The nuances of the supplied urban fabric in the MENA Region: Evidence from Alexandria, Egypt

•Urban development strategies in the MENA Region.•Urban measures of the supplied neighborhoods in Alexandria, Egypt.•An introductory policy of adding transport costs to the value of the land prices. There are different urban qualities that can define the traditional cities in the MENA region, such as high densities, walkability, and mixed use-residential led development. However, in the last decades when old cities merged with newer developments, under planning codes or informally, different urban qualities can be observed. Indeed, within the rapid urbanization and the limited budgets of less developed countries, the supply of utopian neighborhoods becomes an obsolete solution. Thus, it equivocates which basic urban qualities are imperative to be ensured in the land use policies that can make new cities more inhabitable. Hence, this paper attempts to empirically identify the essential urban measures in the case of Alexandria in Egypt. Descriptive and numerical analyses, using T-test method, were conducted to analyze the urban fabric of eight selected neighborhoods that belong to two different spatial groups; old districts group and new urban development group. The outcomes reveal that, with limited urban planning and development budget, the most influential concepts that may be set as priorities are walkability, neighborhood job opportunities, and availability of public transport infrastructures related to different modes. Also, the research recommends a new housing-transport policy for new cities. This may be significant for policy making by municipalities and other bodies related to planning and implementation in Egypt or the neighboring countries.