FROM THE “CANIÇO” TO THE “CIMENTO” HOW TO FORMALIZE WITHOUT SPECULATING Ana CUBILLO ARIAS1, Pablo FERNÁNDEZ MAESTRE2 1
Centro de Estudos de Desenvolvimento do Hábitat (CEDH), FAFP, Universidad Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo. 2
Arquitectes Sense Fronteres Catalunya.
ABSTRACT. Maputo, as the majority of African cities, faces the challenge of a sustainable urban growth. Moreover the Mozambican context -due to historical and political factors- has its own restrains which make it a unique case. The oldest suburban neighborhoods are threatened by real estate pressure owing to their privileged setting and the scarcity of residential areas with infra-structures which impulses urban growth towards a low density and dispersed periphery. The CEDH (FAPF-UEM) proposes a methodology to formalize these neighborhoods keeping their high density as one of their primary values but with high risk of gentrifying these areas, pushing out the current population (as it is currently happening) if a strong social housing policy is not enhanced. And despite the imminence of the challenge, the question how to formalize without speculating? remains unanswered.
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INTRODUCTION The planet grows towards cities, but especially towards African and Asian cities. Currently Africa is the continent with the highest rates of urban growth (4.5%) and, as it is shown in Figure 1, it is expected that in only 30 years the number of its inhabitants will be twice as high as currently (UN-Habitat , 2014, p. 26).
Figure 1. Projected african relative total and urban population growth rates.
Moreover 60% of the urban population now lives in slums (African Cities, 2014), which makes clear how urgent the need for planning for growth is in these cities. But how can we do urban planning in a context of such an uncontrollable urban chaos? Today Mozambique is mainly rural with only 31% of urban population (UN-Habitat, 2014, p.269). But this reality is changing and the urbanization of the country is imminent. Therefore we believe it is an historical moment, we do not have time, we have to stop and think how can we do this urban planning and, at the same time, research for a methodology that we can export to other cities with similar characteristics. To understand the context we first present an analysis of the urban reality of Maputo, doing an historical review of how the densification and evolution of land tenure in these suburban neighborhoods has led to an unsustainable situation. Subsequently, we present a study case in the context of the work of “Centro de Estudos de Desenvolvimento do Habitat (ECHR. FSPF-UEM)� in two neighborhoods of the first
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crown of informal settlements in the suburban area of Maputo, Chamanculo D and Xipamanine (Figure 2 ). It is an example developed by taking a sample of about one hectare in the residential neighborhood of Xipamanine. This work aims to implement a methodology as a pilot proposal and to give some ideas to overcome the greatest global challenge of our age: the “formalization� of slums.
Figure 2. Location_ Chamanculo D (1) and Xipamanine (2)
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HISTORICAL EVOLUTION AND INFORMAL LAND TENURE In the colonial period Maputo was a city with a dual character, configured to satisfy the colonial needs (Lopes, Oppenheimer, Sangreman Proenca, Ribeiro, Cunha Ferreira, 2007), consisting of an urban center for the settler population planned by management while the periphery, insufficiently infra-structured, was informal and selfproduced1 by locals. The structure of the neighborhoods of the outskirts results from the gradual densification (initiated in the first half of the twentieth century) of rural properties which were subdivided to accommodate new residents and within which were built some constructions to sublet. (Figure 3.1). From the 50's the urbanization process of the neighborhoods closest to the city was accelerated (Xipamanine among them) with a significant increase in local population (from 2 to 8% between 1950 and 1960) (CMM, 2008, p accelerates .31) associated with the growth of capital. (Figure 3.2 and 3.3) In 1975, with the independence of Mozambique, land was nationalized in the name of greater equity, to avoid speculation. Houses owned by families with more than one property were expropriated (nationalization of the property of "performance" and Portuguese houses) and became the property of APIE (Administração do Parque do Estado Imobiliário). (Figure 3.4). Subsequently, the war (1975-1992) reinforced the rural exodus contributing to the rise of city density. (Figure 3.5) However, in the mid-80s Mozambique opened up to market economy and later in 1991 (Decreto Lei 5/1991) the real estate market was opened to the private sector, allowing tenants of APIE's properties to buy their houses and hence creating complex situations in the suburbs (tenants who become owners of rented rooms and a part of the original plot, etc.). (Figure 3.6) In a context as exceptional as this where land is owned by the State, the Land Law (Decreto Lei 19/1997) established the DUAT (Direito of Use and Aproveitamento da Terra) as a tool for the regularization of land tenure. However the absence of a land title does not prevent from using the land by occupation in good faith (over 10 years) since a large part of the population actually lacks of DUAT. In informal settlements DUAT titles have not been given yet, since there is no official allotment nor the minimum infrastructural levels. The constant changes in the laws which regulate land ownership, the self produced origin of the suburbs and the self assignment of plots contribute to the anarchic occupation of these neighborhoods and the complete informality of land tenure. 1 The concept of "self-produced" to designate the informal city is used by Jorge and Melo (2014, p.3).
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There are no clear boundaries between plots legally recognized. These limits are established by agreement between the neighbors arbitrated by community leaders.
3.1. Before 1950. Rural
3.2. 1950-1960
properties.
Progressive densification
3.5. 1977- 1992. War and Inmigration.
3.6. 1991. Hosing market liberalization
3.3. 1960-1975 . Division and sublet
3.4. 1975. Land nationalization and establishment of APIE.
3.7. 1992- 2014.
3.8. Study case.
Densification
Figure 3. Simulation of the evolution of land tenure in the study area.
For the development of the methodology of intervention that we expose under the frame of the CEDH's work in Xipamanine, the survey of the plot edges was made through visiting house by house and asking residents about the agreed limits of their land. (Figure 3.8) CURRENT STATUS OF PERIPHERAL AREAS: HEALTH HAZARD, DENSITY AND DIVERSITY.
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This process has generated a precarious urban space, with a very high density incompatible with the existing model of occupation. (Figure 3.7) According to INE (2007) Chamanculo D has 423.8 inhabitants per hectare. Assuming a population of 5.8 persons per household as is indicated by the PEUMM (CMM, 2008, p.149) the density of these neighborhoods is of 73 dwellings per hectare reaching 84 dwellings per hectare in the densest areas in opposition to more distant slums or even central areas of the city with densities between 200 and 50 inhabitants per hectare (INE, 2007) (CMM, 2008, p.96-97). The rural origin of these neighborhoods implies that the predominant housing model is a single-family one. However the high densities that have been achieved due to the privileged position of these neighborhoods have led to a critical situation with unhealthy and insecure conditions (flooding because of saturated soils, precarious sanitation, fires, etc.) encouraged by the lack of infrastructure and the low quality of the buildings. The high density and the socio-economical diversity are characteristic values of these suburbs. This combination of factors allows the most central suburbs to be a very dynamic -mostly informal- economic activity center. An emerging middle class cohabits with families with no resources and different housing types coexist in these neighborhoods ranging from very poor houses to gated communities or single family dwellings belonging to middle or upper middle class. REAL ESTATE PRESSURE AND INTERVENTION METHODOLOGY Currently different intervention projects and urban improvement programs are focusing on many of these suburban areas. This makes them inevitably a target of real estate market pressure that sees in them the opportunity to expand the "cidade de cimento". The improvement of the conditions of neighborhoods (paving of the main arteries or the elaboration of Partial Plans for Urban Renewal (PPU) 2) is leading in some cases to land speculation. One example is the gradual transformation of the territory held by private investors who acquire plots along the main streets already urbanized, destroying the existing residential city fabric and leaving these plots in "stand-by", using them as parking lots or storage areas waiting for the regularization of the neighborhood and the obtaining of a DUAT which will secure their position and then 2 In Mozambique the Partial Urban Plan (PPU) "establishes the structure and partially describes the ground, taking into account the balance between the various uses and urban functions, defined transportation networks, communications, energy, sanitation and social facilities." (ROW, 2008).
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build. See Figure 4 that shows the changes in the plots on the main street of Xipamanine.
Figura 4. Aerial image of the Irm達os Roby street (Xipamanine) where we can see the transformations carried out in the plots.
These suburbs find themselves in a paradoxical situation where the development of projects and proposals for intervention and urban renewal as PPUs (that take years to be implemented) paralyzes the development and the natural dynamism of these neighborhoods either because of speculative attitudes of specific agents or because of the reluctance of its inhabitants to invest for improving their homes if they might be expelled from the neighborhood, perpetuating sometimes precarious situations and promoting the insecurity of land occupation. This increase of the real estate pressure is an inevitable process that will become more pronounced as the city grows and the country develops. And so far, this dispute between the space requirements of suburban populations and elites of the cities is forcing out to the periphery families with few resources. This situation is worsened considering that most of the people in the suburbs do not have legal tenancy documents which makes the process easier. (Raposo and Salvador, 2007, pp.108-109). Another factor that increases the vulnerability of the present inhabitants is that the plot transactions are made informally with each owner negotiating individually the price of the land and the amount of the economical compensation
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regardless of, in most of the cases, the intangible value of their housing derived from, among other things, its proximity to downtown. (Jorge et al., 2014, p.12). The alternative for these families displaced from their neighborhoods by real estate market is to live in single family houses on large lots increasingly distant from the city center. While some displaced people prefer a more rural way of life, there are no alternatives for those who want a more urban way of life and wish to continue living in areas closer to the center. (Jorge et al., 2014, pp.12-13) The type of urban growth that is currently taking place in Maputo, not only in cases of the resettlement of populations affected by urban "improvement" strategies but also middle-class youth who cannot find their place in a city center already consolidated, is not sustainable. There are currently very few areas with basic infrastructure in the city, there is very little housing supply and it is very expensive. This causes that even the middle class has to live in areas cut off from the city center hence building a low density scattered city, without basic infrastructure and increasingly greater mobility problems. From the CEDH we have proposed a methodology of intervention in these suburban neighborhoods that understands civil society empowerment as the base for the formalization. It is a proposal for land regularization (subdivision and allocation of DUAT) and real estate development in these areas protecting the rights of current inhabitants. This proposal gives priority to the density as one of the key values of the slums closest to the center, understanding that this density brings diversity, dynamism and economic activity, distinctive traits of these neighborhoods. For this we proposed as an option to maintain the same density but varying the housing model (from single family to multifamily housing in 3 or 4 floors) to ensure basic habitability conditions and obtain public space and urban equipments. The first step for the regularization is the approval of a planning regulation (PPU) which establishes land use, the structuring roads and sets a high population density similar to the present and the parameters for a new model of occupation. Taking into account the gap between the current model of occupation and the one planned, neighbors are to be grouped into management units, trying to respect the current division of land tenure but considering that each of these units should have dimensions and conditions to become a future plot. For the definition of these management units the parameters of size, shape and accessibility of the future plots are taken into account, trying to make them match, as much as possible, with the
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present structure even if some cessions or compensations between owners are inevitable. (Figure 5) These management units, called "negotiation groups", aim to protect the rights of the inhabitants during the process of formalizing and to strengthen their position in the negotiation process in the case it is private investors who will develop the site or to facilitate the management process if it is an initiative carried out by the government. Moreover, as the intervention is divided into independent “negotiation groups� development can take place slowly, plot by plot.
Figure 5. Negotiation groups (in green and purple the transfers between NG)
Figure 6. Infrastructure (in purple and green the expropriated houses)
Figure 7. Construction of new homes (dark blue) and housing that can remain (light).
After the definition of the negotiation groups (equivalent to the future plots) the urbanization and the infrastructure construction are done. The streets inside the developed area remain roughly the same since the structure of the neighborhood is preserved, conserving, as similar as possible, the path of the main streets but regularizing and widening them. They are to be wider not only to allow vehicular traffic but also because in the future the heights of the buildings will be higher. (Fig. 6)
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Finally, through the change in the housing model, the density achieved is similar to the current one (the established density is medium-high by the standards of PEUMM: around 40-75 dwellings per hectare). Thus, at least theoretically, and only if this operation is goes with social housing policies we could resettle the current inhabitants on site but improving their living conditions. (Figure 7) There are current owners -whose plots are large and whose houses are in good conditions- who could decide not to enter the development process and stay as they are now. To protect their situation DUAT could be previously given so their land should be respected in the regularization process (Figure 7). As George and Melo (2014, p.6) indicate, during the intervention for urban improvement of Chamanculo C (neighborhood with similar characteristics as the neighborhoods studied) some titles and provisional DUAT were attributed as a part of the negotiations to some people whose plots along the side of the main roads.
CONCLUSIONS First of all we would like to clarify that we do not present this experience as an example of good practice but as a starting point for reflection. We understand that this proposal has virtues and vices that are worth analyzing. On the one hand we know that the methodology is controversial because it proposes to change the housing model and hence, in a certain sense, the way of life of the slum dwellers. It could be interpreted as an imposition of Western urban growing scheme, unconnected with the local conception of space and community and therefore jeopardizing the sustainability of the urban intervention. In this sense we would like to ask: who are we planning for? Many families keep the traditional model of housing because they come from a rural context but these plots that they live in are now the city. In reality they are located in a privileged area and there is already a growing second generation who is born there, in the city. We understand the city as a dynamic living thing hence the neighborhoods may also change according to the needs of their dwellers. On the other hand we think that if we want to preserve the wealth and the socioeconomic diversity of an informal neighborhood and to avoid generating more inequality, the proposal must provide a housing solution, at least, to the same families who lived in the neighborhood.
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Maintaining this high density, while improving the living conditions inevitably involves changes in the housing model. We understand that the density, the mixed-use and the socio-cultural web are values that we must learn from the slums as Chamanculo and Xipamanine and, therefore, we must preserve. With this model we achieve high density residential neighborhoods similar to other well-consolidated neighborhoods in the city of Maputo (as Malhangalene) (see Figure 8). Besides the construction, since it is based on the “negotiation groups�, can be carried out slowly. This allows to configure the city gradually, "plot by plot", respecting the structure and the richness of the informal settlement.
Figure 8. Street of the neighborhood of Malhangalene, Maputo.
This whole process is meaningless if there is no support from the government (who should have the main responsibility in the process) such as a solid social housing policy that guarantees the access to the new houses for the lower income families. If there is not a favorable political will it could happen that this urban proposal achieves exactly what it is trying to eradicate: social inequality where the part of the population with more resources obtains improved habitat conditions while the poorest are subject to the pressure of the real estate market, and therefore many of the current dwellers forced to leave their neighborhoods (gentrification). For all this we believe that it is an urgent matter that we try to find a way to solve this great global challenge through the partnership between professionals and the neighbors in a participatory way and with the support of institutions.
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REFERENCES. Agencia de Informação de Moçambique (AIM) (2008). "APIE deixa de cobrar rendas nos imóveis do Estado". Portal do Governo de Moçambique. Publicado online el día 15 de Octubre de 2008. http://www.portaldogoverno.gov.mz/ Centro de Estudos de Desenvolvimento do Hábitat (CEDH) (2014), Relatorio diagnóstico da situação atual. Plano Parcial Urbano de Chamanculo D, Maputo. Conselho Municipal de Maputo (CMM) (2008). Plano de Estrutura do Município de Maputo (PEUMM). Maputo: Autor. Ciudades Africanas: Reto urbanístico y social. (Mayo 2014) Mesa redonda en el marco de Africa Vive. Instituto Cervantes, Madrid, España. Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE) (2007). Recenseamento Geral da População e Habitação (RGPH). Mozambique. JORGE, Silvia y MELO, Vanessa (2014). "Processos e Dinâmicas de Intervenção no Espaço Periurbano: O caso de Maputo", Cadernos de Estudos Africanos [Online], 27 | 2014, publicado online el dia 17 de Junio de 2014. http://cea.revues.org/1488 ; DOI : 10.4000/cea.1488 LOPES, Carlos M., OPPENHEIMER, Jochen, SANGREMAN PROENÇA, Carlos, RIBEIRO, Mário, CUNHA, Nuno y FERREIRA, Marco (2007). "Economia de Luanda e Maputo, Olhares cruzados" en Oppenheimer, Jochen, y Raposo, Isabel (Coord.), Subúrbios Luanda e Maputo (pp. 65-85). Lisboa: Edições Colibri RAPOSO, Isabel, y SALVADOR, Cristina (2007). "Há diferença: Ali é cidade, aqui é subúrbio: Urbanidade dos bairros, tipos e estratégias de habitação em Luanda e Maputo" en Oppenheimer, Jochen y Raposo, Isabel (Coord.), Subúrbios Luanda e Maputo (pp. 105-138). Lisboa: Edições Colibri. República de Moçambique (RdM) (1997). Lei de Tierras, Decreto Lei nº 19/1997 República de Moçambique (RdM) (2008). Lei de Ordenamento do Território, Decreto-Lei nº 23/2008. United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) (2014), The state of African cities 2014. Re-imagining sustainable urban transitions, publicado online en 2014. http://unhabitat.org/the-state-of-african-cities-2014/
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