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Providing adequate public housing to the continuously growing population of Egypt has been one of the most urgent problems in Egypt over the past 70 years. During that period, the leading provider of public housing has been the State that faced major problems in coping with the high demand for affordable housing, and the quality of the units with regards to household's requirements. This paper discusses and analyzes the development of the international housing policies for low-income categories, spanning from direct provision of housing to the sustainable integrated approach, compared with Egypt's public housing policies and governance modes during the last 70 years. This paper divides the 70 years period into four main phases according to the State political and economic approach in each phase. It started with the first intention for public housing projects through socialism, passing by the open-door policy, capitalism, and the variety of housing schemes. Finally, the State initiatives after 2011 through the national social housing program. The discussion ends by comparing and assessing the qualities and the disadvantages of these periods' policies and governance modes to pave the way towards achieving a sustainable integrated urban housing provision approach as per the last new urban agenda announced in Quito 2016