Destins Urbains

31 May 2026. Africa is often described as the mother of continents, the cradle of origins. From there, it is only a small step to see Cairo as the mother of cities. Egyptians themselves often call it Oum el-Dounia - “Mother of the World”: an urban matrix, an ancient hearth from which routes, knowledge and peoples seem to radiate. In travellers’ accounts, Cairo already appears as a place of convergence. A fifteenth-century traveller, turning the pages of a Rihla - those narrat

Rethinking global priorities in the face of the habitability crisis, ahead of the World Urban Forum May 7, 2027. As the 13th World Urban Forum approaches, a reality is emerging—one that remains largely underestimated: 21st-century inequalities have changed in nature. They are no longer defined solely by access to income, services, or opportunities. They are now determined by the very possibility of inhabiting. Who can still live in cities? Who is pushed to the margins, displa

May 2, 2026. The city is not simply an extension of the village. It builds upon certain dynamics, but profoundly transforms their nature. In many respects, it represents a rupture. One of the great turning points in human history occurred during the Neolithic period, when humans, after millennia of adapting to their environment, made a decisive choice: to settle. This shift paved the way for major transformations - agriculture, specialization, division of labor - that perman