Urban Monitoring Indicators as a Mechanism for Evaluating Urban Development in New Cities in Egypt

Urban monitoring is one of the most important mechanisms for controlling and managing urban development. This research paper illustrates the importance of urban monitoring which lies in its ability to produce statistics and indicators that are essential for supporting decision-making, as well as monitoring the comprehensive development process by providing an objective picture of the city’s state. Urban indicators provide a standardized view that can be calculated and integrated into equations and compared periodically with other cities, giving a clear picture of the city’s state. The research discusses the success of development operations in new cities, which depends on understanding the current and future developmental needs of the population, anticipating them by developing appropriate plans, programs, and implementation mechanisms to achieve them, providing them within the specified timeframe, and then monitoring the performance of the programs and plans and the extent to which they have achieved their set goals. From this perspective, the idea of measuring development in urban communities emerged, and its importance appeared in collecting the necessary data on all aspects of development in the city, issuing urban indicators periodically, and converting them into knowledge that clarifies the reality of the situation for planners and decision-makers.


Introduction
There is no doubt that the real challenge of urban development in new cities lies in the availability of accurate information and data that enable both the planner and decision-maker to reach appropriate urban policies and mechanisms for dealing with the city, and in making the right decisions based on a comprehensive database at all development sectors.Urban monitoring is currently one of the most important tools for controlling and managing urban development.It is a critical component of monitoring the achievement of genuine development for any community.Urban monitoring is a fundamental pillar of implementing principles of sound management by making governments more transparent and accountable, as well as monitoring the comprehensive development process by providing an objective picture of the city's economic, social, political, and urban state, as well as providing a basis for assessing the possibility of the city's future prosperity.
Many specialized studies have shown a gap between what is planned for new cities and the targeted numbers, and the actual reality, and that there is a deviation from the plans that were developed in the 1970s, which has produced a different reality from what was planned.Therefore, the importance of developing a model for monitoring and analyzing to evaluate the path of development in new cities in Egypt and measuring it through urban monitoring indicators appears.This will bring about changes to achieve the development objectives in these cities, and it is important to provide a single reference for the indicators so that a list of urban monitoring indicators can be created that is applicable and shows the changes that occur over time to support policy makers and decision-makers.

Objectives
The main objective of the research is "evaluating urban development in new cities in Egypt" through global and local urban monitoring indicators, and from this, a set of sub-objectives related to the main objective of the research can be derived:  Study the issue of urban monitoring in new cities. Regulating development trends in new cities through indicators. Monitoring and tracking the progress of new cities and achieving their development goals. Measurement of performance, analyzing and measuring the development process in new cities.
 Activating the role of urban information management systems in the development process in new cities.

Methodology
Research methodology starts with identifying the research problem and objectives.It proceeds with identifying the concept of urban monitoring for new cities, Followed by defining its importance, and the roles of urban observatories and urban monitoring indicators.This is done using a literature review approach.Subsequently, the utilization of urban monitoring in managing and directing development is explored using a descriptive-correlational approach.This involves defining the general framework of urban monitoring indicators for new urban communities and studying the impact of urban indicators on decision-making in new cities.Furthermore, some international and local experiences in urban monitoring and the use of urban indicators are examined to assess their success using an analytical approach.Consequently, a proposed framework for urban monitoring and the use of urban indicators to measure performance in new cities, tailored to the Egyptian context, is presented using an inferential approach.The goal is to support decision-making, and formulate plans and policies.Finally the research suggested some recommendations for the use of urban indicators as an influencing mechanism in the development process in new cities in Egypt.Figure (1) illustrates this process.

Research Importance
The importance of research stems from the significance of new cities, as they are a national issue and involve substantial investments that should be utilized effectively.There is a need for a scientific approach to guide urban development decisions in the right direction, maximizing the utilization of the economic resources directed towards these cities.It is also important to learn from the positive aspects of this experience and mitigate the negatives in future endeavors, which will have a positive impact on optimizing the utilization of the country's economic resources and achieving the maximum possible return for the national economy.The importance of research is evident in evaluating the trajectory of development in new cities in Egypt and measuring it through urban monitoring indicators.This evaluation can lead to necessary changes to achieve development goals in these cities.

Urban monitoring of new cities
The observatory is a tool for producing indicators for various fields of development.Each indicator explains an important aspect of sustainable urban development and helps in drawing up plans and building policies on scientific and practical bases.In order to evaluate the development process in the new cities, a comprehensive urban monitoring must be done to determine the extent to which these cities achieve their development goals.The following is a presentation of the steps of the urban monitoring process for the new cities. The goal of measuring and managing the development process in new cities in Egypt can be summarized in three points: 1. Providing policy makers and decision makers with the challenges facing urban development policies in new cities and their connection to sustainable development policies and urban planning processes.2. Evaluating the sustainable urban environment of new urban communities and national goals in creating integrated communities.3. Measuring the progress made in sustainable urban development in new urban communities over the years of targeted development plans.

The Role and Importance of Urban Observatories in Decision-making
Urban observatories play an important and effective role not only in decision-making processes but also in the planning process at all levels.Within the core function of the urban observatory, which is to monitor and evaluate development policies, urban observatories adopt a range of roles and tasks to achieve this goal, including:  Working on collecting data from various government entities related to urban indicators production. Developing a technological system for the flow of data and information electronically, making it easier for government entities to access them easily and regularly. Working on standardizing the methods of calculating and analyzing agreed-upon urban indicators at the national level. Providing government entities and stakeholders with the outputs of urban indicators analysis for use in formulating urban development policies and making appropriate decisions. Establishing and developing specialized databases related to the activation of the use of urban indicators in decision-making processes, monitoring, and evaluation within the framework of sustainable urban development. Measuring development performance and contributing to decision-making regarding sustainable development, in addition to contributing to the formulation of necessary development policies. Providing accurate data that helps activate development plans and assessing the impact of urban programs on the city or region's environment.[2]

Employing urban monitoring in managing and directing development
The methodological framework for using urban indicators in monitoring the developmental situation of cities and new urban communities lies in the ability to diagnose the current situation of cities, forming databases, analyzing them, and deriving urban indicators that enable policy-makers and decision-makers to deduce developmental issues and challenges, which helps in finding innovative solutions to current and expected future issues and problems as seen in figure 3. It also contributes to formulating future policies based on the evidence provided by urban indicators.[1] Figure 3. Employing urban monitoring in the development process.source: [1] modified by the author.

The added value of urban observatories in urban development management in new cities
 The institutional structure of urban observatories is considered a tool for directing, motivating, supervising, and coordinating.The institutional structure of urban observatories supports the empowerment of all partners (central and local authorities, stakeholders from the private sector and civil society) in making and taking decisions related to urban management. Expanding the participation base in the development management through conducting joint consultations and discussions between development partners (governmental departments, at various levels, civil society, and the private sector) at all stages, starting with identifying the current situation in various fields, crystallizing the problems tree, and ending with developing and implementing policies, programs, and urban development projects. The process of collecting data and information, conducting field surveys, producing indicators, preparing studies and research in various urban development fields, which are among the tasks of the urban observatory, is considered an important tool in urban development management. Obtaining data and information from various sources allows access to highly credible data.
Thus, the urban observatory produces accurate indicators for measurement that can be relied upon in determining current problems with greater accuracy.It also contributes to anticipating future situations that can be relied upon in developing future feasible plans. Using indicators in urban development management as a framework for urban development through the use of the "current situation-pressures-response" model, through which it is clear that the urban observatory is the center for sustainable urban development operations by producing the knowledge that is the basis for making long-term decisions. Contributing to describing the available opportunities and current and future risks facing the city by monitoring the political, economic, social, and technological effects on the city, in addition to identifying the strengths and weaknesses in the city's economy by monitoring economic resources and inputs, measured by outputs, providing supportive factors for facing future risks. Participating in the development of a future vision, strategies, policies, plans, and urban development programs at higher levels, where urban observatories concerned with central government identify the development potential at the city level and thus contribute to formulating future visions for urban development at higher levels.[3]

Urban Knowledge and Decision-making in New Cities
The process of development, strategy building, and decision-making in new cities depends on the level of urban knowledge available in those cities and obtaining accurate data and information to analyze policies and procedures.Reports on the city's status must be available for policies to be evidencebased, and the more urban knowledge available in new cities, the greater the achievement of development goals.

Measurement framework for local indicators
Performance Index

Building a Database of Indicators for Urban Monitoring in New Cities
The process of building a database of indicators for urban monitoring in new cities goes through several steps, as shown in the following figure:

Criteria for Selecting Urban Indicators
There are several criteria that should be considered when selecting indicators, and these criteria are as follows: 1-Relevance: Indicators should be directly related to current or proposed policies and should measure the results directly.2-Comprehensiveness: Indicators should be able to provide an overall picture of the city in all sectors using available information.3-Priority: Priority should be given to indicators according to the city's priorities and urgent problems.4-Ease of understanding: Indicators should be understandable to most citizens and development partners.5-Cost-effectiveness: Indicators should be combinable in a cost-effective manner.6-Measurability: Indicators should be able to show the magnitude of problems.7-Sensitivity to changing conditions: Indicators should change with changing conditions and be flexible.8-Clarity: Indicators should have a clear definition and specific objectives.9-Independence in measuring phenomena: Indicators should notrely on other indicators to measure a single issue.[8]

Analysis of the Interests and Concerns of Stakeholders
After producing the indicators and identifying the most important problems facing the city that require well-thought-out decisions, it is necessary to analyze the interests and concerns of stakeholders for all development partners in the new city.This is called participation analysis, and it is based on answering the following questions: Who is the problem affecting?Who will benefit from the response?and Who will bear the cost of the response?Participation analysis ultimately focuses on current and targeted performance, and the results of the analysis are summarized in the following two tables [3] .
The problem and its effects.

Developing a Guide to Concepts and Methods for Calculating Monitoring Indicators
The guide is a booklet that includes information, guidance, concepts, and methods for measuring monitoring indicators to unify concepts among guide users and development partners.It is a brief informative container for information about each indicator that helps with sustainable urban development and decision-making.The guide is an essential reference that is referred to when there are any differences between decision-makers.[9] 7.1 Objectives of the Guide This guide aims to provide development stakeholders and decision-makers with information about monitoring indicators in new urban communities to assess the extent of their achievement towards their objectives, as follows:  Identifying concepts and methods for calculating indicators. Highlighting the importance and relevance of indicators to development strategies and policies. Understanding the characteristics of each indicator, the required data, and the periodicity of updating them. Determining the level of application for each indicator. Identifying the relationships between monitoring indicators.

Target Groups
 Citizens: interact with them through the media as a measure of the community's progress and the government's success in achieving its policies, in addition to identifying their requirements and needs to improve their living standards and direct their investments. Government entities: a tool to identify and monitor problems and evaluate its policies with the aim of developing policies and programs. New city entities and authorities: setting priorities for the required needs to be achieved and monitoring the implementation of development policies and programs. Private sector and investors: a tool to direct investments in different development sectors. Civil society organizations: monitoring government management and ensuring the achievement of its policies to reach its objectives and provide services to target groups. International agencies: a tool to measure the success of their programs and measure the performance of the implementing entities and evaluate the importance and impact of new initiatives.

Guide Methodology
The guide methodology is represented in providing a comprehensive explanation and description of monitoring indicators for new urban communities to build a quantitative and spatial database that can be applied.This description includes the following elements: [9] Table 3. Guide Methodology.

The official name of the indicator Indicator Name
A description of the indicator concept and its implications to make it clearer to users.

Indicator Description
The unit used to measure the indicator Measurement Unit A description of the equation used to calculate the indicator.

Calculation Method
The time period required to update the indicator data.

Monitoring Cycle
Determination of the spatial or geographic coverage level of the indicator application.

Application Level
Whether available through census, records, periodic publications and reports, or coordinated through the relevant authority, city agency, or field survey to obtain some indicators.Bulgaria.[4].
The purpose of measuring the indicator.Importance A set of local goals and strategies that the country aspires to, such as Egypt Vision 2030 or the National Plan for Urban Development 2052.

Linkage to National Goals and Strategies
The interrelatedness of direct indicators that are related to the measurement indicator.

Linkage to Other Indicators
A description of the indicator's relationship to international benchmarks such as sustainable development goals, urban prosperity, smart cities, or locally specific to new urban communities.

Linkage to Programs.
The targeted value over a period of time to improve indicator performance.Target.
A description of the proposed update mechanism for the indicator to be implemented by users.

Update Mechanism.
This element identifies the sources of the card from the most important international literature or local literature used to describe and explain the indicator.

Sources of Information.
Finally, this guide is developed to enhance the effectiveness of using monitoring indicators by making them available and widely distributed on the one hand, and facilitating their exchange among different parties on the other hand, as well as to eliminate any ambiguity or inconsistency that may arise when using these indicators.In addition, it highlights their importance in measuring and monitoring the performance of new cities on an ongoing basis and in developing urban development performance in the future based on national strategic plans, Ministry of Housing and Facilities plans, and New Urban Communities Authority plans.

8.Global and Arab Experiments for Monitoring and Analyzing Indicators 8.1 The Bulgarian Experiment: Veliko Turnovo City
Veliko Turnovo is located in northern Bulgaria and consists of the urban area and 37 rural municipalities.It has a population of approximately 105,000 people and is situated on the Yantra River.There is an international airport located 7 km away from the city, as well as the largest railway station.Veliko Turnovo is an important tourist, cultural, and historical center and boasts a clean environment.This experiment was chosen because it primarily focuses on sustainable urban development, which is one of its main objectives.Bulgaria was selected by the Global Urban Observatory to establish the urban observatory in the European region.This decision was based on Bulgaria's vital achievements and experience in the field of sustainable development.Four Bulgarian cities participated in the Urban Indicators Program project: Sofia, Burgas, Veliko Turnovo, and Troyan.The Urban Indicators Program project was assigned to the Department of Rights and Environment Services in the Municipality of Veliko Turnovo, where a team of development experts is working on this project.[4]

8.1.1.Urban Indicators for Veliko Turnovo City
Sustainable development is one of the most important goals for all city stakeholders, from government administration to civil society institutions.The city's economy relies primarily on industries such as electronics, food products, furniture, and textile industries.Private companies drive the commercial sector, and there is an increasing trend towards privatization.The Urban Indicators Program integrated various indicator sets into six main groups in the project: A. Housing Indicators: Aims to ensure that citizens have access to housing in all its forms.Housing distribution is based on market forces of supply and demand, and these houses are connected to the service network in all its departments.

B. Social Development and Poverty Reduction Indicators:
The community has established rules for education, healthy lifestyles, social integration, and security to serve as indicators or benchmarks for the community's development stage.

C. Environmental Management Indicators:
The presence and activation of geographic balance are considered indicators and measures of community development.The report also indicated that there is no air pollution problem in the city, and the main sources of pollution are industrial projects that rely on energy, such as transportation, heating, and buses.The city is making efforts to use clean energy and has waste treatment programs.

D. Economic Development Indicators:
These indicators measure the city's and individuals' income, privatization processes, and the transition to a market economy.Progress has also been made in healthcare and education, but it is noted that the individual income level is low and close to the expenditure level.Unemployment was estimated at about 8.1% in 1993 and is increasing.There is also an increase in the rate of informal employment, estimated at about 33.5% in 1993 and 36% in 1998, in addition to many other financial and monetary indicators.

E. Local Governance Indicators:
Based on the partnership between the city municipality and the private sector in implementing the city development program, its main goal is to achieve greater transparency for local authorities and greater citizen participation in decision-making.

f. International Cooperation Indicators:
There are eight bilateral agreements with different cities to exchange experiences, strategic planning, and identify key issues in communities.
The Urban Indicators Program for Veliko Turnovo City adopts the idea of supporting future activities and practical initiatives, stemming from the city's main goal of ensuring balanced and sustainable development.This is achieved by encouraging industries, tourism, advanced technology, and maintaining a balance between civilization and environmental conditions through the integration of economic, social, and environmental activities, among others.The city's urban observatory includes 20 comparable indicators, in addition to three indicators specific to the city regarding tourism, informal settlements, and the availability of green spaces.The aim is to ensure balanced and sustainable development .[4] The urban observatory has developed an information pyramid that starts with data at its base, followed by statistics and indicators, and ends with standards at the top.The indicators are divided into two parts: the housing indicators program and the urban indicators program.The housing indicators program aims to monitor and track the housing sector and identifies two main sources of information for these indicators: periodic annual information and gradually changing information obtained from censuses and field surveys.

.2. The Egyptian Experience
Egypt has experienced rapid and successive developments in various fields of life at the national, regional, and local levels.Decisionmaking processes are constantly in need of information and knowledge to enhance sustainable development.
Hence, the importance of establishing urban observatories.

Performance Measurement in New Cities
According to the New Urban Communities Authority, several methods are used:  Quarterly report In the past, these reports were used to evaluate the progress of implementation, but the problem with these reports is that they measure implementation, not development.

 Achievement Committee
Currently, periodic monitoring reports are produced in specific cases, such as: 1.When a new activity is introduced.2. When there is a specific political orientation to localize a project.3. To review and evaluate national projects, especially housing, to monitor their progress.4. To determine the status of a particular investment project and the obstacles facing it.This is done by a committee called the Achievement Committee, which is responsible for monitoring the implementation of projects with areas larger than 50 acres and investment projects with partnership contracts with the authority, as defined by ministerial decisions No. 140 and No. 185 for 2018.The tasks of the Achievement Committee are to evaluate projects and act as a neutral party between the New Urban Communities Authority and the executing company, with the aim of implementing projects correctly within the specified time frame.
 In all the above cases, the city's apparatus is consulted to collect data, and the authority is responsible for the implementation aspects and decision-making.The new city apparatus collects the required data, and what is known as an executive, real estate, and financial situation is produced for both urban and investment projects, while only an executive situation is produced for housing projects.

 The main committee for the urban monitoring unit of new urban communities
This committee was formed by Ministerial Decision No. 264 for 2020.The committee works in two stages: Stage 1: Determine the indicators that will be evaluated based on 111 selected indicators for different sectors in light of the available data.Stage 2: Establish an urban monitoring unit within the New Urban Communities Authority and establish urban monitoring units within the apparatus of new cities.
 The committee has completed the second step of stage 1 and has identified 131 adopted indicators, but they have not been officially published.

Urban Monitoring Committee
Quarterly reports Achievement Committee  In the event of an activity being created. In the event that there is a specific political orientation to localize a project. Reviewing and evaluating national projects, especially housing, to follow up on their progress. The desire to know the position of a particular investment project and the obstacles it faces.
 But the problem with these reports is that they measure implementation, not development.

Preparation of periodic reports that include updates on urban indicators and highlight key issues
The observatory prepares and analyzes housing indicators and produces reports on the state of Egyptian urbanization in existing and new cities.

Preparation and Presentation of an Urban Development Policy Framework and Action Plans
Determining urban situations and priority issues through joint studies, and discussions between the government, private sector, and civil society institutions The production of urban indicators at the national and local levels and their inclusion in the national report submitted to the Istanbul Conference

Distribution of Some Indicators by Type
Focus on classifying indicators by type for ease of handling Some indicators are not distributed by type.

Involvement
of various government, service, and societal entities in the work of the urban observatory through participation in identifying priority situations and issues.
The role of the observatory is limited to coordination between partners and relevant entities at the central and local levels without involving elected local councils and civil society institutions.

Improvement of Urban Policies based on Enhancing the Capacity of Information Collection, Analysis, and Utilization in Urban Policy and Planning
The observatory continuously and effectively analyzes the interrelationships between indicators to formulate a clear vision of key urban issues and find solutions The observatory has contributed significantly to housing studies and related issues in cooperation with the Habitat and the Canadian International Development Agency, which aimed to identify the housing market in Egyptian cities.

Development of Urban and Housing Policies, including Integrated Social Dimensions
addresses the analysis of informal settlements in the city and provides results in proposed policies, considering housing policy development as an integral part of the problem-solving process Development of urban indicators in the field of housing in existing and new cities.

Formulating urban action plans, implementing them, and evaluating them in light of issues and policies
The role of the observatory is to extract urban indicators and present them in an easily understandable manner to decision-makers and assist in formulating and implementing urban action plans.
The observatory cannot formulate and implement urban action plans as its mandate is limited to issuing urban indicators.

Supporting urban policies and making development decisions and utilizing digital technology for this purpose and making it accessible to all
The observatory has supported urban action plans, especially by reviewing urban indicators related to important social issues such as poverty and informal settlements.observatory publishes the results of urban indicators on the internet and delivers the results of the indicators according to a cooperation protocol between the Urban Planning Authority and the governors of major cities, but it does not have any authority to monitor implementation.Building local capacities to achieve good urban management based on scientific foundations The observatory has been able to build capacities and technical expertise, train them in generating, managing, analyzing, and utilizing information in policy and strategy development.
The training is limited to observatory staff and does not include employees of the Urban Development and Urban Planning Administration in municipalities.

Activation of the action plan at all levels
Determining urban situations and priority issues through joint studies, research, consultations, and discussions between all development partners.
The Egyptian observatory has not activated the action plan as its role is limited to issuing urban indicators.

Using digital databases and managing and analyzing urban information and data and creating an informational website on the Internet
A database program for urban indicators has been designed, including all data with high flexibility and simplified methods to retrieve indicator values and conduct comparisons at all levels.
Digital databases are used through GIS software, linking urban indicators to locations and presenting them in periodic reports on the World Wide Web.

Evaluating the trajectory and management of the development process in new urban communities
Based on the readings from previous studies to assess the trajectory of the Egyptian experience, weaknesses in this experience have been identified and can be summarized as follows:

Delay in population growth in new cities
The general picture of population studies confirms the delay in population growth in new cities.If there are reasons for this delay, such as a shortage of funding, the reality that cannot be ignored is that these cities have not yet achieved the desired goals of their establishment.
Studies have shown that the population in new cities does not match the history of the city's establishment, which indicates that the forces attracting people to cities are different.The most attractive city for population growth is 6th of October City, where its population has reached about 375,000 people after a quarter of a century since its establishment, despite the industries in it being smaller in size than those in the 10th of Ramadan City.
Studies have also shown that the highest settlement rate in new cities is in 15 May City (92%), which is predominantly residential, followed by New Damietta City (59.3%) and Al-Amal City (48%).The occupancy in the rest of the cities is less than 50%, the largest of which are the 10th of Ramadan City and New Cairo City.It is worth noting that the new communities have not been able to reduce the increase in population density in the inhabited area.After being 1,100 individuals per square kilometer in 1976, the population density reached 1,450 individuals per square kilometer in 1990, an increase in population density per square kilometer during this period at an average rate of 25 individuals per year, which witnessed the establishment of urban communities to redistribute the population.The new cities have not been able to absorb the migration flow towards Cairo and Alexandria, although most of the new urban communities are located near these two cities.In conclusion, we find that the population attraction policies that encourage migration to new communities to achieve the strategic development goals have not been achieved in most new cities due to the decision-maker's failure to choose appropriate alternatives.The following table shows the very slow population growth of some new cities, although they have completed their designated development years without achieving the targeted population census.[11]

Weak occupancy in the housing sector
Studies indicate that more than 40% of housing units are vacant due to several reasons, including some people escaping government housing due to high rents or ownership installments that do not match their income.In addition, more than 25% of commercial areas are not utilized due to the difficulty of providing commercial and public services efficiently.

Obstacles to the capital used in the development of new cities
The value of the projects implemented in new cities exceeded 2.19 billion Egyptian pounds, which in itself constitutes a significant obstacle to the capital since the return on these long-term massive investments is weak.The real purpose of these investments was to raise and support the production and investment processes as well as creating a socially distinguished environment, which has not happened yet, putting big question marks on the money spent and the actual material return of the capital invested in new cities.

Human and Mechanical Wasted Energies
The human wasted energies are represented by the populations living in the new cities, such as those living in 6th of October City and 15th of May City, who are forced to commute daily to their work outside the city.As for the mechanical energies, they are the various means of transportation whose movements increase with the increase of commuters, causing excessive consumption and a burden on traffic flow, especially during peak hours.

Continuation of the Housing Crisis and Existing Cities' Problems
Despite the declared goal in all studies of new cities that their purpose is to alleviate the burden and population pressure on existing cities, especially in the regions of Cairo and Alexandria, the housing problem in existing cities is still becoming more complicated.The number of Egyptian households increases annually by about 100,000 families without an equal number of housing units, indicating that the creation of new cities in their current form has not affected existing cities in reducing population growth.This is despite the fact that more than 40% of the housing units in new cities are vacant.On the other hand, existing cities still suffer from unemployment crises, and it has been proven that most of the industrial projects established in those cities did not cause a tangible change in the labor market mechanism.Not only that, but most of the workforce present there was originally from other places.

Urban Growth Dispersal
This is clearly evident in the dispersal of growth in residential areas and service centers.Public and private housing projects are spread over a large number of neighborhoods without any of them being completed, while service facilities are distributed randomly at the three levels of the neighborhood, district, and city.In addition, there is another notable fact of the imbalance between the implementation levels in the industrial, housing, and service sectors.
We find that some of these new cities suffer from isolation and low population, in contrast to what was planned for these cities.Most official reports agree that the reasons for the low attraction of new cities to residents are: a.The main problem with new cities is that they were created without providing basic services, and the insufficient educational, health, supply, entertainment, and security services negate the importance of moving to them.b.New cities did not reduce the burden on the capital due to the absence of connecting networks and transportation between new cities and the capital, and the lack of transportation means or their inadequacy or high cost, which is not commensurate with the income of residents or the targeted population to attract, leading to the idea of isolation.It is worth noting that a significant number of individuals own housing units in these cities, but they are closed due to their inability to lead their normal lives in terms of livelihood and socializing with family and friends due to the lack of transportation, which has led to the migration of a large number of residents from these cities. c.The high cost of housing units in some new cities does not correspond to the income of the supposed families to attract.Some experts have confirmed that the increase in real estate prices in new cities has begun to exceed prices in some areas of the capital "Cairo," which does not happen in the rest of the world.They also pointed out that the return on investment in real estate, which is estimated at the return on rent, ranges from 3-5% in new cities, which is less than half the interest rate.In downtown areas, it reaches 7-8%, which is lower than the global rates and represents a risk for investors.[12] 8.4.7 Continuing crisis in housing and existing urban problems Despite the stated goal in all studies of new cities being to alleviate the burden and population pressure on existing cities, especially in the Cairo and Alexandria regions, the housing problem in existing cities continues to increase in complexity.This is evidenced by the fact that the number of Egyptian households increases by around 100,000 annually with no equivalent increase in housing units, indicating that the creation of new cities in their current form has not affected existing cities in reducing population growth.This is despite the fact that over 40% of the housing units in new cities are vacant, and on the other hand, existing cities are still suffering from unemployment crises.Moreover, most of the industrial projects established in those cities have not had a tangible impact on the labor market.Not only that, but most of the workforce in those cities was originally from other places.

Scattered urban growth
This is clearly evident in the scattered growth of residential areas and service centers, where public and private housing projects are spread out in a large number of neighborhoods without any of them being completed, while service facilities are randomly distributed at the three levels of neighborhood, district, and city.In addition, there is another notable fact of the imbalance between the levels of implementation in the industry, housing, and services sectors.
We find that some of these new cities suffer from isolation and low population compared to what was planned for them.Most official reports agree that the reasons for the low attraction of new cities to residents are: A-The main problem with new cities is that they were created without providing basic services and the inadequacy of educational, health, supply, entertainment, and security services, which undermines the importance of moving to them.B-New cities did not relieve the burden on the capital due to the lack of connecting networks and transportation between new cities and the capital, the unavailability, inadequacy, or high cost of transportation means that do not match the income of residents or the target population to be attracted, which necessitates high resources for families and the necessity of providing a car for apartment owners, reducing the demand for them and increasing the idea of isolation.It should be noted that a considerable number of individuals own housing units in these cities but they are closed because they cannot Land value.
-Lands with high demand.
-Lands expected to have mixed future use Targeted population size and achieved results.lead their normal lives in terms of livelihood, visiting family and friends due to the lack of transportation, which has led to a large number of residents leaving these cities.C-The high financial cost of housing units in some new cities is not commensurate with the income of the supposed families to be attracted, and a number of experts have confirmed that the high prices of real estate in new cities have begun to exceed those in some areas of the capital "Cairo", which is not happening in other countries around the world.They also confirmed that the return on investment in real estate, estimated at the rental return, ranges from 3-5% in new cities, which is less than half of the interest rate, while in downtown areas it reaches 7-8%, and these rates are lower than global rates, which represents a risk for investors.

City's objective
Looking at the three previous elements, we find that attracting residents to live and settle in new cities depends on the integration relationship between the three elements of job opportunities, housing, and services.It is worth mentioning that new communities and cities have not been able to reduce or limit the increase in population density in the inhabited area.Moreover, new cities have not been able to absorb the migration flow towards Cairo and Alexandria, even though most of the new urban communities are located near the cities of Cairo and Alexandria.
Studies confirm that the growth of new cities is affected by the prevailing economic, social, and political conditions in the country, as it is an integral part of the overall urban pattern.Factors affecting new city development can be classified into internal factors, represented by the characteristics of the administrative system for city development, and external factors, represented by the variables of the external environment, such as the availability of material and natural resources, as well as prevailing values and beliefs in society.[13]

Conclusion
Through the discussion in the research paper and the presentation of global and local experiences and their evaluation according to the research objectives, the use of urban indicators in the development process in Egypt has faced several obstacles, which can be summarized as follows: 1. Overlapping responsibilities between local administration and urban administration: Municipal bodies assume control within their jurisdiction and within the framework of the state's general policies, overseeing various facilities and works that fall within their jurisdiction, and Local administration is responsible for establishing and managing all public facilities within its jurisdiction, as well as all the specializations that are assigned to it by laws and regulations.2. Ineffectiveness of local administration in performing its duties, where local administration units fail to perform their duties effectively.

Deficiencies in organizational relationships, including:
 Lack of organizational relationships between local units and the urban management branch. Lack of a clear form that governs the relationship between local units and urban management. Lack of precise determination of the responsibilities of each local unit and the urban management branch. Lack of delegation of authority by the local units to monitor the work of the urban management branches.4. Overloading the responsibilities of the governor, which negatively affects the process of urban development.5. Failure to consider the regulatory, social, and economic disparities among localities.6.Failure to transfer the responsibilities of central ministries to localities, despite the 1971 law calling for the gradual transfer of responsibilities.7. Dispersal of urban development matters between central ministries and localities.8. Failure of local councils to exercise their assigned power.

Recommendations
The research recommendations are summarized as follows: 1. Study the issue of urban monitoring in new cities  New cities should be managed in a participatory manner, as traditional centralized management impedes their development.Investors should be encouraged to participate in their management and operation, and greater opportunities for public participation should be provided, as civil society is the direct beneficiary of the development of new cities. Coordination must be established between the relevant urban community's authority, ministries, and governorates to avoid conflicts in decisions and jurisdictions.

Regulating development trends in new cities through indicators
 Developing methods for preparing urban indicators that are in line with the local community's circumstances and developing methods for collecting and analyzing data. There must be a national urban development policy in Egypt linked to the economic and social development plans.The problem is the absence of a general, declared, and clear policy, with only scattered decisions and programs taken hastily to solve urgent problems.Decision-makers may also resort under certain pressures to make decisions that may hinder the growth of the new city, with its resulting developmental losses and waste of public investments.
3. Monitoring and tracking the progress of new cities and achieving their development goals.
 Decision-makers must adhere to the original plan and not deviate from it.The function of the city and its economic base must be clear to decision-makers and must be within the state's economic and social development plan. Decision-makers must adhere to the goals for which new cities were created, especially considering the social dimension.The policies followed in selling land and housing units, while aimed at providing resources for the state, often result in buyers being mostly those who are capable of speculating, thus losing new cities' fundamental goal of construction.
4. Measurement of performance, analyzing and measuring the development process in new cities.
 The importance of activating the role of community participation and working with the private sector to develop and use appropriate urban indicators and develop mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation in preparing the urban strategy and providing the necessary urban indicators for decision-makers towards a good urban development tool for new cities. Urban observatories should be established at the level of new city authorities, and it is important to provide a single reference for urban indicators, creating a list of urban monitoring indicators that are applicable and show the changes that occur over time to support policy makers and decision-makers. Preparation of technical cadres capable of continuity and development of work in urban observatories.

5.
Activating the role of urban information management systems in the development process in new cities. It should not be overlooked that indicators are a flexible element that can be tailored to the specificity of the situation, goals, and priorities. Capacities must be built to generate, manage, analyze, and disseminate information in a regular manner, and to use it in decision-making, policy and sectoral strategies in the framework of the local action plan for new urban communities. It is necessary to provide financial support for urban observatories, with a more effective institutional form to activate the urban indicators agreed upon internationally in an integrated manner. Developing mechanisms for preparing and transferring accurate information to decisionmakers in a timely manner.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Urban monitoring steps for new cities.source: by the author.4.1 Tasks of new city observatories Monitoring, tracking, and evaluating the achievement of national policy goals according to development priorities. Designing a list of indicators based on strategies and policies to determine precise objectives. Controlling development according to the indicators of sustainable urban monitoring. Assisting in the process of sustainable development by providing needed information and establishing a database for decision makers, as well as promoting a culture of monitoring and evaluation. Directing and allocating spending through a set of specialized indicators.[1]

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Logical sequence of urban knowledge accumulation.source: by the author.


Identify a suitable methodological framework for new urban communities to determine indicators. Identify the main and sub-sectors and their suitable indicators. Provide a (spatial) database for new urban communities. Determine the interrelationships between indicators. The role of indicators in the stages of sustainable urban management and overall city perception.

Figure 5 .
Figure 5.A measurement framework for urban indicators.source: [6] modified by the author.

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The idea of urban indicators emerges from dealing with the city as an integrated analytical unit in which all urban sectors integrate to derive priorities for comprehensive urban development work in the city.The general framework for indicators is based on the basic pillars of urban development in new communities, which have been agreed upon and translated into a package of international and local background indicators.The proposed indicators for urban monitoring in new cities are a tool to reach a valid and appropriate measurement and analysis that serves the specified goals.The most important uses of indicators include:  Describing and analyzing current situations in an integrated manner and their direction. Comparing places and their situations at a certain time or over time. Estimating current situations and directions for goals and purposes. Providing early warning information. Future estimates of current situations and directions. Measuring the effects of policies, programs and progress towards achieving desired goals. Identifying urban challenges and setting priorities. Monitoring the level of living conditions and community services to achieve city prosperity and quality of life. The relationship between development planning and indicators is close, as sound development planning cannot be thought of without accurate and reliable information and indicators.[7]

Figure 6 .
Figure 6.Steps for building the indicators database for new cities.[9].

Figure 7 .
Figure 7. Location of Veliko Turnovo City in

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in May 1999 by the Ministry of Housing as a general administration within the organizational structure of the General Authority for Urban Planning.The National Urban Observatory coordinates with the relevant bodies involved in urban development operations in Egypt at both the central and local levels, by collecting and analyzing data to produce urban indicators and provide policymakers with information to contribute to the preparation and development of national urban policies.[10] 8.2.2 Tasks of urban monitoring unit 1. Monitoring current situations, producing indicators, and providing decision-makers with information at all levels.2. Preparing and analyzing urban indicators, reading and extracting urban challenges and priorities.3. Monitoring and measuring the efficiency of development policies through urban indicators,and reviewing the preparation of plans and policies.4. Training personnel and raising the efficiency of workers in the urban monitoring unit. 5. Establishing a statistical and geographical database that collects, analyzes, monitors, and evaluates indicators.6. Formulating urban development policies and using the feedback from monitoring to evaluate the effectiveness of these policies.[9]

Figure 9 .
Figure 9. Measuring performance in new cities.source: by the author.

 3
The committee carried out the second step of the first stage, and 131 work indicators were identified.In the past, these reports were made periodically and presented to the minister, in which the implementation that had been accomplished was evaluated.A committee to follow up the implementation of projects with large areas of more than 50 acres and investment projects with partnership contracts with the authority formed by Ministerial Resolutions No. 140 and No. 185 of 2018.The committee is formed by Ministerial Resolution No. 264 of 2020, and the work of the committee is based on twophasesEvaluation of previous experiences Some experiences have been presented, and they vary in nature, whether in terms of the level of urban development of cities, geographic distribution differences among them, or the nature and conditions of each city and its specific problems.The analytical study of previous experiences indicates a clear difference in the level of commitment to the core indicators established in the Istanbul+5 Conference, which may indicate that these indicators do not align with the conditions of some cities.The Egyptian experience in the field of urban observatories shows the modesty of that experience so far and its lack of overall inclusiveness, due to the absence of mechanisms for data collection and updating, the absence of urban information management systems, and the lack of coordination among relevant entities in urban development.The selection of evaluation elements is based on the objectives


From the above, the following obstacles to urban development can be inferred:  Insufficient information and data to help planners and decision-makers. Insufficient specialized sectoral studies to determine priorities in addressing problems. Sole reliance on the state in the financing process, leading to delays in development. Lack of continuous monitoring of development rates or evaluation of the experiment.The research propose a new framework for Urban Monitoring Indicators in New Urban Communities framework has been proposed in light of the research objectives, consisting of five steps: First Prepare an input program for the agreed-upon indicator framework (SPSS program), and through this specialized program, the required analysis can be performed to issue the indicators accurately, Collect the required information and data about cities from reliable sources to ensure the accuracy and precision of the information (Information Center at the New Urban Communities Authority and city agencies), Then Produce urban indicators according to the required levels, Check and review the collected data and identify obstacles to obtaining this information and determine alternative sources for obtaining accurate information, and finaly link the information to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for ease of map work and required analysis.as shown Figure.11.

Figure 11 .
Figure 11.Framework which proposed for producing urban indicators.source: by the author.

Table 1 .
Stakeholder and Affected Parties Interest Analysis Matrix

Table 2 .
Matrix of stakeholder and interested parties' interests: The expected outcomes after intervention.

Table 4 .
evaluation of global and local experiences in the use of urban indicators in the development process.