Author: Zaina Shalaby
Introduction
Alexandria suffers from a wide array of developmental issues including insufficient housing, extreme pollution, unemployment, a booming population, and inadequate land use. These issues combined create an environment so behind in development that it will take a lot of work to catch up even to Cairo. So far, the Egyptian government has yet to solve the issues in Alexandria without lack of trying. The programs and initiatives set in place are just not enough to combat the exponential growth of the population coupled with the ongoing misuse of both agricultural and urban land.
Population and Transportation
Alexandria’s unique geographical location combined with its economic functions make it a fast developing city. With a growing population of 5.2 million people and a population density of 4,800 people per square mile, the demand for proper development and land use is high (“Alexandria Population”, 2019). Due to this overwhelming population growth, settlements are creeping onto agricultural lands. This causes environmental degradation and therefore damages the soil that could be used for agriculture.
Not only does the soil suffer from creeping settlements, but these settlements are not sustainable. They are built from concrete, which emits CO2 at a fast and damaging rate. These constant unsustainable settlements hurt the environment and affect the surrounding agriculture because of high levels of CO2 emissions. Carbon emissions seriously affect growing conditions for crops, reducing crop yields and as a result, causing food prices to significantly rise (Cairoli, 2019).
The fact that these settlements aren’t sustainable is not the only issue. There is also no proper transportation system that is affordable, clean, and sustainable. As of now, transportation in Alexandria completely disrupts the city. For example, the tram is the cheapest form of transportation, but the tram tracks cut through the heart of the city, causing needless hours of traffic and as a result, air pollution in many areas of Alexandria. Furthermore, the tram tracks do not continue to the areas that settlements are developing in.
New transportation that is sustainable and reaches as far as settlements go must be introduced to Alexandria. For example, the implementation of hydrogen-powered trains could greatly benefit Alexandria. Hydrogen-powered trains are proven to be zero emissions and therefore will reduce greenhouse gases which will greatly benefit crop yields in the long run (Hoffrichter, Lovegrove, Lannon-Paakspuu, Hegazi, & Kumar, 2019). Not only are they sustainable and environmentally beneficial, but hydrogen-powered trains run without noise or vibration. This benefits the surrounding communities, which have large populations in Alexandria. These communities will no longer suffer from noise pollution and vibrations coming from passing transportation.
Land Use
Alexandria is quickly developing onto the already minimal agricultural land it has, which takes away from the food sources that are supporting the community. Instead of building settlements on these agricultural lands, people should be focused on enriching the land for agriculture and expanding properly.
In Alexandria, both illegal and legal settlements are developed on agricultural land. Due to the demand for cheap living, illegal settlements have popped up all around Alexandria, encroaching on land that should not be used for building. These illegal settlements are an issue for several reasons. Firstly, they do not follow any sort of protocol, opening up doors to they pop up quickly, degrading the environment in the process. There should be harsher punishments for the building of illegal settlements in order to reduce expansion onto unauthorized land. Furthermore, any buildings that are built should follow strict environmental laws to ensure sustainability and environmental preservation.
The proper way to expand and utilize land would be to expand into the desert. In between Cairo and Alexandria is a lot of desert land that can be used for settlements and companies. If Alexandria develops into the desert and with proper transportation development, the land that should be used for agriculture is preserved for necessary situations such as farming, not housing settlements. As long as the new and sustainable transportation discussed earlier is implemented and reaches as far as possible, then development can continue into the desert.
Cairo vs Alexandria
Cairo and Alexandria have developed very differently over the years. There are several reasons for this difference. Firstly, Cairo is surrounded by desert. No matter how much the city develops and expands, no agricultural land is damaged in the process. Alexandria, however, can only develop onto agricultural land. It is entrapped by the sea, so the only directions for expansion are away from the sea or horizontally into the desert. The surroundings of the city greatly affect the environmental damage that comes from development. Cairo’s development does not have much effect on the environment due to the fact that it expands into the desert, while Alexandria expands away from the sea and onto agricultural land, negatively affecting the surrounding environment.
Secondly, the economies of these two cities depend on different things. Cairo’s economy for example, depends heavily on tourism. Due to its rich history, people from around the world visit Cairo and boost its economy. Due to the fact that Alexandria is a coastal city, the economy depends heavily on its shipping industry and its manufacturing ability (Rowlatt, Mackie, & Reimer, 2019). Cairo’s economy depends on heavy traffic in its center, while Alexandria’s economy depends on expansion and being able to utilize land to build companies and improve agriculture.
Conclusion
Alexandria is in need of proper development. The buildings that are being built to support the growing population need to be environmentally friendly, developed off of agricultural land, and easily accessible. This can be done through the implementation of a new hydrogen-powered tram that reaches the rural areas that should be developing into the desert, not onto agricultural land. The existing agricultural land should not be used for anything except farming because agriculture is a large part of Alexandria’s economy and food source. If the proper measures are taken, Alexandria can become a developed and sustainable city.
Bibliography
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Barthel, D. P.-A., Davidson, L., & Sudarskis, M. (n.d.). PDF.
Cairoli, S. (2019, April 29). Consequences of Carbon Emissions for Humans. Retrieved February 13, 2020, from https://sciencing.com/consequences-of-carbon-emissions-for-humans-12730960.html
Friedland, A. J., & Relyea, R. (2015). Environmental science for Ap*. New York: W.H. Freeman.
Hoffrichter, A., Lovegrove, G., Lannon-Paakspuu, K., Hegazi, M. A., & Kumar, V. (2019, November 28). Hydrogen-powered trains and their benefits in noise and vibration reduction. Retrieved February 15, 2020, from https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/article/93584/hydrogen-trains-benefits-noise-vibration-reduction/
Rowlatt, M., Mackie, J. A., & Reimer, M. J. (2019, November 29). Alexandria. Retrieved February 15, 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Alexandria-Egypt
Urban Sustainability Exchange. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2020, from https://use.metropolis.org/case-studies/egypt-alexandria-sustainable-city-development#casestudydetail
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