Managing urban sprawl: The politics and governance of implementing urban expansion policies in Egyptian cities

Different policy instruments have been designed and formulated with the aim of achieving sustainable urban expansion and compact cities in the developed and the developing world. This thesis aims at examining the implementation of these instruments and examining the factors that leads to the convergence or divergence of their implementation. A theoretical framework was developed using the new institutionalist perspective of policy implementation and draws on the key components of the actor-centred institutionalism. Two cities were selected from Egypt and five policy instruments were examined, they are: strategic plans and delineation of urban growth boundaries; detailed plans; subdivision plans; land readjustment; and the application of a betterment levy. Implementation of all policy instruments examined were viewed as diverging to some degree as a result in shortage in the resources availed to implementing actors and the conflicting preferences and perceptions of the key actors involved in the implementation. The role of public leaders in supporting implementation and unlocking institutional complexity was seen as critical. Boundary-spanning activities undertaken by local government officials and community leaders to connect various actors and facilitate a constructive dialogue was essential. Several practical insights and recommendations were distilled from the case studies aiming at recognizing the complexity of implementing urban expansion policies.