UPPSATSER FRÅN KULTURGEOGRAFISKA INSTITUTIONEN

June 2011

The Inhabitants’ Reinterpretation of Spatial

Structures in Hay Hassani, Casablanca

Andrea Kurzbein
akurzbein@gmail.com

Master's Thesis in Urban and Regional Planning, 30 ECTS

Supervisors: Eva Andersson and Thomas Borén
Department of Human Geography, Stockholm University
www.humangeo.su.se
 Andrea Kurzbein

KURZBEIN, ANDREA (2011)

Urban and Regional Planning, master thesis for master exam in Urban and Regional Planning,
30 ECTS credits, Stockholm University.
Supervisors: Eva Andersson and Thomas Borén
Language: English

The Inhabitants’ Reinterpretation of Spatial Structures in Hay Hassani, Casablanca

Abstract
Casablanca was long time perceived as laboratory for European architects to experiment with
modernist mass housing. Yet, the spatial structure has since then been considerably
transformed and appropriated by the inhabitants to respond to the requirements and
aspirations of everyday life. The neighbourhood Hay Hassani has experienced substantial
change since its construction in 1958-62, initiated by its residents. This paper aims to explore
the inhabitants’ underlying reasons and means to adapt their dwellings, and further to
provide perspectives into the logics behind these bottom-up, informal transformations.
Applying phronetic planning research, an empirical case study has been carried out in Hay
Hassani, which provides detailed narratives of the ways in which power and values are at work
and with what consequences to whom. The findings indicate that multiple economic, socio-
demographic, and cultural aspects are decisive dynamics that trigger the motivation or urge to
adapt the original modernist architecture. While identifying the (f)actors of importance and
drawing their power relations, the research reveals that because of reduced architectural,
economic , institutional-political, and social barriers the inhabitants have been able to
transform their built environment significantly. The present study highlights that questions of
values, judgement, and power relations are central to understand and deal with the bottom-
up transformation processes in the spatial development.

Keywords: modernist architecture, Casablanca, Hay Hassani, phronetic research, power

relations, informal appropriation and transformation.

Front picture: courtesy of Brendan Culley.

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Preface and Acknowledgments
The man at the juice store greeted me with a smile and asked, “the same juice as last time?” – he
remembered me. I had to smile too; it´s amazing through which small everyday life details one
develops this feeling of affection to a place. So did I.
This master thesis is part of the project Migration as Inspiration, initiated and led by African
Architecture Matters and Casamémoire, in collaboration with the faculty of Architecture at Delft
University of Technology, the University of Utrecht, Ecole Supérieure d'Architecture Casablanca,
and students from Hassan II University, Casablanca (detailed information about the involved
parties see appendix 8.1). The goal of the two-phased project is firstly to learn from Casablanca's
rich tradition of modernist social housing schemes and their appropriation by the inhabitants ,
both in the private and public spaces. In a second phase, which will start in autumn 2011, the
findings on the Moroccan migrant's appropriations will be translated into the city expansion areas
of the modernist period in Holland. The aim is to make a social and architectural analysis of the
three selected modernist neighbourhoods Hay Hassani, Hay Mohammadi, and Cité Riviera in
Casablanca. The ultimate objective of the project Migration as Inspiration is to establish a strong
dialogue on the absorption of migrants between Morocco and the Netherlands, and from there to
find new ways to tackle architectural challenges posed by the deteriorating modernist
neighbourhoods in the Netherlands and to feed the development of urban and architectural
planning in Morocco. The results will be presented in a conference, written reports, and locally on
an excursion to Casablanca for representatives.
During the five weeks of field research I worked together with Brendan Culley, a Master's student
in Urban Geography at Utrecht University. Our contribution as an urban planner and a human
geographer, respectively, is the enrichment of the architectural findings with a relational and social
perspective. Brendan and I shared the obtained data, and when I am writing ‘us’ or ‘we’ in the
present thesis then I am referring to the two of us. We had fruitful and inspiring discussions about
the spatial processes at hand, for which I want to thank him greatly. I also express my thanks to
Belinda van Buiten and Berend van der Lans from African Architecture Matters for initiating and
guiding the project, together with Tom Avermaete from TU Delft. Casamémoire was our number
one source in Casablanca; Laure Augerau provided us with valuable documentation the urban
development. We are very grateful for the help of the three Moroccan students Sanaa Toufik,
Mohamed Ennassafi, and Youssef Oueld El Hachemi; without them we would have been lost in
translation. Furthermore, it was highly interesting to discuss and learn about the work of the
architecture students from ESA Casablanca and TU Delft. More than ever, I want to express
gratitude to each and every single inhabitant of Hay Hassani and Hay Mohammadi we interviewed.
Their openness and confidence impressed us. For their expertise on the subject, I thank the
interviewed experts. A particularly cordial thanks goes to the family El Harti for their exceptionally
generous Moroccan hospitality. The conversations with Majid, Assia, and Amina about Morocco’s
culture and history taught me more than I would ever have had expected. I want to thank my
supervisors Eva Andersson and Thomas Borén for their constructive critics on my thesis. During
these four months of research and writing I was really thankful for the supportive encouragements
from my fellow-students from Stockholm and Utrecht University along with friends from all over
the world. My very special thanks go to my family and to Sam; I can always count on you.
Responsibility for any errors and omissions in this thesis remains mine alone.
Andrea Kurzbein
Stockholm, June 2011.

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 Andrea Kurzbein

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract 1
Preface and Acknowledgments 2
Table of Contents 3
Table of Figures 4
Table of Abbreviations 5

1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................6

2. THEORY ...............................................................................................................8
2.1. Casablanca ............................................................................................................ 8
2.1.1. Historical background ......................................................................................... 8
2.1.2. Three periods of urban planning ....................................................................... 12
2.1.3. Modernism and beyond.................................................................................... 17
2.2. Theoretical framework ........................................................................................ 19
2.2.1. Rationality and power ...................................................................................... 19
2.2.2. (f)actors of importance ..................................................................................... 20

3. METHOD ...........................................................................................................22
3.1. Qualitative methods and phronetic research ...................................................... 22
3.1.1. Circular process ................................................................................................ 22
3.1.2. Concept of phronesis ........................................................................................ 23
3.1.3. Methodological guidelines for phronetic planning research .............................. 24
3.1.4. Qualitative Interviews....................................................................................... 26
3.2. Doing field research ............................................................................................ 28
3.2.1. In-depth field study .......................................................................................... 28
3.2.2. Reflection about the own position .................................................................... 30

4. FIELD STUDY HAY HASSANI ...............................................................................32

4.1. Hay Hassani: A vibrant place in its own way ....................................................... 32
4.1.1. Taking the reader by the hand .......................................................................... 32
4.1.2. Hay Hassani: Urban planning and architecture .................................................. 33
4.2. Being in the field ................................................................................................. 35
4.3. Underlying reasons and logics ............................................................................. 40
4.3.1. Economic factors .............................................................................................. 40
4.3.2. Socio-demographic factors ............................................................................... 40
4.3.3. Cultural factors ................................................................................................. 42
4.4. (f)actors of importance ....................................................................................... 45

5. DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................50
5.1. What happened?................................................................................................. 50
5.2. Overcoming the barriers ..................................................................................... 52

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 5.3. Bringing ends together ........................................................................................ 55

6. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................57

7. REFERENCES ......................................................................................................61

8. APPENDIX .........................................................................................................65
8.1. Involved parties................................................................................................... 65
8.2. Resultant questions from architectural findings ................................................. 65
8.3. Interview guide inhabitants (translated into English).......................................... 66

TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Map of Morocco with the neighbourhoods Hay Hassani, Old Medina, and Hay Mohammadi
(own illustration, map source: Agence Urbaine 1995). ................................................................... 9
Figure 2: Evolution of the Casablanca’s population from the end of the 19th century until the national
census in 2004. Detailed data could not be found for 1968 and 1982 (own illustration. Sources:
Adam 1968, 149; Noin 1971, 69; Royaume du Maroc 2004; AUC 2011). ....................................... 10
Figure 3: Muslim (hatched) and European populations (black) in Casablanca from 1918-1950 (source:
Casamémoire). ............................................................................................................................ 10
Figure 4: The principle types of habitat in Casablanca, which resemble rather a heterogeneous
patchwork than a homogeneous entity. 1960 (source: D. Noin, in Adam 1968). ........................... 11
Figure 5: Neighbourhood Carrières Centrales designed by the architects Bodiansky, Candilis, Piot and
Woods, 1952 (source: Casamémoire). ......................................................................................... 14
Figure 6: (top left): Nid d’abeille in 1952 (source: Casamémoire). ........................................................ 15
Figure 7: (top right): Nid d’abeille in 1980 (source: Cohen & Eleb 1998). .............................................. 15
Figure 8: (bottom): Nid d’abeille in 2011 (source: Kurzbein)................................................................. 15
Figure 9: Street vendors on an afternoon. ........................................................................................... 33
Figure 10: Construction of Hay Hassani around 1960, surrounded by agricultural land (source:
Casamémoire). ............................................................................................................................ 34
Figure 11: Draft of the housing and street structure in Hay Hassani, by Azagury and team, date
unknown, probably around 1956. Two types of buildings are displayed: the 3-4 storeys block
Coquelicot and the 2 storeys Basile. (Source: Casamémoire). ....................................................... 34
Figure 12: Evolution of the type Basile. The inhabitants added one or more storeys and transformed the
patios into living space. (Source: ESAC). ....................................................................................... 35
Figure 13: Evolution of the type Arsène. One can observe a vertical extension of one or more storeys
and a horizontal appropriation of the patios into living space. (Source: ESAC). ............................. 35
Figure 14: Horizontally extended dwellings. ........................................................................................ 36
Figure 15: Original size of a dwelling amidst two vertically extended buildings. ................................... 36
Figure 16: Block dwelling in Hay Hassani. There is no vertical extension observable. ............................ 36
Figure 17: Block dwelling with diminished windows and cloth lines. .................................................... 37
Figure 18: Private garden attached to the dwelling. ............................................................................. 37
Figure 19: Rather deserted and poorly maintained neighbourhood park in Hay Hassani....................... 37
Figure 20: Lively street market next to the park with extended houses in the background. .................. 38

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Figure 21: During an interview in Hay Mohammadi. The two Moroccan women living there since
construction of the neighbourhood invited Brendan, Youssef, and me for tea in their non-
transformed living room, March 2011.......................................................................................... 39
Figure 22: Windows have been diminished to small portholes. ........................................................... 42
Figure 23: European modernist visions on architecture and urban planning in its ideal course (straight
line). But from the very beginning the Muslim users have impact on their built environment (own
illustration). ................................................................................................................................ 50
Figure 24: A typical dwelling in Hay Hassani around 1960 and how it evolved until 2011. The straight line
has been replaced by a squiggled line through the practice and usage of the inhabitants (own
illustration, source pictures: Casamémoire and Brendan Culley). ................................................. 51
Figure 25: Four elements which decide upon housing transformations: architecture, economy, policy
and institutions, and society (own illustration, source pictures: ibid.). .......................................... 52

TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS
AAM African Architecture Matters
ESAC Ecole Supérieure d’Architecture de Casablanca
HH Hay Hassani
HM Hay Mohammadi
TU Delft Delft University of Technology

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1. Introduction
A city is more than a place in space. It is a drama in time.
Patrick Geddes, 1904

During the French protectorate of Morocco, European architects and urban planners aimed at
interpreting the Moroccan architecture and redesigning it according to the modernist ideas
(Cohen & Eleb 1999). Entire neighbourhoods were created in Casablanca since the beginning
of the protectorate in 1912, trying to absorb the immense wave of European and Moroccan
immigrants. The original structures conceived by the occidental architects still remain
nowadays, such as the street grid, the ground plan of many buildings, and the location of
public services, but the general picture in the neighbourhoods has changed significantly. The
buildings have been transformed and appropriated by the inhabitants in such ways that
nowadays the neighbourhood is not recognisable anymore; virtually every dwelling looks
different in colour, size, extension, decoration, and form. Architecture is not permanent or
timeless; dwellings change along with their inhabitants; “[n]ew usages persistently retire or
reshape buildings” (Brand 1994, 2). The focus of this research lies on the neighbourhood Hay
Hassani in the south-west of Casablanca. The former slum was converted to a working-class
neighbourhood in 1958-1962, and has since experienced considerable transformations in its
built environment.
There is extensive literature on the urban development of Casablanca. The ones important for
this research can be divided into architectural (Cohen & Eleb 1999, 2002; Avermaete 2006)
and socio-political concerns (Adam 1968; Navez-Bouchanine 1994a, 1994b; Rachik 2002).
Investigations on the socio-political aspect treat issues such as real estate speculation, the
spatial separation of different ethnicities during the French protectorate, power relations, and
the implementation of urban master plans. The architectural studies cover the aspects of
design and physical transformation of public and private space. Both architectural and socio-
political research serves as an indispensable framework for the study at hand. This is
complemented by further literature; Healey & Upton (2010) discuss the international
exchange of planning ideas and practices, the inhabitant’s translation of the original housings
from a bottom-up perspective is investigated by works of Baykan et al. (2010) on the Büyük
Valide Han neighbourhood in Istanbul, and by Tipple et al. (2004) on the user-initiated
extensions in government-built estates in Ghana and Zimbabwe.
The Urban Planning Department of Casablanca is currently working out the details of several
neighbourhood plans, among those the one of Hay Hassani. Indications point to increased
control and building restrictions, and less freedom for the inhabitants to let their dwellings
evolve according to their wants and ideas. My contribution to the existing research lies in the
voice I give to the inhabitants of the modernist neighbourhood Hay Hassani, by investigating
their perspective on the transformation processes at hand, and thus discussing the value and
potential of bottom-up action. Through a detailed case study, applying phronetic research
(Flyvbjerg 2001), the strength of social science will be employed which lies in its rich and
reflexive analysis of values and power.

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 Andrea Kurzbein

The aim of this thesis is to explore the inhabitants’ underlying reasons and means to adapt
their dwellings, and further to provide perspectives into the logics behind these bottom-up,
informal transformations. The first intention is to reveal the core rationales for the visible
transformations by the inhabitants (why?). In consequence this raises the question of the
important actors and factors (also referred as (f)actors) within this process (who?). Thirdly,
playing with the image of barriers, this research seeks to reveal what encouraged and what
hindered the inhabitants to adapt the buildings to their needs and visions (how?).
Research questions:
 Why and how do the inhabitants of the modernist neighbourhood Hay Hassani
transform and appropriate their built environment?
 Which (f)actors of importance shape the spatial development processes in
Casablanca, allowing or hindering the transformations at hand?

This research limits its focus on one neighbourhood in Casablanca for the benefit of greater
detail. While as much material as possible has been collected during five weeks of field
research, it is important to keep in mind that these data provide only a glimpse behind the
curtains of the urban transformation processes and the important (f)actors involved.
Space is both produced and productive: it is something that evolves historically rather than
being created separately from society (Shields 1999). In order to understand the translation of
European planning ideas into the Moroccan context and the locals' interpretation over time, it
is fundamental to look at Casablanca’s history, Muslim culture, political evolution, real estate
speculation, and the architectural elements (chapter 2.1). Crucial for answering the research
questions at hand are considerations of power relations, values, and judgement. Flyvbjerg’s
(1998) theory of how power relations and the exertion of power really work serves as
theoretical framework (chapter 2.2). The methodological approach of phronetic planning
research and qualitative methods is discussed in chapter 3. Phronetic planning research is
characterised by the use of actual examples and detailed narratives of the ways in which
power and values affect planning, and with what consequences to whom. It then suggests
how relations of power and values could be changed in order to work with other
consequences. The empirical field research unveils the inhabitants’ reasons for the
transformation processes, and identifies the (f)actors of importance (chapter 4). The
inhabitants are considerably shaping their neighbourhood, but as we will see, the political-
institutional, economic, societal, and architectural elements do – sometimes powerfully,
sometimes weakly – act as modulators or barriers of spatial development (chapter 5). In the
concluding chapter 6 all the findings converge to a final broader discussion about the research
at hand.

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2. Theory
Being unable to make what is just strong, we have made what is strong just.
Blaise Pascal, 1670

The translation of European planning ideas into the Moroccan context and the ensuing
interpretation by locals’ over time can only be understood in the context of Casablanca’s
history and political development. Three periods of urban planning stand out, each displaying
the impact of speculation in shaping the city structure. Thereafter Casablanca’s role as
playground for modernist experiments in architecture and urban planning will be critically
discussed. Section 2.2 provides the theoretical framework for unveiling the inhabitants’
underlying reasons for and means to adapt their dwellings, and to give perspectives into the
logics behind these bottom-up, informal transformations (see aim). Bent Flyvbjerg’s account
on power and rationality, as well as the (f)actors of importance will be introduced.

2.1. Casablanca
This chapter gives a background on the historical context of Casablanca. The emphasis lies on
the 20th century until the present, giving a brief overview of the French protectorate and
independence of Morocco. Hereby the notion of Modernism will be discussed and situated in
the development of Casablanca. Thereafter the three periods of urban planning that
significantly influenced the structure of the city will be treated. However, it was not only
urban master plans that shaped the evolution, but also widespread speculation. This is
reflected in existing studies on the urban development of Casablanca and the analysis of
spontaneous housing transformations initiated by its inhabitants. A more detailed account of
the historical background and the phenomenon of speculation can be found in Adam (1968),
Noin (1971), and Rachik (2002).

2.1.1. Historical background

Casablanca, the white city. Whereas scenes of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman appear
before the inner eye (film Casablanca, 1942) and the romantic picture of the oriental world
makes us dream, the history of Casablanca reveals a much more complex and ambiguous
picture.
Casablanca is located on the Atlantic Coast, relatively close to Rabat, the Moroccan capital. Figure 1 illustrates its
location and shows the Old Medina (Ancienne Médina) and the neighbourhoods of Hay Mohammadi, which is the
area studied by Brendan Culley (forthcoming), and Hay Hassani, investigated in this paper. Counting around 20’000
inhabitants in the beginning of the 20th century, Casablanca experienced an exponential growth with the official
growth with the official beginning of the French protectorate in 1912 (Figure 2: Evolution of the Casablanca’s
population from the end of the 19th century until the national census in 2004. Detailed data could not be found for
1968 and 1982 (own illustration. Sources: Adam 1968, 149; Noin 1971, 69; Royaume du Maroc 2004; AUC 2011).

). The economic possibilities and the promising modern atmosphere offered by the presence
of the French, led to a high influx of immigrants. People from Europe and other African
colonies were lured to Casablanca, along with many rural and urban Moroccans. Casablanca’s

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 Andrea Kurzbein

population multiplied by the factor of 65 from 1907 until 1970, and the area of the city
multiplied by the factor of a hundred (Noin 1971). In 2004 the city reported a population of
3.6 million in the region of Grand Casablanca, and is thus the largest urban area in the
Maghreb (census 2004, Royaume du Maroc 2004).

Figure 1: Map of Morocco with the neighbourhoods Hay Hassani, Old Medina, and Hay Mohammadi (own
illustration, map source: Agence Urbaine 1995).

In the development of the city, colonial interests played a key role. Cohen and Eleb (1998)
show that the rise of Casablanca as the great island of modernity was loaded with ambiguity.
The Europeans were the colonists, the ones who set the pace in policy and the growth of the
city, and the ones introducing modernist urbanism and architecture. Casablanca in its origins
did not hold an actual bourgeoisie, in contrast to Fez, Meknes or Marrakech; it was in the
beginning of the century a city without citadins (city dwellers). The French protectorate
initiated a fundamental change; just next to the Moroccan old medina they created a city
based on their ideals and visions and greatly influenced the further development of the city.

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However, it was a rather chaotic and erratic expansion and with a great deal of speculation

(Noin 1971).
Figure 2: Evolution of the Casablanca’s population from the end of the 19th century until the national census in
2004. Detailed data could not be found for 1968 and 1982 (own illustration. Sources: Adam 1968, 149; Noin 1971,
69; Royaume du Maroc 2004; AUC 2011).

Casablanca is a city of trade and commerce. With

increasing immigration since the early protectorate, the
city sprawled beyond the edges of the medina1. The
French authorities imposed a strict spatial separation
between European, Jewish, and Moroccan quarters, as
indicated by the French colonial administrator Lyautey.
Figure 3 shows the distribution of Muslim and European
populations. The residential neighbourhoods were
designed to spatially “contain” Moroccans, isolating them
from both the prestigious areas and from each other
through large, police-controlled boulevards (Cohen &
Eleb 1998, 254). The experimental housing projects for
Muslim and Jewish Moroccans, which , directly spoken,
aimed at preventing the indigenous population from
moving into the exclusively European neighbourhoods
serve as an examples of the French planning goals (ibid.).

1
Médina: lit. "city" in Arabic; in the North African context, an Arabic-type city.

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 Andrea Kurzbein

Figure 3: Muslim (hatched) and European populations (black) in Casablanca from 1918-1950 (source:
Casamémoire).

The resultant non-relating patchwork of neighbourhoods, separated by boulevards (Figure 4),

still shapes the city physically. However, the separation between European and Muslim
neighbourhoods cracked under the pressure of the immense growth of the city and the
movement of the people, and made all urban plans futile (Adam 1968). The sprawling slums,
or so-called bidonvilles2, were only an effect of the urban problems in Casablanca; the
principal cause was the enormous growth of the population. Most poor Moroccans coming
from rural areas survived at the edge of the city in the bidonvilles. These sprawling areas had
appalling hygienic conditions, and the Europeans avoided the impoverished inhabitants.
Muslims, Israelites and Europeans occupied different neighbourhoods.

Figure 4: The principle types of habitat in Casablanca, which Old medina

resemble rather a heterogeneous patchwork than a Modern medina
homogeneous entity. 1960 (source: D. Noin, in Adam 1968). Slums
Resettlements or recent medina
European housings
Villas

Growing dissatisfaction with the French protectorate and ensuing violent riots in the early
1950s led to a political overthrow. Morocco gained independence on March 2, 1956 and
became a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament, assigning vast executive power
to the king. The turbulent period right after independence was marked by strong nationalism
and a revalorisation of a Moroccan identity that related to the structures and norms the
French occupation had instated.

2
Bidonville: directly translated “city out of canisters”, or slum. The term bidonville has first been applied in
th
Casablanca in the beginning of the 20 century.

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Casablanca continued to be the economic locomotive of Morocco and its attraction for rural
and urban Moroccan immigrants alike has not ceased to this day. Large-scale development
areas are to be found at the edges of the city, and the national program “Villes sans
bidonvilles”3 aims to reabsorb the approximately thousand slums currently existing in the
country into the structure of their respective city. Casablanca is today the largest city in
Morocco, and even in the Maghreb countries. With the large port (phosphate is the main
export good), the business headquarters, and the industries located in the east, Casablanca is
considered the driving force of development in the Moroccan economy.

2.1.2. Three periods of urban planning

In his book Casablanca, L’urbanisme de l’urgence (2002) Abderrahmane Rachik identifies three
principal turns which have influenced the socio-spatial developments of the city: The period of
Maréchal Lyautey, acting through the architect Henri Prost, between 1917 and 1925; the time
between 1947 and 1955, where the architect and urban planner Michel Ecochard was active;
and the period from 1981 onwards with the constant presence of the Ministry of the Interior
through l’Agence Urbaine de Casablanca, the Urban Planning Department. All three periods
were characterized by top-down planning interventions of architects (Henri Prost 1917,
Michel Ecochard 1952, and Michel Pinseau 1984). Moreover, different turnovers in the
colonial and post-colonial urban strategy were provoked by a social pressure (diseases, riots,
nationalist violence, and so forth). This had a straight effect on the urban policy and the
dynamics and production of further spatial development. The context of collective violence
fundamentally shapes urban planning and as a consequence, the organisation and evolution
of the urban fabric. In the urban history of modern Casablanca, planning policy was the result
of conflicts between the political power and the peripheral urban society (Rachik 2002).
Within certain periods of instability, socio-spatial planning was determined by the decisions
taken in emergency. In this paper the focus is set on the second period, as it shaped the
neighbourhood Hay Hassani in its ground structures.
The first urban plan of Casablanca was developed by Prost (1917) in the middle of the
Moroccan resistance against the French protectorate and the turbulences of World War I. The
plan was characterised by the spatial separation between the European and the Moroccan
population, as well as the establishment of zoning in order to provide urban districts that
were socially and ethnically distinct. Reasons therefore were hygienist concerns and the
respect towards, or ‘conservation of’ the indigenous population (“la conservation des
‘indigènes’ tells qu’ils sont” (ibid., 26f). The result was total spatial division and marginalisation
of numerous Moroccans living in the peripheral slums. Resistance was kept silent “by the
means of cannons” (ibid., 23), which means with military forces.
The gigantic port was developed and Prost laid out the semi-circle grid of boulevards, which
aimed at improving traffic circulation (with precedence given to cars). The Europeanised city
developed into a French showpiece in the international scene. It was in Casablanca where
important decisions were made and where modernist architecture flourished. However, real
estate projects developed in total chaos, expansion on the periphery sprawled in an

3
Villes sans bidonvilles: translated: cities without slums. National program initiated in 2004 for the
improvement and integration of the slums. It was intended to be accomplished in 2010. (Source: Houzir 2008).

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anarchistic way, and speculation became rampant: “spots of land were only bought in order to
be resold instantly, worth too many millions” (Adam 1968, 49). As a consequence, land close
to the city and thus already extremely valuable remained undeveloped resulting in an urban
patchwork discussed in the previous chapter).
The second urban plan (1952) was also created during political instability, when the violent
nationalist movement clashed with the colonial power. The immediate reaction of the rulers
was an immense social housing, with no change in zoning regulations. The leading urban
planner and architect was the Frenchman Michel Ecochard and his aim, or rather hope, was to
integrate the slum dwellers into the city. Mass housing for the indigenous population became
an emergency issue and a political matter in dispute. By 1949 about 120’000 people were
living in slums, from a total population of 700’000 (Rachik 2002). Ecochard considered the
influence of the Prost plan as insignificant in 1947; “since Prost’s departure in 1923,
Casablanca didn’t have any urban planning anymore” (Ecochard 1955, 59). It was only a vain
attempt to control the spatial development, instead of actively doing urban planning. Prost
had only planned for the city perimeter in 1920, but Casablanca had grown significantly since
then and the provisions for urban expansion had not been respected at all. Ecochard describes
how the political leaders had lost overview of the city's erratic development.
Other forces, especially speculation and the pressure of immigration, had been dominating
spatial development before the government was able to react. The following example shows
how much a plot of land gained in value through speculation (Ecochard 1955, 111):
June 1939 .................................. 20 francs per m2
January 1943 ............................. 45 -
April 1944.................................. 90 -
May 1947 ................................ 300 -
January 1948 ........................... 700 -
September 1950 .................... 1550 -
July 1951 ............................... 1900 -
February 1952 ....................... 2650 -
June 1952 .............................. 3500 -

In only 13 years the value of land had multiplied by the factor of 175. This exemplifies the
force of speculation, which started in the beginning of the 20th century. Plots of land got more
expensive the closer they were located to the centre. This forced the quartiers populaires,
which were planned for the relocation of slum dwellers, to settle at the far peripheries,
“leaving large zones of no-man’s land for speculation in between” (Adam 1968, 19).
“We are not anymore in the age where we accept” (Ecochard 1955, 31). Michel Ecochard
vehemently endorsed the idea that city development should be in the hands of planners,
architects, and other experts. There is, according to him, no such a thing as ‘spontaneous’ or
‘natural’ development of a city. Ecochard was inspired by the Charte d’Athènes (Charter of
Athens), which emphasised the creation of independent zones for the four basic ‘functions’:
dwelling, work, recreation and transport. Adam (1968) positively commented on Ecochard’s
accomplishments, saying that Ecochard’s team of young urbanists, landscape architects,
economists, and jurists were in contact with sociologists investigating the customs and living
conditions of the Moroccan population. Furthermore he achieved a solution which both

13
considered immediate needs, especially hygienic aspects, but also included a long-term
perspective. However, Adam (1968) criticises Ecochard's strong adherence to the sectioning
and zoning inaugurated by Prost. This links back to the Charter of Athens with the separation
of the four basic functions of living.
The reconstruction of the bidonville Carrières Centrales into the working-class neighbourhood
Hay Mohammadi was one of Ecochard’s main projects (Brendan Culley’s area of research).
Figure 5 shows the structure of the vertical buildings (Nid d’abeille, Sémiramis, and la Tour)
and horizontal dwellings (La trame 8x8m) immediately after construction in 1953.

Figure 5: Neighbourhood Carrières Centrales designed by the architects Bodiansky, Candilis, Piot and Woods, 1952
(source: Casamémoire).

The buildings of la trame were meant to be replaced at a later stage through more permanent
constructions, horizontal or vertical, offering several possibilities for transformation, as soon
as the occupants would have the necessary resources. Ecochard calls this succession l'habitat
évolutif, the evolutionary habitat (Echochard 1955, 103). Time is always a decisive factor;
“even if the oeuvre is perfect and totally adapted for the human being in the instant, it is
nothing if it does not continue to be it for him or her in the following instants” (ibid., 137). As
it was completely unfeasible to do provide complete houses for everyone, especially under
the constraints of speculation, he voiced strong support for applying the evolutionary
principle wherever possible. Yet, Ecochard’s writings leave open whether habitat évolutif
means ‘replacing the buildings’ by demolishing them and rebuilding a more solid dwelling at
its place, or if the idea is to let the building grow while keeping the original structures. Be that
as it may, the inhabitants made use of the material at hand and transformed la trame in an
‘actual’ evolutionary process into the diverse and unique neighbourhood we can observe
today (see Cohen & Eleb 1998; Avermaete 2006; and Culley forthcoming).

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 Andrea Kurzbein

As the Moroccan architect Élie Azagury planned the neighbourhood Hay Hassani in 1956, he
took experience from Hay Mohammadi and reinterpreted Ecochard’s habitat évolutif, which
means that he provided a solid construction at the outset and allowed the buildings to grow
over time.
As an example for this, the vertical building Nid d’abeille has been considerably transformed
by its inhabitants; the balconies have been closed and transformed into living space. Figure
6,Figure 7, andFigure 8 show its evolution over time.

Figure 6: (top left): Nid d’abeille in 1952 (source:

Casamémoire).

Figure 7: (top right): Nid d’abeille in 1980 (source:

Cohen & Eleb 1998).

Figure 8: (bottom): Nid d’abeille in 2011 (source:

Kurzbein).

Rachik (2002) argues that the plans by Prost and Ecochard did not respond to the socio-spatial
needs of the population, but rather bowed to economic demands (penetration of capitalist
production and establishment of industries and commerce), demographic pressure (housing
for European migrants), and to hygienist rationales.
The third urban master plan was introduced by the newly established Urban Planning
Department Casablanca in 1984 through the architect Pinseau, in order to address the violent
turmoil that had shaken Casablanca in June 1981. The labour unions and political parties of
the opposition protested against the augmentation of certain taxes. Riots erupted mainly in
the working class neighbourhoods, where citizens attacked the symbols of wealth. The Urban
Planning Department put emphasis on a substantial policy of social housing, the elaboration
of an urban plan for the entire metropolitan region, a de-densification of deprived urban
areas, and the extension of the urban road system. The ‘urbanism of emergency’ in
Casablanca is characterized by the pressure of the social tensions on the Government and by a
rapidity of financial approval for social housing in the hope to uphold social peace (Rachik

15
2002). But that was and still is a difficult undertaking, as the peripheral urban areas have been
ignored for such a long time.
The Urban Planning Department of Casablanca is currently developing 33 new neighbourhood
plans in the entire Casablanca region. With Hay Hassani, the first plan got presented in the
end of 2010. The main aspects are the extension of the district boundaries for further
construction (the whole district Hay Hassani becomes largest one in Casablanca with 4080 ha),
de-densification (allowing only few buildings higher than four floors), and a green belt (Challot
2010). All 33 neighbourhood plans suffer considerable time delay (Belghazi 2010).
The various projects from the aménagement (urban planning) of the city tell the story of
modernist urbanism actively experimenting on the site of Casablanca. From Henri Prost’s
(1917-1922) implementation of zoning, to Michel Ecochard’s (1948-1952) functionalist vision
of a “Grand Casa” inspired by the Charter of Athens4, manifold solutions were presented how
to plan, accommodate and control the erratic, chaotic and heterogeneous development of a
city. In Cohen and Eleb’s detailed account of the main stages in Casablanca's urban
development, one is left with the impression that spatial planning has not seen any influential
input since Ecochard in the 1950s (in Watenpaugh, 2000). The material on the period after
independence is indeed meagre, and Moroccan viewpoints to colonial urban projects are not
often addressed. Adam (1968), Noin (1971), Rabinow (1992), and Rachik (2002) give valuable
insights on the sociological and political aspects of the spatial development, but what is
fundamentally lacking is the intimate perspective of the residents. How did the Moroccan
inhabitants of modernist neighbourhoods perceive their environment? Why did they
transform the buildings? And how did they do that? Voilà, herein I see my contribution to the
existing field of knowledge. By doing a detailed case study in the modernist neighbourhood
Hay Hassani, I’m aiming for a better understanding of why and how the inhabitants adapted
their dwellings according to their needs and ideas.
My research contributes to the existing, though rather thin, literature on the inhabitants’
usages and their way of living. Navez-Bouchanine (1994a, 1994b) investigated residential
strategies of Moroccan inhabitants and the way they shape or reshape their living spaces. She
likewise questions the use of models for designing future housing and the relation between
users and designers. Pinson (1994) and Aloud & Hatbi (2011) studied the appropriation and
transformation of the dwellings by the inhabitants, which had to ‘negotiate’ between the
constraints of the inadequate housings and the socio-cultural Moroccan context and
traditions. Lefebvre uses the metaphor of the seashell for illustrating the adaptive character a
building should have: The relationship between an animal and its habitat is a supple one. The
habitat (i.e. our dwelling) should be flexible enough to permit free growth of the animal (i.e.
human beings); responsive enough to ‘the laws of its species’ (in Merrifield 2006).

4
Charter of Athens is a manifesto shaped by Le Corbusier and other architects urban planners,
summarizing the Fourth Congress of the International Congress of Modern Architects (CIAM), which took place in
1932. It contains the core ideas and principles of modernist architecture and urban planning, which call for a total
remaking of cities in the industrial world, with the aim of making them more efficient, rational, and hygienic. The
Charter became widely circulated after Second World War, especially among European governments looking to
reconstruct devastated cities and house millions of homeless citizens. Simultaneously it became a guiding principle
for many developing countries seeking to industrialize after achieving independence, but trying to avoid the
mistakes of European industrialisation of the 19th century.

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 Andrea Kurzbein

2.1.3. Modernism and beyond

When one thinks about the origins of Modernism, Casablanca may not come to mind
immediately. However, many concepts in modernist urban planning and architecture have
been tested in the economic capital of Morocco; indeed, Casablanca can be seen as a
laboratory for modernist city development, whose constructions popped up like mushrooms.
The city

“has been swallowed up and transfigured by a ville nouvelle. [...] A multitude of

boulevards (which are already too narrow) have stepped into the old dirt track, and a
mass of luxury apartment houses are springing up at an incredible rate, eating both
into the stark countryside and into the derbs (native slum areas), which were cobbled
together after the conquest out of assorted pieces of debris. “

(L. D’ Anfreville de Juruquet de la Salle, 1930. In: Cohen & Eleb 2002, 47).

The flamboyant facades of European apartment buildings and villas were a sign of domination
in a country where architecture avoids exaggerated exterior decoration (Cohen & Eleb 1998,
347). In Casablanca, Mythes et figures d'une aventure urbaine (1998)5, Cohen and Eleb
describe how urban planners – the new experts of the 20th century – aimed to channel this
development according to modern conceptions of the city and to colonial imperatives. They
introduced avant-garde architecture to the city expansion of Casablanca, even before
implementing similar structures in Europe. “The big error of Modernism, is to have accepted
to utilise architecture for solving the city’s problems in its totality. To have demanded too
much from architecture. Because the city, society, and traditions are an entity that resists
planning. It’s impossible to give life to these utopias” (Boushaba, in documentary Casablanca,
Ville Moderne, 2005).
The roots of modernist planning are to be found in the beginning of the 20th century, where
the ‘fathers’ of this movement Ebenezer Howard, Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier
expressed their visions for a better city. Modernist urban planners were convinced that a
radical reconstitution of the built environment would solve both the urban crisis and the social
crisis. Connected to the vision of a better city was the ideal form of a dwelling, or even the
whole city structure. ‘Form follows function’ was the Modernist theory, but that is “a beautiful
lie. Form froze function. *...+ Function melts form” (Brand 1994, 157). Modernist planning
received considerable criticism in the meantime, for instance from John Friedmann, Jane
Jacobs, James Scott, and David Perry (in Campbell & Fainstein 2003).
Friedmann calls for the end of scientific abstraction and the engineering mode of planning
based on decision-making in advance. In its place he argues for planning that links theory and
action. His emphasis lies on the space of everyday life, and on the transactional role of
planners. Scott takes up this idea from a political perspective, by criticising the simplification
and standardisation of modern nation-state’s planning, which reject local context in order to
make the nation readable, measurable, and counted. Plans, according to Scott, should not be
so ambitious and over-abundantly exact that they are closed systems. Small-scale, flexible and
reversible steps which are open to surprises and human inventiveness should be preferred.

5
Translated into English in 2002, Casablanca: Colonial Myths and Architectural Ventures.

17
Jane Jacobs argues that modernist planners oversimplify the life in cities by drawing abstract
master plans. The rich complexity of a city can be seen as an “immense laboratory of trial and
error, failure and success” and as such should be the site for “…learning and forming and
testing its theories” (Jacobs 1961, 6). Planning professionals have learnt how cities ought to
function and what ought to be good for society and economy. Thus, when contradictory
reality breaks in, their knowledge is threatened and as a result reality is pushed aside. Jacobs
observes that modernist ideas are profoundly established in planning theory and practice. She
argues for a perspective that is based on realities, and not on utopias.
Reality as the foundation of planning is also the theme in Rationality and Power (1998); Bent
Flyvbjerg states that “*m+odernity’s elevation of rationality as an ideal seems to result in, or at
least coexist with, an ignorance of the real rationalities at work in everyday politics,
administration, and planning” (Flyvbjerg 1998, 2). In other words modernity neglects what in
reality is actually done. David Perry presents an alternative way of viewing planning. He offers
a spatial approach inspired by Foucault, which does not focus on politics and technology for
planning, but rather emphasises “planning spatially” (Perry 2003, 144). Instead of “making
plans” we should think of “making space”.
The common aspect of these critiques of modernist planning is the demand for a more
realistic approach. In metaphorical terms, planners should go onto the street to look and feel
how cities breathe and how people move in this complex environment, instead of sitting in
their office on the 37th floor and drawing plans on how reality ought to be.

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 Andrea Kurzbein

2.2. Theoretical framework

In order to disentangle and sort the data from the field research, the theoretical framework
on the relationship between rationality and power by the Danish social scientist Flyvbjerg is
applied. The concept of ‘(f)actors of importance’ – describing the key actors and factors –
complements the framework.

2.2.1. Rationality and power

Bent Flyvbjerg (1998) investigates how power influences rationality and democracy, and how
these shape the cities we live in. The theory is based on works by Machiavelli (1984),
Nietzsche (1969), and Foucault (1979, 2000). According to Flyvbjerg, modernist thinkers act on
the assumption that there is an omnipresent, universally valid rationality that is not context-
bound and from which one can always derive the ideal decision for every situation. If this
were really so, then all urban projects should be a success and administrative failures would
not occur – which is obviously not the case. This error in reasoning originates, according to
Flyvbjerg, in the tradition of enlightenment where philosophers eagerly sought after and tried
to define a universal rationality in order to reduce the sovereign’s power and to establish
power on the foundation of reason within society. This mode of thinking demands how things
ought to be rather than explaining how things really are.
Instead of contemplating how things should be or how decisions should be made, Flyvbjerg
scrutinises reality as it is and how things actually work. He states that in every society - even
within stabilised democracies – there is a web of power relations lying beneath the surface.
Foucault rejects the notion of power as something one possesses: “power is not something
that is acquired, seized, or shared, something that one holds to or allows to slip away” (1980,
94); power is exercised rather than possessed. It is important to grasp these power relations
to understand what is actually happening in society. There is no rationality that is free from
context, but all rationality is tied to a context in which it is defined as rationality. It is actually
power, or those who possess the power who define what counts as rationality and what
knowledge is considered to be useless or marginal.
The analysis of power is structured by six features6. These can serve as a possible and
productive point of departure for dealing with questions of power in applying phronesis
(Flyvbjerg 2004), explained in methodologies (chapter 3.1).

6
“(1) Power is seen as productive and positive, and not only as restrictive and negative. (2) Power is
viewed as a dense net of omnipresent relations, and not only as being localized in ‘centres,’ organizations, and
institutions or as an entity one can ‘possess.’ (3) The concept of power is seen as ultra-dynamic; power is not
merely something one appropriates, it is also something one reappropriates and exercises in a constant back-and-
forth movement within the relationships of strength, tactics, and strategies inside of which one exists. (4)
Knowledge and power, truth and power, rationality and power are analytically inseparable from each other; power
produces knowledge and knowledge produces power. (5) The central question is how power is exercised, and not
merely who has power and why they have it; the focus is on process in addition to structure. (6) Power is studied
with a point of departure in small questions, ‘flat and empirical’, not only, nor even primarily, with a point of
departure in ‘big questions’ (Foucault, 1982, p. 217). Careful analysis of the power dynamics of specific practices is
a core concern” (Flyvbjerg 2001, 131).

19
Flyvbjerg (1998) further states the following correlation: the greater the power the lesser the
rationality. Those people who have to rely on the force of good arguments the most are often
the weakest, as good arguments are the only weapon they possess. On the other hand,
people who make decisions and conduct actions based on bad arguments are the more
powerful as they do not need to care about good argumentations. “In reality, however, power
often ignores or designs knowledge at its convenience” (ibid. 2001, 143). The question is how
power is exercised. Flyvbjerg differentiates between ‘rationality’ and ‘rationalisation’.
Rationalisation characterises a process allowing the powerful to act to the benefit of
themselves or their allies, instead of the whole community. In many cases, however, these
rationalisations are masked as rationalities in order to make the public believe that certain
decisions are made for the common welfare. It is important for a researcher to unveil such
false rationalities to provide a glimpse behind the facades of power. Flyvbjerg (1998)
considers democracy weak, because power tends to dominate over rationality. The
asymmetry between rationality and power reveals a fundamental weakness of modernity,
modern politics, administration and planning. In order to overcome the weak spots of
modernity one has to understand the nature of power.
Flyvbjerg’s grounded theory (inductively founded upon concrete phenomenology) serves as a
useful framework to approach the research questions at hand. Though it won’t be possible to
provide a comprehensive picture of the power relations in Casablanca, it can be seen as a
scratch on the surface of a – as I consider it to be – highly interesting topic.

2.2.2. (f)actors of importance

The actor-network theory (ANT) deals with relational networks and how actions are carried
out as a result of these relations. Developed by Callon, Latour, Law, and others, this theory
focuses on the power relationships between various entities, which are seen to be
superseding physical boundaries of space. ANT emphasises the strength of networks that
relate different agents, both human and non-human (Murdoch, 2006). Space and power are
constructed within networks. As a result of reduced concern with physical place and the
actual person as an entity on their own, there is an increasing focus on the action potential of
the network between these agents. “Instead of opposing the individual level to the mass, or
the agency to the structure, we simply follow how a given element becomes strategic through
the number of connections it commands and how it loses its importance when it loses
connections” (Latour, 1997a, 3, as quoted in Murdoch, 2006). A principal statement in ANT is
that symmetry exists between objects and subjects, and the human and non-human. It is
therefore not possible to assert at the beginning who or what will be most important for the
action: a person, a resource or an entity.
The Dutch urban planner Luuk Boelens underlines the importance of ANT, however, he argues
that the symmetry between human and non-human actors is not applicable when it comes to
planning. The human agent is the actor who shapes the spatial development with his or her
opinion, visions, and decisions. The non-human or non-living entities, however, – such as the
climate, planning concepts, or technical devices – are the so-called factors. They have
considerable impact on the built environment, but it is difficult to assign them a proactive role
in planning decisions; the ‘environment’ or ‘cultural heritage’ do not actually sit at the
negotiating table . They are embodied through a representative, who is part of a network and
follows specific interests. Non-human actors can thus “scarcely be regarded as leading actors,

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 Andrea Kurzbein

only as mediated factors of importance” (Boelens 2010, 39). The leading actors are in focus,
meaning those who have the capacity and motivation to invest in their local environment. This
happens principally out of self-interest, as every actor considers ‘what is in for me?’. Hence,
the actor-relational-approach acknowledges power connotations and subjectivity. Regions
and places are seen as active milieux that influence, and are influenced by, the interactions of
actors and factors, rather than passive spaces to be planned or designed by a governing
authority. The present study deploys the concept of (f)actors of importance to show who and
what has influenced the spatial development in Casablanca.

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3. Method
The way to re-enchant the world …is to stick to the concrete.
Richard Rorty, 1985

Along the lines of post-modern thinking on qualitative methods and plural realities, the
method applied in this thesis is phronetic planning research. Considering the nature of my
research questions, this qualitative approach is most suited for the present study. In order to
understand the underlying processes and logics behind the transformation processes and to
reveal the (f)actors of importance, the flexible, circular, narrative, and case study oriented
approach has the qualities to provide a profound understanding of the phenomena at hand.
The first part deals with the theory and methodology of qualitative methods and phronetic
planning research. The second chapter describes ‘being in the field’ and critically reflects my
position as a researcher.

3.1. Qualitative methods and phronetic research

3.1.1. Circular process

The researcher doing qualitative methods is interested in the subjective meaning of a
phenomenon. The main characteristics are the circular process of research and the detailed
case study. Emphasis is put on the local, the temporal, the verbal, and the special. The studied
phenomenon is to be understood from inside out. A plurality of perspectives is desirable;
there is no one single truth nor one reality, but rather multiple truths and realities which
should be taken into account (Dwyer & Limb 2001). The researcher him-/herself is in constant
self-reflection about the study at hand. In qualitative methods the researcher is explicitly part
of the cognition process. The continuous reflection about the researcher's own actions, the
observations, impressions, feelings and so forth thus have an impact on the interpretation of
the results (Flowerdew & Martin 1997). The qualitative approach strives for complexity and
condensation, not for reduction (Flick 2005). This complexity lies within the macroscopic web
of context and history of the research matter, which is crucial for an understanding of current
developments. In the course of the research it is important to examine the complexities of
how we as researchers write, what and who we represent and how (Skelton 2001). It means
to be vigilant about prejudices and assumptions that influence our interpretation. The
circularity of phronetic planning research and qualitative method calls for an ongoing
reflection of the research questions, the method, the theories, and so forth. This process is
challenging as it deals with a lot of data, which may also represent a weak point of the
discussed approach. The deeper the study goes the more complex it gets, and as a result the
researcher’s selection of what material is relevant becomes more important, colouring the
outcome of the inquiry.
How is it now possible for the researcher to understand plural realities? The empiric material
is text: interviews (transcripts), notes, visual documents etcetera. In the translation from
reality to text, the researcher is already in the process of interpretation. Transcriptions are

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 Andrea Kurzbein

thus already a first interpretation of what has been said. This means that in the production of
texts that are constructing reality, the one who writes it down is equally involved as the one
who reads and respectively interprets it (see concept of mimesis in Flick 2005, 60). The
translation from reality to text is therefore to be understood as an active and creative process.
An important characteristic of qualitative research is the specific understanding of matter and
method. There is a reciprocal dependence of the different aspects of the research process:
data collection, analysis and theory are in constant interrelation. The field study influences the
research questions, they change the theoretical approach, which has again an influence on
the data collection and analysis, which in turn once more leads to a reformulation of the
research questions et cetera. In this circular process the aim is a densification of complexity,
not its reduction. Through constant reflexion of her approach, the researcher approaches the
results in a circular way. The method applies from empirical field work to theory (inductive),
always keeping the circularity of the process in mind (Flick 2005, 134 ff).

3.1.2. Concept of phronesis

In this chapter I want to enter the discussion on Flyvbjerg’s contemporary interpretation on
Aristotle’s concept of phronesis, variously translated as practical wisdom, practical judgement,
common sense, or prudence. “Phronesis goes beyond both analytical, scientific knowledge
(episteme) and technical knowledge or know-how (techne) and involves judgments and
decisions made in the manner of a virtuoso social and political actor” (Flyvbjerg 2001, 2,
emphasis in original). Aristotle saw in phronesis the most important intellectual virtue,
because within this activity, instrumental rationality is balanced by value-rationality. Social
practice embraces phronesis and it would therefore be misleading to comprehend or reduce
social science and theory either to episteme or techne. An interesting fact is that episteme7
and techne8 are found in the modern words like ‘epistemology’ and ‘technology’, which
indicates the dominant instrumental rationality of modern thinking and language, whereas
the concept of phronesis9, which Aristotle considered as necessary condition of successful
social organisation and most vital prerequisite, has no analogous contemporary term.
Flyvbjerg’s starting point is that social sciences have failed as science. As long as social science
accepts the conditions of the natural science, it is a self-defeating act. He argues that if social
science wants to matter again, the concept of phronesis is central. He shows in Making Social
Science Matter (2001, 3) that in their role as phronesis,

“social sciences are strongest where the natural sciences are weakest: just as the
social science have not contributed much to explanatory and predictive theory,
neither have the natural sciences contributed to the reflexive analysis and discussion
of values and interests, which is the prerequisite for an enlightened political,

7
Episteme: Scientific knowledge. Universal, invariable, context-independent. Based on general analytical
rationality. (Flyvbjerg 2001, 57)
8
Techne: Craft/art. Pragmatic, variable, context-dependent. Oriented toward production. Based on
practical instrumental rationality governed by a conscious goal. (ibid.)
9
Phronesis: Ethics. Deliberation about values with reference to praxis. Pragmatic, variable, context-
dependent. Oriented toward action. Based on practical value-rationality. (ibid.)

23
 economic, and cultural development in any society, and which is at the core of
phronesis.”

A key aspect of phronetic social science is the importance of context and judgement in order
to understand human behaviour. Social science should study practical reason in its entire
contextuality, and avoid scientific and instrumental rationality. Phronesis calls for intellectual
virtues, capable to handle “context, practice, experience, common sense, intuition, and
practical wisdom” (ibid., 54). The phronetic research is focused on values; the aim is to
balance instrumental rationality with value-rationality. This is to be achieved by increasing the
capacity of individuals and society to think and act in value-rational terms. The socially and
historically conditioned context – and not the rational and universal foundation – is central to
phronesis. The practice of a dynamic and highly social relevant, reflexive social science follows
the socio-analytic methodological indications teased out of works by Nietzsche, Foucault,
Bourdieu, and MacIntryre among others. Phronetic knowledge is emphasised before
epistemic knowledge in their studies on society.
Flyvbjerg adds to the Aristotelian original conception of phronesis explicit considerations of
power. This refers to his earlier book Rationality and Power (1998), as discussed in the theory.
Modern society is based upon conflict and power that constitute social and political inquiry.
Placed at the core of the analysis is power. Who wins and who looses? What are the existing
power relations and how could they be changed? And is it desirable to do so? Who is asking
these questions and why? The significance of power derives from thinkers like Machiavelli,
Nietzsche, and Foucault. Nietzsche poses the central question: “What governmental
rationalities are at work when those who govern govern?” (Foucault 1979, as quoted in
Flyvbjerg 2001, 131). In order to do justice to the reality of contemporary policy forums, one
needs to “embrace a thoroughgoing dialogical conception of the policy-making process itself”
(in Healy 2004, 77), and bring questions of justice right at the heart of the inquiry. Gunder
argues that a Lacanian inspired phronetic model would contribute to phronetic research and
the understanding in spatial matters, as it provides “insight as to how desire and resultant
ideological fantasies shape our shared social reality and spaces of habitation” (2010, 37).

3.1.3. Methodological guidelines for phronetic planning research

The methodological guidelines for phronetic planning research should not be seen as
imperatives; they are rather “cautionary indicators of direction for researchers who would like
to introduce an element of phronesis in their work” (Flyvbjerg 2004, 290). Phronetic research
is not method-driven, it is problem-driven. For this reason, there is no a priori method for this
type of research, such as statistics, discourse analysis, or qualitative methods. But, and this is
of great importance, each of these methods may contribute in a specific way to tackle the
problems at hand. “It is impossible to be truly problem driven and at the same time
committed to a certain method” (ibid., 291). At the core of phronetic research are the four
value-rational questions (ibid., 289f):
1. Where are we going?
2. Who gains and who loses, and by which mechanisms of power?
3. Is this development desirable?

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 Andrea Kurzbein

4. What, if anything, should we do about it?

The method employed to answer these questions is of secondary importance; the specific
research problems are deciding what method will be used.
Studies applying a phronetic approach can be found among others in Clegg 1997, Dean 1999,
Latour 1999, Stewart 2003, and Flyvbjerg 1998, 2006. The textbox below outlines the main
points of the approach, and is discussed in more detail in the following sections.
Phronetic researchers begin their work by calling attention
Overview of methodological
guidelines for phronetic to little things and accumulating lots of source material.
planning research: Nietzsche puts it straight: “Above all, one should not wish
to divest existence of its rich ambiguity” (as quoted in
(1) Focus on values
Flyvbjerg 2001, 84). The emphasis on the minutiae has its
(2) Place power at the core of
analysis background in phenomenological experience, where asking
(3) Get close to reality small questions often lead to answering big questions. The
(4) Emphasize “little things” uniqueness of each particular place requires particular, not
(5) Look at practice before generic, resolutions (Gunder & Hillier 2009).
discourse
Both Foucault and Aristotle explicitly identify knowledge of
(6) Study cases and contexts
the concrete example as crucial element of phronesis;
(7) Ask “How?”, do narrative
(8) Move beyond agency and “*p+ractical rationality and judgment evolve and operate
structure primarily by virtue of deep-going case experiences” (in
(9) Do dialog with a polyphony Flyvbjerg 2001, 135). Practical rationality, in consequence,
of voices is best understood through experienced or narrated cases,
(source: Flyvbjerg 2004, 295) just as judgement is best developed and communicated
through exposing cases. Difference, conflict, and power are
so evident and profound in each specific example that they refuse to be whitewashed by
universalizing concepts or theories. Fundamental to phronetic research is practice; concepts
and theories in contrast let us consider things as being simpler than they are. Phronetic
researchers emphasise on practical activity and practical knowledge in the situations of
everyday life. The emphasis on case studies in the field of planning has already been applied
by Fainstein (1994), Fischler (2000), Healey (1994, 2006), and Boelens (2009).
Case studies often contain a substantial part of narratives, which approach real life’s
complexities and contradictions. In view of that, it may become difficult to summarize these
narratives in a smart scientific formula, theories, and general propositions. This tends to be
viewed as disadvantage by critics. But for the researcher practising phronesis, the hard-to-
summarize narrative is rather an indication that the study has revealed a particularly rich
problematic (Flyvbjerg 2001, 84). Narratives have already been explored by planners such as
Sandercock (2003) and Throgmorton (1996). It implies that the narrator has to make selection
about the content of the story, where to begin and where to end, etc. The choices are based
on how they best contribute to answering the four value-rational questions. These can be
treaded from different levels of expertise. Knowledge at the level of the beginner consists in
the reduced formulas and theories, whereas “true expertise is based on intimate experience
with thousands of individual cases and on the ability to discriminate between situations, with
all their nuances of difference, without distilling them into formulas or standard cases”
(Flyvbjerg 2001, 85). Phronesis is a quality that cannot be learnt, but only acquired through
experience. Case studies transcend the problem of relevance, as phronetic researchers anchor

25
their studies in specific context. During data collection one comes close to a phenomenon or
network, and stays close during the period of data analysis, feedback, and publication of the
results. Together with the emphasis on value and power relations, this strategy typically
creates interest by outside parties and stakeholders. The results will probably then be
evaluated in different aspects, which in turn lets the researcher expose her-/himself to both
positive and negative reactions from their surroundings. In this manner, the phronetic
researcher becomes a part of the studied phenomenon. However, it can be argued that it is
not evident and easy for a researcher to get in contact with the key stakeholders and if they
accredit the study at all. A further drawback is the long time needed to actually orient oneself
in the field of inquiry.
Linking back to my research questions10, the elemental question asked in phronetic planning
research, is on the one hand the dynamic “How?” and on the other hand the more structural
“Why?”. It is linked with both verstehen (understanding) and erklären (explanation). Actors
are analysed in relation to structures and vice versa (understanding from ‘within’ and from
‘without’). It is an ongoing interplay between micro and macro level, which embraces
practices, institutions, and symbols.
The aim of phronetic social research is to generate a contribution to the ongoing social
dialogue and praxis in society, rather than to produce final, unambiguous, and verified
knowledge. We all look from a specific perspective. This is in line with most post-modern
researches which very much pays attention to the importance of perspectives, and that there
is no neutral ground or ‘view from nowhere’ in their work. Objectivity in phronetic research is
not “contemplation without interest” but employment of “a variety of perspectives and
affective interpretations in the service of knowledge” (Nietzsche 1969, 287, emphasis in
original). It incorporates a multiplicity or polyphony of voices; no voice is claiming the ultimate
authority. However, this may get criticised as the results will put forward some sort of ‘reality’
which then has direct impact on policy making.
The result of phronetic planning research is an interpretation of the studied practices. The
researchers’ job is to shed light on the problems, possibilities and risks that planning,
planners, and those planned encounter, plus to sketch how things could be done in a different
way. The researcher is aware that ultimate responses to the questions cannot be found. The
goal is to enhance the debate on the strength of situated, contextualized research about
planning practices and the power relations which define such practices.

3.1.4. Qualitative Interviews

For my research I chose the problem-oriented semi-structured interviews, as I value the depth
and richness of ethnographic methods. It contains relatively open questions which are in the
field of inquiry, but which at the same time let the interviewee respond freely. The questions
are often asking about the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of a phenomenon. The researcher decides

10
(1) Why and how do the inhabitants of the modernist neighbourhood Hay Hassani transform and appropriate
their built environment? (2) Which (f)actors of importance shape the spatial development processes in Casablanca,
allowing or hindering the transformations at hand?

26
 Andrea Kurzbein

according to the specific situation of the interview in which order they are posed and if one
question can be left out because the interviewee has already answered it.
The problem-oriented semi-structured interview, as proposed by Witzel (1989) seems the
most suitable for my research out of three reasons: The field of research was given
(transformation processes in modernist neighbourhoods in Casablanca), the posed research
questions are not theory-led, but problem oriented, and third, the interview guide can be
modified and improved during the period of the field research. Completely unstructured or
structured, as well as biographic interviews would not fit these criteria. The viewpoints of
individuals are examined according to a specific problem. Lots of room is given to the
interviewees to develop their stories. The semi-structured interview guide has the function of
a guide rail, i.e. if the conversation stocks or if the interviewee totally deviates from the
subject, it can give the interview a new impulse. The interview gets recorded and notes are
taken about the context of the interview (where, when, who, special remarks etc.). The
interviews with the inhabitants remain anonymous, out of respect towards them. The experts
gave the permission to be cited with full name.
Concerning the interviews, it is central to build a basis of confidence between the interviewee
and the researcher. Follow-up interviews mostly do enhance the confidence (Flick 2005);
unfortunately that was not possible due to limited time in the field. Furthermore one can
never be sure if the statement of the respondent actually reflects his or her opinion, or if it is
rather the viewpoint of the general public. Doing cross-cultural research is full of
contradictions and complexities. Interviewing in a different cultural context requires a high
sensitivity to the entangled power relations which may be present between the interviewee
and the researcher, and to the local codes of behaviour (see Townsend 1995; Patai 1991;
Skelton 2001). There is this tendency that Europeans are perceived as powerful or even
superior, as a continuation of the relationship between colonizer and colonized (Howard
1994). It is highly important to be aware of the cultural and linguistic codes of behaviour.
All the interviews in Casablanca were conducted in French or Arabic (with the help of
translators). This means that there is a loss of information when translating them from (Arabic
into) French into English. The transcription and analysis of the interviews is time intense,
however, it is an essential part of the data analysis.
For the analysis of the interviews, a traditional social science approach requires to codify them
into categories of characteristics for theorising, modelling and prediction (Jackson 2006).
However, this means an overlooked filtering and loss of detail in the categorization, or
symbolisation, necessary to permit general groupings (Fink 2002). The interviews were
transcribed by Brendan and me. The process of analysing the transcripts is descriptive rather
than codifying. This allows to get an understanding of the different processes and contributes
“to society’s practical rationality in elucidating where we are, in whose interest this is, where
we want to go, and what is desirable according to different sets of values and interests”
(Flyvbjerg 2001, 84). The quotes illustrating important statements for our research were in a
further step translated from French into English.

27
3.2. Doing field research

3.2.1. In-depth field study

My field research in Casablanca took place from February 23rd till 27th March 2011, where I
lived with a Moroccan family in the neighbourhood right next to Hay Hassani. They were very
important for me in forming my knowledge on the cultural, historical, and political
developments in Casablanca. It is this special understanding, or cultural competence, one
brings home from the field that has much value; the empirical data is important too, but in a
different sense (Borén 2005). Doing field research is an embodied experience in a new
physical space. In all kind of practices, such as travelling, living, seeing, collecting, recording,
and narrating, it is the acting body of the fieldworker that interacts with other bodies, hence it
is the bases of the understanding a fieldworker is striving to attain (Driver 2000).
In the first days of arrival Brendan and I explored the city with all its various areas by foot and
taxi. We were driven by curiosity and lots of geographical, social, and architectural questions.
On Monday 28th February 2011 was the official starting day of the joint field research together
with the students from the Netherlands and Morocco. In discussion with the responsible of
the project we decided that my research focuses on Hay Hassani (HH) and Brendan’s on Hay
Mohammadi (HM). We considered HH and HM as an interesting combination, as the basic
architectural ideas of Ecochard in Hay Mohammadi (built 1952) are said to be found in the
structures Azagury used for Hay Hassani (built 1958-1962). Yet, different circumstances create
different outcomes; the two neighbourhoods have distinct characteristics. There is already
considerable literature on the evolution of HM, as this area has been transformed from the
biggest bidonville in Africa into the showpiece of modernist architecture. Hay Hassani is not
yet that well studied, and the literature to be found is mostly referring to the birth years of
the neighbourhood (Chapter 4.1).
The findings from the architectural analysis touch upon issues of vertical and horizontal
extensions, the modified use of sidewalks, and the appropriation of public space. The
resultant questions from the architects concerned the underlying reasons and logics of the
processes at hand (see appendix 8.2). After the architects from Delft left, Brendan and I
started our in-depth research in the two neighbourhoods. Two types of interview guides were
developed according to our respective research questions.
For the inhabitants of the two neighbourhoods Brendan and I used a semi-structured
interview guide which focuses on the dwelling transformations, the neighbourhood identity,
and public space (see appendix 8.3). The studied neighbourhoods are Hay Hassani and Hay
Mohammadi. The inhabitant interviewees are chosen in a random manner; we knocked at the
door of dwellings and asked if they have time for us. The interview mostly took place in the
living room ‘for visitors’. In other occasions we addressed people on the street and in shops or
the guardians of the parking lot. We set value to have a balanced proportion of both male and
female respondents, as well as a broad age range, in order to have different perspectives.
Obviously, older people experienced the transformation processes far closer than today’s
adolescents. But youth is the generation of tomorrow, and their viewpoints are therefore too
important to be neglected. Most of the interviews were held in Arabic, some in French. The
students Sanaa Toufik, Mohamed Ennassafi, and Youssef Oueld El Hachemi were our
competent and helpful translators. They translated on the spot what the inhabitants said.

28
 Andrea Kurzbein

The expert interview guide had to be adapted Overview of the conducted interviews
according to each professional, and consequently with inhabitants and experts:
they are all different. The contact to the experts Inhabitants:
was reached via Casamémoire, an inhabitant of
1. HH, adolescent 19 years, student, grew
Hay Hassani, my own initiative, and personal up in HH, family lives here since 1960
contacts. They were selected according to their 2. HH, women reunion, ~15 women
function and knowledge in the urban development. 3. HH, young man 25 years, company
The interviews were conducted in French and took employee, born in HH
place in their respective offices or at home. 4. HH, young family father, born in HH,
moved within the neighbourhood
An important aspect in qualitative research is to 5. HH, park attendant, 30 years, born here
keep flexibility in asking questions and to give the 6. HH, woman from the countryside, 25
interviewees the liberty to go in the directions years, married.
which are vital for her or him (Flowerdew & Martin 7. HH, elderly woman, was one of the slum
dwellers before HH construction
1997). They give insights into aspects which the
8. HH, family father, 38 years, employee,
researcher was not conscious about in beforehand. lives here since 1980
The interviewer sets points of departure in asking 9. HH, state employee, family lives in HH
open questions, and the interviewee answers since 1960
them, and this may lead to follow-up questions 10. HH, man, 22 years, student, works in
internet café, member of Islamic political
which were perhaps not yet written in the
party
guideline, but contribute significantly to the field 11. HH, young man, 25 years, student, born
study. The interview guide got further developed here, added a garden
after conducting several test interviews in Hay 12. HH, fruit juice seller, 48 years, born in HH
Mohammadi; always keeping the circularity of the 13. HH, woman, hairdresser, lives in adjacent
research in mind. neighbourhood
14. HM, young couple, 4 children and
Field observation is a substantial part in our grandparents in a small 3 piece flat
research. This includes taking photos of the 15. HM, woman, daughter of a carpenter,
buildings and the different uses in the public space. among the first inhabitants of HM
16. HM, mother and daughter, recently
When strolling regularly through the
moved in, did transformations
neighbourhood at different times of the day, one 17. HM, mother and daughter, no
gets a broader picture of the happenings there. transformations of the dwelling
Especially the diverse rhythms of the day are 18. HM, man, 60 years, born in HM, founder
fascinating. I mostly walked around and every now and owner of several schools

and then I sat in a café or a juice bar and observed 19. HM, elderly man, lived abroad for longer
time, came back to HM
the street from that perspective. Public benches do
not exist in Hay Hassani. Why? Another curious
Experts:
question.
· Monsieur Harriri, Architect and urban
My collected material during the preparation, the planner.
actual field research (23rd February to 27th March · Monsieur Hassani, Director of the Planning
2011) and afterwards contains qualitative Department of Casablanca
· Monsieur Abdelmajid El Harti, unionist and
interviews with residents and experts in main informant
Casablanca, field observations, photos, · Professor Abderrahmane Rachik, Human
architectural analysis, academic articles and books, Geography, University Hassan II
as well as statistical data. My main informant Casablanca
during the field research was Monsieur Abdelmajid

29
El Harti; married and father of four adult children, former technical employee at Royal Air
Maroc and member of the Moroccan Labour Union. He moved from Kenitra to Casablanca in
1965 for working reasons and after marriage the young couple bought a house in Hay el Hana.
Majid El Harti has an in-depth knowledge about the political, historical, and social
developments in the Muslim countries, and is an expert when it comes to urban processes in
Casablanca.
Nineteen interviews were held with inhabitants of the neighbourhoods Hay Hassani (HH) and
Hay Mohammadi (HM) (see textbox above). In the text the interviews are referred as
“interview 3” et cetera. Brendan and I carried out four expert interviews with architects,
planners, politicians, and a professor, which were held in Casablanca during the field research.
I took written notes and audio recordings of the interviews, which lasted between ten
minutes up to two hours. Furthermore, interesting discussions with students from ESAC and
Hassan II, with Casamémoire, as well as with my Moroccan host family contributed to a high
degree to the progress of my research. In the personal field diary I wrote down my thoughts,
impressions, observations as well as work progress, difficulties and surprises of my field
research.

3.2.2. Reflection about the own position

As previously stated, it is essential in any research to consider the own “positionality” (Skelton
2001, 89), what that might mean in relation to the ways in which the researcher follows the
line of investigation, and being mindful of how the people we work with perceive us.
Positionality as expression for gender, ‘race’, intellectual tradition, age, class et cetera, which
have substantial influence on the study. For that reason I’ll do a critical reflection about my
own position.
“A young European lady comes to my neighbourhood, a student from Sweden she said –
perhaps that’s why she has a weird French accent –, and asks curious questions about the
transformations in my house and in the neighbourhood.” These might have been the thoughts
of residents of HH and HM when they first perceived me. My personality may bear potential
difficulties, or at least aspects which have to be taken into consideration for the contextual
understanding.
 Origin: Swiss nationality, grown up in South Africa and Switzerland, shaped by
‘Western culture’. I am light-skinned, wearing western cloths, and my hair is
uncovered. Middle-class family.
 Student: Potential contrast between academia and working class. Their understanding
and acceptance of my research is uncertain.
 Language: Native language is German. I don’t speak Arabic, but pretty well French.
Translators are needed for most of the interviews.
 Age: I turned 26 during my field research in Casablanca. Some interview partners have
experienced historical milestones, which are inaccessible for me. Different generation.
 Gender: Female. Women in Islamic countries have a different role than in Western
countries. There exist unspoken rules of behaviour which I am not aware of.

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 Andrea Kurzbein

 Place: Casablanca’s neighbourhoods were unfamiliar to me. For the five weeks of field
study I did regular strolls through HH, HM, and other neighbourhoods.
 Daily routine: I am entering their daily routine, which might lead to a reaction of
defence.
To what extent these factors are influencing my research results, is difficult to measure.
However, the fact that these aspects have a certain influence is undeniable.

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4. Field study Hay Hassani
The reasons for all these processes?
One needs first and always relate it back to the culture, I insist upon...
El Harti, 2011

This chapter enters the field research in the selected neighbourhood Hay Hassani, by taking
the reader by the hand and introducing its architecture and stages of urban planning.
Chapter 4.2 describes and pictures the field observations, which serve as a basis for the
following section. Herein qualitative interviews with the inhabitants give us answers to the
question why the transformations took place (part of my first research question). Thereafter,
and according to my second research question, the actors and factors of importance get
identified (who?).

4.1. Hay Hassani: A vibrant place in its own way

4.1.1. Taking the reader by the hand

The taxi man drives us along the Boulevard Afghanistan to the mosque of Hay Hassani. It is in
the early afternoon, the sun is standing high, and the neighbourhood seems calm. Children
are playing football on the street, women and kids are bringing their fresh baked bread home
from the collective oven, and some men are sitting in the café and watch people going by.
They also see the two European students passing by, we, with our light skin and western
clothing, Brendan and I, curiously strolling through Hay Hassani. Moving away from the
boulevard and getting to the small meshed street grid means also moving away from the car
dominated road to the neighbourhood streets of the pedestrians. People go around on foot,
sometimes a motorbike or car passes by. The walking takes place on the street itself.
Sidewalks are not used that often, even though they exist. Sidewalks are used for restaurant
sitting areas, working place of car repair shops, or for hanging the laundry outside. Besides, it
is much more comfortable to walk on the even street than on the potholed sidewalk. There is
one narrow house next to the other in all sorts of colours, height and structure. One storey
until five storeys, the facades reach from hardly maintained to wonderfully decorated, and
roof terraces open the guess of a further adding of a storey. Amidst this type of building, there
are the rows of block housing ones. They look rather anonymous and secluded, all buildings
are painted in the same colours beige and rose, and the entrances are hidden. However, both
types of buildings – the individual adapted one and the rigid repeated one – have
characteristics in common. For example the small windows; it is still possible to see the
original size of the frame, but this has been reduced to a forth or even more of its size.
Curtains hamper the view inside the house. This does not mean that nobody is looking out of
the window; on the contrary, almost always we see women, men or children watching what is
happening on the streets, watching us passing by.
In the later afternoon when the heat of the sun fades, the streets start to be filled with life.
Vendors put their merchandise on the sidewalks, chariots filled with fruits, dates, cakes,

32
 Andrea Kurzbein

underwear, watches, and make-up are getting placed where possible, and shoes of all kind of
fake brands are getting sold next to the man who praises the healthy snails (Figure 9).
Women, men and children of all age are strolling through the busy streets and they bargain
for the goods. All Moroccans, no tourists. All in Arabic, no French. It is a pleasure to watch this
exuberant street life. And I feel safe.

11
Figure 9: Street vendors on an afternoon .

4.1.2. Hay Hassani: Urban planning and architecture

The buildings in Hay Hassani want to tell a story. A story that began in the early 1940’s with
the steady growth of the slum Derb Jdid – the ‘new neighbourhood’. It is located in the south-
east of Casablanca (see Figure 1: Map of Morocco with the neighbourhoods Hay Hassani, Old
Medina, and Hay Mohammadi).
In 1957 more than 15’000 people lived in Derb Jdid, mostly coming from the rural areas of
Morocco. Within the dynamics of independence in 1956, plans were made by the Government
to build on the ground of Derb Jdid a new neighbourhood with adapted, hygienic and
economic housings for the people of the slum. But as it happened, one year before the official
start of the constructions a serious fire, most probably initiated by the inhabitants, destroyed
the temporary barracks in June 1958 and thus accelerated the process (Cohen & Eleb 1999).
The reconstruction of the quartier populaire, the working-class neighbourhood, was led by the
ministry of public transports. The master plan Derb Jdid was confided in 1957 to Elié Azaguy, a
Moroccan architect who has studied and worked in France, Sweden and Morocco. Azagury
adopted some propositions on Ecochard’s working class habitats for Muslims, dating from
1952, such as the assemblage of cellules (Figure 11) (ibid.). Figure 10 shows the construction
site of Hay Hassani around 1960. The vertical extension of the housing unity was incorporated
from the beginning on, as experience in the neighbourhood Hay Mohammadi showed most of
the inhabitants are adding one or more storeys sooner or later.

11
All pictures are taken by the author, otherwise indicated.

33
Figure 10: Construction of Hay Hassani around 1960, surrounded by agricultural land (source: Casamémoire).

Figure 11: Draft of the housing and street structure in Hay Hassani, by Azagury and team, date unknown, probably
around 1956. Two types of buildings are displayed: the 3-4 storeys block Coquelicot and the 2 storeys Basile.
(Source: Casamémoire).

In order to avoid a social and architectural monotonous looking neighbourhood, Azagury and
his team played with different types of buildings for people with different social status: type
Arsène, Basile, and Coquelicot (Figure 12 and Figure 13). Arsène and Basile have a ground
floor and one storey, and they were constructed in ways which allowed adding further
storeys. However, it was probably not the idea of Azagury that the patios as well would get

34
 Andrea Kurzbein

appropriated through actual construction, small gardens, or commercial services (horizontal

extension). Figure 12 and Figure 13 show only one of the several versions for possible
transformations; as already described, all buildings are characterised by different individual
height, structure, and degree of expansion. The works of the architecture students from TU
Delft and ESA Casablanca provide a much more detailed analysis of the physical evolution of
the buildings (TU Delft, spring 2011, unpublished).

Figure 12: Evolution of the type Basile. The inhabitants added one or more storeys and transformed the patios into
living space. (Source: ESAC).

Figure 13: Evolution of the type Arsène. One can observe a vertical extension of one or more storeys and a
horizontal appropriation of the patios into living space. (Source: ESAC).

Certain dwellings were financed by the state (rental agreement for 40 years): two storey
houses for two families. Others were financed by the landlord himself, on the basis of plans
the Government provided (Cohen & Eleb 1999).

4.2. Being in the field

When walking through Hay Hassani one can identify two basic types of residential buildings:
transformable (houses) and unconvertible blocks. The houses have all different characters,
expressed by the number of storeys and their height, the colour, façade, decoration,
maintenance, and if there is a shop or small garden. Few dwellings remain in their original size
(Figure 15); most of the houses have obviously been extended horizontally (Figure 14). The
windows are rather small, and sometimes closable with folding shutters. When taking a closer
look, the three different typologies of transformable dwellings Azagury intended, are still

35
 recognizable (see chapter 3 on methodology). Each building is thus constructed on one of the
three original floor plans, which somewhat predetermined the way the building did evolve. It
appears as a development that took place spontaneously, individually, and self-made, though
solid.

Figure 14: Horizontally extended dwellings.

Figure 15: Original size of a dwelling amidst

two vertically extended buildings.

The non-transformable blocks are three to four storeys high (ground floor plus three,
respectively four floors) and all painted in the same beige-rose colour. As far as we observed,
there is no extension on the roof top (Figure 16). The windows, which originally had the size of
a ‘normal’ European window, had been closed or diminished by the inhabitants, using bricks,
wire mesh, curtains or folding shutters. In between the windows the occupants attach
clotheslines (Figure 17). For most of the block dwellings there are no gardens connected to
the building.

Figure 16: Block dwelling in Hay Hassani. There is no vertical extension observable.

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 Andrea Kurzbein

Figure 17: Block dwelling with diminished windows and cloth lines.

Some green spots can be found in the HH

neighbourhood, however, far less than it was designed
by Azagury. The little gardens which were in front of
each Arsène and Basile building have disappeared.
Today there are, nevertheless, some little private
gardens attached to houses (Figure 18).

Figure 18: Private garden attached to the dwelling.

There is a single park in the

neighbourhood Hay Hassani, located
right next to the lively souk, the
traditional Arabic market quarter. Yet,
this public green space does not seem
maintained and it appears rather
unfrequented (Figure 19).

Figure 19: Rather deserted and poorly

maintained neighbourhood park in Hay Hassani.

37
Hay Hassani seems densely populated. Life takes place in the streets, the souk, the shops, and
in cafés or juice bars. The lively gatherings around the market, especially in the evenings,
indicate a dynamic commercial and social activity in the neighbourhood (Figure 20).

Figure 20: Lively street market next to the park with extended houses in the background.

The main boulevards are considerably overloaded with motorised traffic; individual cars and
motorbikes, long and short distance taxis (grand et petit taxi), and trucks try to find their
ways, next to vehicles which are parked at the side of the road, chariots pushed around and
people unforeseeably crossing the road. One has to be very attentive when crossing the road.
There are no pedestrian crossings. However, when entering the tighter street grid between
the boulevards, the situation is noticeably different. The streets are used as ‘shared space’,
allowing pedestrians and motorised vehicles circulate on the same terrain. Sidewalks, then
again, are not in a good condition or else have been appropriated for commercial or private
use. Walking on the street itself is more comfortable than on the potholed sidewalk.
These observations ‘from the street’ were accompanied by visits of the houses during our
interviews. This opened new perspectives, as the outdoor observations can only be put in
context when experiencing the indoor feeling of a dwelling, and vice versa. All apartments
have two living rooms; one for the guests and one for everyday life use. The living room for
the visitors is nicely decorated with tiles and furnished with fine traditional futons. The room
for daily use is also equipped with traditional sofas, though less exquisite. Rooms are often
used for multiple purposes (espace non-affecté), such as living room during daytime and
sleeping room during the night. The interior also reflects the income level of the inhabitants; it
ranges from minimal furnishing to nice and carefully chosen decoration. A television is well
placed. There are no bookshelves in the living rooms, they are to be found in another room or
then hidden under the sofa. The temperature in the apartments is pleasing, the light is calm.
This feels good, especially when coming from the hot and bright midday sun. We were
positively surprised about the openness with which people welcomed us. They led us in their
home and showed us the rooms and sometimes even offered us tea and cookies (Figure 21).

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 Andrea Kurzbein

However, there were also cultural constraints we had to accept, such as when the husband is
not at home, the woman should not let an unknown man enter the apartment. Generally
spoken, the inhabitants of Hay Mohammadi were more willing to tell us about the housing
transformations than in Hay Hassani. This might be due to the fact that Hay Mohammadi has
been subject of many researches and thus the residents are used to foreigners walking around
asking curious questions. Hay Hassani, in contrast, has not yet been studied extensively.

Figure 21: During an interview in Hay Mohammadi. The two Moroccan women living there since construction of
the neighbourhood invited Brendan, Youssef, and me for tea in their non-transformed living room, March 2011.

Located right next to Hay Hassani is the wealthy villa neighbourhood Anfa-Supérieure, and a
deprived bidonville. What is particularly striking is the simultaneous existence of slums and
villas right next to each other; sometimes even neighbouring or then divided by a boulevard
or street.
Summarized, the field observations can be sketched as follows:
 Spontaneous and erratic development
 Diminished green space
 Horizontal and vertical extensions
 Intimacy concerns
 Reinterpretation of public and private space
 Densification
 Patchwork of neighbourhoods
 “Espace non-affecté”; multiple functions of a room
This section outlined the architectural and sociological field observations in the
neighbourhoods Hay Hassani and Hay Mohammadi. The following chapter aims to answer
why these processes have taken place.

39
4.3. Underlying reasons and logics
Out of the observations the question why these things happen arise. For a better overview,
the underlying reasons and logics are grouped into three sub-themes: economic, socio-
demographic, and cultural factors. However, they are strongly interlinked and should not be
seen as independent.

4.3.1. Economic factors

We have talked with inhabitants, both renters and house owners, who have not done any
transformations in their dwellings, although they have thought about various extensions; “I’d
like to add a storey for my brother’s family, but it’s just a question of money, and we don’t
have it” (interview 5). The primary reason is lack of financial means, as pointed out by
numerous interviewees (interviews 1, 3, 4, 9 among others). Without money there is hardly
any construction done – the economic factor obviously is central for housing transformations.
Money is needed to pay the constructor or architect and to buy construction material and
labour. Most interviewees said that they and their families helped with the constructions at
hand in order to hold the costs low. A better income or several earnings within one household
allow an investment in the dwelling. Furthermore, family member from abroad send money
with the intention of improve the dwelling. The young man’s uncle, who lives in France and
spends the summers with his family in Morocco, proposed to invest in the family dwelling in
Hay Hassani with the aim of enhancing its value and strengthen the family cohesion.
Houses also get transformed in order to provide a multiple apartment building, which are
then rented out. This assures an additional income. The owner meanwhile has perhaps moved
to another (more affluent) neighbourhood, but still wants to keep the real estate. These rental
apartments get mostly occupied by new arrivals, coming from the rural parts of Morocco, as
several interviewees told us.
Improved technology and tools allow for facilitated construction. However, a sack of cement
costs 50 Dirham, corresponding to approximately 5 Euro. For a Moroccan blue-collar worker
this represents a bigger investment, as the average income is rather low.

4.3.2. Socio-demographic factors

 Family extension and changes

Most of the interviewees indicated that when the family grows, the need for space is
understandably increasing (interviews 1 and 8 among others). In addition to the birth of
children, the accommodation of family members is triggering the extension of the building.
Family cohesion is very strong in the Moroccan culture, and it is commonplace that more than
two generations live in the same house. A woman who arrived in the bidonville Derb Jdid in
1955 and lives since then in one of the constructed buildings, shares the house with her two
children who again are married and have kids. Though, they would like to have their own
apartments, but economic circumstances do not allow it. In these situations the family gives
unquestioned support.

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 Andrea Kurzbein

 Neighbourhood turnover, rural immigration, and moving away

Some interviewees told us that the turnover of the residents in Hay Hassani was small until
recently, but since some years there is a new wave of rural immigrants who “penetrate the
neighbourhood” (interview 3), and creates a high flux of residents. A young couple, originating
from the rural country side and now living in a rented apartment in HH, said that there were
no big difficulties in arriving here (interview 6). According to the existing inhabitants of HH,
rural immigrants work for less money, have big families in small apartments, and embrace a
different character and way of life: rural. One interviewee stated that nowadays everyone is
locking the entry door of the dwelling, whereas before the “arrival of the strangers” the
inhabitants had more feeling of safety and confidence in the neighbourhood. Some owners of
dwelling transform their building into rental apartments; “they rent out rooms to the
strangers who are coming into our neighbourhood [...] from all over the world. It’s because of
a job, that’s normal. The neighbourhood is not the same since ten years, not the same, but
nothing will change this development” (interview 3). The elderly woman observed that the
relations between the neighbours have become less strong, as a result of the increased
turnover in the population (interview 6). Migrants from all over the place seek for
employment in the neighbourhood, which has also deeply changed the social structure in Hay
Hassani since the last 10 years, according to the interviewee. One young man took a
particularly critical stance towards the rural immigration: “These people have to be kicked out
of the neighbourhood. They bring their rural behaviour along” (interview 10). Another young
man, a guardian of a parking lot, also pointed out that the rural migrants – or “cannibals” –
are a threat for the adolescents of the neighbourhood, as they take their job opportunities
away. This is why most of his friends moved into a different neighbourhood as soon as they
had the financial resources (interview 5). Adolescences seek for their own apartments, as they
finish their education and start working. A young man stated that he and his brothers will
move there where they can find a job (interview 1). What does also trigger people to move
away is a perceived degradation of the neighbourhood, which is observable in increased
criminality and declined infrastructure.
Talking about leaving the neighbourhood, El Harti states that for moving away “the one and
only trigger – one –is when I have the money, the moment I hold the necessary financial
resources to leave this house and get a bigger one. If I don’t have enough money, which is
necessary for changing the dwelling, I stay there for ages, even until 90 years old, I stay here.
Financial means are central.” The The woman who lives in HH since the very beginning states
that almost all of the initial inhabitants have moved away and that there are not many people
she still knows. Higher economic resources, again, were the main trigger.
Nonetheless, the greater part of the interviewees does not consider moving to another
neighbourhood. One family told us that they have bought a bigger apartment at the periphery
of Casablanca. But somehow they do not feel attached to the new place; so the family prefers
staying in the smaller dwelling in Hay Hassani where they have their social network.

 Urban patchwork
“Voila the richness of the bourgeoisie with their villas – and just next to it you see the slums”
(El Harti). The wide social span in Casablanca is indeed very obvious. I asked Moroccans what
they are thinking about this phenomenon. One young middle-class woman answered that the
rich are not at all disturbed by the presence of the bidonvilles or quartiers populaires, rather

41
the contrary: these people are peaceful and trustful, and the rich are dependent on the
working labour. Many services, such as cleaning, cooking, child care, car parking, gardening
and so forth are done by the less wealthy inhabitants. A different statement comes from a
young man living in Hay Hassani; he said that between his neighbourhood and Hay el Hana, at
the other side of the boulevard, there is no connection at all; “it’s another city” (interview 3).
This spatial segregation is reflected in the everyday life movement patterns of the inhabitants
as well as in their discourse about the affluent area on the other side of the boulevard: “There
is a strong solidarity among us poor people, and they *the wealthy+ don’t dare coming to our
neighbourhood” (interview 5).

4.3.3. Cultural factors

 Wish for intimacy

One immediately observes the closed windows and balconies
of the dwellings (Figure 22). The reasons for this wish of
intimacy have its grounds in, first, the fact that the high
population density enhances the need for a more protected
private space. Secondly, Moroccan woman should not show
their uncovered hair to men they theoretically could get
married to. It allows the person in the inside to peek out, but
it hampers the look from outside into the room. Thirdly, due
to the relatively warm climate in Casablanca, the residents
prefer having rather cool and shady rooms. As a
consequence, the windows are small.
The layout of the rooms has been changed in almost all
dwellings we visited. One reason is that it is morally not
accepted in the Muslim culture that a visitor has direct sight
into the intimate sleeping room. That’s why the inhabitants
created a clear separation between the common and private
rooms. This custom of common and intimate space derives
from traditional, even rural, culture (El Harti).
Figure 22: Windows have been
diminished to small portholes.

 Notion of property and public & private space

The notion of property is different between the rural and
urban population, as El Harti explained us. A peasant who
owns the land and dwelling transforms it corresponding to
the family changes. In contrast, the city dweller searches for
an alternative accommodation. The young couple coming
from the rural site is now renting a small apartment. But they
are intensely seeking for a place to buy; “we prefer living in a

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 Andrea Kurzbein

small room that is our own property than renting a dwelling, but it is all a question of financial
means”, she said (interview 6). The people coming from the rural area to the metropolis
Casablanca thus bring along their strong notion of property and mutation of the dwelling, and
the idea that the place one settles gets defended. It is then when for the rural immigrants a
steady process of acculturation to city life sets in. Becoming a ‘citadin’ – city dweller – and
adapt to an urban culture; the urban culture which was and still is very much influenced by
the French.
There is little notion of co-property in the Moroccan culture, as El Harti describes. The
inhabitant pays for the apartment and takes care of it, but the respect and valorisation of the
shared space and co-property is missing. What regards the maintenance of staircase or lift, is
for most inhabitants not of concern. As some pay for the common services and others not
obviously creates tensions among the dwellers. Nowadays they are asked to contribute; each
household in the HH block buildings pays 50 dirham per month for the caretaker
(approximately 5 Euros) (interview 1).
On the dwelling level one can observe a noticeable difference between the interior and the
exterior; there is much more care and investment inside the house than outside. “Perhaps I
spend a crazy amount of money for the interior. But the exterior is not my matter” (El Harti).
The exterior is culturally not perceived as part of the property; this belongs to the authorities
and they should take care of it.

 Contested green space

Asking the inhabitants about the relevance of green space, most of them highly valorise parks
and gardens. There are some little private gardens flanking the house walls. A man told us
that there were lots of gardens here before, but people then did put a roof on top and
transformed it to a kitchen or whatever other room. The municipality then voted to demolish
all extensions, and that’s what happened. So if someone today expresses the wish for a
garden, he or she has to obtain permission at the municipality and they regularly check if the
garden has been illegally transformed into living space (interview 8). However, taken
altogether, Hay Hassani does not have many green spots. Some are pointing out that the
municipality does not put enough effort in the maintenance of greenery. Others state that, in
general, inhabitants of HH do not valorise gardens because of the mosquitoes. And again, one
man said that “if the responsible create parks, people would pee, take drogues, and smoke
the shisha *water pipe+. That’s why the mentality of people has to change first!” (interview
10). To create a private green space, small gardens align some dwellings. They are for the
most part overgrown with bushes, so that they are deprived from the looks of people walking
by. Here again the wish for intimacy is clearly reflected in the architecture and use of the
building.

 Islam and its symbol and laws

Religion plays an important role in the everyday life of a Muslim. This is reflected for instance
in the five daily prayers, the Lenten month of Ramadan, or in basic imperatives of behaviour.
For the Muslim inhabitants these codes are self-evident and incorporated in their thinking.
The Koran is the undisputed source of guidance in Islam for all Muslims. One example in case
is the question of inheritance. After the demise of the owner, the distribution of his or her
wealth is in most cases a delicate affair; it may split the relationship between the relatives.

43
Thus “God as the creator of human being” (Bin Arnakim 2003) has revealed guidance for
Muslims to distribute the deceased’s wealth. The modus operandi of the distribution of
estate, called faraid, is defined in Koran12. In fact, these two verses give the guidelines of
estate distribution for Muslims. They are clear, definitive, and there is no room for speculating
the issue. The faraid plays a central role in Islamic financial planning as it eliminates the trade-
off among the inheritors. Another law written in the Koran is the unanimous agreement on
the fact that Islam prohibits the practice of riba; taking interest (Zamir 2007). Borrowing
money is regarded as unethical and unfair to the borrower and is clearly forbidden in Islam.
The Koran also defines the responsibility and respect each inhabitant should raise towards his
neighbours. For Muslims it is a natural thing to support the neighbours in times of crisis or
during festivities. “Yes it *the support among neighbours+ exist, even with people you don’t
know, it exist” (interview 3). These examples along with further laws and codes of behaviour
stated in the Koran are shaping the spatial development significantly.

 Fashion and social status

The inhabitants’ wish for more space got translated to vertical and horizontal extensions, as
already described in the field observations. In one Arsène building, we interviewed a young
man who grew up in HH. He told us that his grandfather didn’t want to make big modifications
in the house; he just constructed a third storey at the time when his son got married and
didn’t find a place to live. After his grandfather died, the family members decided to do
extensive transformation because they didn’t want to live in these poor and old conditions
anymore, with only one tiny bathroom, a small living room, and so forth. The modifications
were mainly in decoration and aesthetic improvement (interview 3). Rooms get arranged in
innovative ways, decoration changed or ameliorated, and new technology implemented. Here
the notion of fashion and social status comes into play; it is not only pure dissatisfaction with
the original architecture, but also the changed life styles and different conception of living.
The inhabitants develop, and so should the building. “Everything is a question of tea. With the
tea, you organise your mind and put things at their places” (interview 15).
A different and unique example is the case of the two ladies in the untransformed dwelling
who state that they like it the way it is: “if we would have wanted, we could have done
transformations, but we simply didn’t want to” (interview 17, Figure 21).

12
“God says clearly in the Qur'an [Koran] "God (thus) direct you as regards your children's (inheritance): to
the male, a portion equal to that of two female; if only daughters, two or more, their share is two third of the
inheritance; if only one her share is a half. For parents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left
children: if no children, and the parents are the only heirs, the mother has a third; if the deceased left brothers (or
sisters) the mother has sixth (The distribution in all cases is) after the payment of legacies and debts. Ye know not
whether your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. These settled portions ordained by God; and
God is all knowing, all-wise" (4:11).
God further says "In what your wives leave, your share is a half, if they leave no child: but if they leave a
child, ye get a fourth; after payment of legacies and debts. In what ye leave, their share is a fourth, if ye leave no
child; but if ye leave a child, they get an eighth: after the payment of legacies and debts. If the man and woman
whose inheritance is in question, has left neither ascendants or descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each
one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third: after payment of legacies and debts; so that
no loss is caused (to any one). Thus is it ordained by God; and God is all knowing, most Forbearing." (4:12)” (Bin
Arnakim 2003).

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 Identity, place attachment, and daily services

The meaning or significance of the neighbourhood was expressed by most of the interviewees
as follows: “No, I cannot move away from Hay Hassani” and “here are our roots”. Moving
away would mean changing life completely. In Hay Hassani they know people, their
neighbours, and most of the time the extended family lives close by, or in the same dwelling.
Furthermore most of the daily services are provided in the neighbourhood. This clearly
indicates a sense of place, or place attachment. The young man working in the internet café
describes Hay Hassani as “not organised, not clean, and the people are crazy” (interview 10).
Despite this, he adores the neighbourhood; he was born here and all needs of the family can
be covered here: employment, the souk, the proximity to the centre of Casablanca, and
foremost the social networks render HH a dear neighbourhood to be. “Yes everything is close;
the pharmacy, the qessariah [non-alimentary commerce], the soukh [alimentary market],
everything you want, even late at night you find everything” (interview 15).
A slightly broader view is expressed by another young man, saying that he could actually also
live in Hay Mohammadi, or any other neighbourhood – as long as it is in Casablanca. One can
derive from these statements that most inhabitants have their roots in Hay Hassani and do
not consider moving away. But if the opportunity or urge arises then a neighbourhood within
Casablanca is preferred before another city. There is a strong feeling of belonging to
Casablanca.

4.4. (f)actors of importance

In order to understand these mechanisms of change, the actors and factors of importance
have to be identified. The web’s complexity does not allow me to point out all (f)actors of
importance; especially what concerns political (f)actors and the power relations of influential
people, as my research was focused on the perspective from the inhabitants on
neighbourhood level. Nevertheless, this chapter considers some of the significant actors and
factors involved.
Actors of importance: Inhabitants of Hay Hassani; politicians on neighbourhood, municipal,
and national level; La Wilaya; Urban Planning Department Casablanca; influential people from
industry and business society; constructors and architects; rural immigrants; labour unions; et
cetera.
Factors of importance: French protectorate and Morocco’s Independence; speculation;
building permission; visions of modernist urban planning; representation of Casablanca as the
white city; climate; et cetera.

The Moroccan architect Élie Azagury laid the foundation of the present neighbourhood Hay
Hassani. The structures he implemented were very much influenced by Ecochard’s scheme of
modernist social mass housing for the Muslim working class. Additionally he included the
possibility to extend some types of buildings vertically. And the residents did so, as
observations 50 years later prove. Parallel to the modernist planning vision, the symbolic
meaning and representation of Casablanca also shaped the architectural design. The city was
the showcase par excellence for modernist architecture, and wanted to keep this position.

45
Azagury also followed the imaginary of Casablanca as the ‘white city’; all buildings in Hay
Hassani were originally in white. But since then they have been painted by its inhabitants in all
different kinds of colour so that today there is hardly any white dwelling left. The inhabitants
transformed their neighbourhood from bottom-up and especially in the early years in an
informal way. Most inhabitants in Hay Hassani were of rural origin and brought along the
spirit of appropriation and conversion of the dwelling. Extension and transformations were
conducted as the need pushed. The turbulent period of Morocco’s becoming independent
from the French protectorate was marked by an absence of control what concerns the urban
development. There was a huge urgency to build a lot in short time. According to statements
of the inhabitants, it was almost possible to do any housing transformation until the Urban
Planning Department Casablanca was founded in 1984 and tightened the control over the
constructions. The Urban Planning Department (Agence Urbaine Casablanca) acts under the
Ministry of the Interior. One can most likely argue that it is hence an inherently undisclosed
institution. Another political organ is La Wilaya, which was established in 1981 in order to
provide coordination on supra-prefecture level. It is the local representant of the whole
government; all administration concerning city planning depend on the Wilaya (interview
Rachik). Unfortunately it was not possible to conduct an expert interview with a responsible of
the Wilaya, and thus it is difficult to appoint them a accurately defined role in the urban
development.
Prefecture and municipality play a minor role in the urban development of their respective
neighbourhood. They lack power and financial means to maintain the public space, and what
is more, they are not the ones who decide over the spatial development. The power and thus
the rationality is officially in the hands of the Urban Planning Department through urban
master plans and regulations, and unofficially it is a complex web of decision making process
at higher level as well as on street level which decides upon the spatial development. More
precisely, political and economic interests, shaped through speculation, decide on
investments in the various neighbourhoods. The governmental impact through the Urban
Planning Department is highly influenced by power relations on different levels. Conservative
forces, in particular the industrials and the wealthy proprietors in Casablanca, control the
municipality and a major part of the media. As discussed in chapter 2.1.2, speculation had
crucial weight in the whole urban development in Casablanca; “Casablanca’s evolution was
based on speculation from the very beginning” (Harriri), what has as effect that the working
class neighbourhoods settled down at the periphery of the city and leaving a sort of no man’s
land between them and the centre (Figure 5, page 14). This reflects the statements of Adam
(1968) and Rachik (2002). Buying a plot of land became an act for the upper class only. It is
difficult for working class families to acquire a terrain in Casablanca itself; most of them can
only afford housing at the periphery in one of the new construction sites. Monsieur El Harti
explained, that there is an astonishing high number of vacant apartments in Casablanca. The
reason therefore is that the state does not protect the house owner; if the tenant does not
pay the rent, the landlord has only small judicial means to get the money back or to kick the
tenant out. As a consequence the buildings get locked and used for speculation and
investment. “The urban development became more and more complex”, stated the Moroccan
architect and urban planner Harriri. The responsible don’t know from which angle to approach
the challenge, and the result is a total fiasko. “There is still this image of the perfect Versailles
in people’s head, but that’s just an illusion. It’s a question of culture”, he continued, “and of

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money”. “L’urbanisme c’est une fabrique d’argent” (translated: Urban planning is a money
factory). Influential people, especially from the French protectorate, were the key actors.
“The Urban Planning Department has committed mistakes, many many mistakes”
contemplated El Harti when he drove us through new developments in the periphery of
Casablanca. The Planning Department did a lot of mistakes in the spatial development of the
city. For instance they completely neglected public transport for long time, what nowadays
results in huge traffic jams and feral taxi rides. They approved neighbourhoods with only a few
parking lots where most of the inhabitants are young couples and both of them own a car.
Many streets are too narrow or packed with parked cars to assure the fire engine passing
through in case of fire; a question of safety. Summarised, the Planning Department fails to
harmonise transport, traffic, housing, and environmental concerns. The one who pays best
gets the permission to build what is in his interest. “I as citizen and practicing unionist, for me
the Planning Department, it’s like an airplane flying at an altitude, and the citizens are on the
ground” (El Harti). An official authorisation is required when someone wants to change his
dwelling. For the most part, getting permission takes a lot of time. “Hm, it’s easy to get them,
but well, the procedure is a bit hard. But if one insists, it works” (interview 3). In another case
the authorisation was provided, but shortly after it was rejected again, without telling the
reason. A fine distinction for which purposes the permission from the municipality is needed
was provided by the young computer scientist, saying that “for the interior it’s no problem.
But for transformations at the exterior an authorisation is required”. As several interviewees
told us when speaking about the paperwork for these permissions, it seems to have been
much easier in earlier days to transform a dwelling; “when someone decides to construct a
thing, he wakes up in the morning and goes for it” (interview 3). This time period was almost
certainly between Morocco’s becoming independent and the establishment of the Urban
Planning Department Casablanca. “No, no. Nobody knew or bothered about the
transformations which have taken place. My father has done artistic transformations. You see
the staircase? He has widened it; they were all narrow before. The Madame from the
neighbouring dwelling has a totally different staircase; you would see the difference
immediately *…+. Nowadays if you want to transform whatever, it’s crucial to let the
authorities come, and to tell them what you wanna do. You need to go to the arrondissement,
legalise, and give money. And then the moqqadem comes, and you give him money too”
(interview 15).
The Urban Planning Department is currently developing 33 new neighbourhood plans in the
entire Casablanca region. In the end of 2010 they presented with Hay Hassani their first plan.
The main aspects are the extension of the district boundaries for further construction, de-
densification, and a green belt. For the new neighbourhood plan Hay Hassani, the present
Director of the Urban Planning Department, Monsieur Hassani, even reinforces the strict
zoning, hampering the further extension of the dwellings (interview). As the neighbourhood
plans are still in elaboration, they are not accessible to me as researcher (interview Hassani,
and confirmation of Rachik). Hassani told me that the inhabitants were invited to lodge
objection against the plan if desired. Participation of the inhabitants from the beginning does
not seem to be common practice. In the interviews with the inhabitants of Hay Hassani,
however, not one single person knew about this neighbourhood plan. This, despite the fact
that such plans ought to be presented to and opposable through the inhabitants. When I
asked a young man what role the municipality, the government, and the Planning Department

47
play in the spatial development of HH, he answered: “They are as invisibles as phantoms”
(interview 10). Regarding the election of their neighbourhood representatives in the city
council or the prefecture, several interviewees pointed out, that the elected politicians
promise to improve the neighbourhood in economic, environmental, and social terms, but
that after five years of office nothing happened, except that the politician now lives in a villa
(interview 5).
Nevertheless, the inhabitants handle this situation with vigorous creativity and inventive
talent, testing the thresholds in what is possible to transform their built environment. It is on
the very local level where the transformations take place.
Constructors, architects, and real-estate agents are further actors in the spatial jigsaw; they
earn their living with building, transforming and trading with housings. They are – as most of
the actors – following their interests, which means a maximum of financial profit.
Constructions are mostly done by constructors; in rare cases by architects (“constructors are
less expensive than architects”).
The raise of the union movement in Morocco started in 1955 with the Moroccan Labour
Union (Union Marocaine du Travail, UMT). They achieved substantial augmentations of the
salaries in the early years of independence and also emphasised on the cultural development
in the working-class neighbourhoods. The labour unions have also a further impact: through
support in the working place they help the rural immigrants to adapt to the urban way of
living. “It’s through work that people learn a new culture” (El Harti). The labour unions also
contributed to the spatial development in Casablanca; both with lodgings for their members
and with policy initiatives. Political changes on both national and international level have
direct impact on the street and neighbourhood level.
Since the beginning of the 20th century there is a constant influx of rural migrants towards
Casablanca. They largely contributed to the incredible development of the metropolis within
only one century. Today in Hay Hassani one can find a mixture of ‘urbanised’ inhabitants and
rural immigrants. This creates tensions because of different lifestyles, along with differing
notions on property and private and public space.
A further factor of importance is the climate. Casablanca has a warm climate during the whole
year and not much precipitation. This allows for construction which does not have to fulfil
high standards in isolation; it is architecturally seen a rather simple construction. The warm
climate favours small windows in order to prevent the sun warming up the dwelling.
I count the inhabitants’ visions and prospective for the future development of Hay Hassani
also as a contributing factor of importance. A family father hopes that the neighbourhood will
not remain like this; “that hopefully it will get improved. But there is a social habitation
program planned for Hay Hassani offering accommodation for thousands of people, which I
fear will overload the neighbourhood” (interview 8). What is absolutely needed in the further
development of HH, according to most inhabitants, is more green space, diversification of
functions, and improved public services, such as libraries, sport facilities, and maintenance of
the public space. Young people seek for internet cafes, basketball fields, and meeting places.
On my question of who is actually responsible for all stated problems, the young man working
at the cyber café replied: “It’s me and him, and you. It is in our responsibility” (interview 10)
and it concerns all the structure which compose society: the government, the citizens, the

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mentality, and education among others. He emphasises that it is first and foremost the
mentality of people that has to change in order to approach a better neighbourhood. Another
young man states that “the municipality tries with its means to do its best, but there are still
things to do. What is needed are vivid spirits, young spirits. The whole municipality, there are
only old minds. Youth is needed; there has to be some movement!” (interview 3). These
statements voiced by the youth have to be taken seriously. During the time of my field
research, other Maghreb countries such as Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya experienced never seen
violent riots (and still are experiencing them at the time of writing), surfacing from discontent
inhabitants, who determinedly demand for more democracy and a political overthrow. Taking
the whole city into perspective, the unionist El Harti calls for creating a denser city which
includes green space, improved public transport, diminished energy consumption and
pollution. Additionally new laws should ensure the protection of house ownership.
As stated above, there are most likely further (f)actors of importance which might get studied
in a next research in order to contribute to the picture. This chapter gave the foundation for
the following discussion, which investigates how these processes take place.

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5. Discussion
What did they add? Their needs. They created distinctions.
Richard Milgram, 2008

In this chapter the findings from the field research will be discussed in set in a broader
context. Applying the image of barriers, the question how the inhabitants of the modernist
neighbourhood Hay Hassani transform and appropriate their built environment will get
answered (as part of my first research question). The results then get related to the four
value-rational questions posed in phronetic research.

5.1. What happened?

“Buildings are often conceived as elements frozen in time, little account being taken of the
transformative power of everyday practices on the physical environment” (Baykan et al. 2010,
81). A complex process of translation, interpretation, and adaptation is taking place. Looking
at the transnational flow of planning ideas and practises, Healey and Upton (2010, 5) argue
that “many problems have occurred because carriers and adaptors *...+ have been
insufficiently aware of the implicit assumptions shaping the ideas and suggestions
encompassed in any given expert’s bundle”. People tend to transform materials and ideas into
something they are familiar with and what is useful for them within their immediate context
and constraints (Perera 2010). This can be illustrated in the following two Figure 23Figure 24.
Figure 23 The European ideas on planning and architecture after Second World War were very
much shaped by the modernist vision of how a city should look like. As discussed in chapter
2.1.3, it is the ideal combination (and separation) of dwelling, work, recreation and transport
they were striving for (Charter of Athens). For being the ‘ideal habitat’, the neighbourhood
should smoothly progress in the same direction of modernist architecture (straight line).
However, the users were not consulted in the beginning, but came in only later. The
Moroccan occupants do transformations according to their ideas and visions on how a
dwelling should look like and in what ways it should develop – what accounts for all the
observed erratic housing developments.

European
vision on
urbanism &
architecture
(Modernism)
Muslim occupants
Muslim norms and values

Figure 23: European modernist visions on architecture and urban planning in its ideal course (straight line). But
from the very beginning the Muslim users have impact on their built environment (own illustration).

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 Andrea Kurzbein

This reflects the critics on Modernism pointed out by Jacobs (1961) and Brand (1994) among
others (see chapter Modernism and beyond), arguing that modernist urban planning
oversimplified the urban processes and draw futurist conceptions of how the ideal city ought
to work. What happened is that these vision and typologies got translated by everyday
practices of people.
The practice and usage of the Moroccan inhabitants have altered the neighbourhood
considerably (Figure 24). As unveiled in chapter 4.3 on the underlying reasons and logics of
the housing transformations, the inhabitants adapt the buildings according to their culture,
norms, values, needs and visions. In consequence, the modernist features were not evolving
in a straight line, but in its place there is a zigzag lace formed by constraints and possibilities,
evolving over time. This created the Hay Hassani we know today.

Vision & typology

Practice & usage

Figure 24: A typical dwelling in Hay Hassani around 1960 and how it evolved until 2011. The straight line has been
replaced by a squiggled line through the practice and usage of the inhabitants (own illustration, source pictures:
Casamémoire and Brendan Culley).

It can thus be argued that practices and usages of the Moroccan inhabitants clashed with the
visions and modernist typology of the European architects, what gave creation to a totally
different architecture; vertical and horizontal extensions, transformation of balconies to living
space, relocation of rooms, modified use of public space, and so forth. The transformative
power of daily practices went beyond the original plans on how a Moroccan working-class
neighbourhood ought to look like.

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5.2. Overcoming the barriers
What are hence the elements which allowed or hindered the inhabitants of Hay Hassani to
adapt their dwellings according to their needs? To answer this question, the image of barriers
comes into play. The idea is simple: when barriers are high it gets difficult to modify the
building, and vice versa, when barriers are low the possibility to transform rises. In the case of
Hay Hassani, it is possible to distinguish between four types of barriers: architectural,
economic, political-institutional, and societal (Figure 25).

e p
c o
a o l s
r n i o
c o t c
h m i i
i y c e
t s t
e y
c
t
u
r
e

Figure 25: Four elements which decide upon housing transformations: architecture, economy, policy and
institutions, and society (own illustration, source pictures: ibid.).

The architectural or physical barrier concerns the floor plan, foundation, and material of the
building, the sanitary infrastructure, as well as the general street grid of the neighbourhood
and the existing (public) services. They lay the physical basis and it is on these structures
where further construction takes place. If the material is weak then adding a storey is coupled
with fortifying the support beams, which may present a barrier. However, looking at the
example of Hay Mohammadi in the East of Casablanca, this aspect was not a constraint al all;
the inhabitants underpinned the props and extended vertically. In Hay Hassani the original
implemented housings partly favoured modification; Azagury incorporated the idea of housing
extension in two out of three types of the buildings. The blocks however do not allow
evolution, apart from minor adaptations such as diminishing the windows or interior
decoration. The street grid remained the same as originally implemented, except for some
neighbourhood streets which were cut off from the main boulevard in order to reduce car
traffic.
The economic barrier touches upon income, savings, and financial support from abroad.
Obviously, money is needed to buy the necessary material to transform the dwelling. A higher
income or long lasting savings make changes in the working class neighbourhood possible.

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What has become increasingly frequent is the phenomenon that family members from abroad
send money in order to let the dwelling being improved. Or then the expats directly purchase
land for themselves, in order to construct and own a house in their home country. Many
Moroccans living abroad spend their summer holidays ‘back home’ and some possibly play
with the idea of returning to Morocco (interview 1). Another mechanism at work can be
observed especially in the early years of a (working-class) neighbourhood, as unionist El Harti
explained. The family buys or is assigned a parcel of land, and is then told to associate with a
constructor, or in other words a speculator. Speculators are doctors, lawyers, bankers; all sort
of rich people who want to make an investment. The constructor builds a shop on ground
level and an apartment on the first floor; both are property of the constructor. The second
floor with terrace is given to the family, which has the possibility to extend even further when
they have the financial means (the maximum is ground floor plus four storeys). Moroccan
constructors figured out creative ways to raise enough money for constructions and at the
same time respecting the law in the Koran which states that taking interest is prohibited.
“Here, the building promoter, they sell the buildings before construction. It’s sold at 50%, they
say, you pay half of the delivery. So what he does with the 50%, they can start construction
without taking any interest” (El Harti). By selling the dwellings before construction – the
buyers pay the first half – the constructor has enough financial means and thus circumvents
the financial barrier. Depending on the budget at disposition, the individual inhabitant might
consider moving into a ‘better’ neighbourhood, instead of improving his or her house. At
which point this threshold is set totally depends on the individual’s evaluation of the situation.
Because of speculation and high demand for land, the real estate prices in Casablanca have
increased significantly. Each day it gets more expensive to purchase real-estate. Money is
hence a key element in the housing transformation; is there a lack of financial resources one is
constraint and has to seek for alternative ways, and vice versa, there is hardly any barrier if
money flows.
The political-institutional barrier consists of the existing laws and regulations, as well as the
political structure with its different levels of decision-making. Morocco went through a
turbulent time after independence, finding its own identity and political course. Especially in
the period from 1956-1984 regulations concerning housing transformation were either not
existent or then somewhat ignored by the inhabitants; which leads to the same result. The
inhabitants have considerable influence what counts as rational and thus had the power to act
(Flyvbjerg 1998). With the establishment of the Urban Planning Department, the situation
changed and controls on prefecture and neighbourhood level got imposed. Every single
modification on the dwelling requires authorisation, and one needs to know how, where, and
when to obtain them. The procedure to obtain permission takes long time and is somewhat
arbitrary, as the inhabitants told us. The approval from the municipality is, as one young guy
told us, “sometimes also ‘buyable’” (interview 3). Corruption is responsible for lots of
neighbourhood transformation and also degradation; there is a loss in quality and safety of
the building when inspection is buyable. Those who do not get a building permission do the
constructions overnight. If they still get controlled, money is changing hands and the
construction can continue. “As simple as that; this keeps the machine running” (interview 2).
Political and institutional regulations are shaped on municipal, national, and international
level. The UN housing projects have just as an impact as national political turmoil, and just as
the local neighbourhood association; each one in its dimension, but always interlinked. For

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the single inhabitant it means to find out which political-institutional bodies are important in
the case of housing transformation. Important not in the sense of ‘officially responsible’, but
in the sense of figuring out the influential actors; who has the power and thus defines what
counts as rational (Flyvbjerg 1998).
The social barrier comes into play when the societal acceptance is required. There is a “kind of
neighbourhood spirit” (interview 10) which keeps the inhabitants from pointing the finger at
each other, for example when someone is doing constructions during the night. At the same
time it means a considerable social control; it is like a village, everyone knows everyone. There
are unwritten rules that people follow, be it the way one behaves, one is dressed, or one
transforms the dwelling. It is difficult to capture and understand the multiplicity of these
codes for a foreigner, as I experienced. Cultural aspects, such as the wish for intimacy or
having two living rooms, trigger the evolution of a building. During constructions, family
members, and sometimes friends and neighbours, lend a hand; together they try to keep the
monetary costs as low as possible. Regarding the social mix in Hay Hassani, several
interviewees pointed out that since the late 1990’s there is a growing inflow of rural
Moroccan migrants, which bring a new social composition into the neighbourhood. The
original inhabitants perceive this development as rather negative, saying that there is a higher
turnover of people and the neighbourhood has become less safe. This perspective might
lower the barrier to move into a different neighbourhood. However, feeling of belonging and
social strings to family members, neighbours, and friends, as well as the fact that almost all
services and goods can be obtained in the neighbourhood itself remain an important
argument four the inhabitants to stay in the neighbourhood. Majid El Harti pinpoints the issue
of culture and dwelling transformation as follows: “The problem is not the question of French
or Moroccan origin… It’s – I can say that as I lived in the same type of neighbourhood as Hay
Mohammadi or Hay Hassani – if the neighbourhood is clean, it’s because people have agreed
upon that the neighbourhood is clean. It’s all about the willpower of the inhabitants. Just
neighbouring you’ll find areas which are completely disgustful, why? Because they
[inhabitants] did never agree on their neighbourhood being clean. But if the dwelling is of
French or Moroccan origin, that’s not the question. It’s a cultural problem; it’s a problem of
the persons themselves. *…+ The housings originating from the French have responded to a
crisis back then, but they were not made to support 50, 60 years of evolution”.
Each one of these four barriers has a different weighting for each individual and family. The
financial obstacle is perhaps easier to overcome for the shop owner than for the guardian of
the parking lot, but latter might obtain faster permission from the municipality because his
cousin is working there. What could be argued is that the architectural barrier presents the
least hindering one among the four. If the economic, political-institutional, and social barriers
are too strong, then even the best ‘transformable house’ cannot be transformed. Modernist
experiments aspire to elevate architecture on top of things by creating a specific culture and a
specific way of living (see chapters 2.1.3 and 5.1). However, reality proves the failure of that
assumption. Architecture is in many cases the least hindering barrier for physical and societal
transformation. What is pivotal are the economic, political-institutional, and societal aspects.
The architect or urban planner is an individual who is shaped by his or her culture and
experiences, and thus incorporates them into the projects. It is therefore crucial that he/she
reinstates the users in the centre of concern, in high consideration of their values. The
function gets created by the users, and only to a limited extent by the architect.

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5.3. Bringing ends together

This section sets the obtained results into relation to the four basic value-rational questions
asked in phronetic research. (1) Where are we going? (2) Who gains and who loses, and by
which mechanisms of power? (3) Is this development desirable? (4) What, if anything, should
we do about it?
The aim of phronetic social research is to generate a contribution to the ongoing social
dialogue and praxis in society, rather than to produce final, unambiguous, and verified
knowledge. As the term ‘value-rational’ already implies, it is about judgement. The responses
should be handled to be further developed and depending on one’s position they might be
judged from a completely different angle. The findings of my research, viewed in a broader
context, contribute as follows.
(1) The findings indicate a visible bottom-up transformation process, which is somewhat in the
‘grey zone’ of being legal. The informal horizontal and vertical extensions are a sign of active
adaptation by the inhabitants, according to their needs and ideas, which strongly relates back
to the cultural roots. Internet and wide-reaching migration allows for family members abroad
to send financial means to Morocco for construction. However, the presently created
neighbourhood plans for Casablanca strive to preserve the current state of buildings, which
implies that more restrictions get imposed by the Urban Planning Department. This
contributes to the already existing discontent of many young people in Hay Hassani who do
not agree with the present political situation. Casablanca experiences strong immigration
from the countryside. The rural immigrants concentrate in specific neighbourhoods, among
others Hay Hassani, and render the city denser every day. This sets high pressure on the city
responsibles, and the urbanism of emergency thus continues without cease.
(2) The inhabitants are both winners and losers. Through the informal bottom-up activities
they gain strength and autonomy, letting them develop within their cultural values. Internet
connects them to family members abroad and provides broadened perspectives on worldwide
happenings. With the forthcoming neighbourhood plans though, the inhabitants’ possibilities
get restrained. The Urban Planning Department possesses officially authorized tools to steer
further spatial development, which hold the signature of influential interest groups and
stakeholders. Speculation and opportunities for new investments let the actors of importance
follow their interests. Environmental concerns are neglected already since the beginning of
Casablanca’s boom, and there are only hesitant attempts nowadays that indicate change.
(3) If this development is desirable presents a difficult question; it very much depends on the
individual judgment. The bottom-up informal transformations create vibrant neighbourhoods
where inhabitants develop place attachment. In this sense it is wanted. On the other hand,
safety might be reduced to the lack of control. Herein the enhanced restrictions from sides of
the Government aim to counterbalance this risk, what again is positive. But an undeniable
consequence of that is that impeded flexibility for transformation will freeze the
neighbourhood. Thus, as stagnation means regression, this trend is not desirable. Considering
the ongoing political turmoil in other Maghreb countries, the revolting young people in
Morocco should be taken very seriously. Political struggles are part of our society, but
hopefully it takes place in a peaceful way. The ever growing city of Casablanca faces serious

55
challenges for accommodating new arrivals and at the same time to maintain and improve the
existing infrastructure. Other solutions should be sought.
(4) To counterbalance Casablanca’s urban growth, other Moroccan cities should be rendered
more attractive, in all economic, cultural, and environmental terms. The initiative from sides
of the inhabitants adapting the dwellings according to their needs should not get suppressed
by means of inflexible restrictions –the innovative drive should rather be taken as positive
feature. The role of the Government is to provide basic infrastructure and set the broad
guidelines which secure safety aspects, also with regard to environmental catastrophes. When
the citizen feels that her concerns, needs, and abilities are respected and welcomed, there
might be less discontent towards the Government. Anyhow, while expressing these ideas, one
has always to relate it back to the cultural setting in which the processes take place. Solutions
have to be sought within the country, and every city or neighbourhood requires again a
different treatment.
It is a question about power relations on different levels, which in the course of action define
what counts as rational and gets permitted. Values and judgements are influential parts of the
decision-making process (Flyvbjerg 1998). They actively shape and are shaped by the different
actors and factors of importance. Strong forces lead to considerable perturbations in society;
old structures disappear and new ones emerge. The paradox in Casablanca is, however, that
ancient structures did not exist. The area was untouched and there was no pre-existing urban
society to transform. Adam states that Casablanca’s “urban society was created, I daresay, at
the same time that it changed” (1968, 17). The traditional models which could have helped to
reconstitute the structures were themselves in total moulting, and the occidental model,
which was hardly accessible and incomprehensible in the moment, invited somewhat to reject
the old disciplines of which they rather felt shame than support.

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6. Conclusion
Time is the greatest inventor.
Francis Bacon, 1625

European planning ideals laid the foundation – consciously or unconsciously – for

spontaneous and unplanned processes of urbanisation in Casablanca through Moroccan
inhabitants. The latter transformed their dwellings to provide living space for new family
members as well as to improve their own housing conditions. The observed heterogeneity in
the appearance of houses reflects the individual appropriation of existing spaces and the
residents’ continuous adaptation. In the process of transformation the buildings get extended,
perforated, obstructed, replaced, painted, and decorated. This traditional way of
appropriating space through constant transformation is the process underlying the organic
growth of Arabic old towns (médinas), and it can still be observed nowadays. A case in point
illustrating the adaptation of a modernist housing project is the working-class neighbourhood
Hay Hassani, which has undergone considerable change since its construction.
The aim of this thesis is to explore the inhabitants’ underlying reasons and means to adapt
their dwellings, and further to provide perspectives into the logics behind these bottom-up,
informal transformations. The voice is given to the residents of Hay Hassani, doing qualitative
interviews and applying phronetic planning research. The in-depth case study emphasises on
power relations, judgement, and values that address the research questions set at the outset.
 Why and how do the inhabitants of the modernist neighbourhood Hay Hassani
transform and appropriate their built environment?
 Which (f)actors of importance shape the spatial development processes in
Casablanca, allowing or hindering the inhabitants to adapt the buildings according to
their needs and ideas?
This study showed that the core reasons for inhabitants to transform their dwellings are
threefold: economic, socio-demographic, and cultural. Financial means are central to
investments in a house; a higher income, money from relatives living abroad, or agreements
with constructors render possible the transformations necessary to accommodate a growing
family, to renew a building, adding services, or to pursue a (changed) lifestyle. Also for
financial reasons, buildings are converted to rental apartments, generating supplementary
income for the owner. The socio-demographic shift creates a market for this, as a growing
number of Moroccan rural immigrants seek abode in Hay Hassani. Finally, the cultural reasons
are essential in understanding the processes at hand. The wish for intimacy and privacy
explains the diminished or darkened windows in densely populated areas. Furthermore, Islam
plays a central role in everyday life, what regards for example the relation to the neighbours,
how inheritance gets distributed, and the prohibition of taking interest. Moreover, Moroccans
strive for owning their own land. Less attention is paid to the maintenance of public space, as
it is not their property. Nonetheless, the residents of Hay Hassani have a feeling of belonging
to the neighbourhood; it is an emotional and functional attachment charged with symbolic
meaning, which motivates the inhabitants to improve their housing instead of moving away.
These factors, then – financial, socio-demographic, and cultural – create the ground for the

57
continual transformation of housing stock that adds dwelling space and services while
allowing the inhabitants' attachment to flourish. For a deeper understanding of the situation
in Morocco and the Muslim countries, reading the Koran might be of valuable assistance.
The important actors and factors framing the spatial development in Casablanca are listed and
comprehensively explained in chapter 4.4. However, due to limited time of research and the
difficulties to get in contact with the ‘right people’, the compilation may in a further study be
extended. The present research has shown that the important factors are influential
instruments of the key actors and that they have been moulded by the actors. Real Estate
speculation has shaped Casablanca since the beginning of the 20th century, showing that the
rich and powerful decide over rationality (Flyvbjerg 1998). I agree with Rachik (2002) who
argues that in the urban history of modern Casablanca, planning policy was always resulted
from conflicts between political power and peripheral urban society. Despite the happenings
on higher level, the inhabitants were key players in the urban development. Through bottom-
up informal housing transformations, they translated the modernist buildings and shaped
their built environment according to their needs and visions over time.
In order to get a better understanding of how the inhabitants adapt their built environment,
the image of an obstacle course is employed; only when the different barriers are overcome
can a transformation occur. In this respect, the findings demonstrate that the political-
institutional, economic, and social barriers most strongly limit the inhabitants’ possibilities of
transforming a dwelling. The architectural hurdle has been perceived as the least hindering
throughout the century. In Hay Hassani, most barriers were very ‘favourable’ from the
creation of the neighbourhood in 1958-62 to the establishment of the Urban Planning
Department in 1984; numerous transformations took place in that period due to a lack of
governmental control in the turbulent times after Moroccan independency from the French
protectorate. The notion of “emergency” has considerably shaped the discourse on and
practices in planning and architecture. Referring to Bent Flyvbjerg’s theory of rationality and
power, the spatial development in Casablanca remains until today an intransparent web of
complex networks, shaped by economic interests, cultural values and personal judgements,
from which my research only could capture a hint. However, this investigation focused on the
residents of Hay Hassani, and they handle this situation with creativity and vital talent by
seeking a third way; one which lies in between the legal and the illegal, translating the
intended urban plans into something new.
Although the findings summarised above yield a rich and complex image, many issues remain
far from being illuminated completely. This research in its course produced two suggestions,
relating to academia on the one hand, and to urban planning practices in Casablanca on the
other. Further in-depth research in other modernist neighbourhoods in different countries will
contribute to the understanding of informal bottom-up transformation. Diving into the
complex web of power, judgment, and values is a challenging but fruitful task for social
researchers and planners, and phronetic planning research offers an appropriate method for
investigating these matters, as evidenced in the present study. Since this approach does not
strive for unambiguous and verified knowledge; the aim is rather to generate a contribution to
the ongoing social dialogue and praxis in society. Of course I cannot extract my positionality
from the whole picture; I cannot position myself as a neutral, scientific researcher, untouched
by the emotional and political contexts of spaces. As researchers we are rather “amalgams of
our experiences and these will play different roles at different times” (Skelton 2001, 89).

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This brings me to the second suggestion, or hope for change. This paper's contribution beyond
academic understanding is to give a voice to the Moroccan inhabitants on the informal
bottom-up transformations of their built environment. This is socially and politically relevant
as Casablanca is currently drafting new neighbourhood plans, which in some aspects diverge
dangerously from what the inhabitants consider a sustainable and appropriate urban
development. Since power defines what counts as rational and what desires are irrelevant,
the agenda of the Urban Planning Department of Casablanca is threatening to diminish the
quality of life in neighbourhoods such as Hay Hassani without the possibility of recourse by
the local inhabitants.
Thus, plans for the restructuring of existing neighbourhoods (as well as those for new
neighbourhoods), must incorporate – from the beginning – the realisation that inhabitants
constantly alter and expand their dwellings in a continual process of evolution that absorbs
new inhabitants and strengthens the identity. As is the case in so many Third World countries,
the Moroccan government acts in total emergency and lacks financial means to cope with the
increasing influx of migrants with the conventional methods of urban planning. The findings of
my research suggest that governments could handle this by approaching the perceived
problem from a different direction. Since there is a big potential in the inhabitants’ creativity
and willingness to shape their homes, why not integrate this idea into policy making? It is – at
any rate – not possible to control or anticipate the spatial development of a city. So instead of
pretending that it is possible to do so, planners and politicians should acknowledge and
incorporate the dynamic bottom-up vigour of the inhabitants. A city is more than a place in
space; it is a drama in time. And time is the greatest inventor. So let’s seek for creative ways
to employ time as a tool in urban planning and architecture.

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Epilogue: Contribution to the project Migration as Inspiration
It is my version of the story; from the perspective of a 26 years young student, grown up in
South Africa and Switzerland, and studied in Switzerland, Sweden, and the Netherlands. It is
the narrative of a European woman who knocks at the doors in the neighbourhoods Hay
Hassani and Hay Mohammadi and asks the inhabitants about their experiences of the
development of their environment. I had this unique opportunity to spend time in Casablanca
and to learn a lot from its inhabitants. I greatly thank them, and hold their openness with
responsibility and high esteem.
The contribution of our research as planner and human geographer to the project Migration
as Inspiration became more and more clear as we progressed in our investigations and
reflections. We started to see the broader context in which the transformation processes took
place. This made it increasingly difficult, however, to reduce our findings to simple chains of
cause and effect. As shown in Figure 24, there is none such a linear, straightforward link
between what was intended by the architects, and how the practices of the inhabitants
actually changed the neighbourhood. The connection is squiggly and evolved over time. The
question about how the architectural structure influences the transformations in Hay Hassani
and Hay Mohammadi can only be pictured in the complex web of the socio-demographic,
cultural, economic and political context.
The next stage of the project is the translation of the findings from Casablanca into the Dutch
context of modernist extension areas. This idea of gaining inspiration from Moroccan
architecture for the European context has already been applied in the “Le Medi”
neighbourhood in Rotterdam-Delfshaven (NED). The Moroccan entrepreneurs Abderrahman
Hassani Idrissi and Abdel Salhi were inspired by the so-called ksar; a circumvallated Moroccan
district. The almost hundred dwellings are characterised by growth possibilities, as the
residents’ family structure or lifestyle might change over time. These flexible housing
typologies are very attractive, not only for Moroccans and other immigrants (about 1/4), but
even more for native Dutch (about 3/4), due to its appealing, special nature. This success
motivated the Moroccan initiative-takers to propose a second similar project: Le Riad, offering
some 200 dwellings. (Boelens 2009, 130f).

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7. References
Primary Data
Inhabitants (HH= Hay Hassani; HM= Hay Mohammadi)
1. HH, adolescent 19 years, student, grew up in HH, family lives here since 1960
2. HH, women reunion, ~15 women
3. HH, young man 25 years, company employee, born in HH
4. HH, young family father, born in HH, moved within the neighbourhood
5. HH, park attendant, 30 years, born here
6. HH, woman from the countryside, 25 years, married.
7. HH, elderly woman, was one of the slum dwellers before HH construction
8. HH, family father, 38 years, employee, lives here since 1980
9. HH, state employee, family lives in HH since 1960
10. HH, man, 22 years, student, works in internet café, member of Islamic political party
11. HH, young man, 25 years, student, born here, added a garden
12. HH, fruit juice seller, 48 years, born in HH
13. HH, woman, hairdresser, lives in adjacent neighbourhood
14. HM, young couple, 4 children and grandparents in a small 3 piece flat
15. HM, woman, daughter of a carpenter, among the first inhabitants of HM
16. HM, mother and daughter, recently moved in, did transformations
17. HM, mother and daughter, no transformations of the dwelling
18. HM, man, 60 years, born in HM, founder and owner of several schools
19. HM, elderly man, lived abroad for longer time, came back to HM
Experts:
· Monsieur Harriri, architect, urban planner, and socologist. Previous director of Casamémoire
· Monsieur Hassani, Director of the Planning Department Casablanca
· Monsieur Abdelmajid El Harti, unionist and main informant
· Professor Abderrahmane Rachik, Human Geography, University Hassan II Casablanca

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8. Appendix

8.1. Involved parties

Coordination, research and preparations:
African Architecture Matters (AAM); Belinda van Buiten and Berend van der Lans. Architects,
Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Casamémoire; Laure Augereau. Defence of the architectural patrimony of the 20th century in
Morocco.

Educational institutes and participating students:

Ecole Supérieure d’Architecture Casablanca (ESAC); About 20 architecture Master students (8th
semester). Their contribution is an architectural analysis of the selected neighbourhoods.
Université Hassan II department of Urban Sociology; Sanaa Toufik and Mohamed Ennassafi
accompanied us on our field research, doing the translations during the interviews.
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft); 22 architecture Master students (8th semester). Their
contribution is an architectural analysis of the selected neighbourhoods. Professors Tom
Avermaete and Jorge Mejia Hernandezare the supervising tutors of the TU Delft field research
in Casablanca (28 Feb– 3 March 2011).
University of Utrecht; Brendan Culley, human geography master student and fellow
researcher. He is writing his master’s thesis on geographies of dwelling transformations in
modernist Casablanca, with a focus on Hay Mohammadi.
Youssef Oueld El Hachemi; architecture student ESAC. He helped us with the translations in
Hay Mohammadi and gave us many useful advices for our research.
Olivia Poussot; PhD student in aesthetics and anthropology, La Sorbonne Paris. She is doing an
in-depth research on the neighbourhood Hay Mohammadi (appropriation of French social
construction adapted to Moroccan people).

8.2. Resultant questions from architectural findings

The architecture students from Delft and Casablanca formed eight mixed groups and did an
architectural field research of three days in the respective areas. Students and professors
discussed the vertical and horizontal extensions, as well as the modified use of sidewalks and
the appropriation of public space. The resultant questions from the architectural findings
were sketched as follows (Mail Tom Avermaete, March 9th 2011):
· What are the underlying rationales and logics that explain the hypertrophic transformations in the
different neighbourhoods that we have chosen to study?

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 · What are the discourses and practices (to complement the study of the built environment that we did) of
the different actors (inhabitants, constructors, politicians (setting the legal frame)) concerning these
transformations?

· Who realizes the different extensions? Who are the constructors?

· How can it be that there was/is so massively and so univocally an 'expertise of modernist extension'
available amongst constructors?
· Why do people extend there dwellings?
· What is the (absence of) legal frame within which these extensions took place?

· What are the advantages and disadvantages of the transformed dwelling typologies?
· What is the relation between dwelling typologies/ typologies of public space (projected by Western
architects in conditions of displacement 50 years ago) and dwelling/ public practices?
· What sort of alterations (exterior and interior) are made to bring dwelling typologies 'in tune' with
contemporary dwelling practices?
· How are public spaces altered to attune them to public life?

8.3. Interview guide inhabitants (translated into English)

Dwelling and transformations

 Description of the housing transformations (what, when, why, how?)
 Relocation of rooms? Why?
 Assistance/ help during constructions? (neighbours, family, engineers, architects, ...)
 Financial help?
 Construction permission from the municipality? Difficult?
 Since when are you living in this dwelling?
 Who is part of the household?
 Rental contract or owner?
 What does this dwelling symbolise for you?
 What would you like to change more in the dwelling?
 Moving out? Reasons for staying/ moving away.
 Which elements keep you from moving into another neighbourhood?
 Family in the neighbourhood? Where are family members living?

The city and neighbourhood

 Description of Hay Hassani
 What are the central elements in HH?
 What do you like most in HH?

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 What bothers you?

 How does the municipality/ prefecture/ city Casablanca look after HH? Do they take
care of HH?
 Describe HH how it looked like in the very beginning when you moved here (houses,
services, connection to the centre, social status, …)
 What has changed since then?
 Describe the current inhabitants (social status, profession, income, …)

Public space
 Use of public space? (parks, social gatherings, hanging out the cloths, …)
 Valorisation of public space? Commitment to maintain/look after public space/ green
space?
 How important is the outside wall of your dwelling?
 Please tell me how HH will look like in ten years?

Data
 Date and location of interview
 Duration of interview
 Age, sex, profession of interviewee

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