Live-work and adaptable housing in Egypt
Authors: Nadim Wafaa 
Published: November 2016

PurposeSince the 1950s, Egypt has been challenged by rapid unplanned and uncontrolled informal developments. These may be regarded as people’s interventions to fulfil their basic needs which are seemingly not successfully materialised in previous as well as current interventions. Building on the anticipated demographic and socio-economic changes in the Egyptian society and the consequent changing needs; the purpose of this paper is to present the preliminary investigation of an ongoing research project that regards the housing unit as the nucleus for autonomous mobility starting from the dwelling internal spaces to the nearest public transport. In this respect, informal interventions to adapt housing typologies to the various needs are explored, defined, and categorised to inform future developments.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory phase follows an interpretivist view, which regards reality as not being objective and exterior, but rather socially constructed – given meaning by people. Acknowledging this, a qualitative case study approach was adopted to investigate the perception and aspirations of different age groups and educational levels, including different mobility abilities regarding the efficiency of their housing units and the immediate surroundings – context bound to an informal area in Greater Cairo, Egypt. This investigation comprised two stages. The first was an observatory site visit to establish, define, and identify preliminary challenges; these were then verified and complemented through the second stage which involved meeting and validating stage one data with respective inhabitants. An invitation was sent to inhabitants through an active NGO in the area to gain trust and acceptance of the inhabitants. The invitation targeted different age groups, physical abilities, and educational levels.FindingsWhile developed countries are reviving and promoting the live-work concept, and are continuously thriving to adapt their housing and built environment (in general) to be age friendly; in Egypt, however, Government has largely provided housing projects which adopt a total separation between residential and non-residential activities. Furthermore, the mixed-use typology provided by the Government was arguably with “limited success”. Informal developments on the contrary tend to provide mixed-use housing typologies; in addition to informally adapting their “formal” dwellings to satisfy users’ changing needs. People and particularly the elderly do not consider the quality of their habitable environment as a priority (as long as they have a shelter for their families). However, while not explicitly acknowledging the problematic nature of their dwellings, specific interventions – physical and/or functional, imply their dissatisfaction, including their attempts to improve the spatial and functional qualities of their units. The results from literature review triangulated with findings from the case study; devised a conceptual framework which comprises subcategories for a successful realisation of mixed-use adaptable housing typology in Egypt to inform second phase of the research (not reported).Research limitations/implicationsThis preliminary phase investigates the breadth of housing units’ challenges and explores potential for adaptation. Therefore, a qualitative semi-structured approach was adopted to allow participants to express themselves freely. Furthermore, the participants are those who accepted the invitation to participate in the study, and therefore care should be taken when generalising the results beyond this bounded observation lens.Social implicationsThis research highlights the needs and challenges that need to be taken into account to ensure future housing typologies are adaptable and responsive to current as well as future socio-economic and demographic changes.Originality/valueThis work evaluates, defines, and categorise mixed-use housing typology potential and challenges in light of informal developments in Egypt. These challenges inform the second phase of this research to identify possible scenarios for achieving systemic “inclusivity” for future housing developments in Egypt.