For Luanda, the onset of neoliberalism offers an ad-hoc method of city planning in which a centralised government deliniates areas for building purposes while at the same time owning most of the land in the periphery of the city. Foreplanning is excluded as part of this strategy in favour of speculation and ìmaking-doî, selling and renting plots of land to single and corporate, national and international entrepreneurs – while at the same time taking upon itself the mamoth task of housing and service provision.
Herein lies the opportunity to plan and explore ways of integrating existing methods of space making with emerging interests. We know that fostering the typology of the market means fostering local employment opportunities, and we also know that investment often brings with it the infrastructure that is overtly used by those who the city does not plan for. It is in this light that the marketplace offers us the opportunity to make a space whose functions advances the common urban interests of the everyday user.
African urban typologies
Arial photo of Luanda
Praca dos Congolese
Architectural Project