Orthodox economic models often linked the size of cities to their economies. However, this changed through the last quarter of the 20th century; cities grew bigger, side by side to unemployment, inflation and falling wages and productivity (Davis, 2006). In Egypt, urban migration was considered the root of the city’s density. In the seventies, New Urban Communities were developed with strategic
visions, they deployed enormous resources and created supply for the economic and social aspects of urban life. However, today they remain vastly vacant and most of them contribute little to the region’s economy. The main research question of this research is: “How can attributes of urban competitiveness contribute to the development of sub-centres in new urban communities
of emerging economies?” To answer this question two of the eight developments around Cairo are comparatively analysed with regard to their urban competitiveness. Theories of urban economics and its spatial structure are
adapted for the context of this case-study. A new quantitative methodology is utilised to overcome data challenges in the context of emerging economies. Exploratory spatial data analysis is used to demonstrate the spatial distribution of socio-economic attributes and their relation to the resulting urban competitiveness. The comparison between city centre and NUCs is analysed to inform policies for urban growth using the framework developed in the literature review. The research highlights the importance of autonomous urban management for each NUC. This is carried out within a framework of a collaborative polycentric urban region that ensures the differentiated roles of each region. The urban competitiveness analysed shows the system of cities within the metropolitan region, and the potential emerging sub-centres in NUCs. The mapped socio-economic attributes establish the possible correlation
between urban competitiveness and access to
these attributes. They also show mismatches in supply
and demand, and shed light on particular effects of public
urban spending.