---
id: "entity-al-azhar-park"
type: "entity"
source_timestamps: ["§ Charging something is better than nothing."]
tags: ["case-study", "public-goods", "success-mode"]
related: ["claim-token-charge-responsibility", "entity-al-fustat-gardens", "contrarian-public-goods-fees"]
entityType: "place"
canonicalName: "Al-Azhar Park"
aliases: ["Azhar Park", "Al Azhar Park"]
sources: ["commercial"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-commercial"
originDay: 5
articleStem: "hbr-ext-23-risks-of-free"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/06/the-risks-of-offering-free-goods-and-services"
sourceTitle: "The Risks of Offering “Free” Goods and Services"
---
# Al-Azhar Park

**Al-Azhar Park** is a park in **Old Cairo, Egypt** that opened in **March 2005** (a ~30-hectare green space). Despite initial criticism over charging an entrance fee for a public green space, the **modest fee** is credited with creating a sense of **civic responsibility** among visitors (proper trash disposal, respect for the grounds) and providing **steady funding for upkeep**. Two decades later, it remains a thriving urban oasis.

It is the *success* half of the paired natural experiment in [[claim-token-charge-responsibility]] and the contrarian argument in [[contrarian-public-goods-fees]], contrasted against the free-access failure of [[entity-al-fustat-gardens]].

**Enrichment note.** Independent sources confirm the **March 2005 opening** and that the park **does charge a non-zero entrance fee**, but the causal narrative ("modest fee → civic responsibility → thriving upkeep") is an **interpretation** not directly quantified by the supplied sources. Ticket prices have **changed over time**, so any specific fare in the source should be verified against current ticketing policy. Canonical reference: the park's official/current ticketing and visitor-information pages.