Alexandria: Regenerating the city

Report of an international workshop jointly written by AFD (Agence Française de Développement) and the INTA International Secretariat (Lola Davidson and Michel Sudarskis)

Alexandria, the second biggest city in Egypt has throughout the ages shown its magnificence. Its recent development and rapid growth have, however, created urban constraints and weaknesses.

The ongoing impressive work of the Strategic Urban Plan of Alexandria City 2032, led by the GOPP (General Organisation for Physical Planning) of the Arab Republic of Egypt and its Regional Planning Centre in Alexandria in close collaboration with the Governorate of Alexandria, highlights the weaknesses of the territory (urban growth putting stress on the environment) but also its many assets (heritage, powerful industry linked to port activities, environmental assets, tourism potential, strong academic population, etc.), which sets a vision to address the development challenges of the metropolitan area.

The Strategic Urban Plan 2032 (SUP Alex 2032) Phase 1, which was officially presented in 2014 with no less than 1,400 pages of analysis covering all fields of urban planning expertise, proposed a City Vision for Alexandria (2013) based on a new Geographic Information System (GIS) encompassing all Alexandrian districts and covering 120 sq. km