Rehousing strategies in Casablanca

This thesis builds upon previous research in Casablanca, done in the academic year ‘13-’14. It further addresses current developments in the city and how they are coping with physical growth and economic interests. The following questions are at the center of this research: How are cultural practices adapting to the recent mass-housing projects? Can these projects be an alternative to the ‘bidonvilles’ to house the mass influx of migrants? How can the informal collide with the formal?

The periphery of Casablanca is growing fast, partly reinforced by the ‘Villes sans Bidonvilles’ project that was launched to clear the city of slums. As the inhabitants of slums, often located at strategic and central locations in the city, were rehoused to places outside the periphery of the city, the former slums were replaced by more exclusive projects. In this way the project was causing gentrification rather than reducing urban poverty.

After researching the current urban trends in Casablanca on multiple scale levels, the students present their design proposals based upon thoughts and insights gained during their research. Two groups focus on the former bidonville ‘Carrières Centrales’, another on the design of a typological masterplan for new districts on the edge of the city.