Housing cooperatives in Egypt: challenges, constraints, and solutions

This paper delves into Egypt’s housing landscape, revealing a nuanced challenge beyond quantity or quality: a horizontal disequilibrium in housing service distribution. Through an analysis of dwelling production and vacancy rates, the authors uncover how the prevailing institutional framework obstructs housing cooperatives from catering to the needs of middle- and low-income families. A dichotomy of allocation of services has forced the less fortunate to use informal settlements as their prime dwelling. Consequently, the notion of housing cooperatives rose to solve the imbalanced equation between public sector-driven and private sector-led economies. Institutional Framework Analysis is the framework the authors used to investigate the constrained role of these cooperatives in providing affordable housing. The authors examined three major housing cooperatives in the Greater Cairo Region, using document reviews and stakeholder interviews to illuminate how institutional constraints impede formal dwellings’ production within young couples’ financial reach. The erosion of cooperative autonomy, exchanged for financial support, further exacerbates this challenge. Addressing legislative barriers, adopting universal norms, and broadening operational scopes are imperative to revitalise the cooperative movement. This paper underscores the pivotal role of institutional dynamics in disrupting housing market mechanisms, challenging conventional perceptions of housing problems as solely short- or long-term issues. The research also proposes a bottom-up approach depicted in participatory practices as the prime guiding scheme for a successful sustainable cooperative framework.