Alternatives to involuntary resettlement: making an argument for in situ multi-storey social housing in Maputo

A Research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Masters of Built Environment in Housing. Johannesburg, April 2018 === Res...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Oliveira, Marcia
Format: Others
Language:en
Published: 2018
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10539/25981
Description
Summary:A Research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Masters of Built Environment in Housing. Johannesburg, April 2018 === Resettlement has been a common worldwide practice in development projects criticised for promoting difficult living conditions, raising ‘new poverty’ (Cernea, 2003), causing involuntary segregation and contributing to the exclusion of the right to the city (Jorge, 2016 and Melo, 2015). The last five years, during the implementation of urban infrastructure projects in Maputo, more than 5500 individuals were relocated (Jorge, 2016 and PROMAPUTO, 2017.) Such urban investments benefit mostly an upper middle class and impair the lower social classes, drawing them to areas far from the urban centre (Jenkins, 2001 and Jorge, 2016). Maputo also faces the constraint of lack of vacant land for housing within its administrative boundaries (PROMAPUTO, 2017). In this context, it is urgent to introduce a new resettlement approach, which may promote better outcomes, help to reorganise the territory in integrated and sustainable ways, and allow a greater right to the city to all its citizens. Three key concepts that are analysed in the context of Maputo are involuntary resettlement, social housing, and the right to the city, including land management. The report is guided by the main question: Could multi-­‐storey social housing construction in situ, offer an alternative to involuntary resettlement operations in Maputo? Applied research, based on qualitative methods for data collection (interviews and a focus group), is used to analyse three case studies of resettlement undertaken within the ProMaputo programme. This research report aims, firstly, to contribute to promoting other forms of resettlement procedures in Maputo as well as the development of a policy that gives people a choice, and distinguishes different approaches to resettlement. It also aims to raise awareness among stakeholders about the need to develop multi-­‐storey social housing near the city centre as an alternative to relocation elsewhere and to identify the characteristics of such houses, which can promote the right to the city as well as the implementation of the national housing policy. The report intends to find that depending on the characteristics of in situ multi-­‐storey social housing, it can be an effective solution for accomplishing these aims, and that the affected population can be equal beneficiaries in urban interventions. === MT 2018