Jan 2018 – July 2021; funded by the Ford Foundation as a part of Citizen Participation in Historic Cairo Project.

Al-Hattaba is considered a representative example of Historic Cairo’s urban fabric, due to its wealth of historical buildings and monuments that should be preserved and reused. In accordance with that, the Built Environment Collective presented the Ministry of Antiquities with a masterplan for the neighbourhood of al-Hattaba in the Citadel area. The proposal was developed as a result of a workshop hosted by the Built Environment Collective and attended by representatives from the Ministry of Antiquities, Cairo Governorate and the Informal Settlement Development Fund in September 2018. The overall plan aims to elevate al-Hattaba as a historical area that is easy to develop as a crafts and tourism neighborhood. The plan was granted preliminary approval by the Ministry of Antiquities in October 2018.

In accordance with a vision to revitalise historical and heritage buildings, tourist routes and traditional crafts while maintaining the urban fabric and character of al-Hattaba, the masterplan addresses three basic developmental areas:

1. Touristic heritage with a focus on developing a tourist route.
2. Crafts with a focus on new workshops and centres for design, craft development and training.
3. Social development with a focus on rehabilitating residential buildings and improving the quality of public spaces and providing services.

Athar Lina Initiative is currently working on developing the preliminary plan into a more comprehensive study to be proposed as a component within the Egyptian Government’s project for the regeneration of Historic Cairo.