The estimated 11-million population of Cairo, a megacity, is projected to grow at an annual rate of at least two per cent until at least 2020. Whatever the political and religious overtones of these upheavals, at their root lay the failure of political leaders to cater adequately for the needs of their large, young and mostly urban-based populations. Hie imperative for new governments will remain the provision of responsive urban governance and affordable housing alternatives for large numbers of hitherto marginalized urban youth.