Musseques | Processos de urbanização da pobreza

Abstract

Situations of urban informality are part of a global phenomenon that has increased in contexts of social indignity. Whatever the name that designates it "Bairros do caniço" in Mozambique, Slums in South Africa, "Imijondolo" in Kenya, "Bidonvilles" in Algeria, or "Musseques" in Luanda, they all are a reflection of real social segregation in urban areas of major African capitals. In the city of Luanda, capital of Angola, a country located on the west coast of Africa, factors such as administrative instability, a weak economic orientation, rural migration, population explosion and racial segregation of classes associated with an extended period of colonial and civil war, led to infrastructural deficiencies and serious housing needs. Currently with 6 million inhabitants, 75% of those living in slum area, it is estimated that in 2015 the city of Luanda will shelter 34.75% of the population of Angola. Troubling numbers for a city that has always had a weak capacity of response to the phenomenon of hyper-­‐ accelerated urbanization. In Luanda, the informal settlements commonly known as "Musseques" -­‐ a word that designates the red color land that circumscribe the city where most of the settlements were born -­‐ are the physical representation of racial and economic segregation which results in a fragmented urban space. This study aims to discuss the inherent urban informal processes in Luanda, which involve a number of characteristic phenomena of African cities, focusing on urban planning in social urgency contexts, and trying to formulate intervention strategies for the rehabilitation and upgrading of informal urban areas in Luanda, with greatly reduced time limits. Through the observation of similar cases, cities that are struggling with the same constraints and urban intervention strategies implemented in these same countries, the study seeks to understand the most appropriate intervention policies to its urban context, taking into account the cultural impact, history and social habits that characterize the specific case of Luanda.