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The ‘third-party partner’ social housing organization as a collective challenge in Casablanca, Morocco

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Abstract

Since the independence day in 1956, the Moroccan State has adopted a considerable number of social housing policies and urban strategies to combat unsanitary housing, particularly in Casablanca. Contrary to all these favourable social housing and urban implementations lacking an appropriate framework in Morocco, these settlements still represent a new chain of serious dilemmas constituted by social and physical problems. This article starts with an overview of the Moroccan governmental post-colonial urban and social housing policies in Casablanca. It aims to evaluate the outcomes of the governmental ‘Cities Without Slums’ program launched as a strategy of the National Initiative for Human Development upgrading in 2004. Investigating the restructuring on site, rehousing, and resettlement strategies, this article focuses on resettlement implementations by presenting a detailed analysis of the “third-party partner” organization and aims to discuss its social and physical outcomes. Today, social housing concepts as outcomes of post-colonial global penetrations in developing countries in South America and Africa might turn into a generic urban trap, delusion or disappointment for the urban poor. In this context, this study finally includes suggestions regarding the sustainable social housing concepts especially in Casablanca, Morocco by considering and reminding the spatial justice, equity, economy, transparent management, organization, housing diversity and urban identity and democracy.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Notes

  1. useful / useless Morocco: the notion of useful vs useless Morocco had been emitted by the French colonizers during the period of protectorate, in the beginning of 20th century, making the difference between the regions with strong economic potential: agricultural regions (such as Chaouia, Tadla, Haouz and Gharb), and the regions of mining, and maritime are useful; and the other regions, without appreciable natural resources, left aside as useless.

  2. Social housing: social housing concept as an alternative to terms like “affordable housing” or “low cost housing” (Gabriel & Jacobs, 2005), identifies a housing that helps low-income households to obtain and pay for appropriate housing without facing excessive financial difficulties. An optimal social housing should be easily adapted to the social practices and has to emphasize on the practical aspects of tenant participation and the multi-agency working (Reeves, 2013). Contemporary social housings should include security, existence of facilities and infrastructures, payment capacity, habitability and accessibility. They may also be seen as being a pioneer in planning pilots and experiments in the nationalist agenda to develop in to a ‘modern economy’ by shifting from socialist to neoliberal regimes particularly in the developing countries (Bontje, 2019).

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  1. Faculty of Architecture and Design, Bahcesehir University, North Campus, B Blok, Kat:8, Ihlamur Yildiz Cad., No:8, Gayrettepe, 34353, Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ali Devrim Işıkkaya, Ismail Alami Ouali & Najm-Dine El Otmani

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  1. Ali Devrim Işıkkaya
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  2. Ismail Alami Ouali
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  3. Najm-Dine El Otmani
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Correspondence to Ali Devrim Işıkkaya.

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We (Ali Devrim Işıkkaya, Ismail Alami Ouali and Najm-Dne El Otmani) as authors declare that we have no conflict of interest.

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Işıkkaya, A.D., Ouali, I.A. & Otmani, ND.E. The ‘third-party partner’ social housing organization as a collective challenge in Casablanca, Morocco. Environ Dev Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-04426-z

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