Brendan P. CULLEY CLAIMING SPACE IN CASABLANCA Modernist experiments and user-initiated dwelling transformations in Hay Mohammadi MSc Thesis Urban Geography Faculty of Geosciences Utrecht University, the Netherlands August 2011 BRENDAN CULLEY Claiming Space in Casablanca: Modernist experiments and user-initiated dwelling transformations in Hay Mohammadi. August 2011 MSc Thesis in Urban Geography (30 ECTS) Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University Supervisor: Dr. Gideon Bolt Brendan Patrick Culley Born 23/11/1987 Student number 3625745 brendanculley [at] hotmail [dot] com Title Typeface: Kozuka Gothic Pro B Text Typeface: Times New Roman, 12 pt, line spacing 20 pt Literature and Interview Typeface: Calibri, 12 pt, line spacing 20 pt Cover image: Nid d’abeille building, ATBAT-Afrique, Carrières Centrales, Casablanca, Morocco, 1953. Edited by the author. 1 CLAIMING SPACE IN CASABLANCA Abstract This thesis seeks to provide exploratory insights into the transformation, adaptation and adaptation processes of post-WWII modernist mass-housing projects, using Casablanca’s laboratory neighbourhoods as a case-study. A historical contextualisation of Casablanca’s development depicts a city shaped by the modernist principles of the Athens Charter. Yet, over the space of half a century, the urban tissue has extensively evolved – both from a social and physical perspective – shaped by its inhabitants and in a fashion that the urban visionaries had not foreseen. Results of a five-week fieldwork focusing on the Hay Mohammadi neighbourhood aim to provide social perspectives into the logics behind these extensive bottom-up, informal dwelling transformations. Using an in-depth, qualitative semi-structured interview process with local inhabitants and other stakeholders, it has been found that the underlying reasons for occupant’s appropriation are multiple, and originate from complex and variegated socio-economic, traditional and cultural interplays. Throughout our analysis, we highlight the underexplored relevance of cultural factors in inhabitants’ housing practices. We also underline the often overlooked importance of considering ‘immobility’ in housing choice: in-situ transformation is as viable a strategy as moving out, especially in contexts where regulatory, political and economic conditions facilitate such practices. These explanations have implications for our appreciation of modernist housing projects and their suitability for 1950s Casablanca, and hold valuable insights for future research on similar neighbourhoods in Europe and the Netherlands, often populated by new migrant communities from the Maghreb. Keywords Housing adjustments, User-initiated transformation, Culture, Qualitative research, Modernism, Hay Mohammadi, Casablanca. 2 BRENDAN CULLEY 3 CLAIMING SPACE IN CASABLANCA Preface Insert the preface here. Careful now. 4 BRENDAN CULLEY TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ................................................................................................................................................ 3 Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................ 5 Table of figures ................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter One – Introduction ........................................................................................ 9 Chapter Two – Background ...................................................................................... 16 2.1 Historical contextualisation ....................................................................................... 16 Early origins ....................................................................................................................................... 16 Mercantilism ..................................................................................................................................... 17 The Protectorate ............................................................................................................................... 17 Lyautey and Prost ............................................................................................................................. 20 The bidonville .................................................................................................................................... 21 The Habbous ..................................................................................................................................... 22 Heyday .............................................................................................................................................. 22 Écochard’s cartogram ....................................................................................................................... 22 Interpretation of policies .................................................................................................................. 23 2.2 Modernism’s inspiration ............................................................................................ 27 Enter Écochard .................................................................................................................................. 27 Le Corbusier ...................................................................................................................................... 28 Principles ........................................................................................................................................... 28 Definition .......................................................................................................................................... 29 2.3 Modernism’s experiment .......................................................................................... 30 A practical man ................................................................................................................................. 31 Continuity ......................................................................................................................................... 31 L’habitat pour le plus grand nombre ................................................................................................ 31 Inspiration for unité de voisinage ..................................................................................................... 32 Traditional needs .............................................................................................................................. 34 Trame design .................................................................................................................................... 35 L’habitat évolutif ............................................................................................................................... 38 Cité verticale ..................................................................................................................................... 39 Architectural design – drawing a line ............................................................................................... 39 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 40 Chapter Three – Methodology .................................................................................. 42 Background to the research .............................................................................................................. 42 Qualitative research strategy ............................................................................................................ 43 The appeal of Grounded theory........................................................................................................ 45 The case-study .................................................................................................................................. 45 Interviews ......................................................................................................................................... 46 Opening up ....................................................................................................................................... 47 The interview process ....................................................................................................................... 48 Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 49 Chapter Four – Explanations ..................................................................................... 50 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 50 4.1 Observed changes in the built environment ........................................................ 51 Issues ................................................................................................................................................ 51 Physical change ................................................................................................................................. 51 Socio-cultural change ........................................................................................................................ 54 5 CLAIMING SPACE IN CASABLANCA Economic change .............................................................................................................................