%0 Thesis
%9 Bachelor
%A Soeren, K. L. van
%D 2022
%F theses_frw:3925
%P 16
%T The infrastructural evolution of Cairo and the impact it has on Maadi and its residents
%U https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/3925/
%X In Cairo a great number of infrastructural developments are currently being organized and put into action in a relative short timespan. In Maadi, a neighbourhood well-known for being a green oasis of sorts within the urban landscape, the developments have caused dissatisfaction. It is projected that some of this green will be sacrificed with a new traffic axis crossing straight through the district. A street, famously boasting trees of more than a hundred years old, will be completely transformed into a highway. Some of the residents of Maadi are unhappy and have organised protest actions. Previous literature on social impact assessment (SIA) stresses the importance of regarding the social impacts of any large-scale project before putting it into action. This research aims to shed light on the developments unfolding around Maadi and their social impacts using the central research question: How do the residents of Maadi experience the social impacts of current infrastructural projects in Cairo? By attempting to shape an optimal image of the current situation in Maadi, this paper has tried providing a satisfactory answer to this question. This has been done by studying existing literature and information on the projects and through conducting qualitative research. Multiple interviews have been conducted; planners with deeper knowledge of the Egyptian context have been consulted and residents have been given the chance to broadcast their opinion, expanding on the opinions that the vocal minority had already shown. The planners have shed more light on the perspective on planning under the authoritarian Egyptian government, with findings including that public participation is only in place when it is crucial to prevent or bring a halt to protests, and that criticism on the government is not commonplace in the Egyptian culture. The residents have expressed opinions showing concern about negative effects, but have also shown more nuanced opinions, including putting negative effects into perspective against the national interest.