2024 Reports

Greater Cairo Region: Urban Heat Vulnerability and City Structure

Khalil, Heba Allah Essam E.

Greater Cairo Region is the biggest arid zone worldwide suffering from increased heat stress due to both climate change induced incidents as well as its own urban structure and development trends. With more than 60 % of the city living in informal areas, the relation between formal and informal areas becomes pivotal in identifying needed interventions for climate resilience. The underlying absence of both distributive justice as well as recognitional justice is evident in the current everyday realities of the city inhabitants. This case study investigates current urban heating risks that GCR faces based on its urban structure (formal/informal) and the implication of increased vulnerabilities to climate change within informal areas. Further, the case study examines the resulting inequitable distribution of greenery within the city accentuated by a continuous diminishing of greenery and increased distributive injustice.