Maputo: citizenship, everyday life, and public space

ABSTRACT

The notions of citizenship, everyday life and public space are fundamental to understand the different ways of being urban in diferent contexts. Each of these notions must be analyzed based on local dynamics, between global and local processes. Through a decolonial approach, we seek to go beyond what urban theories point out when researching how the city is produced in everyday life. Territorial coloniality persists through the dimensions of being, power and knowledge. Four neighborhoods of Maputo were analyzed through the progressive-regressive method. New research methodologies and urban theories are necessary to cover such diverse cosmovisions and spatial appropriations.

KEYWORDS:

• Maputo public space
• territorial coloniality
• urban dimensions of citizenship
• decolonization
• everyday life

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The production of public spaces: reflections on Maputo, Mozambique”, research held by Murad J M Vaz and Cila F. Silva, since 2017, at Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul. The focus is the constitution of public space in Maputo, based on the PhD research titled “Maputo: city, public space, citizenship”, developed during 2018 by Murad Vaz. All the research procedures described on this article refer to the PhD work.

2. We use the concept of politics by Hannah Arendt (2002, freely translated buy authors): ‘Politics is based on the plurality of men’ and ‘Policy deals with the coexistence among different people’.

3. Freely translated by authors of ‘Secretários de Bairro’ and ‘Chefes de Quarteirão’.

4. Recognized by municipal documents.

5. Cardoso (2016, p. 46) defines that favelas in Brazil are associated with Rio de Janeiro. Similar settlements in other cities receive other denominations. But this term has been used in a general way. In Brazil, favelas and illegal allotment ‘were the’ solution ‘that urban development, in Brazil, gave to a large part for residents of the big cities.’ (Maricato, 2003bb, freely translated by authors).

6. The territorial coloniality has three main power patterns: the power, the knowledge, and the being. (Delgado & Ruiz, 2014, p. 355).

7. Just as we contest the dichotomous view about Brazilian cities, many authors contest this idea on African cities, as Coquery-Vidrovitch. (1988).

8. Cardoso (2016) points out that new objectives of urban research are fundamental in Brazil. We recognize the same need for Mozambique.

9. Lage (2018, p. 02) argues that the city results from the relations between the various colonizing powers and between them and the Mozambican people. However, the Portuguese influence is the most evident.

10. An analysis of residential mobility and poverty spatialization can be found in Chavana (2009).

11. A clear and consistent analysis of the impacts of economic globalization in Maputo can be obtained from Jenkins and Wilkinson (2002). A short, but consistent, historical urban trajectory of Maputo can be found in Lage (2018) and Baia (2011).

12. A detailed analysis can be found in items 2.2 and 3 of this paper.

13. The historical trajectory of urban consolidation it is obtained in Vales (2014), Morais (2001), Oppenheimer and Raposo (2007), and Henriques (2007). A consistent analysis of social relations and practices can be found in Heer (2019). The understanding about the urban development and the relation between socio and spatial practices is discussed in Jorge (2017), Melo (2015), Viana (2008, 2015), Maloa (2016), Baia (2011), and Araújo (2005).

14. 2017 Census data by Instituto Nacional de Estatística de Moçambique (INE).

15. We consider official processes those that are planned by public agents. Unofficial are those performed by the population.

16. All this process was analyzed by Jorge (2017) on her PhD thesis, concerning the neighborhoods Polana Caniço A e Maxaquene A. More information about this process, until the 1990s, can be found in Oppenheimer and Raposo (2007).

17. Several studies have contributed to our reflection. More information and data can be obtained in Viana (2015), Jorge (2017), Vales (2014), Melo (2015), Oppenheimer and Raposo (2007), Bernard da Costa and Biza (2012), Henriques (2007).

18. A detailed description can be found in ‘L’essor des lotissements privés: la concession Oscar Sommerschield (1912)’ (Vales, 2014, p.194 − 200).

19. A discussion about this topic can be found in Araújo (2005).

20. In the Municipal District 1, energy and sanitation are provided to 97% and 93% of the population, respectively. In the Municipal District 5, basically 100% of the population has access to electricity, 52% has access to drinking water (8% inside their homes and 46% outside their homes), and 25% of residents have their toilets connected to a septic tank. In the Municipal District 3, 72% of the population has access to electricity, 52% has access to drinking water (4% inside their homes and 48% outside), and 20% of people have their toilets connected to a septic tank (INE, 2007).

21. More information can be found in the report about violence against women in the public spaces of Maputo (UN, 2016).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Murad Jorge Mussi Vaz

He has a degree in Architecture and Urbanism from the Universidade Federal  do Paraná (2003), a master's degree in Architecture and Urbanism from the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (2006) and a doctorate in Geography from the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (2015). Post-doctorate in Architecture by FA Ulisboa and in Geography by Universidade Eduardo Mondlne, Maputo. I am currently an adjunct professor at the Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul. Hes has experience in the Architecture and Urbanism and Urban Geography, with an emphasis on integrative teaching, research and academic extension projects. He has developed workshops on the social role of architecture and urbanism in Maputo, MOZ. He works mainly on the following themes: social role of the  architect, urbanity, urban space, building and city interface, urbanization in Maputo and public space.

Cila Fernanda Da Silva

She is a Technical Resident in Buildings at Fundepar - Instituto Paranaense de Desenvolvimento Educacional and Post-Graduation in Projects and Public Works by UEPG - Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa. Graduated in Architecture and Urbanism at UFFS - Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul.

Daiane Bertoli

She has a PhD in Geography - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, and part of her doctorate degree has been performed at Université de Grenoble (France); Master in Geography - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, and Graduated in Architecture and Urbanism - Católica de Santa Catarina. She is a Professor and researcher at Universidade WUTIVI – UniTiva (Mozambique). Her research work is focused on urban and territorial planning and space management policies, landscape and environmental assessment.

Daniella Reche

Graduated in Architecture and Urbanism at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Master´s Dregree  in Urbanism, History and City Architecture at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina and PhD Degree in Urban and Regional Planning at the Universidade Federal do  Rio Grande do Sul. She is currently a Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at the Universidade Federal daFronteira Sul, has experience in Architecture and Urbanism, focusing on Planning and Design of Urban and Regional Space and Architectural Design, acting on the following subjects: urban and regional planning , urban design, urban landscape and building design.