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Globalization, Neoliberalism, and New Spaces of Capital in Cairo

The general globalization of Egyptian society and economy and its transition to a free-market capitalist system by the late 1980s has led to the emergence of such " new " urban spaces around Cairo as gated communities, malls, and theme parks. The production of these spaces has helped transform the city's urban economy in a way that mirrors the consumption patterns of a dominant new sector of elite Cairenes who are establishing themselves on the periphery of the city. In discussing the condition of these spaces and focusing on a selected case example, this article aims to shed light on the politics of producing such spaces in Egypt today. In conventional parlance, globalization is roughly defined as a series of cultural, economic and political flows as well as massive-scaled movements of products, ideas, information , people and technology. 1 Among other things, these global flows have caused the boundaries between public and private spaces to enter a rapid and persistent state of flux. Considering how urban transformation has frequently emerged from juxtapositions and interactions between public and private space, this turmoil has produced a variety of novel developments and experiments in cities worldwide. 2 Of course, the precise mix of elements from these global flows varies from one city, or locality, to another depending on the socio-political and economic conjuncture and particularities of the place. Within this frame, this article explores recent urbanization patterns and spatial transformations around Cairo as a manifestation of a reworking of boundaries between these two realms. From another perspective, most urbanists will agree that economic activities play a central role in the creation of new cities and the transformation of older ones. 3 It is therefore difficult to make any sense of the recent spatial restructuring and transformation of Cairo without looking closely at the impact of the current economic regime on boundaries between public and private spaces. However, these categories of space within the city are multifarious, polymorphous and heterogeneous, reflecting the fractured social geometry that has taken shape with the restructuring of social boundaries and categorical logics of class and income distribution, particularly during the second half of the twentieth century.