Egyptian cities have seen many changes under different socio-economic and political forces, especially over the last 150 years: by the end of the 19th century, the setting up of colonial cities beside traditional ones; by mid-1960, is the establishment of public housing estates; after 1970, the development of modern districts; and finally, the emergence and growth of informal settlements. The city offers, thus, a subsequent development at different times, with each pattern having a different character. Over the past three decades, Egyptian cities have undergone fundamental changes and rapid urbanization. The changes caused environmental problems and degradation. The change and transformation of the cities led to a disrupted the townscape, fragmentation and contradiction between new and old, degradation of historic districts and significant architecture, unplanned developments, in addition to unattractive visual appearances. The problem of the transform of Egyptian cities stems from a variety of well known reasons: a rapid increase in population not matched by new housing; an internal migration from rural to urban centres; a deterioration of old parts of the city without upgrading or equivalent replacement; an accumulation of housing shortages over the years, and finally, the neglect of visual design aspects in current development planning in Egypt. The examining of the Egyptian city is indicating that each part contains a specific physical problem. In the traditional district, poor economic conditions of residents, lack of commitment and maintenance of buildings lead to a rapid dilapidation of the housing stack. Collapsed buildings were replaced by new structures of different characters and qualities. In the colonial districts, historic buildings were destroyed and replaced with new high-rise apartment buildings. Because of a lack of tight municipal control, owners were able to add more floors than building regulations permitted. In many modern districts, weakness and ignorance of building regulations lead to an absence of coherence, which lowered the visual qualities of these districts. As a result of the inappropriateness of public housing and its failure to respond to users’ needs, many families decided to engage in informal building activities inside the formal sector. On the other hand, the informal settlements represent a low-quality development and a constant transformation. The informal settlements generally are characterized by the poverty of the inhabitants, social marginalization, makeshift characteristics of the houses, unplanned development, deviation from planning and building laws. The objective of this thesis is to explore the appropriate visual design guidelines, which can enhance the visual qualities and improve the urban environment of Egyptian cities. The research has attempted to focus on the visual qualities of EL-Minya City, as one of the Egyptian medium-sized cities, which was left on the fringes for a long time. The research is divided into five chapters. In chapter one, the visual characteristics of Arabic cities will be examined in order to define their key features. Chapter two identifies the main forces and factors of the current urban development in Egypt. Chapter three analyses the visual qualities of EL-Minya City as one of the medium-sized cities in Egypt. Chapter four introduces actual experiences of renewal projects in Arabic cities. Chapter five presents the recommendations of the research.