Graveyard homes

By Mohsen Zahran

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The collapse of residential blocks in Alexandria sent shockwaves throughout the country. One can only guess what the tragedy meant to its survivors. How terrible it is to lose everything in a second, the loved ones and the material things people accumulate in a lifetime. And such tragedies are not only happening in Alexandria. With alarming frequency, we hear of similar incidents taking place in other parts of the country. The media reports them, experts discuss them on talk shows, and little else seems important for a while. Then the memory fades, and we find other things to worry about.

How many times have we discussed the problem of unplanned urban districts? How many conferences were held about unregulated housing? How many scientific papers have been written about the uncontrolled growth of our cities? And yet nearly one in four Egyptians still live in unplanned neighbourhoods, some without water, electricity or sewage.

The recent rock collapse in Moqattam offered a tragic illustration of how serious things can get. Despite all the conferences and experts, buildings are being built without licences, without regulations, without safety measures, without insurance against fire, without precautions against earthquakes. Agricultural land is lost every day to urban growth and nothing is being done about it.

We need to start protecting our agricultural land. We need to start caring about the safety and integrity of our cities. We know what's wrong with our building regulations. We know what parts of our towns need to be re-planned. All we need to do is act. We have the means to make our homes and cities safer and we have a duty to do so. We cannot allow more homes to turn into mass graves.

This week's Soapbox speaker is professor of planning at Alexandria University.