Urban Governance & New settlements

The transformation from government towards the emerging urban governance has been spread globally as a result of the political aftermath of globalization and privatization (W. Bayoumi, 2009).Urban governance refers to a shift in the role of the formal governments and massive redistributions of the former governmental duties among public, private, voluntary and household groups. This process helps to blend and coordinate public and private interests within the national context. Urban governance refers to processes of regulation, coordination and controlling the conflicted interests between the public and private sectors and different governmental bodies.


Therefore one of the most important changes which marks the shift from government towards governance is to empower the residents particularly in specific areas and neighborhoods. Thus it is expected not only the local government to be involved in the decision-making process, but also housing associations, local residents, private developers, market parties and non-governmental organizations. It is a pragmatic policy style, interactive public-private exchange, excluding the local settlers from participating in the decision making process or to engage with the local government. As gated communities are built on privately held land, they can formulate rules and regulations regarding the expected conduct of the members of the community.
Now, we can notice and understand the concept of urban governance in Egypt through the new trend of gated communities and how the legal authority have been transferred to persons or organizations. The shift towards private urban operation and management in gated communities is a new trend towards urban governance in Egypt. Such private governance within the boundaries of gated communities weakens the role of the state.

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