Figure 43 The proposed management structure of Historic Cairo by URHC

9. Management Structure

Management responsibility for al-Khalifa neighbourhood resides with Cairo Governorate (alKhalifa District) and the Ministry of Antiquities (Historic Cairo Directorate). Management responsibilities and strategic issues are in conflict as there is no official document that clearly assigns responsibilities within the WH Property of Historic Cairo. In principle, there should be a single management structure that organizes all activities and monitors its implementation in Historic Cairo. Al-Khalifa should be managed as part of Historic Cairo with its management as a sub-structure.

The UNESCO/ URHC Project (2014) proposed a management system of Historic Cairo illustrated in the following chart (Figure 5). Al-Khalifa management entity should be part of this hierarchy with a small workgroup consisting of members from the WH Property technical office, local government (on the district level) and local elected councils that are in constant communication with the local community. This workgroup should act as a channel that ensures the local community’s needs, recommendations and complaints are taken into considerations.

Figure 43 The proposed management structure of Historic Cairo by URHC.

10. Way Forward

This study is the result of Athar Lina’s eight years of work within al-Khalifa Street Area. The vision for the proposed development approach builds on recent and current developments in the neighbourhood as well as the projects planned by the government and proposed by Athar Lina Initiative. Taking it forward requires joint efforts between the government, the community and civil society.

The Egyptian government has taken an interest in al-Khalifa Street Area as a potential heritage destination, and is currently working on Masar al-Bayt (itinerary of the descendants of the Prophet) as a route for spiritual visitation. The project is in its preparation phase. Designs are being finalised and implementation plans are being developed. The project is led by Cairo Governorate with the participation of the private sector and civil society. It is being planned in parallel with the implementation of a Ministry of Housing project working to upgrade sewage networks and resolve the groundwater problem in al-Khalifa Street.

While Athar Lina Initiative is involved in the aforementioned development efforts, most notably in the implementation of Phase 2 of al-Khalifa Heritage and Environment Park, it is recommended that the proposed al-Khalifa Vision, and the findings of the Conservation and Management Plan, are incorporated in a wider vision to be adopted and implemented by the government. Cairo Governorate should be responsible for the Conservation Plan since it is responsible for the day-to-day activities taking place within the project area, including building permits (building, rehabilitation, demolition and reconstruction), open spaces (paving and planting) and waste collection.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities can provide vital support for the proposed Conservation and Management Plan, especially with regards to the conservation of monuments, the adaptive reuse of these monuments and their buffer zones and the monuments’ site management and signage. With the support of other governmental stakeholders (Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Endowments, NOUH and other governmental agencies), this Conservation Plan could be used as a tool in the safeguarding and development of the Street Area, as well as in improving the quality of life of the area’s inhabitants.

Further discussion is needed with the local community and concerned stakeholders concerning the outcomes and suggested interventions. Residents should have a say in the suggested land uses, especially when it comes to the services needed and the permeability of the urban fabric. Local NGOs can play an important role in involving the community, disseminating and discussing the project outcomes and implementing parts of the suggested Conservation Plan.

Local and international donors can play an important role in supporting the implementation of this Conservation Plan if approached appropriately. The involvement of stakeholders, inhabitants and NGOs is usually an indication to donors that there is an interest in the upgrading of an area’s urban fabric. A comprehensive Conservation Plan is another indication that a bigger picture is clear and in progress. To this day, the current project is preparing a number of project packages that could be of interest to different donors.

However, it should be emphasised that without the establishment of a suitable legal, administrative, and governance framework for effective public-private partnerships, participatory processes, oversight, monitoring and evaluation for Historic Cairo as a whole within which al-Khalifa Plan can be slotted, all efforts will be makeshift and unsustainable.

Last but not least, this study was devised as a tool to guide Athar Lina Initiative along its path to use heritage as a driver for development in order to optimise the impact of its work through effective linkages between its projects and other efforts to develop al-Khalifa, and in order to bring the people of al-Khalifa to the fore as primary actors without whom no work is possible.