Mediatizing Slum Relocation in Egypt: Between Legitimization and Stigmatization

Media and Communication

article

Hassan Elmouelhi¹  Martin Meyer¹  Reham Reda²  Asmaa Abdelhalim² 

[1] Department of Urban Development, Technische Universität Berlin;Department of Urban Development, Technische Universität Berlin – El Gouna

关键词: informal settlements;    legitimization;    mediatization;    relocation;    social media;    urban development;   

DOI  :  10.17645/mac.v9i4.4491

学科分类：医学（综合）

来源: Cogitatio Press

【 摘 要 】

In Egypt, the relocation of residents of informal areas of housing into “proper” living environments is presented as a majorpolitical achievement offering citizens a much‐improved quality of life. Therefore, it is not surprising that, following theArab Uprisings, the current regime is widely publicizing relocation projects as success stories on TV and social media. As away of garnering legitimization and securing stability, this official representation is reshaping the residents’ urban life andevoking narratives of slum dwellers’ transformation into respected citizens. Tackling a new area of interdisciplinary researchbetween urban studies and media and communication studies, this article investigates the portrayal in mainstream mediachannels and social media platforms of two relocation projects (Al‐Asmarat in Cairo and Al‐Max in Alexandria), contrastingthem with the residents’ perceptions of their new homes and their efforts to produce counter‐imagery. The authors arguethat both the state‐dominated representation of the Al‐Asmarat resettlement as an ideal solution to the crisis of informalsettlements, as well as the more bottom‐up construction of the Al‐Max community as a picturesque fishing community,do not reflect the material experience of the inhabitants—despite it being presented as such in nationwide reporting.The effective centering of the public debate around the mediatized images has thus deflected criticism and enabled urbandevelopment projects to be positioned to legitimize the current rule despite the shortcomings of their implementation.

【 授权许可】

CC BY