Still another effort focuses on the satellite cities, a series
of new settlements constructed in desert areas, especially east
and west of the Nile Delta. These were meant to relieve one
of Egypt’s great problems, the urban primacy of Cairo. The
country’s capital is a classic primate city, meaning Cairo has
more people than Egypt’s second- and third-largest cities
combined. Practically everything and everybody gravitates to
Cairo, because that is where most of the country’s jobs and
services are located. The problem is that such urban primacy
has a snowball effect: The opportunities attract more and more
people, and the city keeps growing