Access to Land Influencing the Urban Development of Egypt

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A B S T R A C T The paper seeks to assess the impact of access to land of Egypt on urban development in an attempt to identify policies and laws that can be categorized as a catalyst in urban conflict. Systematic review of Data on land tenure environment of Egypt, land access, land governance and tenure security, the actors involved in these processes, their roles, the land tenure related challenges they face and measures that can be taken to address these challenges was collected at country level. In the context of Egypt, Access to land is deemed with obstacles confronting beneficiaries and legal procedures that uncover dispute. By investigating the land tenure environment, conclusions could be drawn on how to improve the systems so that they can be used as development tools that decrease the probability of conflict to happen. Furthermore, by understanding how access to land plays a crucial role in urban development patterns, we can allocate recommendations for more sustainable developments.

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Access to Land Influencing the Urban Development of Egypt * Dr.MOHAMED RASLAN1, Dr.HANY AYYAD2 1& 2 Architecture Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt E mail: m.ramadan@alexu.edu.eg E mail: hany.m.ayyad@alexu.edu.eg A B S T R A C T The paper seeks to assess the impact of access to land of Egypt on urban development in an attempt to identify policies and laws that can be categorized as a catalyst in urban conflict. Systematic review of Data on land tenure environment of Egypt, land access, land governance and tenure security, the actors involved in these processes, their roles, the land tenure related challenges they face and measures that can be taken to address these challenges was collected at country level. In the context of Egypt, Access to land is deemed with obstacles confronting beneficiaries and legal procedures that uncover dispute. By investigating the land tenure environment, conclusions could be drawn on how to improve the systems so that they can be used as development tools that decrease the probability of conflict to happen. Furthermore, by understanding how access to land plays a crucial role in urban development patterns, we can allocate recommendations for more sustainable developments. CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2019), 3(1), 82-91. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2018.4685 www.ijcua.com Copyright © 2018 Contemporary Urban Affairs. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Research done on urban developments in Egypt shows there is a link between land tenure and physical and spatial characteristics of developments. The UN-Habitat (2007) in their research on the condition of informal settlements in Egypt identified land tenure systems as one of the factors contributing to informal settlements in the country. The report highlighted unclear tenure relations where multiple interests on one piece of land held by different people as a major limitation to development control and direct cause for urban conflict. Johannsen (2008) investigated informal mechanisms of accessing land in informal settlements in Cairo. His study focused on behavior patterns of key actors involved in land access from obtaining information on plot availability, setting of parcel boundaries to registration of rights. Findings of this research showed that informal processes of accessing land in Cairo are not disordered but are regulated by informal rules which draw from existing legal policies and customary rules. Yet, these policies are the main reason for conflict around multiple areas in Cairo causing the city to be contested. Although previous research on land tenure and urban developments in Egypt discussed above highlight uncertainty over existing tenure relations as a burden for land use planning, they do not illustrate how this has led to urban conflicts which leads a city to be contested. This research by examining land tenure environment processes under different land tenure systems clarifies the roles, interests, strategies and interactions of actors in these processes providing insight on the stage of the land development process in which informality occurs. The output of this research would be useful to (a) Institutions responsible for land management in Egypt (b) bodies charged with management of urban developments in Egypt (c) Civil Society Organizations undertaking various interventions on informal urban developments in Egypt (d) Institutions charged with land conflict resolution measures 2. Methodology Qualitative methods was applied in collecting the data needed to adequately address the research questions. Although quantitative methods were relevant, they weren’t applied due to the lack of resources and security permissions. Data relevant to the access to land was collected mainly through literature review. Review of relevant literature also aided in the identification of bodies involved in land tenure environment processes under the land tenure systems in Egypt from which information significant to this study was pursued through expert interviews. Responses obtained from expert interviews were transcribed and the questions as set in the interview guide and the additional questions that came up during interviews matched with the responses given. 3. Tenure types in Egypt Five main types of formal land tenure exist in Egypt: Private ownership (freehold) Freehold land is land registered with the local district office of the Real Estate Registry Division and owned by private persons or companies. The great majority of agricultural land is privately owned, especially in the older, settled rural areas. All land not registered to private entities is technically considered to be publicly owned, although informal tenure of unregistered land in some areas is in fact considered to be quite secure. There are several restrictions on agricultural landholdings. Law No. 50 of 1969 provides that an individual cannot own more than 50 feddans of agricultural land (or its equivalent in uncultivated and desert lands) and that a family cannot own more than 100 feddans of agricultural land. The law prohibits construction of any buildings on farmland without a license from the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. Public ownership Land registered as state property and not leased to a private entity is publicly owned. Land under public ownership falls into two categories: state domain, which includes desert or unclaimed lands and is administered by the governorate; and public domain, which serves a public utility such as rivers, roads, military installations, land for antiquity sites, and land set aside for development. Publicly leased land Land owned by the state can be leased on a long-term basis to its occupants. These leases apply in a number of circumstances, most importantly for land in reclaimed areas and for squatters (by way of a request to the governorate). In reclaimed areas, lease rates are limited (e.g., at the cost of irrigation or at 6% of the total land value) and rights may convert to ownership rights after a particular period of time. Endowment or Al-Awqaf land Endowment land is land set aside by the state for charitable or religious intention and usually administered by a specific ministry for it (Al-Awqaf). The purpose for categorizing land as Waqf is to avoid subdivision and to eliminate conflict among descendants. The revenues from the land belong to the beneficiary; Waqf land cannot be sold or mortgaged. Encroachment (Wadaa Al-Yad). The Civil Code makes it possible for the user or holder of a plot of land to acquire ownership of that land if it is occupied constantly for 15 years without the owner claiming his rights (UN-Habitat, 2007). 4. Access to land 4.1. Introduction The lack of systematic land registration has become an increasing problem in Egypt. Approximately one hundred people are killed annually in Egypt due to land conflicts (Mahrus, 2009).

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