is a series of standardized interviews with Cairo residents to get their views on the city and their neighborhoods.

Where in Cairo do you live? Describe your district.
Nasr City, near Wonderland.

List the most positive and the most negative aspects of living there.
A fairly walkable district/area, located on the right side of nahhas (so access to New Cairo where I work is very easy and ideal), still feels like a part of Cairo, basic amenities and services (thanks to cheap labor) is abundant-competition means one has choices, grid plan makes it easy to navigate/describe, lots of shisha joints around makes for great vibe during soccer games (feels like a stadium) negatives include the negative stigma to the district means friends very unlikely to visit, traffic can be impossible (especially the remarkably u-turn-heavy nahhas st.), lack of serious attractions (malls don’t count), speed-bumps-galore, parking, gated parks, unregulation of commercial zoning and the impact that has on traffic patterns/added friction (high traffic businesses on main road intersections (ex: phone operator stores, tawheed welnoor, large supermarkets, popular restaurants), placing large malls in residential and non-prepared locations).

How do you move around Cairo (modes of transport) and what would you like to see different regarding the future of transport in the city?
I don’t own a car and mainly move around using white taxis. I will occasionally use public buses or microbuses if I’m in a remote location. Also, will use the metro if it makes sense. I also find I can catch rides with friends most of the time. Would like to see toll gates or other targeted mechanisms to deter congestion at certain times of the day and in certain locations (ex: placing a toll gate on Zamalek’s entrances …and building a large car park to encourage walking as opposed to driving). Enforcing laws would be a good start, parking laws, trucks in lanes, minimum speeds, abolishing the MOI-MOD-entitlement-speed-bumps, maintenance of roads, accounting and rehabilitation to allow for microbus and bus stations/pickup points, the end of the isreali-style-checkpoints.

How does your district fit within Cairo? What would you like to see changed in that relationship between your neighborhood and the city?
Nasr City lies on the south east side of the center of the city and can only be described as a large and impenetrable district that is residential heavy and somehow lacks enough services and outlets for it’s residents beyond the very basic. It also houses a number of old school malls who still attract decent crowds. It’s uninspiring faceless nature perhaps is the reason it never evolved beyond residential. Many of the main road infrastructure accounted for the district but still traffic within means that accessing far away districts sometimes can be easier than crossing NC from one end to another. I wish Nasr city had a more inviting features that added character to the district (rather than malls that create an isolated UX that works despite/against it’s location. High capacity and comfortable public transport would also be a big plus.

What are your top complaints about Cairo and what would you suggest to solve those problems?

The strong force of normalization and the general rule of the mob in many situations (think bawwabeen/camera police/modesty police/shishaholics and the resistance to be different) The death of the sidewalk: many districts in cairo are very walkable but a total disregard to these has pushed pedestrians onto the tarmac and people more into cars, so we have: more friction for traffic, more traffic, less value for district street side shops (customers are mobile), less healthy population, pedestrianism becoming a status symbol (for the poor), the subsequent death of the public space The strange survival of the fence-everything-syndrome: I personally trace it back to the understandable need for it by Egypt’s colonizers. I can see how a security-centric regime (Nasser and co) happily inherited the fence-everything-from-the-external-enemy mindset. What I don’t get is why no one is questioning and seeing that we stop fencing parks, houses, malls, hotels, resorts, universities, communities, rivers, etc…

What do you like the most about Cairo and what are your favorite places in the city.

A lot of pains and constraints means a number of genuinely brilliant solutions surface. A strong sense of humor and sense of community (on a certain basic level) that one sees more in the less well-off districts in Cairo. Favorite places: Zamalek - Maadi - el Darb el Ahmar.

Do you relate to the historic heritage of your district or of Cairo in general? Do you think you have a good sense of history of the city? Would you say you are have “civic pride” or are proud to live in Cairo?

My family bought a plot and built a district-compliant building and I lived through the district’s out of control growth (and neighbor disputes for enrouching, proximity, endangering (heights, pile driving), and blocking views). My experience has been quite disheartening as I saw NC turn from a budding promise district to something akin to a lawless jungle. I’ve lived most of my childhood in the gulf and part of my working life in Dubai and seeing the power of coherent regulation and enforcement makes, coupled with unclear channels in Egypt to work towards fixing anything has simply meant I think of myself as a citizen of the world. I have pride in a mythical-model Egypt that partly exists.

Do you understand how the city is governed/managed? Do you think your community/district would be better or worst if residents from the community/district were involved in local government (محليات)?

In theory, and anecdotally through inference and what’s transpired on the streets as well as many stakeholders.

In the context of Cairo, what comes to mind when you think of these keywords?

Public Space: Tahrir.

Green Space/Parks: the Zoo, Azhar Park.

Gated communities: Kattamiya heights, New Cairo, Satellite cities, Marina and all the Portos, every university in Egypt.

If you could move to another district in Cairo where would you move to?
Zamalek - parts of heliopolis.

*If you would like to tell us about where you live and share your views on Cairo, fill the survey by clicking here.