Abstract:
A new phenomenon appeared and spread throughout the past decade as vast movements away from Cairo and into new settlements took place. This research is a comparative study between two of the new cities, Sixth of October and New Cairo, which have succeeded in attracting large sectors of the population. The cities under study have different features and facilities, so this research aims to compare them in terms of the following: (a) the reasoning behind the mass movement (b) the impact of land use on migrants and (c) the level of safety. This is done through a survey which was distributed to migrants in both cities; also more details were collected through a personal interview that was conducted with a market expert. This thesis found similarities in the reasons migrants moved to either city as many of the respondents relocated due to accessibility and changes in lifestyle, such as moving closer to jobs, avoiding crowded and dirty streets, to own property, to pay cheaper rent, and to move closer to educational facilities. Yet there were differences in the general attitudes, as New Cairo City is more successful in attracting families and is more capable of catering the needs of middle and upper class citizens, where it has better schools and a better public transportation system than those in Sixth of October City. At the same time, it is important to note that Sixth of October is an older city, thus it has better government facilities and better hospitals. Finally the research also found that safety is an issue in both cities, as the residents feel that there is a lack of safety on the streets.
