Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
strategies to deal with these issues, and by suggesting mechanisms
required for implementation.
5. Maximising the benefit from Kyoto Protocol Mechanisms through
implementing Clean Development Mechanism Projects.
An energy code for BP was established by the Housing and Building
Research Center (HBRC) in 2006. It specifies the energy consumption of
buildings according to their use and typology. This was an initiative to
make buildings more energy efficient; however, this code has not been yet
implemented.
2.6.2.1 Strategic Planning for Cities Programme
On the urban planning level, since 2008, there have been a lot of efforts made
to upgrade more than 200 Egyptian cities. The programme, conducted by the
GOPP, started strategic planning of cities under the auspices of the Ministry
of Housing. A parallel programme is run and funded by the UN-Habitat
concerning small cities (i.e. 25,000-50,000 inhabitants).
It is important to note that continuous urbanisation of rural areas in Egypt
has created a unique case. One can find cities that are just villages in their
structure, plan, network and physical and social infrastructure. These cit-
ies comprise most of the Egyptian urban context. This is primarily due to
the way a city is defined by the government (according to population size).
Typically, a city is defined as a settlement with more than 25,000 inhabitants.
In other words, a village could become a city when its population exceeds
this limit; however, it will still hold its rural characteristics, way of life, func-
tion and physical features.
In the context of the strategic planning of cities, three main sectors are
studied: shelter and informal areas, infrastructure and local economic
development. Three other sub-crosscutting sectors are investigated: local
governance; environment; and poverty, women & vulnerability. Its main
activities include preparing a city profile for the sectors investigated, a list of
projects that are required by the city that represent its priorities, and a strate-
gic plan with these projects situated in the appropriate locations that shows
the road network, land uses and city limits. All processes are conducted with
a participatory approach where all the city stakeholders are involved in the
process of planning, prioritising and decision making. The final product is
the strategic plan for the city.
The environment sector is mainly concerned with environmental hazards,
pollution, noise and solid waste management and recycling. There is no men-
tioning of energy responsiveness or planning for maximising efficiency of
energy use. However, these issues might be tackled depending on the envi-
ronment consultant concept and the local context of the city under study.
Despite the programme's negligence related to energy responsive strate-
gies, it provides a unique opportunity to really make our cities green and
