Housing and ‘Inverse Governmentality’ in Maputo, Mozambique
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Presentation at the WB Symposium
«Rethinking Cities: Framing the Future»
Barcelona 8-10 October 2012
Dr. Inge Tvedten, CMI
Maputo City Space
• Capital of Mozambique with 1.1 (1.8) million inhabitants
• City space historically divided into
‘cidade cemento’ and ‘cidade caniço’ – with ref. to housing
• Post-independence planning increasing discrepancy between policies and realities
• Poverty rate from 53 % (2003) to 37% (2010) primarily due to a construction and housing boom
• A brick house is a key aspect of being urban – and building one is often a life-long process
Housing as a Process
• 70% of Maputo shantytowns with slum-like characteristics and inadequate services
• Rapidly changing urban-scape with liberalisation of land and housing market
• Sites and service areas over- taken by the better-off with the poor pushed out
• Land- and housing rights through an elaborate community-based [political] hierarchy
• Housebuilders imitate urban norms which the state and muni- cipality are unable to implement for security
Incremental Housing from Below
• The processes of ‘inverse
governmentality’ in poor bairros should be protected and sup- ported
• Urban services (roads, water, electricity, waste collection) through strategic planning to support on-going processes
• Policy implementation by selecting ‘test-bairros’ for implementation
• Enforcing a formalisation of land parcelling and house construction are likely to lead to more urban uprisings
