- Rural-Urban poverty in Egypt   216 kb by    Yousry, Ahmed & Mekawy, Hala | amyousry@mail.com    Short Outline This paper aims at outlining means of increasing the opportunities for the poor to live in adequate conditions in both urban and rural areas in Egypt. It focuses on assessing and adressing poverty alleviation efforts and illustrates rural-urban enequities through a wide spectrum of communities. Abstract ON POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION: Toward Minimizing Urban-Rural Inequalities in Egypt Ahmed M. Yousry Hala S. Mekawy Faculty of Urban and Regional Planning Cairo University In many countries, especially those with economies in the transition, globalization together with related economic, legal, financial and social trends, increase competition and fragmentation of cities. In Egypt the increasing social and economic differentiation is demonstrated by the growing socio-spatial inequalities and increased deprivation and difficulties for the poor. This paper aims at outlining means of reducing inequity and increasing the opportunities for the poor to live in adequate conditions, participate, and make choices, in both urban and rural areas. The paper argues that globalization not only increases poverty and inequality, but also widens the gap between the urban and the rural poor. The paper will adopt a case study approach analyzing the living conditions in a sample of low-income communities in rural and urban areas, in an attempt to focus on the following issues: - the poor’s perceptions of problems, and priorities - real causes of inadequate living conditions - effectiveness of current approaches to alleviate poverty . The analysis of living conditions will depend on the assessment of main indicators such as housing conditions, access to water and sanitation, and efficiency of service facilities. In addition, evaluation of the causes of depressed living conditions, and identifying potential policies will be explored through extensive interviews with specialists, the community, and local authorities. The paper is expected to demonstrate adequate policies and actions that address the root causes rather than the symptoms of intra-urban and urban-rural inequities. In regard to the questions mentioned in the ”Call for Papers:” 1. The case study focuses on rural-urban poverty in Egypt. 2. The authors have an experience in planning low-income communities and community development in both urban and rural areas in the Egyptian context. 3. The paper will focus on both theoretical and empirical frameworks for assessing and addressing poverty alleviation efforts in Egypt. It will illustrate inequalities through a wide spectrum of communities. Keywords poverty alleviation, rural-urban inequties, poverty indicators Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2003: Planning in a more globalized World   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper