Design Studio 1994: “A New Urban Center for Adjamé, Abidjan, Ivory Coast,” Seminar Curriculum

Abstract

The Design Studio topic from Spring 1994, an annual seminar at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design led by Professors François Vigier and Mona Serageldin, focused on urban development in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).

The document “Designing for Urban Growth: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire” (January 1994) and discusses the housing compound profiles, land allocation, household demographics and design conditions of Abidjan’s housing regions. The report details designs for dealing with environmental impacts such as organic and industrial effluents, solutions for reducing public subsidies for housing, reforms the housing production, and, in particular, suggestions for readdressing the respective responsibilities of the public and private sectors.

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Project Year:	1994
Project Type:	Urban Design Studio
Geographic Regions:	Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Reports:	1994 Design Studio: Abidjan Designing for Urban Growth (Report, Vigier and Serageldin)
Authors:	^{Mona Serageldin; François Vigier; Samir Abdulac; Howard Trett; Randa Tukan; David Neilson;}
Sponsors:	^{The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University;}
Categories:	Design Studios; Education;

ID:	1994_01_001

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Gallery 2 – Côte d’Ivoire: Adjamé, Abidjan, 1990-1995

“Review of Ongoing USAID Shelter Sector Activities in Morocco,” Report by Dr. Mona Serageldin with ICMA, TSS Inc. for USAID/Morocco Office of Housing and Urban Programs, 1992-1998

Abstract

In 1992, Dr. Mona Serageldin and Samir Kanoun (TSS Inc.) contributed to an USAID/Morocco urban planning report, “Review of Ongoing USAID Shelter Sector Activities in Morocco” to address the challenges of rapid urbanization in Morocco. These materials present a rich regional profile of public housing and land use in Morocco circa 1991-1992.

The Unit’s contributions from June 1992 presented an economic analysis with financial metrics on urban shelter programs by measuring the impact of two Moroccan agencies: the ANHI Low Income Housing Program, and the Tetouan Urban Development Program. Authors stressed the increased demand for basic services in Morocco’s cities, like water supply and shelter, in connection to major unemployment and underemployment for urban poor. Workshop elements outlined problems and objectives for future urban infrastructure programs, noting where public officials must make decisions to compromise the needs of urban communities with government economic priorities.

Primarily, the report featured strategic planning matrixes and urban financial analyses — which makes it a strong-study model. It provided a financial cost analysis, municipal profiles, and discussion on government policy — with graphics of planning metrics, service inequities and delivery of urban services by region in Morocco’s urban areas.

Documents include the Final Report (June 1992), with a Draft Summary by Dr. Mona Serageldin. Also included are a Phase I Report (January 1998, completed with TSS), fulfilling the Unit’s contract to “organize a strategic planning workshop with the aim of defining a strategic approach and a set of operational strategies to ensure the effectiveness and financial viability of ANHI’s programs.” Within the Phase I Report are Strategic Planning Annexes, including a Synthesis in French, “Matrice stratégique de I’ANHI.” Finally, see accompanying Documentation, References and Appendices.

Excerpt

[Excerpt]: 1.1 Background – “Review of Ongoing USAID Shelter Sector Activities in Morocco” June 1992

“The ongoing USAID shelter sector activities in Morocco were conceptualized in 1985 within a context of accelerating urbanization and massive rural urban migration. The urban programs initiated by USAID focused on priority areas:

— Rationalizing the land delivery process and regularizing informal land development.
— Institutionalizing sound administrative and fiscal practices in infrastructure management and finance and the delivery of urban services.
— Widening the scope of private participation in the shelter sector by increasing the production of affordable building plots and expanding the role of private developers of low cost housing.
— Reinforcing decentralization by strengthening local managerial capabilities and enhancing local revenues.”

[Excerpt]: 1.0 Background – Phase I Report: “Strategic Planning Workshop” January 1998

“ANHI is a state enterprise in charge of providing access to safe and sanitary housing for lower income families in Morocco. Its activities include the purchase of land, its subdivision and servicing to resettle squatters and to market affordable housing plots, as well as the upgrading of infrastructure in under-serviced and unserviced informal settlements. ANHI operates under the Ministry of Housing umbrella. It is headquartered in Rabat, Morocco and has nine regional offices throughout the country. Since its creation in 1984, ANHI has produced an average of 10,000 plots per year. ANHI’s land purchases and other investment cost are financed with beneficiary advances, foreign and local borrowing, and auto financing. It has benefited from US AID support through HG loans and grants, including the currently active HG loan of $100 million which allowed ANHI to increase production to 15,000 serviced plots in 1994 and 1995.”

Figure 6-4 City of Taza, Al-Qods 1 Project “Residential Plots, Commercial Lots, Community Facilities, Green Areas”

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Project Year:	1992
Project Type:	Report
Geographic Regions:	Morocco
Reports:	“Review of Ongoing USAID Shelter Sector Activities in Morocco, (Final Report, June 1992) “Review of Ongoing USAID Shelter Sector Activities in Morocco,” (Summary of Final Report, June 1992) “Phase I Report: Strategic Planning Workshop,” ANHI Strategic Plan Development Study for TSS Inc. (Mona Serageldin, Samir Kanoun, January 1998) Documentation, References, and Appendices
Authors:	^{Samir Kanoun (TSS); Mona Serageldin;}
Sponsors:	^{USAID Office of Housing and Urban Programs; ICMA}
Categories:	Informal Settlements and Urban Upgrading

ID:	1992_00_004

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Design Studio 1989: “Rabat’s Urban Fringe,” Urbanization Analysis of Rabat, Morocco – Seminar Curriculum

Abstract

The Design Studio from 1989, “Rabat’s Urban Fringe” presented the urban evolution of Rabat, Morocco from 1987 to the early 1990s. The seminar covered Rabat’s urban development experience as a case study for Seminar attendees. The Seminar was hosted by the Harvard Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professors Dr. Francois Vigier and Dr. Mona Serageldin led the sessions, research, and discussions.

Seminar materials focused on analyzing methods to accelerate the release of land for urban development in Rabat, and to discourage imbalanced city growth patterns. The Studio covered the application of standards that balance climate requirements, socio-cultural needs, and affordability, the creation of cost-efficient designs to support the economic life of projects, and the use of politically-feasible mechanisms to improve cost recovery and affordability. This topic was repeated for Urban Design Studio curricula from 1989 to 1993.

Documents include: A Seminar Syllabus and overview report; A Full report, “Rabat’s Urban Fringe,” with text by Dr. Mona Serageldin, supported by Seminar’s research team, and a final student report on urban planning in Rabat.

Excerpt

[Excerpt: Syllabus, Overview, Spring 1989, Mr. Vigier, Ms. Serageldin, pp. 1-2.]

“Urban Housing in Rabat, Morocco,” An Overview:

“Urban areas of Third World countries are growing rapidly as a result of a high rate of natural increase of the population and of migration from rural areas. In older areas, usually highly accessible to a broad range of job opportunities, continued population pressures is causing a densification of the housing stock which is deteriorating rapidly from lack of maintenance and subdivision into smaller units. Their infrastructure systems are utilized well beyond their design capacity, creating an increasingly unsanitary environment and threatening the structural soundness of buildings. More recently, governments have had to cope with a dynamic private sector whose activities have proved difficult to control.”

“At present [ca. 1989], the urban fringe is developing rapidly as squatter and informal settlements, ranging in quality from little more than shacks to sound housing for moderate income households striving to improve their standard of living, are built illegally. Currently accounting for sixty to eighty percent of housing starts, these fringe developments present an unprecedented challenge to planners and public officials concerned with preventing urban sprawl and maintaining control over the dynamics of growth in order to provide efficiently the necessary infrastructure and services.”

“Planning and Design Issues. High rates of urban growth necessitate forceful public interventions to direct the development of the urban fringe and improve the functional efficiency of older districts. Located in both older areas and on the urban fringe, large-scale projects are being undertaken to upgrade the infrastructure, extend the capacity of transportation systems, provide public amenities, and build mixed-use developments.”

“Yet, the prevalence of poverty has overtaxed the ability of governments to provide adequate public services or enforce even minimum sanitary standards of housing for the majority of urban households. Government housing policies have sought to reconcile three potentially conflicting objectives:

— “A commitment to improve the standard of life of a population largely unable to afford safe and sanitary housing on the open market.”

— “The desire to utilize planning and design standards reflecting international norms as the means to provide an acceptable level of amenities in both older areas and the developing urban fringe.”

— “The necessity to keep public subsidies at a manageable level in the face of the rising demand generated by the rapid growth of the urban population.”

Al Quds City Model House, for Casablanca, showing Front and Side Elevation, Sections, Ground, First and Second Floor, and Foundation building layouts. Original Source: Ministry of Housing and Land Development

*Graphic Map showing the Distribution of Urban Settlements, Morocco, showing data for large settlements in Casablanca, Rabat,* Fez, Marrakech, Meknes, Sale, Tangier, and Tetouan.

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Project Year:	1989
Project Type:	Urban Design Studio
Geographic Regions:	Rabat, Morocco
Reports:	1989 Design Studio: “Urban Housing in a Developing Country: Rabat Morocco” (Syllabus) 1989 Design Studio: “Rabat’s Urban Fringe,” Mona Serageldin (Final Report) 1989 Design Studio: “Urban Housing in a Developing Country, Rabat Morocco” (Student Report)
Authors:	^{Mona Serageldin; Samir Abdulac; Fathahah Debbi; Agnes Deboulet; Isabelle Ouetta; Jennifer Wayne; Hung-Song Oh; Randa Tukan;}
Sponsors:	^{The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology}
Categories:	Design Studios; Education;

ID:	1989_01_001

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Design Studio 1994: “A New Urban Center for Adjamé, Abidjan, Ivory Coast,” Seminar Curriculum

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“Review of Ongoing USAID Shelter Sector Activities in Morocco,” Report by Dr. Mona Serageldin with ICMA, TSS Inc. for USAID/Morocco Office of Housing and Urban Programs, 1992-1998

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Design Studio 1989: “Rabat’s Urban Fringe,” Urbanization Analysis of Rabat, Morocco – Seminar Curriculum

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