In Egypt, the relocation of residents of informal areas of housing into “proper” living environments is presented as a major political achievement offering citizens a much-improved quality of life. Therefore, it is not surprising that, following the Arab Uprisings, the current regime is widely publicizing relocation projects as success stories on TV and social media. As a way of garnering legitimization and securing stability, this official representation is reshaping the residents’ urban life and evoking narratives of slum dwellers’ transformation into respected citizens. Tackling a new area of interdisciplinary research between urban studies and media and communication studies, this article investigates the portrayal in mainstream media channels and social media platforms of two relocation projects (Al-Asmarat in Cairo and Al-Max in Alexandria), contrasting them with the residents’ perceptions of their new homes and their efforts to produce counter-imagery. The authors argue that both the state-dominated representation of the Al-Asmarat resettlement as an ideal solution to the crisis of informal settlements, as well as the more bottom-up construction of the Al-Max community as a picturesque fishing community, do not reflect the material experience of the inhabitants—despite it being presented as such in nationwide reporting. The effective centering of the public debate around the mediatized images has thus deflected criticism and enabled urban development projects to be positioned to legitimize the current rule despite the shortcomings of their implementation.

中文翻译：

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调解埃及的贫民窟搬迁：合法化与污名化之间

在埃及，将非正规住房地区的居民搬迁到“适当的”生活环境中被视为一项重大的政治成就，为公民提供了大大提高的生活质量。因此，在阿拉伯起义之后，现政权在电视和社交媒体上广泛宣传搬迁项目作为成功案例也就不足为奇了。作为一种获得合法化和确保稳定的方式，这种官方代表正在重塑居民的城市生活，并唤起贫民窟居民转变为受人尊敬的公民的叙述。本文针对城市研究与媒体与传播研究之间的跨学科研究的新领域，调查了两个搬迁项目（开罗的 Al-Asmarat 和亚历山大的 Al-Max）在主流媒体渠道和社交媒体平台上的描绘，将它们与居民对新家的看法以及他们创造反意象的努力进行对比。作者认为，国家主导的 Al-Asmarat 重新安置代表作为解决非正式定居点危机的理想解决方案，以及将 Al-Max 社区更自下而上地建设为风景如画的渔业社区，都不反映居民的物质体验——尽管它在全国性的报告中如此呈现。围绕媒介化图像的公共辩论的有效中心因此转移了批评，并使城市发展项目能够使当前规则合法化，尽管其实施存在缺陷。作者认为，国家主导的 Al-Asmarat 重新安置代表作为解决非正式定居点危机的理想解决方案，以及将 Al-Max 社区更自下而上地建设为风景如画的渔业社区，都不反映居民的物质体验——尽管它在全国性的报告中如此呈现。围绕媒介化图像的公共辩论的有效中心因此转移了批评，并使城市发展项目能够使当前规则合法化，尽管其实施存在缺陷。作者认为，国家主导的 Al-Asmarat 重新安置代表作为解决非正式定居点危机的理想解决方案，以及将 Al-Max 社区更自下而上地建设为风景如画的渔业社区，都不反映居民的物质体验——尽管它在全国性的报告中如此呈现。围绕媒介化图像的公共辩论的有效中心因此转移了批评，并使城市发展项目能够使当前规则合法化，尽管其实施存在缺陷。不反映居民的物质体验——尽管它在全国报告中如此呈现。围绕媒介化图像的公共辩论的有效中心因此转移了批评，并使城市发展项目能够使当前规则合法化，尽管其实施存在缺陷。不反映居民的物质体验——尽管它在全国报告中如此呈现。围绕媒介化图像的公共辩论的有效中心因此转移了批评，并使城市发展项目能够使当前规则合法化，尽管其实施存在缺陷。