A lei e sua exceção: o caso dos bairros pericentrais autoproduzidos de Maputo

Abstract

In the current neoliberal context, the renewal of pericentral self-produced spaces, based on the tabula rasa of the existing urban tissue and on the peripheralisation of groups with less resources, represents one of the main intervention strategies driven by the ongoing commodification and financialisation of urban spaces in Southern Africa. In a close dialogue between theory and practice, we aim to contribute to the knowledge of forms and processes of production and transformation of these spaces, in the light of the current urban legislation, taking as a case study, at a macro level, the city of Maputo and, at a micro level, the neighbourhoods of Maxaquene A and Polana Caniço A, which are paradigmatic due to the intense transformation that has been taking place. We question the idea of land occupation security, so often associated with the Mozambican context, enumerating the various contradictions and ambiguities that enclose the current legal framework, particularly when concerning strategic spaces from the point of view of the market, occupied by groups with less resources. (English) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]