Sidi Moumen, from terror slum to open city

Sammanfattning: Due to rural – urban migration, mass housing has become an inevitable part in the development of cities but mass housing today does not conform to the norms of sustainable urbanism. Most mass housing areas are socially isolated, culturally inappropriate and environmentally unsustainable. The mass housing areas in the western world are mostly post-war and in a crucial need of renovation whilst in less developed countries, such as Morocco, mass housing areas are seen as the only solution to the problem of the rural – urban migration and mass housing areas are being built with tremendous speed. Sidi Moumen is the largest and most infamous slum area in Casablanca due to an incident in May 2003 when the social isolation escalated into terror as downtown Casablanca bombings killed more than 45 people. All bombers came from the Sidi Moumen slum. Overnight, Sidi Moumen became famous as a terror slum. The government reacted promptly, and introduced the ambitious national program “Ville sans Bidonville” (Cities without Slums) in 2004. The “Cities without slums” program aims to eliminate all unhealthy habitats, more commonly known as slum areas. Today Sidi Moumen is transforming from a terror slum area into a busy mass housing area. Sidi Moumen is suffering from social problems like analphabetism, poverty, unemployment and lack of infrastructure, green spaces and service. But the main problem of Sidi Moumen is the unhealthy habitat. The “Cities without Slums” program has a good intention, with Social housing being built in the area, but are lacking in many aspects, such as for the cultural adaption, house planning and the top down planning behind it. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the current living conditions in Sidi Moumen. Furthermore it will try to propose an upgrading process that involves the inhabitants in a cultural accepted and sustainable direction. The work has been based on the Radicant research and design method which consists of interdisciplinary research of the place, culture of living in Morocco, and the needs and aspirations of its inhabitants. The method consists of four phases, and in this work we have taken us to phase two - Interdisciplinary urban mapping. In order to understand the scale, the culture and the actual situation in Sidi Moumen, on - site analysis, interviews, stakeholder conferences and literature studies were carried out. To solve the problems of unhealthy habitat we have proposed urban renewal concepts concerning housing typologies, public and green spaces, smart transport, circular economy projects and concepts to reach a sustainable neighborhood. If implemented, these concepts would transform Sidi Moumen from a terror slum to an Open City. These concepts also have the potentials to transform other similar areas in Morocco weighed down by the problems associated with mass housing. The main conclusions being drawn from this work is the importance of the presence of the inhabitants in the planning process. Without the presence of the inhabitants, the “Cities without slums program” will never be a success and new slum areas will continue to form.