Algeria

Abstract

Shows how the country, after its liberation from French occupation in 1962, underwent a turbulent development. Initially rich revenues from the sale of crude oil provided the necessary finance to initiate an ambitious villagization programme, and to import prefabricated building systems to offer almost free accommodation to every Algerian in the country. However, an escalating urbanization process soon grew beyond control, the oil revenue ceased, and the need for maintenance of both the new mass housing and of the historical stock in the old parts of the cities exceeded the financial, administrative and cultural capacities of the government. At the same time it became impossible to control speculation - which had devastating results for the poor. With one of the world's highest rates of population growth (3.1%), continuing rural-urban migration, and a police force that suppresses any attempts of squatting, overcrowding has become a common feature; empty dwellings are traded on the black market and for foreign exchange only. -from Editor