This project explores the patterns of urban growth through the lens of Cairo's rapid development, focusing on informal settlements encroaching on agricultural land. Cairo’s urban expansion serves as a case study to simulate how urban forms might emerge in response to socio-economic and environmental pressures.

The design began with a 2.5-dimensional surface, constructed through custom C# code to generate the underlying geometry. Using “vanilla” Grasshopper and “GH#” components, buildings were algorithmically positioned and scaled on this surface, mimicking the organic, unplanned growth (that also follows the plot lines of agricultural land) as seen in Cairo’s informal settlements.

Visualizing the tension between urbanization and agricultural preservation, this project is a first (visual) attempt to use computation in understanding complex urban phenomena. The resulting model captures the emergent qualities of Cairo's urban landscape, providing insights into how similar patterns might unfold in other rapidly growing cities.