On the outskirts of a Cairo neighborhood called Maadi is a collection of cardboard and metal shacks housing hundreds of poor families. The illegal settlement is called Tora and the people who live there are known as the Zabbaleen. The Zabbaleen collect the garbage in Maadi and sort it -- often in their own homes -- for recyclers.

For years the government has threatened to eliminate Tora and develop the area, raising an issue that is at the heart of urbanization.

"You can't have sustainable cities that are only environmentally and economically sustainable," says Richard Stren of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. "You must also have social sustainability. Diversity is important. If the marginal groups in a city are not integrated into the city, you will have problems at a number of levels."

Private groups created a plan and secured money that allowed 300 Zabbaleen families to build brick homes and a health clinic in Tora. Equally important, the government has recognized Tora's right to exist and the Zabbaleen's contributions.

The Zabbaleen collect 200 tons of garbage a day at no cost to the city. Ninety percent of that garbage is recycled, providing 45 jobs for young people from the settlement.

The hope is that permanent homes ultimately will be built for all of Tora's residents, and that the area will also be provided with sewage, water, electricity, a children's club, a day-care center and a nursery. Also, Zabbaleen's recycling activities are to be moved to a nearby location, allowing Tora to develop as a residential-only village.

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