Encounters between Urban Front, Megawra, and BIAS-AME

In challenging times, how can we hold onto hope and envision urban spaces that truly serve everyone?

On November 9th, BIAS-AME, together with Urban Front and Megawra, engaged in an insightful conversation exploring radical urban and cultural practices in Cairo. The gathering brought together experts, practitioners, and scholars to examine the transformative potential of urban infrastructures and cultural interventions.

The reception/dialogue began with a powerful reminder: imagining a better future is a radical act. Even when structures around us feel unyielding, we have the potential to transform spaces—starting from our homes, our streets, and our neighborhoods.

From another perspective, the conversation focused on attention to alternative economies that uplift rather than extract, envisioning community-driven systems that prioritize people over profit. Economic discussions are re-centered around sustainable local initiatives that support communities, fostering resilience against privatization.

Questions also arose around political engagement: does real change come from working within existing systems, despite the risk of being co-opted, or from creating independent structures outside of them? The reflections here urge us to consider the balance between systemic participation and grassroots autonomy.

Further insights emphasize the endurance required for long-term transformation, inspired by examples of mobilization across decades. Patience, persistence, and community building to achieving meaningful change that lasts.

These reflections led to essential questions for us all to consider:
How do we avoid being co-opted by the very systems we aim to change?
What alternatives exist to privatized, profit-driven urban planning?
How can we create local economies that genuinely serve communities, rather than extract from them?
By rethinking urban planning beyond capitalist frameworks and creating inclusive spaces for gathering and reflection, we can envision cities that prioritize justice and equity. These conversations help us imagine and build new ways to exist, resist, and thrive.
How can we continue to imagine and build futures that honor justice and equity in our own communities?