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The spread of COVID-19 has led to the enforcement of physical distancing measures. The purpose of the paper is to understand the effect of these measures and lifestyle changes on the role and importance of balconies in Egypt. A literature review was conducted to understand the effect of pandemics on the built environment and the role of balconies throughout history and during the current pandemic. An online survey was then used to provide a deep understanding on the Egyptians' perception of home balconies after the pandemic. The pandemic has led to spending more time at home and in balconies. In Egypt, privacy, noise, pollution, and lack of furniture were the main limitations in using balconies. The most frequent activities carried out in balconies were socializing and solitary activities. These activities require quiet and private balconies that away from pollution and large enough to accommodate a seating area. The survey is not limited to a specific area, as it aims to provide an understanding of the different perception of balconies in different areas in Egypt. Research that studies the impact of COVID-19 on home design, architecture and even daily lifestyle in Egypt is very limited. Findings of research concerning post-pandemic architecture and home design over the world can not to be applied in the context of Egypt. This research provides a foundation to further studies that focus on post-COVID-19 home design that meets specific local needs and conditions.

Water scarcity is one of the main challenges facing countries in arid or semi-arid zones. As an example, Egypt needs to deal with both insufficient quantity and quality of water for residents. Here, we propose actions and policies to promote an integrated water management approach to respond to water challenges in Egypt. Based on a literature review, we have selected a set of criteria concerning the environmental, economic, social, governmental, and physical dimensions of urban water management. We studied approaches from Peru, Namibia, and South Australia as these countries have similar climatic conditions and water issues and have made substantial advances toward sustainable water management. Key criteria are state or municipal ownership of water and related infrastructure, agreement on master plans for sustainable water management, improvement of water sanitation and overall infrastructure, and reduction of water demand. Participatory, and educational campaigns put water issues at the center of public debates. We evaluated which elements of water management approaches can be adapted and used in Egypt, which faces limited freshwater resources, and which faces a highly increasing population. Proposed actions included directing water fees to ecosystem projects, treatment of wastewater to be potable, participatory approaches that engage the community in water management, educational campaigns that lead to change of public perception and knowledge dissemination. We interviewed key stakeholders in the water sector in Egypt to validate our proposed approaches. The stakeholders supported knowledge dissemination, suggested using water fees in implementing environmental projects and criticized converting wastewater into drinking water. Finally, we drafted specific recommendations at the organizational and urban levels of water management. We recommended establishing a General Organization for Water Management to oversee water-related organizations and ministries. We also recommended prioritizing the economic conditions to support alleviation of water subsidy, increasing public awareness, and creating a public database for water knowledge. In addition, we recommended decentralized water management and water sensitive urban design. The value of these approaches is their applicability, with minor adaptations, to countries with similar or close climatic and socio-economic conditions to Egypt, such as the MENA region.

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