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ong before delegates from 180 nations and over 2,000 nongovernmental organi-

This article examines growth in the extent of Cairo's urban area and changes in population distribution between 1986 and 1996. It includes a quantitative assessment of urban growth and changing patterns of population density in the city's administrative sub-districts. In a unique contribution to the available research on Cairo, the population density for the built-up area of the census units is calculated, giving much greater insight into the city's growth than previous research that calculated density based on census units in their entirety. The study finds significant population decentralisation taking place and discusses the possible implications if this trend continues.

Although a firm theoretical foundation for understanding the relationship between political economy and urban form has been created in the western based literature, such approaches are of limited applicability for understanding cities in the developing world. By analyzing the impact of four political economic regimes (Islamic, Imperialist, Arab Socialist and Transitory) on the urbanscape of Cairo, this article illustrates how political economic regimes imprint their ideology on the urban morphology. The representation of this ideology is manifested in both city form and function. Evidence from Cairo finds that political economic shifts, particularly those which alter the nature of the city's relationship with the global economic system, had far-reaching impacts on the city's urbanscape. Finally, this approach is suggested as a model for application in other developing world contexts. Copyright Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1999.

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