Revolts and Transitions in the Arab World - Le Centre de Recherche ...

ForewordThe 2011 popular uprisings in the Arab world widely affectedlarge and medium cities of the regions, at same time as theydeeply involved urban societies. The elections that followed insome countries (notably Tunisia and Egypt) could have adecisive impact on the ways of governing urban areas.The year 2011 put into question urban action from the past, asit was led by collapsed or disrupted regimes, and of the future.At the beginning of a necessarily long process, we still do notknow what result this “Revolution” will have. Nonetheless, itis already possible to assert that a new urban developmentmodel will present many challenges.This international colloquium aims to discuss the urbandimension of the great changes in the Arab world, from theorigins of the 2011 revolutionary episodes to the presentexperiences of democratisation, along with phases of politicaltransition and socio-economic crisis in which states are stillentangled. Our objective is to (re)consider processes ofurbanisation and urban practices, by the yardstick of thepolitical, economic and social issues relevant in the regionsince the beginning of the decade. Researchers in socialsciences and experts on Maghreb, Middle-East and ArabianPeninsula will compare their different points of view. Thus,this colloquium aims to contribute to the revitalization ofurban studies in the Arab world, increasingly more aligned toeconomic and political analysis.Five topics structure will be debated throughout theconference:1. The urban dimensions of revolts2011 was a major and unseen break year for many Arab states.The extent and intensity of mobilizations expressed a desire ofradical political change. Most of these protest movements startfrom medium and outlying cities (Tunisia, Libya, Syria).Beyond the coercive politics led by regimes, some of themhaving collapsed when the others are still in place, thesemovements seem to reveal the unequal development ofterritories, between as well as in the different cities.Do these revolts reflect the exhaustion of development modelsmostly based on the capture of land rent by businessmen closeto the political leaders?Do they reveal the frustration of populations disappointed bythe official strategies of development (economic, social,“human”, etc)? These strategies had indeed mixed results onthe daily life. In the Egyptian case particularly, privatizing partof the urban services and public goods has been clearlyharmful.This axis will be composed of contributions studying the urbandimensions of Arab revolutions. Thus, going back to the “prerevolutionary”mobilizations, concerning issues such ashousing and basic urban services access, notably in “informal”areas, seems to be essential.2. Living in cities in revolt and transitionRevolts themselves have been territorialized. They highlightedseveral cities that were very discrete before, on the politicalmaps of the Arab world and in the scientific literature aboutthe region: Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia, Benghazi in Libya, Deraand Homs in Syria, Taez in Yemen, Sohar in Oman, etc.2

Central squares and emblematic places from the local urbanitywill be bearing the stigma of these revolts for a long time:Tahrir square in Cairo, which remains the active heart of theunfinished Egyptian revolution; Change square (Taghir) inSana’a, so-called by the protesters, few kilometers away fromthe Liberation square (Tahrir), occupied by Saleh’s men beforethe great demonstrations of February 2011; or Pearl square inManama, destroyed by the Bahrain army to preventdemonstrators from making it the hot-spot of resistanceactivities. These places and territories hit the headlines.Strategies to bypass, control and take over them are worthstudying.The aim is also to present in situ analysis of cities in revoltand/or in transition, with contributions based on ethnographicsurveys about ways of living, working and travelling in suchsituations. Specific explanations will be presented about themajor changes within the framework of decreasing politicalcontrol, weakened state, undermining police authority, etc.For instance, revolts had direct and obvious consequences onurban morphologies, even in places where no riot occurred.In some towns, property speculation has never been sodynamic. On average, three floors have been added tobuildings in some outlying districts of Cairo. Investors tookadvantage of the fall of Mubarak regime to get round the townplanningregulations, making no secret of it.3. Details and questions about public urban actionMany questions can be tackled here:The great urban and tourist projects involving the formerpowers: did the “Arab spring” stop (temporarily orpermanently?) some of the urban projects negotiated betweenthe former authoritarian powers and multinational firms, forinstance the Cairo 2050 Master Plan, or the tourist andcommercial projects funded by Emirates companies in Syria, ofwhich the execution is now very uncertain?As for the former urban and territorial governance: are theadministrative division and political responsibilities put intoquestion? If change is actually demanded, by what means(what are the new kinds of discourses and how centralization isnow criticized?)?In the field of housing, are the shortcomings of urban policieshighlighted?How could we assess public action in that matter (new towns,informal districts, regulations)? A desire to break with the pastcan be seen. How is it expressed today?4. Elections and new political powers: the urban agenda inquestionWhat was the urban dimension of political programmes orelectoral discourses formulated by the different parties duringthe 2011 elections? Islamist breakthrough in Tunisia and Egyptcould be partly explained by their long presence and action inpopular districts neglected by former regimes. Will theIslamists be able to develop punctual actions, such as newspecific services, in line with a global town planning? Who will3

e their interlocutors in that matter? What role will play theother political forces?Will the new governments and parliamentary chambers haveto follow a new urban agenda? What are the new scopes toplace on this agenda?Discontentment from the informal districts cannot be ignoredanymore by disrupted regimes or transitional powers. Is thereany tangible sign of change?Are we moving towards new administrative divisions anddevolution to local authorities, especially to major regionalcities? Indeed hyper-centralism is characteristic of authoritariangovernments. This resulted in considerable confusion betweengovernorates and municipalities. However, new authoritieshave just been nationally elected and established. Will it lead tonew methods of local governance, promoting proximity andlimiting spatial fragmentation?5. Rethinking sustainable urban development: proposalsfrom civil society and silent partnersIn 2011, there was also an evolution of the strategies developedby operators in charge of foreign aid to Arab nations. How dothe multilateral and bilateral partners change theirdevelopment and financing strategy, while a new politicalgeography is taking shape in the region?Can we really talk about a wider range of possibilities for thecivil society? After the outbreak of revolts,what where the structured or most visible groups? What are thenew issues in debate and projects under discussion? Who isbringing them?Are the associations and NGOs establishing new priorities?Organisation:Organized by the Pole "City and Sustainable Development" ofthe CEDEJ (http://www.cedej-eg.org/), this colloquium isalso part of two ongoing research programs:- Sustainable City in the South Mediterranean (MeRsi project),co-funded by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie(Academic Agency of French-speaking countries)- Middle EastOffice and the CEDEJ;- SYSREMO: Global Geographies : Towards a regional systemin the Middle East, funded by the Agence Nationale de laRecherche (National Agency for Research), France (ESO-Rennes).Organizers:Dr Pierre-Arnaud BARTHEL (Associate Professor inUrbanism, Université Paris-Est – LATTS-CNRS)Dr Roman STADNICKI (Head of the ‘Urbanism andSustainable Development’ center at the CEDEJ, MAEE-CNRS Cairo)Dr Leïla VIGNAL (Associate professor in geography; chairat the CNRS/Université Rennes-2)4

ProgramWednesday 7 thProgramWednesday 7 th09:00-10:00 – Registration10:00-11:00 – Introduction and SpeechesSpeech by H.E. Nicolas Galley, Ambassador of France (tobe confirmed)Speech by B. Rougier, director of the CEDEJIntroduction to the conference: P.-A. Barthel (LATTS-IFU),R. Stadnicki (CEDEJ), L. Vignal (Rennes 2)11:00-13:00 – Introduction Session: The UrbanDimensions of RevoltsChair: Bernard Rougier, Director of the CEDEJYoussef Courbage – Demographic, Urban and DemocraticTransitions in the Arab WorldDemographer, Emeritus Research Director, INED, ParisRobert Bianchi – Urban Politics in Egypt and TunisiaVisiting Research Professor, Middle East Institute, TheNational University of SingaporeKareem Ibrahim & Diane Singerman – Urban Egypt: Onthe Road from the Revolution to the StateKareem Ibrahim – Architect and Urban Planner; Co-Founder of Takween ICDDiane Singerman – Associate Professor, Department ofGovernment, School of Public Affairs, American Universityof Cairo‘Revolts and Transitions in the Arab World: Towards a New Urban Agenda?’CEDEJ – November 7-9 2012!Agnès Deboulet & Bénédicte Florin – Pre-RevolutionaryMobilizations in Cairo: when Dwellers of PopularNeighbourhoods DemonstrateAgnès Deboulet – Professor of Sociology and Urbanism,University of Paris 8Bénédicte Florin – Associate Professor in Geography,University of ToursAla Al-Harmaneh – Claim Your City, Claim YourCountry: Rethinking the Urban in the Arab RevoltsAssistant Professor, Institute for Geography, University ofMainz. Senior Researcher, Center for Research on the ArabWorld (CERAW)13:00-14:30 – Lunch: Restaurant of the IFE14:30-16:30 – Session 1: Living through Revoltand Transition: the case of EgyptChair: Mohamed Elshahed, PhD Candidate, New YorkUniversity’s Middle East Department; founder of the blogcairobserver.comPaul Amar – New Logics of Popular Sovereignty andUrban Subaltern Alternatives to the Egyptian ‘Thug State’Associate Professor, University of California Santa BarbaraMarwa Dabaieh – Tahrir as a Memory, a Place and aMeaningConservation Architect; Researcher, Lund University(Sweden)5

ProgramWednesday 7 thProgramWednesday 7 thMarta Pappalardo – Revolution and Globalization: aReading of the Political Mobilization through UrbanStrategies in Downtown CairoPhD Candidate in Urban Sociology, University of ParisOuest Nanterre La DéfenseEnrique Klaus – Graffiti and Urban Revolt in Cairo:Artistic, Mnemonic and Protesting Practices of the CityAssistant Professor, Sciences-Po Rabat; Post-DoctoralResearcher at Centre Jacques-BerqueBeth Stryker & Omar Nagati – Archiving a City in Flux:Cairo’s Evolving Urbanism Pre- and Post-RevolutionBeth Stryker – Independent Curator, Beirut, New York andChicagoOmar Nagati – PhD Candidate at the Department ofArchitecture, Berkely; Visiting Instructor at the Departmentof Architecture, Cairo University16:30-17:00 – Coffee Break17:00-19:00 – Session 2: Living through Revoltand Transition: Other Examples from theArab WorldChair: Hend Farouh, Housing and Building ResearchCenter, EgyptFarah Al-Nakib – Popular Participation in Politics andPlanning: Locating Kuwait Amid Uprisings andUrbanizationsAssistant Professor, American University of Kuwait,Director of the Center for Gulf StudiesCaecilia Pieri – The Replication of ‘Green Zones’ inBaghdad: an Impossible ‘Iraqi Spring’Head of the Urban Observatory within the Institut Françaisdu Proche Orient (Ifpo), BeirutWard Vloeberghs - Claiming the Spring from Beirut:Examining the Future’s Discursive and Spatial PracticesAssistant Professor at the Ecole de Gouvernance etd’Economie de Rabat, Morocco; Deputy Director CERAMJohannes Frische – ‘Quiet Encroachment’ and EverydayResistance: Informal Politics of Urban Youth in TunisiaPhD Candidate at the Research Training Group CriticalJunctures of Globalization, University of Leipzig‘Revolts and Transitions in the Arab World: Towards a New Urban Agenda?’CEDEJ – November 7-9 20126

ProgramThursday 8 thProgramThursday 8 th09:30-11:00 – Session 3: Details and QuestionsOn Public Urban Action (Part I)Chair: Diane Singerman, American University in CairoPascale Philifert – Morocco 2011/2012: Persistence ofPast Urban Policies or New Historical Sequence forUrban Action?Professor at University of Paris Ouest Nanterre La DéfenseBesma Loukil – Public Space and Policy of the ‘AncienRégime’ in TunisiaPhD Candidate in Landscape Architecture, UniversityAGROPARISTECH ENSP Versailles-Marseille and ISA/University of SousseIrène Salenson – Urban Development in Palestine sincethe Fayyad Era (2007-present): Tension Between Localismand GlobalizationDoctor in Geography and Urbanism; IndependentResearcherAziz Iraki – The February 20 th Movement: Changes inPolicy Regulation and Elites Ensuring Intermediation inthe so-called ‘Unhealthy’ Neighborhoods?Professor at the Institut National d’Aménagement etd’Urbanisme11:00-11:30 – Coffee Break11:30-13:00 – Session 4: Details and QuestionsOn Public Urban Action (Part II)Chair: Agnès Deboulet, Université Paris 8Valérie Clerc – Syrian Urban Action Under Revolts,Evolutions and Permanence of Urban Politics inDamascusResearcher, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement;Associate Researcher Institut Français du Proche-Orient(Ifpo)Eric Verdeil – Energy, New Urban Public Question:Securization and Reorganization of Energy Provision andNew Urban MobilizationResearcher, University of Lyon-CNRS, “Environment, Cityand Society”Xavier Godard - Urban Transport Systems: Some MajorStakes in the Context of Revolts and Transition in ArabCountriesEmeritus Research Director at the Inrets (Institut Nationalde Recherche sur les Transports et leur Sécurité, now Ifsstar)Claude de Miras & Aziz Iraki – Arab Spring, UrbanPublic Action and Intermediation in Morocco:Governance of Essential Services and Intermediation inthe Face of Social Movements‘Revolts and Transitions in the Arab World: Towards a New Urban Agenda?’CEDEJ – November 7-9 20127

ProgramThursday 8 thProgramThursday 8 thAziz Iraki – Professor at the Institut Nationald’Aménagement et d’Urbanisme; ArchitectClaude de Miras – Economist; Research Director at theResearch Institute for Development (LPED)13:00-14:30 – Lunch: Restaurant of the IFE14:30-16:30 – Session 5: Elections and NewPolitical Powers: the Urban Agenda inQuestionChair: Youssef Courbage, INEDHeba Safey Eldeen - Toward a New DevelopmentalAgenda for the Urban Poor: the Case of Ezbet Harb, GizaAssociate Professor, Architecture, American University ofCairoMohammed Hellal – Urban Reactions of Local Actors ofthe Town of Monastir (Tunisian Sahel), in the Context ofthe After Revolution of January 14 th 2011Assistant Professor at the University of Carthage; PhDCandidate in Geography at the University of ToursMahfod Twati & Didier Boutet – Libya in Search of aTerritorial AgendaDidier Boutet – Researcher-Professor, University of ToursTwati Mahfod – Doctor in Public Law, University of Tours;Researcher-Professor, University of Al-Assmariyya (Libya)Ali Bennasr – Tunisia: the City and the ElectionsProfessor of Geography, Sfax University (Tunisia)16:30-17:00 – Coffee Break17:00-19:00 – Forum 1: Cairo in MovementsChair: David Sims – independent consultantSahar Attia - The Vision and Strategy of Greater CairoRegion: post Revolution ConcernsProfessor of Architecture & Urban Design, Cairo UniversityRanda A. Mahmoud & Ahmed Sami - From Cairo 2050 toEgypt 2052: Developing Greater Cairo Region or MovingAway from It?Assistant Professors at the Dept. of Planning & UrbanDesign of Ain Shams University (Cairo)Omar Nagati - Minding the Formal-Informal Gap: theBattle of Ard Al-Liwa Park ProjectPhD Candidate, Architecture, University of California atBerkeley; visiting Instructor at Cairo University‘Revolts and Transitions in the Arab World: Towards a New Urban Agenda?’CEDEJ – November 7-9 20128

ProgramThursday 8 thProgramFriday 9 thHend Farouh & Reda Haggag – The Dilemma ofSustainable Planning and New Communities in EgyptDr. Hend Farouh - Housing & Building National ResearchCenter (HBRC), EgyptDr. Mohamed Reda Haggag, PhD, Faculty of Regional &Urban Planning, Cairo UniversityNabeel El-Hady & Omar Nagati – When RevolutionMeets Design Studio: Initiating Academic Debate on a‘New Urban Order’ in EgyptNabeel El-Hady – architect and professor of Architecture atCairo UniversityOmar Nagati – PhD Candidate, Architecture, University ofCalifornia at Berkeley; visiting Instructor at CairoUniversityOmnia Khalil – Egyptian Urban Action (Film Projection)Architect, University of Cairo; Associate researcher atAmerican University in Cairo20:00 – Dinner at ‘Taboula’ Restaurant (GardenCity)10:30-12:30 – Session 6: Rethinking SustainableUrban Development: Proposals from CivilSociety and Silent PartnersChair: Ala Al-Harmaneh, Institute of Geography,University of MainzArthur Quesnay – Towards a Reconstruction of Libya’sPolitical Space around Urban Areas?PhD Candidate in International Relations, University ofParis 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne; IFPOFrançoise Clément & Ahmed Salah – NGOs inRefounding Sustainable Urban Development in LibyaFrançoise Clément – Associate Researcher, CEDEJ (1995-2011)Ahmed Salah – Independent researcher; member of theNGO ‘Acted’Sami Yassine Turki - Evolution of Cities and Territoriesin Tunisia: Parties’ Electoral Program and Civil Society’sProposalsEngineer and Urbanist; Head of Department of Urbanism atISTEUBTaoufik Megdiche – Local Actors in Face of theRevolution: the Case of Sfax (Tunisia)SYFACTE, Department of Geography, University of Sfax(Tunisia)‘Revolts and Transitions in the Arab World: Towards a New Urban Agenda?’CEDEJ – November 7-9 20129