Egyptian gentrification politics are devoid of nuance, and more often than not, also devoid of empathy. Though gentrification in and of itself is a two-pronged beast—a discussion of poverty and heritage in the same, thinned breath—it is not a dialogue often held in Egypt. Instead, in a gut-scraping hunger for modernity, Egyptians have overlooked the destruction of homes in favor of world-class status symbols; ghettos and mud-brick slums are seen as open wounds rather than a haven for millions. Barring cases where safety is the prime driver for demolition, it seems that gentrification has become commonplace to the point of dismissal. For nearly six decades, across the globe, gentrification has been “confused with other urban notions such as upgrading and renewal,” regardless of the economic consequences it may have. In order to re-energize the narrative, one needs to take a keener look at gentrification “geographies,” the most prominent of which are third world communities: locations forced to modernize, with no one accounting for their local cultures, socioeconomic intersectionality, or social mobility. Egypt is no exception—rather, it is the example. As the world remains in awe of Japanese architecture and Singaporean…
