I. Al-Khalifa Needs Assessment Conclusion

CPHC Project reviewed the previously mentioned studies and conducted its own validation of the results. The validation was based on field work and mapping needs of the neighbourhood. Focus group meetings with selected groups were organized in addition to informal interviews with the residents. Informal interviews were conducted during workshops, public events were organized by projects and focus groups with the women residents of al-Khalifa took place.

I. Al-Khalifa needs assessment conclusion

The main needs identified can be divided into 4 themes: • Housing conditions: • Improve dilapidated residential buildings. • Enhance open spaces especially paving and street lighting. • Infrastructure and utilities: • Resolve the issue of rising salt damp. • Repair and maintain the failing public sewage network of the area. • Improve waste collection services. • Improve and maintain the water network. • Connect the area to the natural gas network. • Services:  Adequate health facilities.  Adequate childcare services.  Preparatory or secondary schools in the area.  Open spaces and spaces for sports and recreation, particularly for women and pre-schoolers.  A community centre for kids’ activities, adult education, tuition classes, substance abuse and public health program as well as vocational training, particularly for teenagers and the youth.  Hall for events/celebrations.  Enhance local fruit and vegetable market.  Resolve mobility and accessibility issues. • Heritage and tourism development:  Well-maintained heritage sites that the community can benefit from.  Tourist services and signage to promote heritage sites, local businesses and crafts.  Small tourism-based businesses run by the local community.

It was found from the conducted mapping that a couple of undergoing development projects are expected to cover part of the previously mentioned needs. This should be taken into consideration when allocating services or proposing new projects. These projects include:

1. The under construction project of al-Sayyida Ruqayya new Mosque: The project is expected to include a community service centre, however, specific services are not yet defined. 2. The under construction project of al-Khalifa Heritage Environmental Park: The park will include; an education centre for children, a kindergarten, a theatre, a playground, a women sports centre, an awareness centre and urban farming plots.

3. The planned dewatering project for al-Ashraf street. 4. The planned al-Ashraf Khalil and Fatima Khatun dewatering project.

Also, some of the needs include wide scale interventions needed on a general scale of Historic Cairo, such as the sewage problem. Moreover, the need for a connection to a natural gas network is hindered by the deteriorated structural conditions of the neighbourhood’s buildings and requires huge investments. Such needs can be fulfilled on a long-term basis and should be included in the strategic plans of the governorate.

However, some needs, such as a girls only secondary school, cannot physically be allocated in the neighbourhood as it would require a big vacant plot which is not available. Such needs can be fulfilled through other solutions such as providing efficient reliable transportation means to the closest available secondary school, or opening up a one-class school within the neighbourhood.

An extensive participatory needs assessment study must be done in order to be able to identify the new service programme of the neighbourhood. The following conclusion is rather a guideline of what the neighbourhood needs. Any intervention should be preceded by indepth needs assessment studies to fine-tune these findings with reference to the proposed actions.

7.3. Key Management Issues

Issues on the level of the entire Historic Cairo scale were identified by UNESCO/WHC (World Heritage Centre) in the State of Conservation Report of 201751 and the report of the Joint ICOMOS/UNESCO mission of 2014 and 2019 (ICOMOS & UNESCO, 2014; 2019). Combined with CPHC Project area analysis (CPHC B, 2019), the following issues related to the administrative management of Historic Cairo in general were identified and should be addressed on a governmental level (legal framework):

• The management of Historic Cairo is rather fragmented between different bodies with no clear coordination. A joint committee with representatives of different stakeholders and identified roles would solve managerial issues and overcome duplication of efforts. • The legal framework is very complicated and diverse, usually implemented from various laws and administrative decrees. A revision of the laws in relation to Historic

Cairo should be revised and discrepancies should be overcome. A common document that is user friendly with a clear framework and clear regulations should be produced. • Lack of institutional capacity hinders efforts to develop the management system and results in a general weak management performance. Capacity building programs with specific management themes should be prepared and completed by relevant stakeholders. • The relationship between public, private and civil society is weak. Projects with social responsibilities and community engagement should be encouraged in Historic Cairo.

51 The factors affecting property were found to include: housing; identity, social cohesion, changes in local population and community, management systems/ management plan, water (rain/water table). Other threats included: dilapidated infrastructure, neglect and lack of maintenance.

• There is no monitoring system for management tasks. A monitoring system, and a post occupancy evaluation of projects and implemented tasks related to the Conservation

Plan, should be adopted. • The risk management component is neglected and emergency response protocols are spontaneous and specific to situations. Clear protocols and intervention policies in case of crises should be identified. • Funding management, either governmental or international, is crucial to all efforts in order to develop Historic Cairo52. Facilitating and encouraging the flow of funds and spending in Historic Cairo should take place, in addition to suggesting project packages that fit the Conservation Plan. • Tourism is often seen as an opportunity to create income from heritage for the local community. Historic Cairo needs visitor-oriented services. MOTA should encourage and facilitate the involvement of local NGOs, businesses and investors in projects catering to these services.

These general issues manifest themselves in al-Khalifa Street Area in a variety of ways. Due to poor coordination between different management entities, conflict over rights and responsibilities results in poor use of public space. For example, waste collection points tend to exist right in front of monuments or within the monuments’ buffer zones. Prevalent issues such as groundwater tend to be resolved in a piecemeal manner (for example, via local dewatering projects) and comprehensive solutions tend to not take the special requirements of heritage buildings into account. Vague legislation concerning ordinance lines – which have been cancelled by the regulations for Historic Cairo issued by NOUH, but still continue to be reinforced according to an earlier law – results in development projects such as al-Khalifa Park Stalling. A poor civic sense and lack of interest in public-private partnerships results in the complete detachment of large local businesses (such as al-Mahgrabi Eye Hospital and Hawaii Ice Cream Factory) from local concerns.

Observations such as these that identified priority subject areas are deemed to be of equal importance to the management of al-Khalifa as well as Historic Cairo. Answers to these issues need to be adopted by different stakeholders:

a) Issues related to the historic urban fabric and quality of space • Poor control over construction and demolition, and a lack of understanding of the value of unlisted historic buildings undermines the compactness and integrity of the historic urban fabric. This is particularly critical in light of the rampant demolition of unlisted buildings of architectural value and the construction of unsightly new buildings. All issued demolition decrees should be revised by Cairo Governorate and

NOUH in order to enhance the integrity of the urban fabric. • The lack of a clear maintenance strategy that is sensitive to the specificities of historic areas results in the dilapidation and ruin of buildings, as well as in the deterioration of streets and misuse of open spaces. An upgrade project for infrastructure and services

52 The investment plan of al-Khalifa District in the fiscal year 2019/2020 contains a total of around 9.6 Million EGP and is allocated for the following: 65% road paving, 22% street lighting improvement, 13% district building improvement and equipment purchase. To check the official website of Cairo Governorate: http://www.cairo.gov.eg/ar/Hay_AlKhalifa/Pages/DistrictPlan.aspx?PlCode=10

should be prepared by MoH in coordination with NOUH and CG, and in accordance with Egyptian codes and regulations. Focus should be on prevailing issues such as groundwater rise, waste management and paving and lighting, and there should be clear implementation, monitoring and maintenance protocols. • Poor oversight and the lack of a strategy for land-use results in vacant plots being misused as waste dumping grounds, or for socially unacceptable activities. This, and the presence of hazardous or pollutant workshops in residential buildings, is a public health concern. The quality of space is further undermined by excessive street parking and traffic congestion in main streets. Solutions should be devised in coordination between private businesses, relevant NGOs and governmental landowners, such as

MoE, in order to optimise land-use for the benefit of the community according to an overall vision.

b) Issues related to listed buildings (monuments and heritage buildings) • The lack of a clear decision-making strategy and monitoring mechanism results in a wide variance in the state of conservation of listed monuments. Some are in a deteriorated or dilapidated state. MoTA should prepare a priority list depending on the state of conservation and the urgency of intervention in order to distribute the emergency and regular maintenance and conservation work needed. • The lack of a vision for heritage as a resource results in a short-sighted understanding of the role of MoTA as an owner/guard rather than as a custodian of monuments.

Monuments and their buffer zones are underutilised. This is in spite of the fact that buffer zones, although under the authority of MoTA, may be used and/or owned by other stakeholders. Monuments need adaptive reuse plans in accordance with a needs assessment for al-Khalifa and the adaptive reuse guidelines prepared by MoTA in 2014. In the case of buffer zones, intervention permission from MoTA should be clear in order to avoid deterioration and underuse of the real estate property and open spaces within the buffer zones. • Given that the system for listing and managing heritage buildings is fairly recent, listing priorities seem to vary from one area to the other. As a result, the number of listed heritage buildings in al-Khalifa area is low compared to other neighbourhoods in Cairo.

Generally speaking, there is no mechanism for supporting renovation and repair. The listing criteria should be revised by the committee responsible for listing heritage buildings (under the authority of Cairo Governorate), and an urban comparative analysis should be prepared in order to list more buildings. Private-public partnerships should be established to support renovation and suitable use.

7.4. Secondary Issues

Other subjects were identified as secondary issues that need further investigation. These are long-term issues related to the protection and conservation of al-Khalifa Street Area including: awareness, archiving and information management, presentation and interpretation, education and research.

8. Vision, Aims and Objectives

In order to be able to set long-term aims, or short-term objectives, there should be a vision for al-Khalifa Street Area that is well discussed and agreed upon amongst all stakeholders. While there is not yet an overall official vision of Historic Cairo52F 53, joint ICOMOS/UNESCO’s advisory mission to Historic Cairo53F 54 argued in 2014 that planning for the management of Historic Cairo “cannot be undertaken from the basis of an acceptable status quo” as the situation needs rather urgent and immediate actions. The mission suggested that it is important to formulate a preliminary management structure and define assets as well as legal and administrative frameworks, and that during a later stage a clear vision of Historic Cairo can be drafted and agreed upon by all stakeholders.

Building on this argument and the fact that a vision for al-Khalifa Street Area should be coherent with the overall vision for Historic Cairo, and taking into account Athar Lina’s handson experience from studying the neighbourhood and being based in it for more than seven years, CPHC Project suggests drafting a vision for al-Khalifa neighbourhood that can serve as the foundation of the Management Plan, and that can be later integrated within the bigger vision for Historic Cairo.

8.1. Al-Khalifa Neighbourhood Vision

Al-Khalifa area is known for its shrines and mausoleums that attract local and international visitors. Moreover, al-Khalifa is part of Historic Cairo making the experience these visitors have a key issue to be addressed in improving the overall quality of the area’s inhabitants. This can be addressed through the improvement of assets including the local crafts, commercial and heritage related activities and the overall quality of the neighbourhood’s open spaces and historic fabric.

A vision for al-Khalifa Street Area was drafted based on Athar Lina’s hands-on experience and its relationship with the inhabitants that has been developing for more than seven years, as well as the extensive urban studies carried out by URHC and CPHC Project. The vision was used as a foundation for the Conservation and Management Plan. It can later be integrated within the bigger vision for Historic Cairo after discussions with and agreements amongst all stakeholders.

The first step was to define development guiding principles based on the extensive study of al-Khalifa Street Area. The second step was to draft a vision statement for the neighbourhood.

The development guiding principles are as follows:

• Ensure that al-Khalifa continues to be a living, contemporary and resilient neighbourhood with services and facilities that meet its users’ needs.

53 The drafting of Historic Cairo is currently in progress by the Antiquities and Environment Engineering Center at the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, and has been in progress since 2017. 54 ICOMOS, UNESCO (2014) Report of a Joint ICOMOS/UNESCO Advisory Mission to Historic Cairo and the Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara, part of the World Heritage Property of Memphis and its Necropolis –the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur, Egypt.

• Ensure that all developments respect and protect al-Khalifa’s shared values as a resource for the community. • Develop al-Khalifa to be an attractive neighbourhood to new residents. • Ensure that al-Khalifa’s unique value as a heritage destination for both religious visitation and cultural tourism is safeguarded, and that it is accessible, inclusive and enjoyable to all. • Encourage strong and effective private-public partnerships within local, national and international communities and organisations.

8.2. Al-Khalifa Vision Statement

Enhance the quality of life in al-Khalifa Street Area through protecting and promoting the shared values of its heritage and ensuring that heritage is used to support the vitality and wellbeing of the local community.

8.3. Objectives

1. Protect integrity and compactness and increase its permeability

1.1. Keep street alignments and preserve the integrity of the urban fabric. 1.2. Halt demolition of buildings of heritage value. 1.3. Regenerate and infill empty plots with needed uses and activities. 1.4. Increase permeability of the urban fabric. 1.5. Enhance the overall condition of open spaces and maintain them. 1.6. Accommodate services for residents, visitors and economic activities. 1.7. Improve infrastructure systems to alleviate the hazards of waste and groundwater.

2. Safeguard and rehabilitate monuments and historic buildings

2.1. Conserve monuments in poor or dilapidated state of conservation. 2.2. Encourage adaptive reuse of monuments and historic buildings. 2.3. Ensure public accessibility to monuments. 2.4. Create a site management and maintenance system for restored monuments. 2.5. Identify historical buildings to be added to the national list of heritage buildings. 2.6. Document identified historic buildings. 2.7. Establish mechanisms to encourage and support the preservation and renovation of historic buildings.

3. Support the local community in realising economic and social opportunities

3.1. Support and develop community-based crafts. 3.2. Increase job opportunities in services catering to both inhabitants and visitors. 3.3. Encourage visitor flows to the neighbourhood through visibility campaigns. 3.4. Create capacity building programs for inhabitants to acquire needed skills. 3.5. Document and promote the intangible heritage of the neighbourhood. 3.6. Balance everyday needs and visitor-based activities.

4. Enhance overall management performance

4.1. Establish a well-coordinated and efficient management system. 4.2. Enhance existing activities and optimize benefits from existing development efforts.

4.3. Complement current development efforts by emphasising themed activity hubs within the neighbourhood. 4.4. Promote partnerships between different stakeholders and ensure their efficiency. 4.5. Secure ongoing funds for protection and development activities. 4.6. Monitor the effectiveness of the implementation of the Management Plan.

8.4. Al-Khalifa Development Approach

To be able to achieve the above-mentioned vision, aims and objectives a way forward needs to be decided given the current limited resources and capacities. The development approach of al-Khalifa vision is building on the recent and current developments in the neighbourhood, as well as on the future planned projects by the government or those proposed by Athar Lina Initiative. The development approach is structured into 4 levels.