Urbanization and cultural preservation: a case study of the Chicalas Neighbourhood in Luanda

Abstract

The process of urbanization in Luanda has been timely, with the central areas of the city prioritized and neglecting housing projects for the poorest population. The requalification plans tend to be plans with dubious proposals, if analyzed from the perspective of the great urban debates that approach social integration and the right to the city. Financial interests and corporatist purposes prevail, not improving the quality of life of residents who, faced with the latent reality, are not recognized as a stock. The requalification plan for Luanda’s Bay, in which Chicala is part, involves the destruction of informal neighborhoods in its surroundings. It discusses the implications of this urban reform and its impacts in the Chicala neighborhood, in the light of territorial segregation, cultural identity, public housing policies and habitat. Faced with the impasses of a troubled and directed territorial management, and actions that reinforce social inequality, it’s suggested here a reflection on the requalification and cultural preservation applied to this neighborhood. Global thinking, combined with local actions, promotes dialogues with international experiences that can contribute to the management of the territory in a coherent way, in view of its cultural unity and the interests of its inhabitants.