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In 1865 the Cairo Water Company secured a ninety-nine-year concession granting it exclusive control over the water supply in the Egyptian capital. What followed was a profound remaking of the city and everyday life. Historically, water had been drawn from the Nile and delivered to public facilities by manual labor. By the early twentieth century, however, mechanized pumping, underground pipes, and in-home fixtures were rapidly becoming the new norm. Pipe Economics tells the story of modern Cairo through the hidden infrastructure that made this transformation possible.

Drawing on extensive research in Egyptian and British archives, Shehab Ismail uncovers how water and sewage networks reshaped Cairo - its housing and construction patterns, urban planning practices, public health regimes, urban services and their underlying economies, and even national politics. As the old collectively managed water system gave way to private companies and expanding state bureaucracy, faucets, drains, and flushing toilets became defining features of the Egyptian home, altering how people lived, consumed, and understood what it meant to be modern. By following the engineers who designed, built, and managed water infrastructures, this book positions Cairo as a vivid example for exploring a global shift in water management, from a regime rooted in public, communal institutions to one centered on individualized, domestic use.