This blog page welcomes all studies or projects which aim to propose urban alternatives as it involves development issues. These works will be reported in short articles form and will develop concrete experiences about how to do differently than the socio-urban reality.
To communicate your work, you just have to write an article.
If you are interested on one of the topics presented on this blog, contact the author or email us at alterurbanet@hotmail.com.

French Guyana. Rehabilitation and development through housing access issues, in Cayenne’s historic centre.

[ Yâsimîn VAUTOR yasimin@ifrance.com ]

Cayenne island is bordered in the north and west by Atlantic Ocean and Cayenne River, in the South by the « mangrove ». The urban pattern imported by the colonisation and based on grid an iron pattern of development and is clearly visible : streets work as strutural elements.

All administrative buildings exist in the western part of the city centre architecturally imitating a powerful image. The rest of the centre comprises of essentially individual houses and low rise rented apartments. Green spaces in the centre of some plots can be easily seen. The traditional real estate development still exists as one of the important feature of development which comprises of today 50.600 people in the city of Cayenne.

Cayenne is seen as a quite insecure place and also problems of insalubrity affects its buildings. That´why the city is left out by high class population, as it is seen not enough attractive and reflects a negative image. Since heritage is not taken care, the layer of traditional architecture is degrating.

The city centre doesn´t promote the affordable facilities in terms of comfort in the rented flats. Insalubrity is in force, affects buildings and is renforced by the absence of amenities and the non respect of security and maintainance norms.

The other critical problems faced are related to an illegal occupancy in the centre of the plots.
The illegal and uncontrol increase of land seems to be the response to the high housing demand in the city centre, without taking care of population.

Capital of the only one europeen country in South America, Cayenne welcomes an important mass of migrating population coming from mostly surronding developing countries.(Surinam, Haiti, Bresil,...)
Since the city centre fails to provide affordable housing, the illegal development increases tremendously the ´´precarisation´´. Also owners take advantage of the situation. They offer against a rent an affordable accomodation, but which is a completely illegal and insecure construction on the reserved percentage of land of the plot they own.

In this context, the access to an affordable accomodation with basic amenities has become an important issue. It´s taking up by urban policies on revitalization of historic centres. My work focuses on helping the traditional population in the city centre and trying to protect the culture of the place, which represents a major part of its identity. My interest goes beyond the question of the image of the centre, as it aims to propose appropriate answers to ensure housing access for the city centre population of Cayenne.

Roubaix (FRANCE), how can we answer differently to the destruction of “mass housing”?

[ Damien GRAVA]

The redevelopment of the Trois Ponts area. How to do better?
Following Borloo Amendment, several mass housing areas are going to be demolished in order to be redeveloped in other ways. The policy is the tabula rasa. The government thinks that mass housing development coming from previous urban and architecture programs is nowadays the culprit of ´ des maux´ of the city, and its destruction will lead to solve city’s problems.
But what are these problems about? Mostly the image reflected by the mass housing area is outlined, as – it is said - it corresponds to a part of the population that would be rather not seen. In the same time, these areas are characterized badly for living being, ‘alienisant’. But taking differently and in a deep point of view, the existing urban, architectural and social structures offer several possibilities to improve the question of the image and mainly redevelop in depth a quality of life which seems to be lost.
This subject is going to be developed through my final year project. It intends to propose an alternative solution to not destruct mass housing areas and also a way to reuse the existing building structures to rehabilitate the Trois Ponts in Roubaix.

Mumbai, an alternative proposal to relocate slum dwellers of Ganeshnagar D.

[ Christina Sam Yue Chi, Yâsimîn Vautor, Aurelia Savery et Irene Fernandez, 2005 yasimin@ifrance.com, saveryaure@gmail.com, perufer2004@yahoo.es ]

According to a specific course following within the Architecture School of Paris la Villette based on urban development issues, we had the opportunity to have a workshop in Mumbai.
A slum rehabilitation program is the current policy established by the government in order to resolve cases of urban poverty. It is based on the implementation of several projects of multi-storey buildings financially covered by private builders. The relocation of slum dwellers increases the availability of usable land in Mumbai, which is diminishing with a rise in the need for the same. So that’s why the scheme concerns only a part of the poor population who lives in the center of Mumbai.
Our researches on the current situation in Mumbai led us to propose an alternative way to relocate slum dwellers according to the current SRS scheme. How to promote the quality of life for the urbane poor, as the major interest is to increase the land use, and build as much as possible? Do we have to maintain the spatial inequity supported by the poor? As they will be relocated in the same portion of land where they currently live, and no more space will be given to them, can we accept to maintain such high density of occupation when it reaches 0.4hbts per sqm (2.5sqm per hbts)?
Our aim was to propose several scenario of intervention based on the specific case of Ganeshnagar D. (…)

click here to see our work.

Gorée island - Senegal

[ Ousmane SAKHO saxusman@hotmail.com ]

In Senegal, there is a very known place : Gorée island. This island lies off the coast of Senegal, opposite Dakar. From the 15th to the 19th century, it was the largest slave-trading centre on the African coast. Ruled in succession by the Portuguese, Dutch, English and French, its architecture is characterized by the contrast between the grim slave-quarters and the elegant houses of the slave traders. Today it continues to serve as a reminder of human exploitation and as a sanctuary for reconciliation. Gorée is classified as a world heritage by UNESCO (N.U.)

Today the island shelters a large number of secondary residents, and greets a large number of visitors daily. Many points of interest have been designated : the historical museum , in the Estrees fortress , where Senegal history passes on review, from the prehistory to its independence, a passing thought the colonial period, The women museum ("le musée de la femme") that presents a showcase very original on the Senegalese women role in the modern and traditional society and the Sea museum, famous for its collection of fish and mollusc marine. But, there is a very old nice big house built in the early nineteen century which sheltered at the beginning a catholic school. In an second time, it shetered people like policeman or soldiers and their families. Since many many years, This police or army don't exist anymore, but families go on occupying the place. "Legally", they don't have to stay here, so they pay nothing; but they have "legitimity" to stay here, cause many of the 300 inhabiatants(the 1/3 of Gorée population : 1550) are born there.

I let u guess the issues...I ready to explain more.

Mexico historic centre. About a rehabilitation process based on traditional population

[Irene Fernández Álvarez, 2005. perufer2004@yahoo.es]

Historic centres rehabilitation means the real-state revaluation of its popular neighbourhoods. Rehabilitation process causes the explosion of real-state prices and demand. With lack of right strategy and planning, the intervention can provoke the substitution of traditional population with higher incomes groups. With this kind of process, social and cultural patrimony comes under risk. This text (available in French and Spanish also) is based on the idea of using immaterial patrimony and traditional population as fundamental part of a sustainable development in the historic centre of Mexico City.

Download text in french
Download text in spanish